Re: My issues with yahoo ACT list format

[Guest guest]

A forum would certainly require more resources on the part of ACBS

- however if the professional ACT list were to go the same route,

there'd be a nice economy of scale.

Beyond that, I think a forum would indeed ask at least somewhat

more of the moderators. How much more would depend on the setup.

More features & choices = more questions and confusions on usage.

You see this not just on forums but on blogs with rich features for

commenting. Plus some features are more powerful than others - e.g.

the ability to self-edit posts might influence conversations in a

way not possible on a static list.

That doesn't mean a forum would be a bad idea ... just that like

anything, there would be tradeoffs. In my experience forums are

most useful for technical communities like Ubuntu and Arduino,

where the subforums address radically different tech topics.

Whereas one of the striking things about ACT is that it does not

divide very readily into separate topic areas. E.g. it would not

make much sense to create one subforum for anxiety and another for

depression, or one subforum for acceptance and another for values.

The usefulness of conversations here seems to lie as much as

anything in the cross-fertilization of experiences & ideas.

But again, this isn't an argument against a forum. If the community

is right nearly anything would work. It reminds me of an

observation by Jaron Lanier (computer scientist & musician) from

his recent book " You Are Not A Gadget. " To wit:

" I have been spending quite a lot of time on an online forum

populated by oud players. (The oud is a Middle Eastern string

instrument) ... There you find Turks and Armenians, elders and

kids, Israelis and Palestinians, rich professionals and struggling

artists, formal academics and bohemian street musicians, all

talking with one another about a shared obsession. We get to know

one another; we are not fragments to one another. Inner trolls most

definitely appear now and then, but less often than in most online

environments. The oud forum doesn't solve the world's problems, but

it does allow us to live larger than them.

" The places that work online always turn out to be the beloved

projects of individuals, not the automated aggregations of the

cloud. In this case, of course, there is such a magical person, who

turns out to be a young Egyptian American oud player in Los

Angeles.

" The engineer in me occasionally ponders the rather crude software

that the forum runs on ... The deep design mystery of how to

organize and present multiple threads of conversation on a screen

remains as unsolved as ever. But just when I am about to dive into

a design project to improve forum software, I stop and wonder if

there really is much room for improvement. It's the people who make

the forum - not the software. "

- Randy

[Guest guest]

I'm with Kate on this.  I like this email list.So far, every time I have wanted to be part of a forum, I have ended up forgetting to go to forum and several months pass.  The email reminders somehow don't work for me.  I know also that I could make the forum page one of my homepages on my browser or bookmark it to my toolbar.  But in past this hasn't work for me.  At least with emails lists, I see all the messages I haven't gotten to yet.  gmail is nice because it groups the emails into conversations - i.e., groups emails that have same Subject field.  I think other email sites have this option too.

 

I'm perfectly happy with the email list as it is, but I can understand why some might prefer a forum.  I like the fact that emails are automatically sent to my computer whereas with a forum it involves regular checking of a website, and that seems like more work, and more likelihood of missing interesting stuff.  I realise one can subscribe to threads one is interested in and get notifications when there is a new post, but that doesn't help with new threads that pop up, that one is unaware of.  

I also imagine that a forum would be more work for moderators, but I may be wrong here.Kate

A forum gets my vote too. There's so much more traffic on the list now it can be hard to keep up.

bb> > > > >> > >

> > > aaarrgggggg,> > >> > > spelling mistakes abound!> > > I ment to write the following:> > > Also, on a forum you are able to edit your messages, which I think is just

> > > so handy, especially when I re-read my message and find grammatical errors,> > > I feel so embarrassed, and can not do a thing about it when using a list> > > like this.> > >

> > > Thanks Steve, though I am a little confused by what you are saying when you> > > say:> > > > If a head of team gets up on this topic the ACBS staff should> > > > be pulled in; ACBS owns this list and has the technical expertise to

> > > > modify things> > >> > > Maybe you could ask if they could take a look at the problems and make some> > > suggestions.> > >> > >

> > > > > >> >>

[Guest guest]

If you read posts in the order they come in, you wouldn't need to scroll through long streams of prior posts within the current post because you would have already read the original post -- that works for me. But I still can't picture what a forum format would look like, in spite of examples posted.

Helena

Re: Re: My issues with yahoo ACT list format

Hi all,I've change my position on this. I'm trying to get caught up reading the emails, and I'm spending lots of time scrolling through long post to see if I'm missing something as points out. So it would be great to have a forum format.Anyway no reason to say anything else. I just wanted to say I changed my mind and would like to see this list go to a forum format.

Hi et others,

It has been interesting to read many peoples posts with regard to my initial post suggesting possibly that the ACT list could work on a forum based format.

A lot of people have put up valid points for staying with the current email list while others for the forum format.

I can see and understand both sides quite well, and importantly, we also need to consider the cultural aspect as I think Randy (from memory) put it.

A point on your comment:

Bauer wrote:gmail is nice because it groups the emails into conversations - i.e., groups emails that have same Subject field.

I think other email sites have this option too.

I initially misunderstood what you were saying, thinking you were talking about the ACT emails you receive into your gmail account were formatted by gmail.

Though on re-reading, I think you mean that Gmail does have a nice way of grouping the emails as you say, I agree, it is quite flexible, fast and with out the advertisements.

I needed to have a yahoo account to join and receive posts from the ACT list group.

And that would be another thing for having a forum format, being independent of email account provider, you don't need to especially have a Yahoo account.

If you also use a mail application, then that might additionally help you view the posts in a way you prefer.

None of which alleviate the issue with long posts becoming great streams of text to go through to make sure I haven't misses some important part of a post or thread.

At this moment I am happy to work either way and will be willingly open to what ever happens.

I am wondering if this thread topic may now have run its course?

Right, time to get off this computer and get into some ACTion while le soleil shineth.

[Guest guest]

Hi Helena:

You might want to look at the following forum to get a good idea:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com

Hope this helps,

C.

> gmail is nice because it groups the emails into  conversations - i.e., groups

emails that have same Subject field.

>

> I think  other email sites have this option too.

>

>

> I initially misunderstood what you were saying, thinking you were talking

about the ACT emails you receive into your gmail account were formatted by

gmail.

> Though on re-reading, I think you mean that Gmail does have a nice way of

grouping the emails as you say, I agree, it is quite flexible, fast and with out

the advertisements.

> I needed to have a yahoo account to join and receive posts from the ACT list

group.

> And that would be another thing for having a forum format, being independent

of email account provider, you don't need to especially have a Yahoo account.

>

>

> If you also use a mail application, then that might additionally help you view

the posts in a way you prefer.

> None of which alleviate the issue with long posts becoming great streams of

text to go through to make sure I haven't misses some important part of a post

or thread.

>

>

> At this moment I am happy to work either way and will be willingly open to

what ever happens.

> I am wondering if this thread topic may now have run its course?

>

>

> Right, time to get off this computer and get into some ACTion while le soleil

shineth. 

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you, . Yes, that is exactly what I needed to see!

Helena

Re: My issues with yahoo ACT list format

Hi Helena:You might want to look at the following forum to get a good idea:http://www.socialanxietysupport.comHope this helps, C. > gmail is nice because it groups the emails into conversations - i.e., groups emails that have same Subject field. > > I think other email sites have this option too. > > > I initially misunderstood what you were saying, thinking you were talking about the ACT emails you receive into your gmail account were formatted by gmail. > Though on re-reading, I think you mean that Gmail does have a nice way of grouping the emails as you say, I agree, it is quite flexible, fast and with out the advertisements. > I needed to have a yahoo account to join and receive posts from the ACT list group. > And that would be another thing for having a forum format, being independent of email account provider, you don't need to especially have a Yahoo account. > > > If you also use a mail application, then that might additionally help you view the posts in a way you prefer. > None of which alleviate the issue with long posts becoming great streams of text to go through to make sure I haven't misses some important part of a post or thread. > > > At this moment I am happy to work either way and will be willingly open to what ever happens. > I am wondering if this thread topic may now have run its course? > > > Right, time to get off this computer and get into some ACTion while le soleil shineth. > >

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

We've been following the string of emails about people's ideas/comments about different potential formats. At a slow-moderate pace, and I are planning to collect suggestions that have been made and discuss them with the technical folks at ACBS. These guys might have some new ideas or thoughts on how we could create a hybrid/compromise...let's see. At this point, I would say we're not even sure that a change will be made, but we do want to explore our options in parallel to the thoughts that have been expressed on the listserv. Once we know what our options might be, we can present them to the whole community and move forward (or not) from there.

Thanks, . I looked at the format provided and I now understand what a forum looks like. That site was easier for me to comprehend than the sites you mentioned because the forum is about a subject I can relate to: social anxiety support. When I looked at the sites you provided, I couldn't make much sense of them because the topics were foreign to me--my bad!My initial impression of the forum format is that it would be ideal for an ACT group dedicated to the study of ACT whose members didn't place much emphasis on the support element, which the current list seems to encompass. Sharing personal anecdotes and experiences and getting support echoed back is a big part of the list (although some may think it shouldn't be). In short, the forum format is more structured and, therefore, seems more formal and less personal.Also, since

one post can consist of multiple topics, I'm not sure how categorizing posts by topic would work. On the plus side, it could keep posts on topic, group same-topic posts together, and provide a higher level of organization and maneuverability overall. But it could also limit open-ended discourse across topics and hinder personal sharing and support. It would definitely change the way we each participate and relate to each other, IMO.Thank you for making the effort to help me to understand how a forum format works!I'm doing well; thanks for asking!Helena

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I glean from your email that options are being carefully considered and that the ACT powers-that-be are not actively soliciting comments/suggesions from the group at this time, although not discouraging them.

I am assured that the best will happen, change or no change, and everyone's viewpont will be considered and respected.

Thanks for caring and for your assistance. I trust you.

Helena

I trust you guys to make the right decision when Re: Re: My issues with yahoo ACT list format

Hi All,

We've been following the string of emails about people's ideas/comments about different potential formats. At a slow-moderate pace, and I are planning to collect suggestions that have been made and discuss them with the technical folks at ACBS. These guys might have some new ideas or thoughts on how we could create a hybrid/compromise...let's see. At this point, I would say we're not even sure that a change will be made, but we do want to explore our options in parallel to the thoughts that have been expressed on the listserv. Once we know what our options might be, we can present them to the whole community and move forward (or not) from there.

Thanks, . I looked at the format provided and I now understand what a forum looks like. That site was easier for me to comprehend than the sites you mentioned because the forum is about a subject I can relate to: social anxiety support. When I looked at the sites you provided, I couldn't make much sense of them because the topics were foreign to me--my bad!My initial impression of the forum format is that it would be ideal for an ACT group dedicated to the study of ACT whose members didn't place much emphasis on the support element, which the current list seems to encompass. Sharing personal anecdotes and experiences and getting support echoed back is a big part of the list (although some may think it shouldn't be). In short, the forum format is more structured and, therefore, seems more formal and less personal.Also, since one post can consist of multiple topics, I'm not sure how categorizing posts by topic would work. On the plus side, it could keep posts on topic, group same-topic posts together, and provide a higher level of organization and maneuverability overall. But it could also limit open-ended discourse across topics and hinder personal sharing and support. It would definitely change the way we each participate and relate to each other, IMO.Thank you for making the effort to help me to understand how a forum format works!I'm doing well; thanks for asking!Helena

[Guest guest]

I'd like to add that another advantage to a forum is that the moderators could

add " stickies. " These are posts that permanently remain on the top of each

sub-forum. Thus, guidelines to posting, FAQs, web resources, etc. will be seen

by new members.

C.

> >

> > >

> > >

> > > aaarrgggggg,

> > >

> > > spelling mistakes abound!

> > > I ment to write the following:

> > > Also, on a forum you are able to edit your messages, which I think is just

> > > so handy, especially when I re-read my message and find grammatical

errors,

> > > I feel so embarrassed, and can not do a thing about it when using a list

> > > like this.

> > >

> > > Thanks Steve, though I am a little confused by what you are saying when

you

> > > say:

> > > > If a head of team gets up on this topic the ACBS staff should

> > > > be pulled in; ACBS owns this list and has the technical expertise to

> > > > modify things

> > >

> > > Maybe you could ask if they could take a look at the problems and make

some

> > > suggestions.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I have a subfolder called "Worth reading again" for those messages that are. Regards,Detlef> > > > > > >> > > >> > > > aaarrgggggg,> > > >> > > > spelling mistakes abound!> > > > I ment to write the following:> > > > Also, on a forum you are able to edit your messages, which I think is just> > > > so handy, especially when I re-read my message and find grammatical errors,> > > > I feel so embarrassed, and can not do a thing about it when using a list> > > > like this.> > > >> > > > Thanks Steve, though I am a little confused by what you are saying when you> > > > say:> > > > > If a head of team gets up on this topic the ACBS staff should> > > > > be pulled in; ACBS owns this list and has the technical expertise to> > > > > modify things> > > >> > > > Maybe you could ask if they could take a look at the problems and make some> > > > suggestions.> > > >> > > > > > > > > > > >> > >> >>