one show, one thread

[Vincent]

I thought that opening a new thread in order to leave comments on an episode in particular would be a good idea (Ben could even create a new section in the forum if it's possible). It would be easier for people who are new to the podcasts and/or the forums to find reactions about one show and drop a few lines if need be. What do you think about it?

[Ben]

Well, at the moment the shows can be commented on in the blog, at the post for each show, but perhaps it would make sense to have them all in one place, starting at the next show for each of the podcasts.... I had certainly considered this for future Spanish shows, providing transcript details and answers in a new thread each time. Any other opinions out there?

[Alan]

Nah, forums with forced openings of threads don't do very well. There's not point in having a thread when no one wants to talk about it. If someone DOES want to talk about it, then they'll open the thread themselves.

Since this topic has been raised, I feel that there are too many categories for the number of users.

[Ben]

Since this topic has been raised, I feel that there are too many categories for the number of users.

I agree that this is a difficult one, and I don't intend to put any knew ones in for now - my intention was to have as few fourm cats as possible in fact fromt he outset. What changes would you make? The Spain and Your Notes from Spain sections could be joined, but I think the others will each serve their purpose when the user numbers (hopefully) grow. These things take time and the fourms are only a month and a bit old.... Any more feedback on this very welcome....

[Alan]

Sorry Ben, I didn't see your answer to this.

You could probably combine NIS Transcripts with Learning Spanish, which would give more life to the Learning Spanish section, while keeping the latest transcripts easily accessible as a sticky.

I would move the Conversation in Spanish next to the General discussion thread, to give equal status to both languages. I think "Your Notes from Spain" is probably unnecessary if a note inviting people to post their pictures in the General discussion thread is there.

Off-topic and suggestions are necessary for talking about misc things and for posting your favourite smileys. It's good that they're down the bottom though :)

So:
Spain - General Discussion
¿Que nos queréis contar? (Maybe renamed something similar to above in Spanish?)

Cuisine from Spain
Learning Spanish & NIS Transcripts
Off-Topic
Suggestions
That takes it from 6 main forums to 4, with off-topic and suggestions on the end. But you should add new categories only when they become necessary.

By the way, the forum looks great and it's growing. I just think that the forum often looks dead when it's not - it's just that there are too many categories.

[Ben]

Good ideas, I will think more on this over the next few days. What does everyone else think? More opinions on this would be very welcome too.

[cubix]

I like the way it is set-up

I think Spain and your notes should be seperate, because if peeople are preparing for a trip to spain or get curious, it is alot easier to look through 30 posts, than 300 posts.

Everything else is fine!

[Ben]

OK, I have merged the NIS transcripts posts into the learning spanish category, which is definitely neater, but I am tempted to leave the others as they are for now, as the different main categories match the 3 different podcasts nicely.

[gary]

I have merged the NIS transcripts posts into the learning spanish category
Podcast 35 doesnt seem to be there?
Do unvisited threads eventually drop off the radar? - if so, what about the answers to the quiz for those that download in the future? - your resource is not transient, I am sure each transcript will continue to be downloaded as more people find the site.

[Ben]

It's still here:

http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116

I will have to put a link to the answer posts on the main NIS page on the blog too, to avoid confusion. Ben

[Ben]

I will have to put a link to the answer posts on the main NIS page on the blog too, to avoid confusion. Ben
Done, see 'exercise answers' link for each episode:

http://www.notesfromspain.com/notes-in-spanish/

Hope that helps.

[richardksa]

It's good the way it is, but that doesn't mean the furture won't throw up more ideas. If it's a toss up between neater looks or less confusion, go with the less confusion.

[Brian]

I do like the idea of creating a new thread per show. The blog is great and all, but after several months, the blog entry gets buried way beneath the site, and comments are unlikely to be discussed by other listeners.

In my example, I'm working my way through the older Notes in Spain podcasts now, and if I wanted to comment on it, the more natural thing would be to have a dedicated thread per podcast.

It's just my opinion, but I think that having the dedicated thread would go a long way to generate discussion in the community.

[gary]

If you want to have a thread per show then one way could be to give the podcasts their own section, only allow admin to create the threads in that section and, to stop the threads being burried make them stickies.....