do you like this ? VOTE

[bas]

Hello All,

This a new forum. do you like it ?

[excitableone]

this seems to be perfect!!

[Cat]

I'm quite fond of the original forum.

[dobbs]

to an old friend like the original forum. But, I think this will be just fine.

[Progress]

I like it better than the old one.
The old one was nice in that it was one uniform page to scroll through, but this one is much more organized and pretty well separated. You can keep certain discussions separate from other topics. It's better than scrolling through all the stuff you don't want to read just to get to what you do want to read.

Good work Bas....

[BlueBerry]

I definitely like it much better:))

Thanks so much Bas!

BlueBerry

[Porkchop]

Everythings working now Bas...Thanks

Porkchop

[LastHamlet]

Like Cat said I was Kinda fond of the old forum, but this is really nice.
It took a lot of work I am sure. You are the man, BAS.

[Bohannon]

I like it. The old one is, as mentioned before, like an old friend. Life is change.

[Dogbreath]

........ I thought the old format was just fine. Yes, there are problems with dimwits posting........ and we all seem to stoop down to their levels from time to time..... but the old format could still work fine IF due dillegence is given to deleting insulting and highly irrelevant posts.

That said..... some suggestions:

- Registration: Glad to see registration is not mandatory to post. Personally, information about my personal activities could impact my professional life. I will not register for the reason stated as well as the threatning political situation in the US.... regarding personal cannabis use.

- If we must have this new format, why couldn't each of the sub forums be setup like the old forum... where one can quickly scroll down and immediatly see items of interest... without having to "dig" into the subtopics. I hate having to click to see a subtopic.

- Segregation of topics can be difficult. If doing a travelogue, and my rambling travelogues cover many topics from culture in Holland to coffee shops to red light districts to observing simply the Dutch and sometimes making fun of Dutch characteristics...... I am now faced with the dilema of where to post.

- It is not clear to me how the new format will keep the dimwits/flamers etc. away. The flamers will still post... since registration is not required. The new format does not correct that number one problem the forum has been facing in recent months.

But perhaps I am just in a rut and my general inertia is reluctant to change.

The problem is not the format... it is keeping the flamers in check.

:-) DOgbreath

[bas]

He dogbreath, you can easily register with your _nl email.

The doubts you have are also mine, i liked the way it was
but as you can see, this will have more advantages than
disadvantages.

Greetingz,

Bas

[ScoobieSnack]

This seems pretty good to me Bas, thank for all your efforts

[ScoobieSnack]

I love the new forum, but I do have one question. I am a computer idiot, how do I get a cool thing under my name like Porkchop who has porky pig ??? I am jealous !!

[SB]

Scoobie Snack,

At the top of the page you should see a button that reads "profile" Click on that.

At the bottom of the screen you will see "avatars" This is where you upload your picture. If you have a cool picture on your computer just browse to that location and select. Remember that the picture cannot be a .bmp. Now if you see a cool picture on a website you can just right click the picture and select properties. You will then see a URL like http://www.xxx/com/xxx/xxx.gif. YOu can copy the text an place in the URL spot to upload the avatars. If you have any problems send me a private message and I will help out.

SB

[sea]

much as I liked the old format, I can see that this'll be better (once we all get used to it). My last trip report got buried in a matter of days!

[confuzn]

> - Registration: Glad to see registration is not mandatory
> to post. Personally, information about my personal activities
> could impact my professional life. I will not register for the
> reason stated as well as the threatening political situation
> in the US.... regarding personal cannabis use.

You don't have to add your personal information to the forum to register, if it is something like an email address, get one from hotmail. Even an anonymous post can be
tracked, if "they" really wanted to "find" you they could.

> - If we *must* have this new format, why couldn't each of
> the sub forums be setup like the old forum... where one can quickly
> scroll down and immediatly see items of interest... without having
> to "dig" into the subtopics. I hate having to click
> to see a subtopic.

One of the points of the new forum was to seperate the non-amsterdam politics from real relevant posts, so that members of the boars still had the opportunity to post
regaurding non-Amsterdam topics. Hopefully without getting their feelings hurt. Even though this is an Amsterdam board people still want to discuss other topics also.

> - Segregation of topics can be difficult. If doing a travelogue,
> and my rambling travelogues cover many topics from culture in
> Holland to coffee shops to red light districts to simply observing
> the Dutch and sometimes making fun of Dutch characteristics......
> I am now faced with the dilema of where to post.

Then propose a new topic for Travelogues! Better yet I will.

> - It is not clear how the new format will keep the dimwits/flamers
> etc. away. The flamers will still post... since registration
> is not required. The new format does not correct that number
> one problem the forum has been facing in recent months.

Moderators and Moderation! The *Registered* Moderating forum members can get rid of flamers quickly.

> But perhaps I am just in a rut and my general inertia is
> reluctant to change.

I agree, I like the old board, but there are too many pros about the new one than to keep the old one.

> The problem is not the format... it is keeping the flamers
> in check.

If the problem is the flamers.... What was the gripe about registration? With registered regulars and moderators, we can not eliminate, but greatly reduce the problems with
the flamers.

confuzn

[LaTristesseDurera]

I definitely like the new format. Although registration is not mandatory at least it might prevent people from getting in these neverending arguments, as they could ignore unregistered responses from the get go. I understand Dogbreath's concern. It really makes me appreciate not having to work for corporate America anymore. You could seriously jeopardize your entire life by letting people know you smoke the dreaded marijuana.

[Bohannon]

gotta select just the right image tou know!

[a bollocks]

I like the new format. I like the old one. Whatever floats our collective boat to Amsterdam! I, also, just hadda post to see the avatar.


WOOT!

[BB]

Bas,
Excellent job, you can certainly tell that you expended a great deal of time & energy on this new forum. Nice touch of letting us add a little photo. I had been watching the old forum, but was not posting simply due to the increased knuckleheads who were annoying everyone. I know you did not want to go the route of registration and passwords, but it doesnt bother me, hopefuly it wont bother the other "Irregulars". Now to start preparing for our annual March trip.
Thanks again,
BB

[meddy]

I don't post very often, but read the forum every day.
The old format was fine for me, since I visit daily and therefore did not miss much.
This will work great for those who don't have time to visit everyday or are looking for specific information/topics.
Thanks for everything Bas, The Channels is my favorite website.

[Lazy stones]

Well done bas this is much better. Quite fun seeing some of the posters pictures as well !!

[SomeBozo]

The major thing wrong with the old forum was the flamers and spammers. Hopefully this new forum will stop that, so I'm all for it!

[spliff]

this is cool,i thik the trip report section is a great idea!

[Mr. Charlie]

I like this format - it is similar to others I am used to and I like the layout better. Good choice!!

[Cougar Ric]

Tons better. There's loads more posts than before. For example I only posted once every few weeks but now I reckon I'll post more than 20 times that much. Thanks for this!

[Bear in Amsterdam]

What you have succeeded in doing was taking an interesting mismash of topics and create one of these moronic guessing games, like so many web sites where you try to buy things and cannot even succeed in guessing how this is done...

People like you who design these things have spent far too much time with the concerns of amateur programers or too much time in the sun. Normal people will not have the time or the interest to play thru your little game and you will lose whatever base you had...

Not that I would mind somehow having the empty headed who are interested in the red light district and drugs out of our lives forever... I guess it does have that possibility... lol

Bear

[Puffin13]

After many years of the old forum, I kinda hate to see it go. I have seen this kind of layout on other sites and really like the way it organizes the posts by topics; something that was lacking in the old forum.
Bas, as usual, you have done a GREAT job. Dank u wel, Bas! Peace. Puffin13

[MadJack]

I really like it. I like the idea of being able to click onto there websites without leaving this one. Keep up the good work Bas.

MadJack

[bdette]

I'm a computer idiot! I wanna know how to get those cool pictures, etc.