This New Site (Page 2)

Originally posted by mehaner I JUST NOTICED POLITICAL JOE. I TAKE BACK ANYTHING NEGATIVE I SAID ABOUT THE NEW SITE AND AM THANKFUL I NEVER HAVE TO SEE POLITICAL THREADS FILL UP MY NONSENSICAL FUN COJ EVER AGAIN. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BT

Hah, I didn't even notice that.  Sounds like a good idea.

If everyone who felt a sense of "community" left, there would be no community.

My point is that there are probably far less people who feel that way than you think there are.....and they certainly don't have a huge bearing on whether the site is successful.  In fact, the really successful boards have a constant influx of new people and that's what keeps the board alive.  As I said, the people who have been here awhile and feel some sense of community.....meh....from what I can see alot of them aren't paying customers anymore anyway.

My own personal feeling is that I could not possibly feel a sense of community from an internet board....I need human interaction to feel that way.  Maybe if I met some people in person or talked by phone I would feel a closer sense with those people.....but still not others.  I have done that with other boards I have been affililated with, but not so far with this baord because I don't like to train with other people....and the people I do know who do triathlon talk about it non-stop, to the point where I don't want to be around them anymore.

Still, I come here to read about trends and ideas with regard to triathlon and training, and to log my workouts......the rest of it is just banter that I could take or leave.

Ouch, man;)

I doubt that.

Just curious....based on what?  There are thousands of poeple who view/use this board in a day.......how many "friends" do you have listed?  50?  100?  Nobody knows or cares except you. (I don't mean that sarcastically or mean-spirited)  If you and all 50 of those "friends" left the board would barely notice.  The same with me or anyone else.  I'm amazed at the number of people who aren't here since I started looking at the board.....some of them had some outstanding knowledge and information....still, I don't see that the board's traffic has suffered.  There are still plenty of new people everyday who keep things running along.

If there is a "community" it is of triathletes, not a message board.......this board is not triathlon.  It's a great resource and I enjoy it, but I don't think I could ever see it as a "community".

I am really disappointed to see people react so negatively to someone expressing unhappiness with the new design.  I can say that of the areas that I use on the site, I am happy with the logs.  The forums are no longer very user friendly, and the friends section is not intuitive at all.  I have been using BT for 8+ years now, and spend time here almost every day.  I have already seen my time on BT drop as it's easier to find things I want to read on other sites.  

Some of you may say, "Oh well, see ya.", but I hope you realize that if you keep doing that you'll be here all alone.

Ron,

I applaud your effort to keep BT fresh and full of new functionality, and I hope that the interfaces you are using for your forums and other pages provide enough flexibility that you will be able to address the concerns that people provide.

I would be really interested to see a poll of how people feel about the new site.  And I hope that things become more usable going forward.  

I will go to the site support page once I compile my list of concerns/issues.

I was thinking this exact same thing.  I don't mind the change either - I actually like the look of the new site, and it's the same when learning anything new - it's going to take some time getting used to and then you won't even think about it anymore.  There are some things that I think are still being worked on (the friends/friends of friends and inspires) - but it's a learning process for the developers too. 

More thanks to the developers (and the testers) for putting in all the time and effort to give us a new and improved site. 

Right. I was sort of thinking it's like going to someone's birthday party with free booze, food, cake, entertainment where lots of people are generally enjoying themselves, but because you don't like the decorations, go the the door and proclaim loudly to everyone "THIS PARTY SUCKS!  I'M LEAVING!".

Why they dramatic exit?  If you don't like the decorations, just LEAVE.  Adios. 

Honestly, just because of changes in my life, I haven't been using all the features of BT, so I haven't been getting in there to find problems.  Log a few workout and post in the forums.  Took a week, but getting used to the look and the basic things that I still use are now working well.

I'm a paid member, will continue to be one because I like the plans...  I figure give it a couple weeks/month and 99% of it will be running smoothly.

I get what you are saying Teejay, and I was part of the same type of community on a hunting/dog training board at one time.  I hunted all over the country with people I met on that board.....BUT....it wasn't a huge part of the board, or even remotely why the board was successful.  The board was succesful because it constantly had an influx of new people learning to do what we were already doing.  The overwhelming majority NEVER joined in on the in-person community that developed as an off shoot to that board.....just lke here.  Yeah, you have a community of people who know each other personally.....I wouldn't call "hundreds" a "huge number" and, as I said, I think it's a reach to say that it's one of the "big reasons" for a succesful board.  As an aside......there came a time when the people who new each other personally from the board thought they WERE the board....that was the beginning of the end for that site.

BTW - I like the new format.....and I agree with others who say that whining or complaining won't help much.

I'm also curious.  You ask Lisa to justify/base her view point.  Fair enough.

But what do you base your views on?

I think if you ask her to justify her opinion because you don't agree with it, it's only fair you justify yours, no?

I agree.......read my response to Teejay's post.....that should cover it for you. 

Did you moderate that board?  Know the counts of new people vs people that stay?  Looks like speculation on your part based on observation or gut feel.  Very reasonable speculation, but speculation.

Maybe Lisa's experiences are different, so her view/speculation could be very different too, no?

Neither may be right or wrong.

Looks to me, neither of you have any factual basis to establish your opinion other than personal experience, which of course is subjective.

Dude....I was one of 3 origional owners of the board. 

As far as "very reasonable speculation vs. speculation".............do we have to sit at the poker table all night again?

You didn't mention that.

You probably have a very informed opinion then.