http://www.hmrrc.com/board HMRRC Forum en http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1777#p1777 1777@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: OK, based on feedback here and from the moderators, it’s clear that people agree with Sumo’s opinion that some consolidation of the forums is warranted.  Expect to see some changes in the coming days.As for adding a menu item at the top of the main HMRRC web page, though it seems like it ought to be a no-brainer, our current site hosting arrangement prevents this.  However, changes to the way the entire HMRRC web site is administered are being planned, and once these changes are realized, the club will have more freedom to improve things.  As these efforts progress, and after some early milestones are reached, we will post periodic updates in the club announcements section.We will also start a thread soon looking for feedback on what features people would like to see in the HMRRC web site of the future. Thu, 19 May 2011 13:27:16 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1775#p1775 1775@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: I concur with Sumo's 2 recommendations he made a while back. Consolidate to ONE.  Highlight the forum by showing the last message scrooling. Wed, 18 May 2011 21:11:39 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1768#p1768 1768@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: Yes, my suggestions appear merely cosmetic, but with a basis in science and long experience. I'm a semi-retired software engineer having spent a large part of my 44 year career in human interface design.1) Shorten the list so that it all fits in one view. It is necessary to scroll down to see the last few forums and trust me on this, people often not scroll to see what else is on the page. Thus, the lower forums tend to get less play than the upper ones. You should put everything directly in front of in their face or forget it. Also, the average attention span is such that they will only scan about 7 items per page. Too many choices and their eyes glaze over. They're more likely to move on without pursuing any topics further.2) I now see that there is indeed a forum link on the front page. Sorry, but I guess I never scrolled down to look for it. When there is a menu at the top of a page and what I see does not appear at first glance, I investigate the menu choices rather than scroll the view. Sun, 15 May 2011 17:15:53 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1767#p1767 1767@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: I cannot even believe the words of Hounddogharrier.  I had to read them twice!!!!  Nothing has changed???  Has this guy been to a club meeting or an HMRRC race recently?  We have new equipment; we have made a number of changes that have made it better for runners - such as eliminating those god awful look up your nmber lists.  Same old races???  New races within the last five years has been Father's Day and Valley Cats.  What about the 10 Free program?  Definitely new in the last five years.  How about the JUST RUN program for the kids started 2 years ago?  How about the wrappign of the pavillion at Central Park in Schenectady funded last year?  What about the $20,000 that we donated to charities though our sponsor CDPHP from the proceeds from that race last year?  And how about the volunteer recognition program?  Not bragging but I think it is one of the few that exists for race volunteers anywhere in this area or probably the state.  Do you want me to go on?  What else do you want us to change?  And do you want to step up to chair the committee for that change?   I will be more than delighted to promote you as a chair.What we need to help us grow as a club is not general broad statements like this but rather constructive suggestions and/or critisims that can lead to really making a  positive difference to the members of this club. Sun, 15 May 2011 14:42:15 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1765#p1765 1765@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: Boring sounds bad.  And don’t people love to comment about bad things?  Isn’t that what helps bring about change?   Your own comment contradicts your assertion that there is nothing to comment about. =D Sun, 15 May 2011 11:36:41 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1764#p1764 1764@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: Its a pretty boring board because HMRRC is kind of a boring running club. Little has changed at all in the past 30 years but that the members who were 25 in 1980 are now pushing 60. Same Pacesetter, same races, its like being in a time warp. If nothing changes what is there to comment on? Sat, 14 May 2011 15:38:47 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1761#p1761 1761@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: tseward wrote:I am really excited to post my first comment and I think I am a first time user you refer to.  I have checked the forum on a regular basis and I guess I have not thought of anything to post.  With Facebook, the times I have posted or contacted someone, I have used that.  Maybe FB is now the easiest way to communicate?  Just a thought - FB is easier since it is used more often and I log into that very regularly.I have found the topics and posts by others to be very informative and useful so it is not useless.  I just think more people are now communicating via FB. You make an excellent point.  Facebook is huge and the bells and whistles that it offers can make these forums pale in comparison.  Thanks for posting your thoughts!  Hopefully you are right and people can find enough value here to read and contribute from time to time. Fri, 13 May 2011 07:36:36 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1760#p1760 1760@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: SumoRunner wrote:1) Reduce the number of forums, 12 is too many, 4 to 6 might suffice, then rename them so they are more general in scope. After 5 years it's obvious which ones get little or no discussion. We’ve seen this suggestion before and have been reluctant to act on it, mainly for the reason that it seems counterintuitive to us.  Do people really arrive at this site and say to themselves, “I would post but there are just too many categories”?  We want to attract as many people as possible, and it seems to us that offering a wide array of choices would do that better.  On the other hand, there is no disputing the fact that some of the categories are not being used.  Our thinking is that as long as the majority of the activity is coming from a relatively small group of users, eliminating categories doesn’t make sense.  If we build a larger and more diverse user base, and these categories still sit idle, then it would make more sense to us.However, if there is a consensus that the current lineup is a deterrent, we will consider consolidating.  Please let us know your thoughts. SumoRunner wrote:2) Move it out of the Members-only menu and put it where people tend to go most often, like race info and results. Or at the top level. I'll bet no one ever visits the Fun Runs heading. Why not a discussion forum heading instead of Fun Runs? This makes good sense.  Back in March we added a link to the forums in the body of the main HMRRC web page.  It doesn't really stand out much and we wonder how many people have noticed it.  We will look into placing a permanent link at the top of the page.Thanks for your suggestions Sumo! Fri, 13 May 2011 07:25:48 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1759#p1759 1759@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: I am really excited to post my first comment and I think I am a first time user you refer to.  I have checked the forum on a regular basis and I guess I have not thought of anything to post.  With Facebook, the times I have posted or contacted someone, I have used that.  Maybe FB is now the easiest way to communicate?  Just a thought - FB is easier since it is used more often and I log into that very regularly.I have found the topics and posts by others to be very informative and useful so it is not useless.  I just think more people are now communicating via FB. Thu, 12 May 2011 21:03:55 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1758#p1758 1758@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: 1) Reduce the number of forums, 12 is too many, 4 to 6 might suffice, then rename them so they are more general in scope. After 5 years it's obvious which ones get little or no discussion. 2) Move it out of the Members-only menu and put it where people tend to go most often, like race info and results. Or at the top level. I'll bet no one ever visits the Fun Runs heading. Why not a discussion forum heading instead of Fun Runs? Thu, 12 May 2011 10:20:40 -0400 http://www.hmrrc.com/board/viewtopic.php?pid=1757#p1757 1757@http://www.hmrrc.com/board Topic: Survey - What might be holding people back? Message: In the past 9 months, 13 people have requested and been set up with user IDs on these discussion forums.  Since a user ID is not required to read the forums, we assume that these IDs were requested with the intention of getting involved in the discussions.   However, from these 13 new users there has been only one message posted.  We're curious what it is that might be inhibiting people, and what we can do to help relieve those inhibitions.If you are one of the 13 new users, please post a reply to this message telling us how we can help you to get started.  While you are at it, if you don't mind, please tell us what prompted you to request a user ID.  This might give us a clue as to how we might attract more users.  If you are not one of the 13, but you have ideas on what might increase usage of these message boards, please post them here.  Though there are some technical constraints limiting us from some types of changes, we will do our best to follow-up on all suggestions.Thanks in advance! Thu, 12 May 2011 07:52:16 -0400