At this point I wanted to pick up on a few points and ideas made earlier.
Firstly Majenta.
Files - I love this idea, but every time I visit the files section, it feels anemic. I almost always end up searching the forums on a quest to dig through and find examples of the files I want. Not sure how you could encourage us to use it more though. Maybe auto add files people post to the forums to the files section? Maybe a search that lets you pick out forum posts with file attachments?
and RG3.
Funny thing is...I didn't know a "File" section existed until Magenta had mentioned it. I like the content that is in it, and it would be a good idea if some document was uploaded somehow it would be threaded into the "File" section.
I agree the files library is a great tool and is not used to its full potential, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of useful files buried in the forums and it would be great to add a copy to the files library whenever a new, high quality document is posted on the forums. That way it would be categorizes for easier retrieval. Currently there is no automatic way to do this, so it would have to be a manual process. Then there is the small matter of the archive of files scattered all over the forums. It is possible from the administration section of the forums to search for attachments by all types of criteria, such as file type, keyword, number of downloads etc. so again it is feasible to do this. This two pronged approach of dealing with new and old files would surely make the files library a very useful resource and is certainly worth considering.
Stickies - I would love love love the idea of stickies - it's very common to see someone new ask a question that has been asked a lot before, and Charles will muck through a few hundred forum posts and link to the gems. It's be great to have metal detector, HACCP basics, Risk assessment how tos, CCP vs PRP, micro limits, etc in a sticky thread at the top of the topic - that way we don't have to wait for Charles to link :) Sometimes the words are so common searching the site is impossible.
I see what you are proposing here Majenta and have had similar thoughts, but rather than stickies at the top of each forum I would love to see a food safety glossary that would provide definitions and answers to simple questions such as “What is GFSI?”...”What is a PRP?”...”What is a risk assessment?” etc. Maybe the glossary would be able to have categories so there would be for example a category “HACCP” and there would be many items underneath it. Rather than being a discussion the definition would be fixed (once peer agreed). There is probably an ‘add on’ modification available for this forum software already...I will take a look, but again it would take time to build and even more time to populate.
Noob Guide - Also maybe something more apparent for noobs when they first visit - we almost always need to know standard, prodct, location, and sometimes more about the process. You can't post files at first, which is confusing. Maybe the error message can say something like "You can't post files yet, but you'll be able to in 5 posts" or whatever. I didn't know the "More Reply Options" button existed for a really long time (This probably exists, but maybe make it more prominent? I'll link to it in the welcome posts).
I agree there is more that can be done to instruct new members on posting guidelines and it is relatively easy as all new members get an auto email when they register, I could add something to this template. Also error message are a pain, often they are non descriptive, but again I can edit them. If there are particular ones that you come across, let me know and I will improve them. One thing I have done is compile a list “Helpful Links to Get You Started” – I have it linked in my signature, please check it out and let me know your comments / ideas for improvement...if it is useful maybe members can put it in their signature too.
By the way the “More Reply Options” button is there at the bottom right of a topic thread...do you not see it? Maybe I could change the button color to make it stand out.
Blogs - as mentioned above...what are these? How are these different than posts in the forum? I see Tony C's sometimes, but never any others. Do they have different features or functions?
Blogs are not used a lot; of the blogs that members have they are a mish mash of work and non-work. There are two blogs that are posted / promoted on the site home page and on the forums..they are the IFSQN official one and Tony C’s. If a member had an idea to write a regular blog on a subject related to site content and it was decent enough quality then I would happily promote it on the site and in newsletters etc.
Reputation and Thanks fight each other - I vote for one upvote system instead of two
Maybe "Thanks" should be worth something like 1/2 a point??? I know I'm new and I'm trying to work my way up to get some sort of credibility, because like AntonellaTromba said, when you're new who's going to pay attention?
Magenta makes some good points, however I like the two prong approach on thanks and reputation. I may thank someone but not give it a reputation point.
To me also reputation and thanks does seem like duplication on first glance. A bit of explanation...the reputation green arrow is an inbuilt part of the software, it’s been there since day one, but was very seldom used, not promoted, not visible etc. A few years back I added the “thanks” mod, which I liked as it is a nice gesture for members to give thanks for an answer to their question. So that worked ok for a while and then I found out about the Member of the Month modification, which as you know is a great feature and it uses the inbuilt reputation system. MOTM has given the reputation system a new lease of life and we are giving and receiving green arrow reps liberally. So now a member has reputation and thanks...I would hate to lose that data and I’m sure many members would, so I don’t propose to change this right now and think they can happily coincide.
I often have trouble when drafting a post, as what I want to quote or more than one quote is on a different page. If I go to the different page so I can quote then I lose everything that I had created.
There is a ‘multi quote’ button at the bottom of each post...click it on each post you want to quote before clicking reply then you can edit the quoted text and add your comments under each quote. Give it a try.
Diet craze based standards that have no bearing on food safety missing - Where's my forum section for Paleo Friendly certification? Gluten Free certification? Vegan certification? Atkins Approved certification ? (Ed note: I felt like this post had to include a joke complaint)
And Majenta, I will consider opening up any new forum as long as related to site content and there is enough interest for example five members who say ”yes I’d be active in that”.