The Calendar

[RockyR]

Hey Guys,

I have a suggestion... as membership grows, the only thing the calendar function is serving right now is a list of birthdays. If you look at it, it's VERY easy to miss events posted in the mess of birthdays shown.

I am not sure if I'll be "boo-ed off stage" for suggesting this (perhaps a member poll?), but if the birthdays weren't shown (since the CURRENT DAY'S birthdays ARE listed elsewhere on the site... on the homepage), it would be MUCH easier to see what's going on at a glance. Right now, I look at the calendar and all I see are people's handles, half of which don't post (at least on a regular basis). I'd MUCH rather see a list of kilt nights and festivals and stuff (actual events) rather than some guy's birthday who posted three times in 2004.

Thoughts?

[Panache]

I don't know about Dee and Rob, but for me it is really helpful to look ahead and see who's birthdays are coming up on my days.

Cheers

Panache

[RockyR]

Is there a way to be able to HIDE the birthdays?

Could we have 2 separate calendars... a "Birthday calendar" and an "Event Calendar"?

[Pour1Malt]

aye- ai'm wi' Rocky oan this yin...

ai have taken time tae post a lot of events tae the calendar- an ai ne'er seem tae see them....

[The Wizard of BC]

I heartly agree with Rocky on this one. As our membership has grown over the last year it seems we have more birthday and advancement announcements than anything else.
As we get even larger, as I feel we are going to, I see the day when announcements like this fill the threads and hide the really juicy stuff. Birthday announcements are already on the home page each day. Advancements to the next level of accumulated posts are only important to the person advancing. (And again perhaps it's just me, 'cause I don't post often and therefore don't advance quite as fast as some.)
I read every new post, every day, and it seems that wading thru all the announcements is taking more and more space each day.
Within the software limits of the forum, let's see if we can find a creative way to celebrate without filling the forum with gratuitious, post-padding, individual threads for each event.
I'm stepping off the soap box now. Next!

[RockyR]

Thanks for the back up Steve...

To sort of run with that, we do still need a place to have individual threads about kilt nights and stuff (to orgainze how many people are coming and make reservations and whatnot), but I agree that the individual threads get lost in the pile. Heck... I posted about last night's "Philly Kilt night" 2 days ago and it's already near the BOTTOM of the "Kilt Nights" page.

Having a calendar with less "clutter" will also help from people having to "bump" their event thread back to the top of the heap.

[Panache]

I heartly agree with Rocky on this one. As our membership has grown over the last year it seems we have more birthday and advancement announcements than anything else.
As we get even larger, as I feel we are going to, I see the day when announcements like this fill the threads and hide the really juicy stuff. Birthday announcements are already on the home page each day. Advancements to the next level of accumulated posts are only important to the person advancing. (And again perhaps it's just me, 'cause I don't post often and therefore don't advance quite as fast as some.)
I read every new post, every day, and it seems that wading thru all the announcements is taking more and more space each day.
Within the software limits of the forum, let's see if we can find a creative way to celebrate without filling the forum with gratuitious, post-padding, individual threads for each event.
I'm stepping off the soap box now. Next!

Here's a suggestion: Would it be better to have a weekly "Honors List".
Birthdays would still be recognized on the individual's birthday. But all the promotions would be put to the forum in one thread once a week. This would keep the fun of the promotions but cut down on the space they take. It might also cut down on the post padding that happens, as the congratulations for all would for all would be in one post. I think that perhaps the Higher ranks like "Legend" and "Grand Defender of the Kilt" might warrant a special post.

Just an idea.

Cheers

Panache

[Mike1]

Is there a way to be able to HIDE the birthdays?

Could we have 2 separate calendars... a "Birthday calendar" and an "Event Calendar"?

I heartly agree with Rocky on this one.

Sheesh, are you NEVER content?

OK, everybody go click on the Calendar link and oohh and aahh to your heart's content. There are now two calendars. The Default calendar is for events only.

And to keep the House Chairmen happy, there is still a Birthday calendar. Sorry guys, but you will have to scroll to the bottom of the Default calendar page, click the down arrow at Calendar Jump and select the Birthday Calendar from the drop-down menu. I know, I know, it is going to require a bit of extra effort to get to the birthdays, but there are only three of you. If I had made the birthdays appear on the Default calendar, there would have been a minimum of fourteen people griping, so youse guys lose. (And if you think I am haiverin' on the fourteen, I am as serious as a heart attack.)

As our membership has grown over the last year it seems we have more birthday and advancement announcements than anything else. As we get even larger, as I feel we are going to, I see the day when announcements like this fill the threads and hide the really juicy stuff. Birthday announcements are already on the home page each day. Advancements to the next level of accumulated posts are only important to the person advancing. (And again perhaps it's just me, 'cause I don't post often and therefore don't advance quite as fast as some.) I read every new post, every day, and it seems that wading thru all the announcements is taking more and more space each day.
Within the software limits of the forum, let's see if we can find a creative way to celebrate without filling the forum with gratuitious, post-padding, individual threads for each event.

Well a certain code warrior (who shall remain unnamed ) is likely licking his chops on this one, because I'm going to step right in here and agree with you Steve.

All joking aside, I purposely stayed out of a similar discussion. Panache had offered a very PC explanation about post counts and I was aware that I would not have been nearly so kind and gentle.

Some of you may have noticed that I've made comment in the past about shutting the post counts off, entirely. Frankly, there are some days when it seems post counts and rank advancements are more noteworthy than anything else taking place on this forum. The ranks were set up at a time when members would be advanced by submitting informative posts about kilts and topics related to kilts. As is typical with forums that use member ranks, that somehow evolved into some sort of competition of who could get to a higher rank first. And that is well outside the spirit of the ranking system.

For those that can remember the dozens of posts about how the total membership number was approaching the 1,000 mark, have you noticed how close we're getting to 2,000? Deja vu, all over again.

Yes, if the decision were mine to make, the post counts would disappear completely. No ranks, no counts and no bragging rights. Just a discussion forum where like-minded people gather together to share their common interests. I have absolutely no idea of what the various levels of advancement are, nor do I know how many posts I have accumulated and how close I might be to the next level of rank. I don't know because I don't care. <shrug> At the end of the day, what difference does it really make?

Just to clarify, posts submitted to the Celebration Zone and to Off Topic are not added to a member's totals for rank advancement. Steve's suggestion (and I'm not singling you out Steve, as I've received PM's and e-mails from dozens of other members about it) of post-padding is not happening in those two forum sections. On the other hand, how many replies will there be to my initial question?

I recognize there are often threads in Off Topic that are educational, but the ability to name a dozen song titles in a single afternoon shouldn't be considered for rank advancement on a kilt-related forum, either.

I don't want anyone to think I have a problem with members having a bit of fun on this forum, because I certainly don't. I think the game-type threads have a place on a well-rounded forum, even though you'll never see me posting there. There's no future in trying to run a dry, stuffy and academic forum, so I support the idea of having a place to lighten up. Vacation pictures and vehicle pictures help provide that, so keep them coming. And if you want to play word games or song games, have at it. Just try to remember the fun and games forum sections are but small parts of a much larger kilt forum.

We do listen when members make suggestions about the forum. Some of the suggestions are really good ones. Some of them are stinkers. But we try to weigh each one on its own merits and if we see one will improve the overall forum experience for our members, we try to implement it. The calendar suggestion is one such example.

I'm stepping off the soap box now. Next!

And you'll likely never make the mistake of letting me near it again!

[The Wizard of BC]

No Mike, I'm never content. I want an automatic Spell Checker, and an English Language usage correcter - in English, Canadian, and Amurican!!! I want smilies with beards, I want my posts to be highlighted more than anyone elses. I want, I want........................
Need I go on?
Why is this not perfect already???????? I mean it's been hours since Rocky started this thread.

[RockyR]

Holy fast SERVICE Batman! That looks GREAT and is exactly what I was thinking about. Thanks for being so attentive to our suggestions and needs. Maybe now we can easily start using the calendar!

Can I make another suggestion? Put a STICKY in the Highland Games category and the Kilt Night category giving suggestions HOW to post on the calendar to give it an EASY (at a glance) & UNIFORM appeal... Sticky i.e.:

When you would like to make note of an event, please follow this general setup:

Title: CITY WHERE IT'S HELD / Name of event
i.e. Philadelphia PA Area Kilt Night at Brittinghams
i.e. Bethlehem PA Celtic Classic Festival
i.e. San Diego CA Kilt Night at McKeown's Pub

The BODY of the message should answer the following questions:

Who, What, When, Where, How

Example:
Who: Kilt wearers and friends in the Philadelphia Area... The band playing is the "Shaun Flemming Band"
What: Kilt Night at Brittinghams Irish Pub
When: 9 PM Friday Night, February 23rd
Where: Brittinghams Pub. 1234 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill, PA 11111
How (Much): $5 Cover

General Notes: If you'd like to eat dinner, call them at 610.555.5555 to make reservations. Show starts at 9 PM. RSVP by XXXX date if you want to meet up before hand. PM RockyR for more info.


This may help people not have to sift through each post to find things in their area (if the title is clear).