[mr.x]

It's been 7 days, lets hear what you think now.

[giallo]

What's not to like? It's very organized and easy to use. I find myself posting more these days because of the change.

[Canadian Mind]

same, i find that there is way more activty and it is more spread out.

I also find it intresting to note that some, but not all of the people that were against the change never really posted to often, and simply aren't posting at all now. While I feel sorry for the people who feel alienated, I feel that the change is best.

ALso, where the hell is our "recent topic list" to ease in finding the most up to date topics? :P

[Nutterbug]

same, i find that there is way more activty and it is more spread out.
While the novelty lasts.

Need more new users to keep it going. Has word gotten out about it yet?

[Canadian Mind]

well, since we got our own sub-forum within the Canada regional forum, alot of people from other regions have noticed and quite a few are begging for there own. A number have dropped in to say hello.

Problem is we are still simply another forum within SSP, we need a new URL to link to here, otherwise we will never be noticed by people outside this forum.



Mr.x2, get a move on it or I will find out where you live and... get your mother to nag at you all day. ;)

[Mike K.]

We're working on the URL, but before we fly head first into the costs involved we'll need to make sure this works and hiccups are worked out. If we do go with the URL we'll have a custom banner for Vancouver, too, which will be nice.

As for the new threads listing, still working on it. Might require a custom mod which would be a travesty to implement ;) Too bad this forum software has several shortcomings that should have been included in the package.

[mr.x]

well, since we got our own sub-forum within the Canada regional forum, alot of people from other regions have noticed and quite a few are begging for there own. A number have dropped in to say hello.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/images/300/baby_crying_closeup.jpg

Isn't it fun to be sucking on the lollipop with all the other kids that don't have one watching?:whip:



Mr.x2, get a move on it or I will find out where you live and... get your mother to nag at you all day. ;)

*pokes Mike K.*

[Mike K.]

Someone say my name?

[Canadian Mind]

As for the new threads listing, still working on it. Might require a custom mod which would be a travesty to implement ;) Too bad this forum software has several shortcomings that should have been included in the package.

kk, URL bit is undeerstandable... besides, should we be able to vote on one? :D

As for the whole custom mod bit... why can't we start up a donation system whereby the forum goers are welcome too, but not forced to donate 10 or 20 bucks to the cost of upgrading the forum, database, new URL's, etc. I've always wondered who is actually paying for this?

[Mike K.]

The only issue with custom mods is a development project like that, even though small, could still run a couple g's. Developers these days charge a lot of $$$ and getting some kid to do it on the cheap could leave us with a bug that causes more problems with future updates and other mods. Dylan, being a programmer, may attempt to tackle something like that but as things stand now he's putting all of his effort into coding other components of the site that are in desperate need of updating.

There may still be a ready-made mod out there which Dylan is still searching for. He might stumble on it and then we're set.

[Canadian Mind]

Well my idea for the thing originally came from the forums at www.canadaka.net (http://www.canadaka.net), as did the donation idea. Perhaps he could talk to the site admin and owner over there.

The guy's name is Trevour, and he happens to be a Vancouver local. (hell, I think he lives downtown and runs the server out of his apartment <---rumoured)

[phesto]

Not a fan of the new changes. I can appreciate the desire to accomodate newcomers and people who can't keep up to date with the projects discussed in the Vancouver construction thread, and it is certainly easier to navigate, but it is way easier to check one thread as opposed to checking a dozen for updates.

Same thing with all the subsections, why so many? I'm less inclined to check each section, let alone post.

[Boris2k7]

well, since we got our own sub-forum within the Canada regional forum, alot of people from other regions have noticed and quite a few are begging for there own. A number have dropped in to say hello.

This is simply not the case in the Alberta subforum. Most of us are very opposed to any change to this format. We still very much regard the breakup of the Western Canada subforum as a miserable failure, although I know many of you Vancouverites were pining for your own forum.

[Nutterbug]

This is simply not the case in the Alberta subforum. Most of us are very opposed to any change to this format. We still very much regard the breakup of the Western Canada subforum as a miserable failure, although I know many of you Vancouverites were pining for your own forum.

Why???

[Nutterbug]

Now if only we could break down the votes into locals and outsiders.

I suspect most of the outsiders voted for the negative categories.

[Mike K.]

This is simply not the case in the Alberta subforum. Most of us are very opposed to any change to this format.

From the poll that was launched to see how many forumers in Alberta came from CGY, EDM or other towns, 86 people responded. Of those 86, 10 sounded like they did not immediately warm up to something like SSP:Local.

10 individuals is not a majority, and of those 10 some were not clear whether or not they wouldn't want to see a change or whether or not they simply didn't like the thought of change. Others still liked the SSP:Local concept but pointed out C2E in Edmonton, which is something similar. Someone else even pointed out that C2E was a product of SSP's success in attracting EDM forumers and which was born out of SSP's lack of urban-themed discussion potential. So during that discussion when I presented a format to support urban discussions to help keep those people around, the same forumers were unhappy that it was being presented (not sure what to make of that). So I'm getting the sense that it's not SSP:Local format people dislike, it's the process of getting used to it and changing their routines that's the real problem.

[mr.x]

With the BC forum near-dead, on life support....maybe that forum should be merged with Alberta? The Alberta forum has 20x more traffic than BC.

[Nutterbug]

With the BC forum near-dead, on life support....maybe that forum should be merged with Alberta? The Alberta forum has 20x more traffic than BC.

That is, until we start plucking them out with a SSP:Local Calgary and SSP:Local Edmonton. :D

[mr.x]

That is, until we start plucking them out with a SSP:Local Calgary and SSP:Local Edmonton. :D

Nah, i'd prefer to suck on the only lollipop in the world, while all of them are watching.

[Boris2k7]

10 individuals is not a majority, and of those 10 some were not clear whether or not they wouldn't want to see a change or whether or not they simply didn't like the thought of change. Others still liked the SSP:Local concept but pointed out C2E in Edmonton, which is something similar. Someone else even pointed out that C2E was a product of SSP's success in attracting EDM forumers and which was born out of SSP's lack of urban-themed discussion potential. So during that discussion when I presented a format to support urban discussions to help keep those people around, the same forumers were unhappy that it was being presented (not sure what to make of that). So I'm getting the sense that it's not SSP:Local format people dislike, it's the process of getting used to it and changing their routines that's the real problem.

You must be reading a different discussion. Of all the people who made responses about the SSP Local concept, only 2 forumers have supported it (Xelebes and Itom). All the rest of the respondents have indicated that they oppose any such change, including all of the Calgary forumers except for freeweed, who has said he would only give support on the condition that there would be software available for "user-defined thread/forum grouping." A few of the Edmonton forumers have said that they like the concept of a local forum, but that SSP is not the place for it, that is what C2E is for. Again, many of the Calgary forumers have expressed that this is not something they want to see changed and have provided reasons, they consider the Western Provinces rearrangement to have been a dumb move, and the underlying sentiment is that a local format would hurt the Calgary forum rather than help it.

If such a change ended up killing the Calgary section, and our construction thread, I would very strongly consider abandoning any further updates here and setting them up on CUI site, since the infrastructure is already in place for such a move. We have only made the choice to continue maintaining the development inventory here since the community is very strong.

Not coincidentally, many of the top Calgary posters on here are CUI members...

[entheosfog]

I for one, really like the change. I've posted more on SSP:Local Vancouver in the last week then I have in the 3 months since I moved here. I really like how everything is broken up and separated. It takes just a little bit more time but it's so easy to find information and related discussion on any particular subject. Some people don't like the idea of chatting about restaurants or non-construction topics but that's why the SSP local thingy works; you can involve yourself in what you want to talk about. And for me being new to a city, all the info I can get on Vancouver is helpful.
Maybe it won't work for cities like Calgary, maybe because there's so much traffic that's used to doing things how they've always been done, but I really like the changes so far for Vancouver! :tup:

[deasine]

has toronto ever considered? i didn't like it in the beginning but I think it's much easier to look for stuff I'm interested since it's soo organized. Just the downside to that is that it takes forever to view everything.... that's why I want some RSS feed...

sometimes ppl need a kick in the butt and be forced to do something. You never know if you like it until you try!

[Mike K.]

You must be reading a different discussion. Of all the people who made responses about the SSP Local concept, only 2 forumers have supported it (Xelebes and Itom). All the rest of the respondents have indicated that they oppose any such change, including all of the Calgary forumers except for freeweed, who has said he would only give support on the condition that there would be software available for "user-defined thread/forum grouping." A few of the Edmonton forumers have said that they like the concept of a local forum, but that SSP is not the place for it, that is what C2E is for. Again, many of the Calgary forumers have expressed that this is not something they want to see changed and have provided reasons, they consider the Western Provinces rearrangement to have been a dumb move, and the underlying sentiment is that a local format would hurt the Calgary forum rather than help it.

If such a change ended up killing the Calgary section, and our construction thread, I would very strongly consider abandoning any further updates here and setting them up on CUI site, since the infrastructure is already in place for such a move. We have only made the choice to continue maintaining the development inventory here since the community is very strong.

Not coincidentally, many of the top Calgary posters on here are CUI members...

It's the same 10 people repeating themselves. And it's not "many," as you say, judging by that thread. Several people can easily overwhelm a thread and create the sense that "many" are posting against an idea but that's not the case. I can certainly appreciate some of the comments from members and they're all taken to heart. For example, at least one of 10 against the change also stated that if we were to introduce a "new posts" function for listing new posts in a SSP:Local section, he'd be all for it. If there isn't one, he'd feel he wouldn't appreciate the change. We are actually working on implementing such a feature based on responses.

But what came first? SSP or CUI? SSP or C2E? They were born out of SSP, but took on a different life because they offered more to people than just discussions strictly on skyscrapers and development. People live in cities and have more to say than comments on development. CUI and C2E have proven that much. Being against something that users obviously want, judging by their support of C2E and CUI, is not conducive to growing a forum and over the last while we've lost enough traffic to C2E and CUI that we want to improve this forum to bring people back who would otherwise be posting here.

I for one, really like the change. I've posted more on SSP:Local Vancouver in the last week then I have in the 3 months since I moved here. I really like how everything is broken up and separated. It takes just a little bit more time but it's so easy to find information and related discussion on any particular subject. Some people don't like the idea of chatting about restaurants or non-construction topics but that's why the SSP local thingy works; you can involve yourself in what you want to talk about. And for me being new to a city, all the info I can get on Vancouver is helpful.
Maybe it won't work for cities like Calgary, maybe because there's so much traffic that's used to doing things how they've always been done, but I really like the changes so far for Vancouver! :tup:

Yeah, I've noticed you've been posting more now. Good to see :)

[Boris2k7]

But what came first? SSP or CUI? SSP or C2E? They were born out of SSP, but took on a different life because they offered more to people than just discussions strictly on skyscrapers and development. People live in cities and have more to say than comments on development. CUI and C2E have proven that much. Being against something that users obviously want, judging by their support of C2E and CUI, is not conducive to growing a forum and over the last while we've lost enough traffic to C2E and CUI that we want to improve this forum to bring people back who would otherwise be posting here.

True, CUI grew out of SSP, but CUI is focused first of all on developments and topics on urbanism. It's not a stretch to say that we could steal a significant portion of SSP's Calgary forum away. The SSP forum here could very much turn out to be like the Prairie Provinces forum on SSC as a result.

What Calgary forumers want, and what the current format provides, is a one-stop shop for all updates and development info. I've kept updates going on the basis that the community is still strong and it doesn't make sense for there to be a redundant source of info. I'm fully prepared to provide that one-stop shop elsewhere, if the advantage to staying here goes away.

Another thing I would note is that on the behalf of CUI members, SSP has made it into the Calgary news more than a few times, mostly for the information our subforum provides. Calgarians definately aren't visiting SSP to see the pretty diagrams, or rather, the lack of diagrams for Calgary developments...

[mr.x]

Another thing I would note is that on the behalf of CUI members, SSP has made it into the Calgary news more than a few times,

really??? wow, lets hear it.

[murman]

I think the SSP:Vancouver sub-forum is pointless.

[WhipperSnapper]

has toronto ever considered?

It would be the only way to attract GTA folk back to SSP but probably take a minimum of a year of coddling and some key recruitments for it to work

[Mike K.]

That would be a very good thing to try. Perhaps we'd start with some of the Ontario cities that are already repped, and then move up to TO?

[Mike K.]

Calgarians definately aren't visiting SSP to see the pretty diagrams, or rather, the lack of diagrams for Calgary developments...

I would encourage you guys to get more pro-active with drawing requests. Head to the diagrams forum and start making requests because the Calgary diagram really does need more love.

[WhipperSnapper]

That would be a very good thing to try. Perhaps we'd start with some of the Ontario cities that are already repped, and then move up to TO?

The only way to attract TO is to start with TO - not as a "SSP:Local forum" but as a sub off the Ontario subsection

[Mike K.]

I'll start a thread there about it.

[Nutterbug]

So how have the posting stats been with this new format compared to the old board?

[Mike K.]

As I write this, SSP:Local Van has more viewers than Alberta! That's a first...

[Nutterbug]

True, CUI grew out of SSP, but CUI is focused first of all on developments and topics on urbanism. It's not a stretch to say that we could steal a significant portion of SSP's Calgary forum away. The SSP forum here could very much turn out to be like the Prairie Provinces forum on SSC as a result.

What Calgary forumers want, and what the current format provides, is a one-stop shop for all updates and development info. I've kept updates going on the basis that the community is still strong and it doesn't make sense for there to be a redundant source of info. I'm fully prepared to provide that one-stop shop elsewhere, if the advantage to staying here goes away.

Another thing I would note is that on the behalf of CUI members, SSP has made it into the Calgary news more than a few times, mostly for the information our subforum provides. Calgarians definately aren't visiting SSP to see the pretty diagrams, or rather, the lack of diagrams for Calgary developments...

Where is this CUI forum anyways? I can't find it by navigating from CUI's front page.

[mr.x]

is it just me or does it seem to be getting quieter and quieter everyday?

[Nutterbug]

It's time to move onto the next phase:

Get a catchy new domain name.
Promote us to the outside world.

[smasher000]

i still hate it
there's no common meeting place

so boring..

[Boris2k7]

Where is this CUI forum anyways? I can't find it by navigating from CUI's front page.

I don't think we have a link from the front page. We don't use it right now, due to SSP being here, but it is there if we need it.