Forum Moderators: open
1) doing the long over due split of PHP and PERL into separate sub forums under server side scripting.
2) adding a javascript forum.
3) splitting aff/ad forum into affiliate and advertising.
Mulling over
- a MSN forum for specific talk about msn.
- an Alexa forum.
- search engine stock, legal, and finance.
We add new forums based on need. To consider a new forum, I think we need atleast 50 threads about the topic to consider it.
What do you think we need?
definetely. hopefully we could get some db structure optimisation discussions on the go ;)
database and regular expressions....somehow I think they both fit under the current PHP/CGI boards, though id like a new forum for both ;)
Separate database forum: +
Separate webserver forums for IIS and Apache:?
W3C [w3c.org] protocols and standards forum: +
I´m not sure whether putting webservices within such a forum is a good idea. Not sure either if there are enough threads to warrant its own forum, but being such a buzz word I believe there seen will.
Separate JavaScript forum: +
Separate forums for Perl [perl.com] style REs and (extended) POSIX style REs ;)
Not a day goes by where someone requests information about one tool or another.
An unbaised review of competiting tangible & intangible products providing advantages, disadvanatges, ease of use, learning curving and benchmarks allow members to make informed choices for what's best for them.
I think this would be a nice addition to "Local" covering the gamut of other forums associated products/services.
Alexa Forum -> Not required
it may be a guide for a site statistic's but the results can be way out in the "real world"
Legal/Finance -> Good Idea
with the web changing so much the legal implication on a web site have become a big issue, what may be OK in one country is not in another
databases -> Good Idea
- PHP/PERL seperation
- A Forum for databases
- A Forum for XML and it's related technologies
So we look for very clear cut topic lines for new forums.
- Usability
- Blogs/forums
- Branding
- Javascript
- Alexa
>>Usability - That's one I'd want to find a real pro for a moderator first..
Even better experts than those already around might appear soonest once the individual forums exist.
>>Usability - That's one I'd want to find a real pro for a moderator first..
Brett,
Im happy to cover this. I work with special needs children in schools. They just love the internet and I can try my best to tell people how to code sites so that they work and the kids can understand them. (Note: I also work with the disabled ... omg, I'm sounding like an angel ;) LOL.)
I can also cover this from a 'what makes people buy' perspective as I consult sites and they pay for me to alter their site to increase the conversion rates.
Although the crossover issue could be a problem, well, lets face it nothing in our industry is really that clear cut anyway! ;)
Like the other forums, a branding forum would get a clear cut definition and forum charter, and over time with good moderation (as always in here!) members would know what threads to post in there.
I also think its the one aspect of web marketing that's neglected just now - too many people concerned with the next update and short term SEO and not enough effort being put into long term strategy.
SEO is a wonderful marketing tool in that it can reap results relatively quickly - brilliant for testing the water.
But for those wishing to establish a long term business, carefull thought and planning has to go into effectively branding a site.
Just my 2 c! :)
Scott
<added> Agree with Vitaplease on the forums / blogs suggestion too </added>
/Ove
Yes to both of these. I don’t know enough about the other to offer an opinion. Which leads to this…
How about a beginners - education/resource type of forum? I know you have the New To Web Development forum and I’ve used that.
Actually, reading one your posts is what has inspired me to suggest this, Brett.
In this thread [webmasterworld.com] you wrote –
If you can take a bit of time and look at the bigger picture than just what we throw on the page and up in a visitors browser, the context will help in ways you can't see at first.
I read this about 3 weeks ago and took your advice. Since then, I’ve been reading about everything I can. But it can be very overwhelming. In order to “look at the bigger picture” it’d be nice to have the very basics of that picture drawn out. Xoc’ s Understanding the Internet Jigsaw Puzzle was very helpful, but it’s hard to find other resources like that.
It’s also easy to get distractedand to keep venturing off on tangents.
Example – Reading a very basic tutorial on computer hardware led me on this wild goose chase...
Computer hardware>microcompresser>bits and bytes>boolean logic>bits and bytes>semiconductors>transistors>batteries>…
Also - Computer hardware>quantum computers>desperate search for an into to quantum physics that I could understand…
And don’t even get me started on programming languages!
And while I am enjoying some of these tangents, I feel like I’m sorta stumbling around in the dark. Part of it may be the frustration of “for every one thing I learn, I find another 10 things I don’t know”, I’m sure. But there’s more to it then that. I know there’s a vast amount of education, ‘street smarts’, and experience around WebmasterWorld and this knowledge is shared (thankfully) very generously around here.
However, most of it is very specific. I know that is part of what makes this site so useful to everyone, but I think it would be nice if there was a place that people’ s broader knowledge could be shared.
I’m really carrying on here so I’ll wrap this up.
Does this sound like something that people would use? I guess I don’t really know, but thanks for reading this:)
Content Management..
techniques and systems
Database..
Membership or Subscription Site
mgmt and setup, member mgmt, value added content
Pathing. (I'd call this the Yellow Brick Road thread)
One forum of just "expert notes" on things like Bretts steps to success using google. It would work as a read-only thread, suggested paths or steps to "something". People with a lot of experience know all the questions and pitfalls and can lay them out in 10 easy steps. Naturally, different approaches to the same subject would be a plus.
Topic examples;
Running a home Server
Hiring content writers
Things to ask when selecting a Host company
Increase Page Rank check list
Changing Hosts
I'm thinking for credibility, a YBR post would have to be submitted by someone with identifiable expertise, perhaps a long standing member. A Read-Only forum would allow a way to manage the reliability/effectiveness of the poster/ methods. I don't know, perhaps you already have this up in the members only forum?
Dian :)
Search Engines:
Google Updates (it would be nice if this just went away...)
Search Industry (companies, stocks, etc.)
Alexa (do we *really* need this?)
Web Development:
(X)HTML
Browsers (including mobile)
XML and Related Technologies
Javascript and DOM (and vbscript?)
Usability and Accessibility
Databases
PHP
Perl/CGI
Web Servers
Web Content and Access (separate this from webmaster world):
Content
Legal Issues (copyright, deep linking)
Content Delivery (weblogs, forums, newsletters)
Spiders (and .htacces, robots.txt) (move this from 'marketing')
Computing (separate this from webmaster world):
Linux, Unix, and *nix like Operating Systems
PC / Windows OS
Mobile/Wireless Computing
Macintosh (safari stuff goes in "browsers")
Marketing:
Branding
XML and Related Technologies
Usability and Accessibility
Marketing
I second (er, third or fourth...) branding.
Therefore, I fifth it..put me down for the branding forum.
- Chad
It may reduce the amount of commonly asked questions. If it could be categorised into commonly asked topics, eg:
Google related
Basic SEO techniques
Etc etc
Scott
Oh, and branding again! :)
Oh, and branding again!
Sleazy attempts to stuff the ballotbox won't be allowed. Your IP address has been logged. ;)
XML & Usability get my votes as two useful new fora. Content Management would be OK, but if the Content forum isn't overly busy perhaps it could be renamed "Content & Content Management". (Kind of a keyword stuffed name, though.;))
