Welcome to the new BSAC Forums

[Marcus Allen]

Hi All,
I would like to welcome you all to the new BSAC Forums. A real achievement and testament to volunteer power. They look really good and have some great functionality. I am sure you will join me in thanking the dedicated team of volunteers lead by Keith Lawrence who have made it all possible and will continue to look after the site. I look forward to stimulating debate and the sharing of ideas with fellow members and other divers. Rest assured I and other council members use the forums regularly although some of us are a little shy at posting! I am very pleased that we have been able to do dedicated members, branch officers, instructors, coaching & ITS and schools forums so that we can debate matters relevant to these groups in their own areas.

All the best
Marcus

[Richie N]

Yea, I'd like to echo the congrats also, Well done Keith and those responsible, its a little different from the old forums and so Im still finding my way about.

[Andy Wade]

Hi All,
I would like to welcome you all to the new BSAC Forums. A real achievement and testament to volunteer power. They look really good and have some great functionality. I am sure you will join me in thanking the dedicated team of volunteers lead by Keith Lawrence who have made it all possible and will continue to look after the site. I look forward to stimulating debate and the sharing of ideas with fellow members and other divers. Rest assured I and other council members use the forums regularly although some of us are a little shy at posting! I am very pleased that we have been able to do dedicated members, branch officers, instructors, coaching & ITS and schools forums so that we can debate matters relevant to these groups in their own areas.

All the best
Marcus

Yes, I remember the very first forums (and all their descendants), these ones are head and shoulders above what has gone before, and I'd also like to add my congratulations to Keith and his team for all their obvious hard work setting them up.
My personal favourite is the 'new posts' feature, which saves me loads of time trolling through the pages looking for them. Although one down side is getting the message:
Sorry, there are no new threads to view.
:(
I'm also reading all the posts now, because I only occasionally read the travel forums before.
And there's a re-write of bsac.org on the cards too. Excellent.
Whatever next?
Let's wait and see....
;)

[Tristan Green]

Whatever next?
Let's wait and see....

:) What next - well what would you like?

And, more importantly, what would you like to do to help us do it? :D

Glad to see everyone is enjoying the new forums and working out how to use them. If there is anything you think is missing or there is something you can't work out how to do then drop one of the admins a PM or stick a post on the feedback forum to let us know.

Cheers,
Tristan

[Keith Lawrence]

And there's a re-write of bsac.org on the cards too. Whatever next?

Well... I'm afraid a re-write of bsac.org isn't really "on the cards" Andy, it IS happenening and it's happening NOW! The guys from the specialist web design/CMS company were at HQ on Tuesday (I was there on other BSAC business) sorting out the detail with HQ and with Mike B. The new bsac.org will be brand new top-to-bottom and using a state-of-the-art CMS (Content Management System) to put the different areas of the BSAC directly in charge of their own content and keep it smack bang up-to-date. We're hoping for launch Q1 2006.

Whatever next? You want a list??? :rolleyes: See Tristan's post about the forums, your call folks - what do YOU want them to do? For the first time ever the HQ systems have a live data link to the web systems (that's how the members sections on here work), that opens up all kinds of possibilities for the future. Then there's Neptune - our replacement of all of the legacy HQ databases, that's going on right now as well, phase 1 due for launch Q1 2006. Future phases in 2006 are designed to give branch membership secretaries, and every BSAC member in fact, direct online access to their information at BSAC HQ. But that's just the main geek stuff Andy, your BSAC Anorak In Chief has fingers in a lot of BSAC pies and our new IT systems will help us to give new and improved service to all of our members in numerous areas.

So that's what we're up to Andy, that's just a taste of "Whatever next?". The plans have been laid over several years, a lot of the groundwork was put in place by the previous Council under Phil, the new Council under Marcus are building on that firm footing, piling in their own new ideas, improving things all of the time. It's a massive team effort, out of the other end of these changes will come a smack-bang-up-to-date BSAC of the 21st century to serve the needs of modern members in a modern world. Our years of tradition will still be there of course, but we're going to be doing it in a much better and much more professional way.

We are the Best Diving Club In The World, that is what we're going to continue being, but we're going to be even better at being it. That's "whatever next?" Andy. HTH :)

Keith L

[Odin]

I spend more time looking at this forum - than a certain other forum.
Well done team!

[Andy Wade]

Well... I'm afraid a re-write of bsac.org isn't really "on the cards" Andy, it IS happenening and it's happening NOW! The guys from the specialist web design/CMS company were at HQ on Tuesday (I was there on other BSAC business) sorting out the detail with HQ and with Mike B. The new bsac.org will be brand new top-to-bottom and using a state-of-the-art CMS (Content Management System) to put the different areas of the BSAC directly in charge of their own content and keep it smack bang up-to-date. We're hoping for launch Q1 2006.

Whatever next? You want a list??? See Tristan's post about the forums, your call folks - what do YOU want them to do? For the first time ever the HQ systems have a live data link to the web systems (that's how the members sections on here work), that opens up all kinds of possibilities for the future. Then there's Neptune - our replacement of all of the legacy HQ databases, that's going on right now as well, phase 1 due for launch Q1 2006. Future phases in 2006 are designed to give branch membership secretaries, and every BSAC member in fact, direct online access to their information at BSAC HQ. But that's just the main geek stuff Andy, your BSAC Anorak In Chief has fingers in a lot of BSAC pies and our new IT systems will help us to give new and improved service to all of our members in numerous areas.

So that's what we're up to Andy, that's just a taste of "Whatever next?". The plans have been laid over several years, a lot of the groundwork was put in place by the previous Council under Phil, the new Council under Marcus are building on that firm footing, piling in their own new ideas, improving things all of the time. It's a massive team effort, out of the other end of these changes will come a smack-bang-up-to-date BSAC of the 21st century to serve the needs of modern members in a modern world. Our years of tradition will still be there of course, but we're going to be doing it in a much better and much more professional way.

We are the Best Diving Club In The World, that is what we're going to continue being, but we're going to be even better at being it. That's "whatever next?" Andy. HTH :)

Keith L

Well, the 'whatever next' was a rhetorical question....
:)
Thanks for the very comprehensive reply though, I had an inkling of some of it :D , it does help others to see what's going on in the background, and for myself, I am hoping to be involved with something I've suggested before.

And you'll get no arguments from me about BSAC being ' The Best Diving Club In The World', I knew that already! http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Andy Wade]

I spend more time looking at this forum - than a certain other forum.
Well done team!

I know... phewww!... people keeping posting!
What's that all about?
:D

[Andy Nye]

Well done Keith and those responsible, Nice to see BSAC up to date with the latest Fourm software :D forums .

[Fiona]

I spend more time looking at this forum - than a certain other forum.
Well done team!

Paul haven't you got a patient to look after :D

[Odin]

Yes..But No...But yeah like... Why do you think the machine has alarms and goes "BING"!

[Janos]

Paul haven't you got a patient to look after :D

And he can multitask.

Janos

[Adrian Kelland]

And he can multitask.

Janos
That's his feminine side coming out. ;)

[timnicholls]

Congratulations to everyone at BSAC (Keith especially) for the new forum site - quick to load and easy to use. It's a great improvement and the prevalent spirit of "it's YOUR club, tell us what you want" is encouraging.

Tim, Wantage Dive Club Branch Secretary