ALRIGHT - I know I'm constantly changing things around here and asking you guys to put up with my sporatic modifications and nagging requests, but what would you say to moving off of LUSENET and onto a more robust conferencing/'Virtual Community' system. It'll mean that everyone who wants to participate will have to register with the community host.

I've been playing around with CommunityWare which looks like an excellent candidate. It doesn't cost participants anything and only costs the 'moderator' $36 annual. But the features are outstanding. Of course, if we do switch, maybe someone could volunteer to archive all of our threads from here into a single file(s) to post at the new location. Also, I don't think I'm going to move 3D_Floyd since it really DOES fit here well.

POST YOUR COMMENTS AND OPINIONS BY CLICKING Post Reply To This One.

Dale

-- Dale (dale.swanson@usa.net), August 25, 1997

Answers

What's better about CommunityWare?

Actually, considering the pain involved in registering with PlanetAll, I think we've done pretty good. Besides, there's not really any other reason to go there (for most people) than to find someone else, and it's a lot easier to that with a White Pages like Four11.com or WhoWhere.com.

CommunityWare is kinda like a spruced up LUSENET (more features , file/message management, chat, private discussion(s), etc.), combined with some of PlanetAll's functionality, and with really groovy people like Howard Rheingold behind the scenes.

In addition, it'll be easier to coerce folks into registering since I can integrate it pretty nicely into the existing web site (forcing Albatrossers to register with OCCASIONAL PLANET/CommunityWare (I can sorta hide CommunityWare's presence) If they want to see anything. I don't think I'd do that right off - or at all if ocBB Strategic Planning Team pulls the plug on this little initiative.

All for now, maybe I'll copy the message I just shot off to Joanne on the same subject to ocBB (here).

-- Dale (dale.swanson@usa.net), August 26, 1997.

Note to Joanne re: What's so great...

Here's the long email I sent to Joanne on the topic:
-----
>what makes this better than what we have now?
Well, it's a little more flexible in the message thread management area, it's also more flexible in terms of the types of files you can store and share. Then there's also chat features (if you actually like that sort of thing) and you can even post to the message boards from email (if a message board message is forwarded to you by email) which can make it a little easier to capture and post group messages from those who can't get to the web site for one reason or another.
It also integrates with our existing web site fairly well.
And then there are also a number of other communities in varying states of development going up at the same site which people may also be interested in.
And, OK, there's a personal thing in it for me. Strategically, I think there is a lot of potential in virtual community organizing as a career path over the next several years, so this is simply an attempt for me to try out one of the more robust and promising community systems. And Howard Rheingold, probably the most prominent Virtual Community guru out there for the past 15 years, has been co-opted by the company that owns CommunityWare to run a "Host University" for CommunityWare hosts. So this is really about nothing more than self-interest.
Please check it out. If you guys say it's a no go, then I'll leave OCBB alone and come up with something else to play with at CommunityWare.
Hope that's not too much explanation!
Dale

-- Albatross Webslave (dale.swanson@usa.net), August 27, 1997.

Virtual Communities

Well, as you can see, I'm completely out of control talking to myself out here. The kids are all snoozing and I'm here in the dining room pounding the keyboard and sucking on 'smokeless' Eclipse sticks while I wait for pages to load.
Anyway, another plug for communityware, the company that owns it Durand Communications also just bought Howard Rheingold's Electric Minds, a very groovy hang-out for marginally more enlightened digerati. It's essentially a Well on the Web. If you know what that means your definitely geek hip.
I haven't ever checked out any of the other web-based 'salons' like Utne Reader's place, but EMinds is definitely worth checking out.
Which, by association (IMHO), makes CommunityWare worth checking out as a potential place to move our homestead.
BTW, this homestead is could use a fresh coat of paint (e.g., GIFs and JPGs of youse guys). Shall we organize a painting party? Eric works at an ISP in Martinsville, maybe we should revisit our roots and impose on him to provide the place and we'll bring the photos and beer!

just a thought.

-- posting disorder (dale.swanson@usa.net), August 27, 1997.

don't move!

Sorry to be the stick-in-the-mud, anti-change person, but when I look at what a paltry participation there has been with PlanetAll, I'm not at all confident that many folks would sign up! What's better about the CommunityWare stuff?

-- Dawn (dutecht@mindspring.com), August 26, 1997.

OK, but still...

I like this one better. In some ways it seems more primitive, but it's also easier. Maybe it's just that some of us are new to this.

-- Joanne (kempen@rti.org), October 22, 1997.