County forums

[The Woodman]

Re the WAB events calendar - I think there are too many sub calendars e.g. click on events and the default calendar is British Birds (where you'll find the Clumber fungi meet details - they're not in the Fungi calendar!)

The events calendars are not used as much as they could be, perhaps if there were fewer sub calendars more use might be made of them?

In common with the County thread/group idea, I think the subdivision is detrimental to the concept. We have to agree that there are specialist sites and fori that might be more pertinent for geographical questions. To post on WAB is a bit like a scattergun approach, but you never know, there might be someone lurking out there with the answer.

They are out there, often a newby will respsond to a specific question with a first post.

[Deb London]

I stopped using the calendars a while ago. They aren't that easy to edit when an event is cancelled. I think you have to ask a Mod to delete so that's a bit of a palaver.

I do like the imagery of the scattergun approach. This type of non-targeted question has the drawback in that you might get any old Tom or Dick answering (not meant to be derogatory - this is my SOH) and they may not know the answer but make like they do. However, since my migration question in BF has had no response I might copy-paste it into WAB. It's very specific so we'll see if the experiment is worthwhile.

My ideal forum does not exist. If the one attached to the London Bird Club had any current members it would be almost ideal. But for some reason it doesn't seem to attract people. Birders try and ask questions in the "Latest News" section. I think these are edited out to keep that section on track. Such a shame.

[The Woodman]

Originally Posted by Deb London

I do like the imagery of the scattergun approach. This type of non-targeted question has the drawback in that you might get any old Tom or Dick answering (not meant to be derogatory - this is my SOH) and they may not know the answer but make like they do. (

That must be the same with any forum, it is for me one of the more entertaining aspects - reading others' views and pronouncements.

It would be somewhat boring to leave all subjects to be answered by those we have come to recognise as more "expert" than others. Those experts were newbies once and over time, we come to recognise their skills by the confirmation of their answers.

Is there not a sense of satisfaction when the opportunity presents itself to research an ID of an unknown species and have a stab at naming it correctly online? A misidentification may be frustrating for the enquirer but useful in eliminating similar looking species and perhaps learning more about the subject in hand.

Who knows? Tom, Dick, Harry or John could well be right on the nail with their answer. We all need to remember that the whole world can reply to any forum post if they have the inclination and motivation - whatever the answer.

One of WAB's strengths must be in the diversity of subjects it covers. The number of members must testify to that. I imagine that a single topic forum like London's Birds would attract many members but as you say, apparently not.

I'll stop waffling now and get on with something financially meaningful.