Ben
Thanks. I'm quite pleased. I'd never used this package before two days ago yet I should admit to a history of design accross several media - so I have some clue as to what I am doing.
but always a joy to hear from others your sense of "what is right" for a particular project echoes with them too.
My intention is to be exceptionally democratic about how this place is run. I think Anders was disappointed the forum did not get lots of members - I don't know but I am guessing. My experience in growing communities is that they must grow at a manageable pace. I felt we had a really good ground established at vipassanaforum.com and that it would have soon leapt to 500 members and have been capable of doing so. The posting there was so sane and well intentioned. And no flaming. But without the 50 establishing a good ground first, 500 would not have functioned perhaps.
We have eleven members I think less than 48 hrs after launch. Some of the people Joe invited probably haven't even opened their emails yet. In a month I think we will be up at 50 members and at that level the old board was great. I would not be surprised if in a year there are lots of active members. I don't want to guess how many. I wanted to start a structural form to the boards that would be the natural path in any case without laying down excessive structure. This will help the community work in stronger ways I think. With the Boards, there is a logic to what I have done based on this, that so far, I have not explained:
Introductions is obvious. I have kept it to one thread so it will just grow forever. I wanted newcomers to take a look easily at who is around so they can take an instant call on their feelings about this sangha.
Practice and Path is the main meat of the old website and will be in this one. I wanted that to have a section all of its own and it would have needed one eventually. That section may subdivide .. we can add stickied posts e.g. "An Introduction to meditation" .. all sorts of opportunities to develop it as needs and wishes become apparant.
I also wanted Dhamma resources: text and teachings, audio and video to be shared, like a virtual library of effective materials. This would eventually emerge in any case in my opinion so I thought I would do it now. I really think this section is less forum and see it more as a library - I was thinking of asking you to be librarian if you fancied the role.
There is always a need for the off topic stuff people want to ask/share hence "The Chatterbox" which means people won't feel bad about posting something they perceive shouldn't be on a meditation website. There is a place to do it. There is permission implicit to do it. It is all Dhamma.
Website: Feedback and suggestions. For now thats a main topic because frankly I didn't think I would have it running so quick and early stages I want feedback to get things right. I don't think I will be changing much around now ..... but .....
I have software to do a wiki on Buddhist/meditation terminology and language .... for every member to have their own blog ...... to have an intro page which offers people a video lecture on how to meditate before entering the forums ... ... many ideas and possibilities .... a wiki will be like a huge FAQ for beginners for example.
But ... as I said at the beginning ... I plan to be exceptionally democratic. I am the benevolent dictator by accident of this website as I bought it, paid for the hosting, built it and hold the keys.
Yet in how it grows, and where, everything will be user lead. Now it may not grow at all - none of us knows - but if it does - and the way I have coded the site means it will score high on google so it may well do so - then also the way I have set things now gives a good ground for people to find their way quickly to certain things and a structure within which the community will then "make its own space".
In the Dhamma,
Matthew
*Librarian: moderator of the resources section.
Topic: Website and forum related matters. Post questions, suggestions and requests (Read 8604 times)
April 27, 2011, 10:59:21 AM
