Live chats, events and using our new calendar

Chris OConnor

Have you noticed the convenient calendar that appears at the top of each page? We're going to make the height of the calendar row a little less tall soon, but you should already see the benefits of having a calendar stretching across the top of everyone’s forum list.

Chats and events can be listed - we'll all see them without having to leave the forums page and visit a special calendar page. As we learn more about this calendar feature more ideas for how it can best be used will emerge.

Here are some ways the calendar will be used...

1. Various scheduled chat sessions will be on the calendar so visitors and members can see when they should log into our chat room. The chat room will be added soon!

2. Member Birthdays will be listed on the Calendar - just as a way of making BookTalk a little more personal.

3. Polls - the start date and stop date of our book polls will be listed.

4. Book Discussion Periods - I am hoping there is a way of listing the current books on the calendar signifying what books are being read and discussed, as a community, at any given time.

5. Member Chats - I'd like to open up the calendar to certain members at some point. Maybe after 250 - 500 posts you are permitted to add calendar events, such as a casual chat you would like to schedule.

I've got many ideas and this thread is designed to hear yours. The more help I have with the various features our new forums offer the more successful we will be as a community. I am but one person and I cannot run the entire show solo. If you have ideas for the calendar or other areas of our community please speak up and share them. Smile

MadArchitect · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject:

One thing that might help... Back when I was the administrator for another forum (RIP), we found that people were prone to tune out the announcement box. The solution we came up with was that we changed the font and background color for just that panel any time we updated the events or information. That way, people could tell at a glance when something new was there. I wouldn't use that all over the page, but when you add new stuff to the calender, you may want to change the font color now and again, just so people don't start tuning it out.


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