Talk:Forums
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This is the page for chatting about anything to do with Scottish Climbing
Contents
| Thread title | Replies | Last modified |
|---|---|---|
| Team GB | 0 | 12:58, 7 September 2010 |
| Ardvorlich Sports Crag | 0 | 09:46, 3 September 2010 |
| Walking in Glen Dochart | 4 | 21:05, 31 August 2010 |
| The Great Climb on TV | 2 | 15:03, 30 August 2010 |
| Expedition | 0 | 15:25, 21 August 2010 |
| The new forums - thoughts so far? | 38 | 19:41, 20 August 2010 |
| The Gift at Reiff...who's done it? | 0 | 21:10, 18 August 2010 |
| Loving your work! | 5 | 15:42, 10 August 2010 |
| Top-ropers @ central outcrops!! | 0 | 09:50, 10 August 2010 |
| Mountaineering/ Climbing Quotes | 2 | 18:31, 9 August 2010 |
| Spanking the Monkey | 0 | 12:22, 27 July 2010 |
| Project Vid | 4 | 07:59, 16 July 2010 |
| Scatwell River Slabs -- Strathconon | 0 | 08:56, 14 July 2010 |
| Steall Hut - custodian | 0 | 13:06, 13 July 2010 |
| Liatach Night nav VId | 0 | 11:52, 13 July 2010 |
| The Bug Upper Tollie | 0 | 11:51, 11 July 2010 |
| Robs Reed | 0 | 09:48, 6 July 2010 |
| Help with topos please | 7 | 10:59, 9 June 2010 |
| Eigg | 0 | 10:59, 9 June 2010 |
| Forum Problems | 6 | 15:45, 8 June 2010 |
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Team GB climbers are competing in the 4 day - IFSC World Youth Championships, Come along if you can and shout for your national climbing Team. Comp starts on Thursday through to Sun.
Il take this opportunity to wish all the competitors the best of luck ! Crush em All !
I'm wondering if any of our hill walking brethren can shed some light on how best to access the hills on the north side of Glen Dochart, immediately east of Crianlarich. Can you drive through and park at the Lochdochart Hotel, or are you supposed to park at the parking place on the main road and walk across? Thanks for any info.
The usual access is to park on the A85 and walk up the track past Auchessan Farm (about 0.5 mile east of the Lochdochart House turning). It's also possible to take the minor road to Auchlyne and walk up the obvious zig-zag Landrover track. Yet another option (a bit less boggy and heathery) is to drive to Kenknock in Glen Lochay and access the hills from the north.
Thanks for the reply, Mark. That long track that's marked on the map carrying on past Lochdochart House - is that not accessible to the general public? Could you not park on the main road and cycle up that track. The end of that track is exactly where I want to get to. Close to the main road, but quite awkward to get to, it would seem.
I'm sorry, I don't know about access along that track. Perhaps it might be useful to contact the estate office (particularly since it is stalking season)? I found some contact details here: http://www.lochdochart.co.uk/Contact/contact.html
I took the afternoon off work to watch it then went back in the evening. Amazing to get it done on such a horrible day. Also great to hear Dr Garth's enthusiasm.
Dear Climbers,
After our successfull expedition to the Carstenz with K2 climber Wilco Van Rooijen, we are proud to announce 2 new departure dates. They are as followes:
- 27-11-2010 untill 19-12-2010
- 03-05-2011 untill 25-05-2011
If you are interested to have this summit on your list please send us an email and we’ll get back to you with further information. For more information about the programme please have a look at www.oceanicexpeditions.be contact info@oceanicexpeditions.be Kind regards, johnny peeters
Mark/Dave/Susan, feel free to join this on to a previous thread if I'm duplicating unnecessarily. Colin Moody sent me an email asking if I could post the following:
'I think the forums are a maze that I can't be bothered to post in. There must be other people who share my view, the old set up was simple to view and use.'
Any thoughts/commiserations?
More from the shy and retiring Mr. Moody:
Me: Looking at the old main page, users would essentially have to memorise which order the thread titles had been in last time in order to be able to see what had changed.
Colin: The old system had the name of the last poster so it was easy to see changes unless the last poster had posted again after someone else.
Me: Surely this new system is WAY better than the old one?
Colin: I don't think so.
Right enough, you could see the usernames next to the threads on the main page. It also seems to be not so easy - as I am demonstrating! - to quote people's posts as it was with the old system. Though you can do this:
blah blah blah....
Mark, I was wondering how many users had registered and at what rate they were doing so. That's why I was trying to hunt down the user creation log.
Please tell Colin I'm sorry to hear that!
What is it that he finds confusing? Has he looked at the help pages? Perhaps they can be more prominent (I think Susan started something to do with that already)
I'm not sure what we can do without knowing some more about what he finds maze-like - I'd really like to find out though!
FWIW, I agree with Colin.
For one thing the Parent, More and Reply tabs are appearing in the middle of the forum text for some reason, making it very hard to figure out what is going on (this may be a problem with my computer settings?) and otherwise it's all just a bit too confusing for a dullard like me.
I think that trying to mainain a forum in this format is likely to be unsustainable as there will be insufficient casual users out there who will go to the effort of trying to figure out how to post and reply.
Those tabs appearing where they shouldn't is more likely to be down to the browser you're using, I would guess. As far as I'm aware Mark's not tested things on Internet Exploder yet, so it might look a little bit weird using that.
Replying to a thread is easy - it's the finding the thread in the first place that can be a bit of a challenge! If we can decide on and implement a more straightforward forum structure, hopefully people will feel more at ease using them.
It's worth a lot!
Tom's right - the links appearing in the middle of the screen is a browser problem that we should be able to fix. Can you tell me what browser you're using, please?
Agree with Colin. The current style is a mess. Confusing, unattractive and unwelcoming. Bring back the old forum and the NRDB with the 10 latest routes feature. They were the best thing about the site. In fact with the photo and film sections stagnant and the news being perfunctory and hardly worth reading, they were the only thing worth looking at. Also agree with this from Chris F - I think that trying to mainain a forum in this format is likely to be unsustainable as there will be insufficient casual users out there who will go to the effort of trying to figure out how to post and reply.
Can you tell us what you find confusing and unwelcoming? Without that, we don't really have enough information to make it less so! We do want to improve things, so the more detail the better.
The old forum is unlikely to come back, I'm afraid. We are wanting to improve this new discussion system to make it a good enough (better, actually) replacement. The NRDB is also very unlikely to come back. There is nothing stopping us from putting the latest new routes on the front page - however, this would need to be updated by our users. On a more positive note, our video integration is improving and hopefully we'll have some great photos back on the site again.
Nitpick - surely maintaining a forum with less users would be easier to maintain? :)
Aln, did you previously spend a lot of time looking at descriptions of non-existent new routes that extolled the amazing properties of Viagra, etc? Why would you want that back? If there's information about crags or routes you want to see, you can add them - and other people who are interested in the same things will help you do it.
The 'stagnant' photo and film sections and the 'perfunctory' news section relied - and still rely - on user contributions. You do appreciate that there is only one site developer, who isn't paid for his work? Assuming you don't mean by 'maintain' what Mark understands you to mean, this forum isn't going to be maintained/persisted with in this format. It's going to be improved - as you or any other ex-user who's wondering what's going on can see by reading the posts made by the site developer. The improvements he ends up making will obviously be made after using his telepathic powers to read disgruntled and uncommunicative ex-users inner thoughts, and studying his TeaLeaves (next reductive web craze after Twitter - you can only use four-letter words)...
Lastly, what do you mean by a 'casual user'?
There are, currently, effectively two forums - as I see it: the Forum and the Talk pages. It's easy to see the Forum, but where do you see the Talk pages - apart from in the recent changes page? You can't even find them through the search function on the left of the main page.
Nice rant Tom! I get hacked off when people use facebook to talk about climbing, which is of no use to anyone unless your their 'friend'. For example Stew Brown recently got a bit of debate going about grades at dumby on facebook. This kind of thing is a complete waste if it's on facebook because on here you get opinions from anyone, not just your wad mates and hence there was no debate about whether the blue meanie was harder than home rule for example. And then the discussion will eventually drift off, never to be seen again. Put it on the main forum here, have the debate then move it to the dumby discussion page and it becomes actual useful information which could easily found by the people who might be interested, ie the people looking at the dumby page.
This is why the new style is better. Old forum topics were basically lost before. Now we can archive them nicely.
The fact is though, he got more replies on facebook than if he posted on here.
Quite.
Stew hasn't done Perfect Crime yet, has he? Is he getting close?
I think there's a lot of unnecessary knicker-twisting going on. The site will be improved, people will start using the forums again, but it's not going to happen overnight.
Hey as an ex "casual user" I have spoke to a couple of others who have and still do use the site. The general feeling among us was that these new forums lack obvious delineation between topics/posts. Navigation was a bit hit and miss. Its not attractive to users and folk may find the whole thing a bit daunting particularly new/would-be posters.
Don't get me wrong I'm all for improving the site and seeing new features but it does lack the polish of the old system.
I agree with the comments saying the forums are unwelcoming and unattractive. I am also struggling to think of how to improve it!
As with many things, it's always much easier to point out what's wrong than to suggest ways to improve it!
One thing I find slightly unhelpful is after clicking on a thread title in Talk:Forums page you just jump to a huge list of replies to that topic, which is part of an even larger list of topics - i.e. it is a little difficult to navigate because all the topics are shown on one page, as a long list, with only slightly larger titles to delineate the end of one topic and the start of the next.
I was going to say I lake the layout of the UKbouldering forums...but they are the same as the olc SC forums, are they not?
I'm sorry. I am afraid I am not a fan. The layout is difficult to read and a bit confusing. It may help a little to have the persons name and time above the text, rather than below it. That way you can follow who is saying what more clearly?
When I click on 'Topo/route details?' on the front page I don't get Neil Morrison's comment which should be there. I can get it by clicking 'recent changes'. Why is that?
Hmmm. Perhaps you're seeing this problem (there's a workaround posted there too).
Does that sort it? I'm still trying to work out how to fix it for everyone.
Hi, just been lookin at the forums with a friend and identified a wee trend. Now I'm a huge fan of SC and I would like to see it grow and grow. BUT. 9 users accounted for 88%+ of the recent posts. I have grown into the SC family with a knowledge of these peeps, but as I see it now these 9 folk are accountable for what SC produces and represents. This in my view is a sad situation (no offence to those implied). This site is supposed to represent its name - Scottish Climbs - and should be a relevant resoursce for all those who should wish to visit. I believe most parts of the site are functioning well through its members i.e. guides, but the forums leave much to be desired. I appreciate that this is a public/non-commercial site and for that has no full time moderators or programmers. But the lack of demographic diversity and accessabilty are holding this site back.
I agree, more contributors would be great! I think there are a lot of lurkers with a lot of knowledge of climbing in Scotland (Cassidy, McNair, Chris F...), but they don't post just for the crack. Someone needs to ask a question they can help with before they post - see the "top ropers at craigmore" thread for example.
The content side of the site is better than any other climbing site, or at least has the potential to be. The communication needs a bit of work, but forum trafic has always been slow... the threads could look better, i.e. this. What else can you do to increase traffic?
the threads could look better, i.e. this.
Good find! It looks like a nice improvement - I'll try to keep an eye on it.
(In case anyone missed the link that is on the page above, here is a proposed new look for LiquidThreads)
What else can you do to increase traffic?
Other than make the threads look a bit friendlier, I think the best we can do is just to post more and have us all go out there and preach the good word of SC to the masses!
I'm not really sure if I've got a point with this post, I just fancy a ramble.
This site is supposed to represent its name - Scottish Climbs - and should be a relevant resoursce for all those who should wish to visit.
As usual, if there's anything you feel is missing, feel free to add it! :)
I actually think ScottishClimbs is as diverse and it has ever been. There was a time that I think we deserved our tagline - anyone recognise where it came from? - but I don't feel that way anymore.
but the forums leave much to be desired.
You're probably right. Enough people have said similar stuff that I'd be silly to think otherwise. Perhaps I'm more forgiving of the forums because LiquidThreads fixes lots of things that I hated about our old system which essentially split SC-the-website and the SC-the-forums. It's certainly not perfect yet and I think that at least the look of the threads can and will be improved a lot (see Mike's post above).
As far as I can guess, non-forum contributions to SC (the content) have increased quite a lot since the removal of the old forums. I'd love to know why, but I suspect I'll never know. Perhaps I'll find the motivation one lunchtime to dig about and find out if it's even actually true! Several years ago, our forums were really active (at least relatively) but we were frustrated that hardly anyone was contributing stuff to the site. Right now we're in a nearly opposite position!
Nice one Mark
I would agree that the content has improved and will only get better. I would consider setting up a category for winter users and let them/us build on it. As you say, it is for the community to build the content... :-)
the forums I find ok, but there is obviously a lack of aesthetic attractiveness for users as it would be busier.. but we know this... I would say that content quality of information is more important than the forums now as it is fundamentally a resource?...
Just thought I would say how its great to see the SC site getting better and better and better.... :-)
I like the team spirit going on here!
I'll add that I really think the structure of the site (with the 3 tabs for page, media and discussion) is spot on. A nice cover page would be good, and the threads themselves aren't the prettiest, but they do the job - are any alternatives to these Mark?
Anyone got any thoughts on adding an "also see" link list section to the bottom of pages?
Edit: Made this as an idea of what I mean by Cover page. Feel free to tell me it's a shit idea :o
generally people seem to like having the forums latest and blog aggregator on the front page
(or they moan when they aren't there)
the threads themselves aren't the prettiest, but they do the job - are any alternatives to these Mark?
We can definitely style the threads in a different way. They're certainly functional rather than gorgeous just now. I guess it's a matter of getting the right design and finding enough time!
"Corrie and Mountain are the natural altars of the earth, to be used as such before one goes"
W.H.Murray
'The most impressive thing I ever saw was Malcolm Smith doing the second ascent of Hubble. I belayed him on it. At the time Ben Moon was still considered to be at the top of the heap and here was this young lad, doing it over and over again for Heinz Zak’s pictures, making it look like a path. It was gobsmacking.'
Ron Fawcett
Yesterday we were lucky - no blessed by super fine midge free sunshine at Tollie
Dylan wobbled his way up Teddy bears picbic - and i thought it was quite tricky over the wee roof quality E1
Then i jumped on the Bug expecting it to be well harder
turns out its easy climbing with good gear all the way and the run out section plastered with mini jugs
No way its E2 and no chance its better than Diabeg Pillar
your THoughts ?
I've made some photo topos in the past by importing a photo of a crag as a jpeg into Word and adding text and lines, then copying it into Irfanview to save the topo as a jpeg. Does anyone have simpler ways to do this without using complicated software? I have Photoshop CS3 but I'm a total amature at using it. Thanks.
I normally use gimp photo editor as its free and simple to use. You might also be able to use MS paint. Word should also be ok as long as you expor to jpeg as you say.
I use photoshop even though I'm clueless about it, so the way I use it is probably long winded and stupid.
I select the colour I want to use then select the paint brush and make a mark, if that is wrong I click 'edit', 'undo brush stroke' and try again, you can select the size of the brush stroke. For text there are the same problems, colour and size. I don't know how to place text in a different part of the photo from the previous text, so I select one of the other tools then select text again, then I can place it where ever I want. When I'm finished I save the photo as a jpeg and close the huge photoshop file I've been working on without saving it. Good luck. Some of my efforts below.
Word/Publisher is not a bad choice if you keep a copy of the document as well as the jpeg, since if the route changes or you realise you made a mistake some time later you can go back, move stuff about and export it again. With paint you might have to go back to the original photo and start all over again.
I quickly gave up trying to understand photoshop or gimp, but have got on well with Paint.NET from [1], which is free. Basically just a slightly more powerful version of ms paint (because it was intended to replace it) that knows about layers and transparency - which means you can keep your routes on one layer and the background photo on another. I used a load of layers for Rubha Mor, which meant I could move the symbols around without damaging the map.
I find the hardest thing is drawing the routes without my shaky hands causing loads of wiggly bits - might try some dashed lines like yours Colin.
When a thread gets to about 6 posts the last few replies are hidden and I have to click "Show Replies". When I do this, a circular symbol indicating it is processing something, but this never goes away and the replies never show.
If I go into "my messages" I can see the replies and reply to them.
Why is this so?
me too............ hows ur leg Fultonius? its a nightmare when u cant get out and every one else is.. do some pullups ! and if ur unlucky i'll train u back to full fitness! :-)
I've had a bit of an investigation but can't see what's up.
One way to workaround this for now is to bump up the "Maximum reply depth to show" setting in the Threaded discussion tab in your preferences.
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