Replacement BSAC Forums : Beta Testers Needed

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Hi All

Some of you offered to help us set up and test our new forums, we are now at the stage where we could do with some help. So I would like to invite some of our regulars over to <a href="http://new.bsacforum.co.uk/" >http://new.bsacforum.co.uk/</a> to give us a hand.

It's early days, it's a brand new forum running the latest software on a brand new test server. Expect problems and downtime and we know it's not right - which is why I'm asking for some help :-) You will have to register and we're running manual user moderation (acceptance) at present, we'll open it up a bit more later when it's stabalised.

Please don't comment on here about the new forums - keep the traffic over there to give us some volume testing. This is your chance to have some major input into how your new forums are going to be set up.

Thanks All

Keith L
BSAC IT Team Leader

p.s. The new server itself is under test, it may vanish for periods whilst it is configured, don't be surprised if we're unavailable for a while!

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Well thank you all! Quite a magnificant response from people intent on breaking my nice new forums ;-) I've had to turn off new registrations for now - we've identified a problem with email from the server which means that some people can't register properly. So for now I've turned registrations off, I'll let you know when we're open for new business again.

Keith L

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Things continue to go well over on <a href="http://new.bsacforum.co.uk/" >http://new.bsacforum.co.uk/</a> we've ironed out several problems (including our email), added some new facilities and generally been getting on with the testing.

I've opened up the registration system again for new beta testers, we're still manually enabling testers but hopefully that wont continue for too long. If any of you would like to help with the setting up and testing then come and join in, these are your forums and if you would like a say in how they are initially set up then now is your chance.

Thanks All

Keith L
BSAC IT Team Leader

[Philip Smith]

Things continue to go well over on <a href="http://new.bsacforum.co.uk/" >http://new.bsacforum.co.uk/</a> we've ironed out several problems (including our email), added some new facilities and generally been getting on with the testing.

Congratulations on the progress on the new forums. I look forward to using the new system.

Earlier, I and others suggested that "Medical" and "Technical" should be in separate forums, and in previously-circulated "cuts" back in August they were. Has it been finally decided that they are to be conjoined again?

There were also requests for no-nonsense, straightfoward forum names, and at one stage there was a move in that direction, but now we are back to fancy, multi-word titles, which are not particularly easy to scan through quickly.

I fully accept that I may have a minority opinion and that my suggestions may not ultimately be adopted, but I hope these things are not yet set in stone.

Phil S

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Earlier, I and others suggested that "Medical" and "Technical" should be in separate forums, and in previously-circulated "cuts" back in August they were. Has it been finally decided that they are to be conjoined again?

There were also requests for no-nonsense, straightfoward forum names, and at one stage there was a move in that direction, but now we are back to fancy, multi-word titles, which are not particularly easy to scan through quickly.

I fully accept that I may have a minority opinion and that my suggestions may not ultimately be adopted, but I hope these things are not yet set in stone.

Hi Phil

There has been discussion on this as you've probably seen. The concensus seems to be that rather than create a maze of forums initially which will only have a few posts rattling about it is better to start smaller and expand as needs change. The forum software is very flexible, when we say "go" that wont be the finishing point - that will just be the starting point!

Forum Names? We did trim them once, obviously not enough for some :-) Come and join us on the new forums now Phil as a beta tester, make your point on there, it will be discussed, on some things we've had a staw poll and decided it that way. These new forums are very much the members forums, virtually all of my original ideas have been chucked out or modified :-)

Cheers

Keith L