2006: A Proposal for Discussion

disabledpublishing

Chirs

Most of our menbers I think is'n into god.

Chris OConnor

Mad

I'm about to hit the sack so this will be a brief post. First of all we will need to postpone the sidebar project. The girl that originally created a sidebar for us has notified me that she still has the code for it. We might not have to create one at all. And I can do the periodic edits fine.

You're right that a discussion leader needs to be picked before a reading period begins. I'd like to get into the habit of having our books selected 1 month before the end of a reading period.

And I liked lots of your ideas...but I need to go to bed. I have a good idea for voting. I'll share it tomorrow.

MadArchitect

tarav: I don't think of having four concurrent discussions available as necessitating that I read all four books concurrently.

No, and it shouldn't. I think we should endeavor to make it as easy as possible to read all four, in case anyone would like to do so, but there shouldn't be any requirement to do so. The big reason I'd like to see staggered readings is that it makes it easier for newbies to jump in on at least one of the discussions, particularly if they come in at the end or beginning of a month.

Just to illustrate (and then I'll shut up about staggered book discussions), suppose a newbie visits the forum on December 1st. With four book selections beginning and ending at the same time, the newbie would have about a month to order and read the book(s) and join in on discussion. On January first, we'd be moving on to a new set of four books. Realizing this, the newbie may decide that it's not worth the effort to get in on this quarter's reading. That may mean waiting for (and possibly forgetting) the next quarter, or it may mean that they automatically lose interest and never come back. On the other hand, with staggered book discussions, the newbie arriving on December 1st would be arriving just as we began a new book. In addition to that, we'd be on the last month of another book, and midway through our discussion of yet another book. There's still a chance the newbie won't be interested in any of those discussions, but that's a risk we're going to run however we handle it.

But again, the major obstacle to staggering discussions isn't that of how we organize it -- we're smart enough to make that work, I think. The real question is that of whether or not Chris will be able to handle the workload that involves. I think he can given enough help from the community, but ultimately that's up to his discretion.

Chris OConnor: The girl that originally created a sidebar for us has notified me that she still has the code for it. We might not have to create one at all.

If it's okay with both you and her, I'd like to take a look at the code for the sidebar. Part of my initiative in making the sidebar is to allow you to cut corners and save yourself some work on a monthly, weekly, quarterly basis. So I'd like to see what you're working with.

I have a good idea for voting. I'll share it tomorrow.

Looking forward to it. I hope I'm not being too much of a pain in the ass with all of my suggestions.

Chris OConnor

For now we have to drop the staggered book idea.


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