M.C. Steenberg
29-02-2008, 10:59 PM
Dear all,
Some may have noticed the recent trend in the Discussion Community: namely, that we have an abundance of new members, with more signing on each day; and concordantly many posts being made. Where for most of the life of the forum, a normal day might have seen 15-25 posts and a 'busy period' has meant something around 50 posts per day, over the last several weeks, our normal average has been around 100 posts per day, with that number sometimes growing as high as 150+ (as I write this post at the moment, at just 9.00 p.m. in the UK, there have already been 114 posts today [!]).
This growth is a great blessing, and a wonderful thing to see. It is a testimony to the special nature of the Community and the general thirst for the kinds of discussions we have here. But this growth also means that we all need to make an especial effort to ensure that things remain focused, as with so many posts coming in, it is terribly easy for discussions to get off-track and unsuitably broad. It has always been one of our very intentional and key aims with this forum, that it harbours focused, organised discussions, with threads that deal directly with specific topics - so that readers can find information easily, and engage in focused discussions about important themes.
So can I please ask that everyone pay special mind towards keeping our discussions as focused as we possibly can. Threads are normally created with a specific topic, and it is important that responses deal directly with the topic as much as possible. If your comments are really quite tangential, or deal with an interesting / important theme that has grown out of the topic of a thread, but no longer really deals directly with it, these might better go in a new thread on your topic, or in another existing thread in the forum. If a thread that begins on a subject such as (for example) 'Use of warm water in the Liturgy' eventually ends up being about the colours of vestments, it makes the thread much less useful for future (and indeed current) users.
A few other ways everyone can help:
When you create a new thread, it is helpful to everyone if you give the thread as descriptive a title as possible. A thread that is just called 'Atonement', for example, could actually be about almost anything. If your real interest is whether a theory of atonement exists in eastern sources, a much better title for such a thread would be 'Theories of atonement in eastern sources', or something similar. The moderators will automatically re-name threads to descriptive titles in due course if they are too broad; but it helps get discussions off to a focused start from the very beginning if a thread is named descriptively from the outset.
Another way to help is to distinguish between personal comments and community posts. If you simply wish to say 'I agree' to the contents of another member's post, please consider doing this via the Feedback System (http://www.monachos.net/forum/faq.php?faq=vb_read_and_post#faq_reputation_how), which exists entirely for this purpose), or via a Private Message (http://www.monachos.net/forum/faq.php?faq=hb_community#faq_vb_pm_explain). Remember that posts made to the forum are meant to contribute to the discussion in an active way. Also, some members set their Subscription settings up to deliver notices of new posts via e-mail to their in-box; and it can be frustrating to receive many notices, only to sign on and see that the new posts are essentially just personal notes between one or two members.
And finally...
Finally, can I take this opportunity to thank the two other moderators of the Discussion Community, Igumen Raphael and Archpriest David. The job of the moderators takes a great deal of time and effort (most of which is 'behind the scenes'); and even with three of us, represents a serious time commitment. It is also a role that is often challenging, as the very idea of a forum that is well moderated, and not simply a free-for-all for general chat (which many forums are) can strongly upset some visitors, and there is a great deal of pastoral, difficult personal work involved as well. Fr Raphael and Fr David are a tremendous blessing to this Community, and I am - as I am sure many others also are - profoundly grateful for their hard work and dedication.
Again, my congratulations to everyone on the life of this forum, evidenced in its growth and activity. By keeping our eyes open to the new needs for focus that come with this increasing size, I'm sure we'll see this Community continue to flourish and grow.
INXC, Fr Dcn Matthew
Monachos.net
Some may have noticed the recent trend in the Discussion Community: namely, that we have an abundance of new members, with more signing on each day; and concordantly many posts being made. Where for most of the life of the forum, a normal day might have seen 15-25 posts and a 'busy period' has meant something around 50 posts per day, over the last several weeks, our normal average has been around 100 posts per day, with that number sometimes growing as high as 150+ (as I write this post at the moment, at just 9.00 p.m. in the UK, there have already been 114 posts today [!]).
This growth is a great blessing, and a wonderful thing to see. It is a testimony to the special nature of the Community and the general thirst for the kinds of discussions we have here. But this growth also means that we all need to make an especial effort to ensure that things remain focused, as with so many posts coming in, it is terribly easy for discussions to get off-track and unsuitably broad. It has always been one of our very intentional and key aims with this forum, that it harbours focused, organised discussions, with threads that deal directly with specific topics - so that readers can find information easily, and engage in focused discussions about important themes.
So can I please ask that everyone pay special mind towards keeping our discussions as focused as we possibly can. Threads are normally created with a specific topic, and it is important that responses deal directly with the topic as much as possible. If your comments are really quite tangential, or deal with an interesting / important theme that has grown out of the topic of a thread, but no longer really deals directly with it, these might better go in a new thread on your topic, or in another existing thread in the forum. If a thread that begins on a subject such as (for example) 'Use of warm water in the Liturgy' eventually ends up being about the colours of vestments, it makes the thread much less useful for future (and indeed current) users.
A few other ways everyone can help:
When you create a new thread, it is helpful to everyone if you give the thread as descriptive a title as possible. A thread that is just called 'Atonement', for example, could actually be about almost anything. If your real interest is whether a theory of atonement exists in eastern sources, a much better title for such a thread would be 'Theories of atonement in eastern sources', or something similar. The moderators will automatically re-name threads to descriptive titles in due course if they are too broad; but it helps get discussions off to a focused start from the very beginning if a thread is named descriptively from the outset.
Another way to help is to distinguish between personal comments and community posts. If you simply wish to say 'I agree' to the contents of another member's post, please consider doing this via the Feedback System (http://www.monachos.net/forum/faq.php?faq=vb_read_and_post#faq_reputation_how), which exists entirely for this purpose), or via a Private Message (http://www.monachos.net/forum/faq.php?faq=hb_community#faq_vb_pm_explain). Remember that posts made to the forum are meant to contribute to the discussion in an active way. Also, some members set their Subscription settings up to deliver notices of new posts via e-mail to their in-box; and it can be frustrating to receive many notices, only to sign on and see that the new posts are essentially just personal notes between one or two members.
And finally...
Finally, can I take this opportunity to thank the two other moderators of the Discussion Community, Igumen Raphael and Archpriest David. The job of the moderators takes a great deal of time and effort (most of which is 'behind the scenes'); and even with three of us, represents a serious time commitment. It is also a role that is often challenging, as the very idea of a forum that is well moderated, and not simply a free-for-all for general chat (which many forums are) can strongly upset some visitors, and there is a great deal of pastoral, difficult personal work involved as well. Fr Raphael and Fr David are a tremendous blessing to this Community, and I am - as I am sure many others also are - profoundly grateful for their hard work and dedication.
Again, my congratulations to everyone on the life of this forum, evidenced in its growth and activity. By keeping our eyes open to the new needs for focus that come with this increasing size, I'm sure we'll see this Community continue to flourish and grow.
INXC, Fr Dcn Matthew
Monachos.net