What do YOU want this forum to be?

Well, I haven't been here long at all, but it seems pretty good to me.

I especially like the fact that politics has its own place. It's the most divisive topic in the country today. I can get to know people and their personalities by their comments outside of politics. That's why I don't go into the politics part of this forum.

Has anyone mentioned having a place to talk sports?
 
Dave Earl said:
Well, I haven't been here long at all, but it seems pretty good to me.

I especially like the fact that politics has its own place. It's the most divisive topic in the country today. I can get to know people and their personalities by their comments outside of politics. That's why I don't go into the politics part of this forum.

Has anyone mentioned having a place to talk sports?
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That's an interesting question. I don't ever recall many people here talking sports, except in the context of teams and leagues displaying political behaviour.

I used to be a big Redskins fan back in the 80s and 90s, and attended my share of games at RFK Stadium. I stopped watching the NFL because it can suck up an entire Sunday. These days, I'll watch college ball (basketball and football) if I happen to catch it on.
 
I brought this up Loong ago, and after seeing some new folks arrive here, made me remember something else.
I truly wish the outside world could not see our posts unless and actual member. Our heart pouring and honesty with our friends on here is one thing, but Why do we share with those who are not members?
A few lines shown from certain posts , a category listing is all they need to feel the need to join. If they do not join maybe it is best for us all?
Does it cost more money @Ken Anderson ?
 
I personally like threads on topics and I like if they largely stay on topic. Like @Dave Earl posted above about politics, I don't enjoy every topic. I do like politics most of the time, but I don't necessarily like every subject addressed in every thread.
 
Hedi Mitchell said:
I brought this up Loong ago, and after seeing some new folks arrive here, made me remember something else.
I truly wish the outside world could not see our posts unless and actual member. Our heart pouring and honesty with our friends on here is one thing, but Why do we share with those who are not members?
A few lines shown from certain posts , a category listing is all they need to feel the need to join. If they do not join maybe it is best for us all?
Does it cost more money @Ken Anderson ?
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Here's the downside: I came here from that other forum. If I had not been able to read the comments to see if this would have been a better fit, I would not have bothered signing up. I would not have rolled the dice on another bad experience. I bet others who have joined also poked around before deciding to sign up.

But I understand, Heidi. When we first start out, we're more guarded with the things we disclose. Then we lose all of our filters. I initially tried to not say too much that might identify me or where I live, and then I stopped worrying about it. On that other forum, I saw a member post a street map showing where she and others live, and got my head bit off for telling her that she should delete it. None of us here are that naive. There's lower hanging fruit out there.

I guess there's a middle ground. I don't think we would be as big a target (or as full of easily identifiable data) as Facebook, et al. Heck, I recently received letters that the database for the billing service for my doctors and the database for a town I lived in had been hacked in to. I'm way more concerned over that than anything I disclose here. Just don't disclosed real names or real addresses. Other than that, there's minimal exposure. Our primary exposure here is someone hacking into this database and getting our email addresses, but we all already get (and know to be aware of) spam and other nefarious stuff.
 
Hedi Mitchell said:
I brought this up Loong ago, and after seeing some new folks arrive here, made me remember something else.
I truly wish the outside world could not see our posts unless and actual member. Our heart pouring and honesty with our friends on here is one thing, but Why do we share with those who are not members?
A few lines shown from certain posts , a category listing is all they need to feel the need to join. If they do not join maybe it is best for us all?
Does it cost more money @Ken Anderson ?
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The forum supports private categories, but that would make it difficult for us to get new members because there would be nothing for search engine spiders to index, and even people (and there are several) who write for various senior publications online or elsewhere wouldn't be adding us to their articles on senior forums because someone is unlikely to register for membership in order to review a discussion forum. I'm not interested in running a large forum but we do need new members from time to time.
 
John Brunner said:
But I understand, Heidi. When we first start out, we're more guarded with the things we disclose. Then we lose all of our filters. I initially tried to not say too much that might identify me or where I live, and then I stopped worrying about it. On that other forum, I saw a member post a street map showing where she and others live, and got my head bit off for telling her that she should delete it. None of us here are that naive. There's lower hanging fruit out there.
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The safest thing is not to use your real name or to give your address. I agree with that. At the same time, in my years on the Internet, I have always used my real name or a form of it. When the digital requirements didn't allow for more than an 8-digit name, I used "kfander," which is the first and middle initial, followed by the first five letters of my last name, and I have used my physical address, telephone, and email address. In the last version of this forum, I once posted a map showing the location of my house. I'm still here, and doing as well as ever. I'm not recommending this, mind you, just demonstrating that the dangers are sometimes exaggerated.
 
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Ken Anderson said:
The safest thing is not to use your real name or to give your address. I agree with that. At the same time, in my years on the Internet, I have always used my real name or a form of it. When the digital requirements didn't allow for more than an 8-digit name, I used "kfander," which is the first and middle initial, followed by the first five letters of my last name, and I have used my physical address, telephone, and email address. In the last version of this forum, I once posted a map showing the location of my house. I'm still here, and doing as well as ever. I'm not recommending this, mind you, just demonstrating that the dangers are sometimes exaggerated.
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Yeh, I do wonder how much of this is "Something bad may happen..." It's like keeping your car key on a detachable ring all by itself because your mechanic knows where you live and might make a copy of your other keys. I do believe that people post too much about their daily activities on FaceBook, like when they will be out of town and their address is either already disclosed or is easily found. But I don't know for a fact that any such burglaries have actually occurred, or if it's just click-bait TV news fodder.

That being said, I met a woman who got scammed out of $10,000 because there was sufficient information on social media for scammers to call her posing as her "distraught granddaughter" who had just been arrested and needed the $10,000 to get out. The scammers also posed as the police, telling her how to get the money to them (and telling her to not talk to anyone about it.) Since it worked once, they tried it again, this time posing as her grandson. This time she called her grandson, who was obviously safe at home. When they called back to make arrangements for the transfer of funds, she told them she checked and her grandson was OK. The scammers actually raged at her for calling someone when they told her not to!!!

All of that was possible from Facebook activity (and a gullible elderly woman.)
 
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Beth Gallagher said:
I think Entertainment & Media as a forum (no sub-topics) under Lounge & Coffee Bar. Technology could also be a forum for all types of tech, from iPads to vehicles. Just keeping it simple. :D
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I'd like to recommend these again. It's getting more difficult to find stuff, at least for me. The old forum had "Gadgets and Tech Talk" that also included automotive, which might be changed to "Gadgets, Tech Talk and Vehicles" so that cars and tractor discussions could go there. :D. Music threads are scattered everywhere.
 
I can easily add more categories and sub-forums. I haven't done so, not only because I'l lazy, but because there was an idea, when we restarted the forum, to keep it smaller than the last one.
 
Ken Anderson said:
I can easily add more categories and sub-forums. I haven't done so, not only because I'l lazy, but because there was an idea, when we restarted the forum, to keep it smaller than the last one.
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I think that sounded good to all of us in the beginning. Now the number of threads is growing fast and seem to need a little more organization... but maybe that's just me.
 
Ken Anderson said:
Tomorrow, I will take some time to set up additional categories and/or sub-forums. Please let me know, again if you have already, what you'd like to see here, along with suggested names.
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I am new to this forum but not new to forums, so I will politely add my two cents.🤠

If you don’t change anything, I am fine. If I don’t like a thread title or feel uncomfortable about it for any reason, I stay out of it.

Most of the legit horse forums (Reddit does not count as a legit place to talk logically about anything) have sub forums and some even have sub-sub forums. They mostly deal with health issues that are broken down for ease of finding multiple threads on a topic grouped together. For example hooves, metabolic issues, etc.

IMO too much subbing of threads can be overwhelming for some folks, especially new members until they get used to the “map”. Generally when a thread gets moved by a Mod on the horse forum, it was by a new member who did not realize there are so many sub-sections.. It can also be a real Pita for the Mods to monitor.

No real names should be a given but maybe that point could be stressed in red, all caps & bold right when someone is applying for membership.🤠
 
Connie Bennett said:
No real names should be a given but maybe that point could be stressed in red, all caps & bold right when someone is applying for membership.
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Some of us use our real names. I ran a BBS before the Internet came around and have always used my real name, or a version of it, when names were limited to eight characters. However, there is certainly no requirement to do so.
 
Connie Bennett said:
I am new to this forum but not new to forums, so I will politely add my two cents.🤠

If you don’t change anything, I am fine. If I don’t like a thread title or feel uncomfortable about it for any reason, I stay out of it.

Most of the legit horse forums (Reddit does not count as a legit place to talk logically about anything) have sub forums and some even have sub-sub forums. They mostly deal with health issues that are broken down for ease of finding multiple threads on a topic grouped together. For example hooves, metabolic issues, etc.

IMO too much subbing of threads can be overwhelming for some folks, especially new members until they get used to the “map”. Generally when a thread gets moved by a Mod on the horse forum, it was by a new member who did not realize there are so many sub-sections.. It can also be a real Pita for the Mods to monitor.

No real names should be a given but maybe that point could be stressed in red, all caps & bold right when someone is applying for membership.🤠
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I like the idea of using a real first name, but certainly think using a current real last name might not be a good idea, especially for women. I think using names like Mary Jane Weed, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, or Ida Ho, while real sounding, might taint ones reputation from the get go. :sneaky:
 
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