Hello All - apologies for some frantic changes in the setup this morning. I think we now have a situation we are happy with. Here is what changed.Until yesterday almost all posts in the community where only visible to registered users.
Ronald's activity
Questions Asked
Navigating a website with lots of information is pretty tricky - and one of the things I really did not like about the previous forums is the fact that you could not simply say:
"I want all culture-related topics that refer to Sicily"
I've been trying to figure out what the best names (and categories they represent) for different roles within the community could be - and the information gathered from members registering so far has helped a lot to help me decide.Essentially - to
Those with avatars just all got a little green person - a bit of extra motivation to get your own personalised avatar! No, not really - just a way to keep everything spaced out neatly
Welcome to the ITALY Community site - here is some useful info on what you can do as a new member of the community.
Hello to all who have bravely found their way here - please fire away with questions about the website. It is all in a very rough state right now but we are working hard to polish everything and get a nice place for us to discuss.
Comments posted
there was option to automatically subscribe to posts of a group you join - it has now been disabled. so if you want lots of :mail: :mail: :mail: :mail: you have to opt-in now as it should be
aka - the help group!
remember that groups need to be approved - it is "live now". lay your hat, wear your slippers and put the kettle on...
1. Click on account -> notifications and you can disable all subscriptions there2. Click on account -> subscriptions and unclick the box that says "automatically enable notifications for any group I join"
it depends what you mean by constraints... administrators needs to approve groups so they need to fall within community usage, etc. however, I can't see situations where we force a group to be open while its creator wants it closed ... so funnies is your own fiefdom then or are you going to open it up ;-)
Open = any member of the community (visitor or full member) can join. They just click on joinModerated = any member can ask to join but the group creator must approve themInvite-only = you need to have an invitation from someone who is already in the group (creator or not)Closed = Only the creator can make you a memberHope this makes sense!
as it allows me to illustrate [b]all the neat things[/b] we can now do with text. :) Here is what you need to do:[list][*] Click on My Account[*] Click On Notifications[*] Manage Subscriptions[*] Cancel the ones you are not interested in[/list] :)
"Sicily is poor, scruffy and slightly sinister – but John Gimlette is captivated by its magnificence."Poor - at times unfortunately yes - a lot. Scruffy - most certainly (and part of the charm)But sinister?The 4-year old Sicilian in me said - "Sicily is not sinister!" But then when you think about it a bit more I guess it actually is a sinister - but absolutely not in the way the author of the article intends it. The death notices he mentions are all over Sicily - but after the initial culture shock of being reminded daily that someone else is dead you realise that they are a very civil way to notify the community and allow everyone to pay a small sign of respect by just driving slowly next to the notices, reading them and nodding their head. That is not sinister at all.I don't think a brief visit in Sicily will unearth anything particularly sinister. A few years in Sicily, however, will allow you to see the things that are really sinister. The politicians and bosses - that look like perfectly enjoyable and friendly characters but suck the blood out of the island.He did get his description of Siracusa correct though "or my last few days, I travelled south to Syracuse. It was like a journey through a very old painting, rich with grandeur and decay." that is just the feeling I get as well.
the only personal information collected is full name and date of birth (and that is strictly private and visible only to administrators)location information can be as vague as you want it to be - it is just a nice way to know where members are (give or take a few dozens kms) so that you can connect with the right people. don't fill in specific location information if you are not happy with it.compared to the old forums members here have much less to worry about since most everything is behind closed doors!
Keep it Simple Stupid is the way I would like to go as well - the minimum number of member roles possible, etc.While currently there is the facility to rate content (with a five star system) I am not sure whether to keep it or not - on the one hand when there are a lot of posts it is useful to find the best ones. Perhaps we could do it only on content types that makes sense like pictures or guides, and the like... and not on normal posts which are not really about being good or bad quality.