I guess this question is for Clyde and Steve. Have postings fallen off since the shutdown of the old board? Seems like I am not reading as many posts per day as before.
By the way, after using the new board for awhile, I really like it.
Nice job guys!
Paul
I think so – and I have three hypotheses.
The state of the world
Natural ebbs and flows of any online discussion board. Have seen this time and again.
The change from what was, in retrospect, an unusually inviting message-thread setup on Clyde’s site. This new site is technically a huge step forward, and I am both admiring of and grateful to Steve, Mike, and others whose hard work has made it possible. It will provide the critical mass to make COPA a genuine force on important matters like recurrent training, ‘Copa Response,’ etc.
But the message-thread format itself is simply harder to get into, at least for me. In the old split-screen format, it was quick and easy to see what was new in a variety of threads. It’s harder work to follow a thread in this format.
The whole benefit of the new system is a step forward, and again I’m grateful. But the specific “bunch of guys around the bar” aspect is less convenient, imo, and therefore fewer people take the trouble to spout off.
I’ll agree with Jim F.'s comments, but I’ll also suggest that the number of useful (i. e., on-topic) posts seems to be unchanged. Personally, I’m more than delighted with the new forum and with everything that COPA has been doing on our behalf.
Cheers,
Roger
I agree with J. Fallows 100% Perhaps they could “adapt” Clyde’s website’s style. I does seem a little user/viewer friendly.
Dont get me wrong, I do aprreciate COPA’s effort trmendously.
Mario
I think my wife would vouch that it takes lots more than that to keep me from spouting off.
Andy
I have found it a lot easier to use the “flat” viewing method. You can then just select any message in a thread, having noted new items in it by the green icons. The entire thread is than all on one page, eliminating a lot of clicking.
Agree with Roger. “Signal” content steady; “noise” dropping off, with recent exception (see the Crescent Capital Conspiracy). This may be part of an eventual shift to Members section, which is virtually all Signal.
I agree with Gordon. Once you understand the software, it’s a great way to follow a topic. Plues the spel cheker means I dont half to use mycrosoft word to jenerate my mesage.
Walt
Am I right in thinking that there are far fewer posts to the new site? That is certainly the impression I get.
Are there any comparative stats available?
Attention Don 215
It certainly seemed that way at first, but now the volume seems to be picking up. If you look at the number of hits each thread gets, the volume is pretty good. I don’t know why it dropped off. Maybe it had to do with distractions of the events of 9/11 and what followed or people just getting used to the new format and functionality.
One other thing to consider, the posts are now divided into the 3 forums.
Marty
Hate to chime in with negativity, especially in times like these, but I can no longer resist. I ordered my SR20 in August of 1995. There has been a Cirrus discussion board virtually ever since. Long before Clyde adopted it Tom Bergeron ran one and I think he inherited it from someone else. To the point: for the last six years I’ve visited a Cirrus board of some sort many times EVERYDAY.
I think COPA is the best thing yet. I admire those who’ve volunteered to run it and am amazed at their professionalism, dedication, and knowledge. I joined the second I was aware it existed. So much of what they provide and plan to provide is invaluable and long overdue. BUT, these news boards are difficult to use in all regards. I find myself skipping over the bookmark instead of going to it first. I visit rarely. I’m saddened. This was my Cirrus lifeblood. I’m certain that this is a tide that can’t be turned, but please count my vote for “it was way better before.”
I hate to be redundant, but the more I use this new software interface, the more I like it. Nobody likes change, because it takes some investment in time to learn the new way to do old things. The software just seems to be more logical. (Okay I’m an engineer “who cannot lead a normal life”)
Hang in there,
Walt N224AZ
I find myself in the same camp:
I’ve actually tried to think what, exactly, I don’t like about it. It’s NOT that it is worse than the typical discussion-group system. On the contrary – it’s much better than most. For instance, there is a Yahoo forum concerning a marvelous shareware program called Zoot. (More info: www.zootsoftware.com) The message-board software on Yahoo is really crude, but I persevere because the info is useful. Many features of this new system are quite elegant.
The “problem” with the new system is that the previous SR20.org software was phenomenally convenient for following the progress of a discussion. The split-screen approach made everything about the process easy. By comparison, this seems harder. In specific:
I’m not proposing any “solution” – and if less-convenient software is the price of COPA’s emergence, on balance it’s obviously worth it. But FWIW I feel the way C Blake does.
Wally,
Thanks for the note! I think the issue is that, just like airplanes or anything else, not everybody agrees on what’s best. And that’s probably a good thing, in general. Please keep your comments/suggestions coming. Feel free to email me with any specific suggestions on how to improve the site (but be warned; I’m still working through the suggestions I’ve received so far and it may take several weeks or more to do that!)
To answer the original question, the number of posts on the the COPA Forums for the week of Sat 10/6 to Sat 10/13 was 278.
The total number of posts on sr20.org AND COPA Forums the week of Sat 9/1 to Sat 9/8 was 263. I can’t easily count only those which were posted on SR20.org, but the majority were. [I picked 9/1 to 9/8 because there was a huge amount of traffic for the couple weeks after 9/11, and it didn’t seem fair to count all those!]
So, using this very non-statistically-significant measure, the number of posts is roughly the same.
Steve
I agree with Mr. Blake and Mr. Fallows,
I am no longer having great Cirrus days… 
PS. It is not that I don’t like changes, on the other hand I do, anything for improvement. IMOHO the old one was much more fun. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a choice?
Steve,
In my opinion, the old format was a little bit better. But, it had nowhere near the potential COPA now has, and that heavily outweighs any look and feel issues on the forum to me. The other benefits that COPA is working on will be of great assistance to us owners over the upcoming years.
Steve: You are doing a terrific job! I admit that I am none too impartial, but like many, it took a while for me to come around to the new format. Once I ‘found’ the Control Panel and could adjust my preferences like the number of posts visible per page and the size of the message reply box, I have been happier. Also, learning all of the buttons and options on the Index page really helps as well.
When you posted the stats for the new and old Forums, was that including all 3 COPA forums (public, members only and marketplace)?
And one more thing… I love the spell checker. It makes up for my lousy tying and now that I don’t mispell animore, I look reasonabley inteligent.
Marty
There is a next button which takes you to the next discussion topic but for the most part if you’re interested in a topic, you want to read the posts inside that thread. Many message boards have both a Next Button as well as a Next in Thread Button. Same holds true for Previous and Previous in Thread. This would seem to be the simplest solution if it is possible to program.
OT: Is how the message board looks and operates really keeping you from having a great Cirrus Day?
I didn’t like the new site when it first came out, but after using it for a few weeks, I think the new site is much better. Using flat mode and the back button, I am able to find and read all new posts much faster than on the old site. Thanks for all the hard work!