Some thoughts on this forum

[Lurker]

A poster in the visa forum asked why his thread had been moved here. The explanations made sense--by subject matter it belongs here. But I can see his point: so far, this forum has not caught fire. Topics moved here generally don't see an much activity, and no activity breeds more of the same. And that's a shame, because as CFL members start new lives, culture and langage will matter.

 

So I'm thinking....

 

Maybe it was too early to create a separate topic. Perhaps the main forum, left to its own devices, would evolve to cover language and culture.

 

Or maybe the forum index page should be reconfigured so that this forum is more prominent.

 

Or maybe the forum should just be regarded more as an archive for related threads.

 

Or maybe not. But I think some alternatives at least worth considering.

[chinadave2001]

Hi Lurker,

I make a point of checking this index once a day - but I sort of like it the way it is. Here things get a chance to percolate a bit - and are easy to find. In the other visa delay grouping, they would disappear after one or two days....just my thoughts.

dave

[Lurker]

Here things get a chance to percolate a bit - and are easy to find. In the other visa delay grouping, they would disappear after one or two days....

Almost every thread here began life in the visa forum and was subsequently moved. The advantage, as you point out, is that they are easy to find. And together, the threads are becoming a valuable resource. But because this forum is less frequented, contributions fall off. And so the original poster is apt to complain, rightly or wrongly, that the move is premature, that it stopped the conversation.

 

Perhaps the answer is to move the thread only after it has dropped off of page 1 of the visa forum.

[AZwolfman]

Perhaps the answer is to post such as Eric did..........AOS...follow this link to the other forum. Or maybe a pinned post at top of forum explaining this new forum and a link to it. The general forum will always be the most frequented. There will always be newbies, and they will likely ignore the other forums unless specifically made aware and directed.

[owenkrout]

I appreciated Eric's approach since it helped to advertise the existence of the forum to others.

[Lurker]

I did the same thing at the bottom of this thread. You do need to be slightly obsessive about the CFL interface.

 

For a few years, I hosted a small conference on a large commercial board--and agree with AZwolfman: the general forum will always be the most frequented. Or rather, there will always be some forum where most people, particularly newbies, will gravitate--just as in a party, there will always be one room where most people will go.

[AZwolfman]

Lurker,

I like your solution, and this will work well for someone who wants to post a reply to or continue a thread that should be placed in the C&L forum. But what about the person who wants to start a new thread, unrelated to any other post (but still belongs in the C&L)? Perhaps we should post a topic in the most-frequented forum and get the feedback of the majority. This thread has 'percoloated' for some time in this forum and still not much feedback.

[Lurker]

This thread has 'percoloated' for some time in this forum and still not much feedback.

Exactly. And a nearby thread on jobs for newly arrived fiancees posted here got only two replies, even though the topic is presumably of wide interest. Presumably, it would have attracted a bigger response in the main forum

[owenkrout]

Considering the feed back and the actual practice of members, I am inclined right now to let any topic percolate for awhile on the main board before I move it to here. At this point at least, this forum seems to have its greatest value as a repository for information and discussion that would otherwise be difficult to find in the clutter of all the posts on the main board.

 

PJ's concept was to lessen the clutter on the main board for the benefit of those who were only wanting to find visa information. However, I don't want to have the effect of limiting the discussion of these topics which I consider very important for the long term of any marriage mixing these two cultures.