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Grex > Coop8 > #63: Making "Intro" the default conference | |
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| Author |
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| 25 new of 126 responses total. |
tsty
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response 75 of 126:
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May 15 09:21 UTC 1996 |
ok, weknt back to intro.cf and, yes, linked-from is identified somewhere
in each item. I really didn't mean to suggest that links were not
identified, but i did anyway, unintentionally - sorry.
What i had meant to say was that due to (i guess) technical
constraints, the link-from can't always be vvery early in the item. The
from-link may be 30 responses into the item. That's ok in the long run.
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selena
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response 76 of 126:
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May 18 19:30 UTC 1996 |
Hmmm.. would they be able to try out any cf, from the getgo?
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scott
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response 77 of 126:
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May 18 22:43 UTC 1996 |
Sure, but as usual, the problem is that they don't yet know *How* to try out
other conferences.
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scott
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response 78 of 126:
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May 24 21:52 UTC 1996 |
OK, it sounds like most people are in favor of trying the Intro conference.
Now how do we actually do that?
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yoyo
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response 79 of 126:
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May 25 16:22 UTC 1996 |
In answer to the question posed how do we know if it works thats easy it will
show new people popping up in confs. And perhaps even a nice Email to thank
new users An auto welcome to Grex bbs with staff names and FW names A nice
welcome to the family greeting. (keyed up for second use of there account
somehow?) I was a newbie not too long ago and I know I would have liked to
see someone "In charge" say hi.
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scott
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response 80 of 126:
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May 25 16:26 UTC 1996 |
*That's* an interesting idea! My SCO Unix system sends welcome mail to every
new account. I wonder if it would be good for us to do that. And on bbs?
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carson
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response 81 of 126:
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May 25 21:15 UTC 1996 |
Chinet does that upon completing newuser.
[or should I say "did?"] =(
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adbarr
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response 82 of 126:
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May 26 00:29 UTC 1996 |
Second # 79.
Feel welcome messages, sincerely written, and sincerely felt, can do wonders.
Do this. My early experience here made me feel quite welcome as people
expressed such in the conferences, but an official message, with names
and email addresses would make me think this is a system that cares a little
about me. And "me" am important to "me".
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tsty
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response 83 of 126:
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May 29 07:54 UTC 1996 |
this same idea was not acted on the couple times i suggested it - and that's
just fine w/me. a couple of my 'newbe' ideas were implemented so i
feel pretty good about 'new ideas'.
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popcorn
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response 84 of 126:
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May 29 14:18 UTC 1996 |
Implementation suggestion: Put a wrapper around bbs that tests for a .cflist
file. If the user doesn't have one, describe the intro and agora conferences,
and ask which one the user would prefer to start out in. Then create a
.cflist file that says either "intro" or "agora". Since the file exists, the
user won't be asked the question again, the next time they run bbs. The
contents of the file will put the user automatically into either intro or
agora.
Drawback: for everybody, bbs would start up slightly more slowly.
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janc
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response 85 of 126:
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May 31 16:54 UTC 1996 |
I implemented a prototype "wrapper" for bbs that would do this. What it
does:
if you invoked "bbs" without naming a conference to join, and you don't
have a .cflist
then
print a message explaining about intro and agora.
ask which you want as your default conference.
create a .cflist, containing two conferences, intro and agora, with
the one you selected listed first
endif
launch the real "bbs" program.
If you answer the question bizarrely, it will ask up to two more times, and
then default you to "intro" if you still make no sense.
If this is installed, all users who don't have .cflists will see the question
the next time they join bbs.
Possibility: if the user already has a participation file for agora or intro,
then don't ask the question. This would slow it down more, but fewer old
users would have to answer this.
We still need to write some text to print before answering the question. It
should include some explanation about what we mean by a "default conference"
and some description of the two conferences. John Remmers had suggested for
the latter part:
intro - moderated sampler of items from various conferences,
updated frequently
agora - unmoderated general discussion conference
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remmers
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response 86 of 126:
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May 31 17:43 UTC 1996 |
I think John Remmers' suggested wording is excellent and should be
installed forthwith. :)
My use of the terms "moderated" and "unmoderated" were inspired by
a remark Mark Conger (aruba) made -- lots of newusers will already
be familiar with usenet news, where the terms "moderated newsgroup"
and "unmoderated newsgroup" are well-understood. This wording will
give such users a clue as to the nature of the choice they're
making.
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robh
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response 87 of 126:
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May 31 17:46 UTC 1996 |
I like the Remmers Phrasing as well.
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davel
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response 88 of 126:
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May 31 18:22 UTC 1996 |
Jan, you know *much* more about this than I do, but just in case ... are you
checking for $HOME/.cfdir/.cflist as well as $HOME/.cflist?
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janc
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response 89 of 126:
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Jun 1 02:42 UTC 1996 |
Yup. And will create the .cflist in the .cfdir if a .cfdir exists.
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popcorn
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response 90 of 126:
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Jun 1 04:49 UTC 1996 |
I'd suggest more of an explanation of the fact that the user is being asked
to make a choice between startup conferences. Also a bit more verbiage about
each conference, to account for users who don't know what the word "moderated"
means.
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janc
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response 91 of 126:
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Jun 1 18:06 UTC 1996 |
Nobody should see this message more than once, so I think it would be safe
to print a longer explanation.
Footnote: I personally thing giving a choice is a bad idea. I coded it
because I'm a sucker for a programming problem. But don't expect me to
take the lead in figuring out wording for this. It's not my baby.
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popcorn
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response 92 of 126:
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Jun 2 01:47 UTC 1996 |
How about:
You are about to join Grex's conferences for the first time. Grex has over
80 conferences. You will start out in either the "intro" conference or the
"agora" conference.
The "intro" conference is a sampler of discussions from all over Grex. It
is a good starting point for figuring out how to use the conferences. It is
maintained by a person called a moderator, who selects introductory items for
you to see. If you are new to conferencing, this is a good place to start.
The "agora" conference is Grex's general-purpose conference where hundreds
of Grex users talk about dozens of different topics. You can find system
announcements here, and deep discussions -- and deep drivel, too. You'll be
on your own to sort through Agora to find the things that interest you.
Which conference would you like to start out in: intro or agora?
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robh
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response 93 of 126:
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Jun 2 02:07 UTC 1996 |
Looks good to me. I did like having the actual words
"moderated" and "unmoderated" in the descriptions, though.
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janc
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response 94 of 126:
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Jun 2 03:13 UTC 1996 |
Since this will be shown to *all* users who do not have a .cflist, and many
of those users have been using the conferences for a long time, the first
sentance of #92 isn't so good. Maybe instead something like:
Historically, users entering Grex's conferencing system have been placed
first in Grex's rather overwhelming "agora" conference. We are now
offering the new "intro" conference as an alternative entry point to the
conferences. You may choose which of the two you want to start in.
Followed by a description of the two conferences. The idea is that it should
make sense to experienced bbs users as well as newcomers. A more purely
new-comer oriented language can be adopted after this has been up for a while.
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chelsea
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response 95 of 126:
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Jun 2 13:06 UTC 1996 |
I like Jan's first paragraph and support robh's request that each
of the conferences be clearly defined as being moderated vs. unmoderated.
I'd even go a bit farther and want it made clear that moderated is
something Grex doesn't do routinely. Moderated is a real turn off
to a whole lot of people, myself included, and I'd hate to give folks
the impression that we like that style of conferencing.
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kerouac
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response 96 of 126:
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Jun 2 20:34 UTC 1996 |
why are new users to be FORCED to choose between just agora or intro? Why
cant they choose whicever of ALL grex's confs they would like as default
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scg
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response 97 of 126:
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Jun 2 20:41 UTC 1996 |
They can, Richard. The goal here, though, is not to overwhelm them with all
fo that at once.
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robh
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response 98 of 126:
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Jun 2 20:42 UTC 1996 |
There is such a thing as information overload, my friend.
If I were a new user and I were forced to wade through the
descriptions of 80 conferences before I could start, I'd hit
Ctrl-C and go to party.
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robh
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response 99 of 126:
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Jun 2 20:42 UTC 1996 |
(scg slipped in.)
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