Who wants what groups?

@djjd62,

Why, you plan to join? I thought you said you're Canadian?

@electronicmail,

discussion needs inclusion for all, even those who only want to mock and deride

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

I followed the instructions in the original post in this thread, and sent an email to the Help desk with exactly that information in it.

Cool, I hadn't seen that. By the way, that request (to go there) was my recognition that the actual discussion here was unlikely to be on topic. But I should have also known it'd turn into a venue to oppose groups (at least as imagined).

Quote:

As an aside, why don't you ask one of our community members to assist with customer communications, if nobody else wants to do it?

I have, and coincidentally groups is one of the things I am counting on to launch that. Right now there are no staff forums, and email isn't cutting it (we basically never talk anymore) so groups are what will organize such efforts as well.

I've already asked several people I think are more capable of it than I am, but they aren't stupid and almost invariably want nothing to do with it.

So right now BFN is the only taker and when groups are launched we'll be able to have groups to use to organize such efforts.

Quote:

But surely we could come up with some sort of community oriented solution to the problems of communicating with the community.

I'm sure that is possible, but the community could also try not to make it so damn unwelcome of a chore. There's a reason just about nobody I approached is willing to even consider it.

1 Reply

@Robert Gentel,

Why can't we all just get along?! Surprised

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@Robert Gentel,

I'm not sure if there is an associated expense for me, but if you think my topic fits with your idea, I'd be interested to talk. I think a forum for teachers to discuss methods, discipline, and MORESO share lesson plans would be awesome. Not sure if it should be limited to teachers of English or opened for all disciplines. There are also questions about credentialing in various states, and the dirt about how easy or difficult it is to navigate the credentialing processes... adding certifications, trends in hiring, teaching, ... sharing webinar info, emerging technology in the classroom and best practices... how to approach bullying, cheating, diverse learners...

Let me know if this seems feasible.

1 Reply

@Lash,

Lash wrote:

I'm not sure if there is an associated expense for me, but if you think my topic fits with your idea, I'd be interested to talk.

Your idea is one of the ones I had in mind as prototypical (teachers using it for classrooms). I don't know if you know but able2know originally started as a place where I wanted to help my students (it was even originally called fluencynow.com) and teacher/student groups are one of the things I'd love to see it work well with.

There are going to be no costs to the group as long as it is ad-supported, in the future we may charge for their removal (for groups who would rather not have ads) but the intention is for the basic level of hosting to always be free.

1 Reply

@Butrflynet,

Butrflynet wrote:

I'd like to host a test group called "How to Use A2K" that will serve as a tutorial and resource for A2K members.

That is actually one we planned as an official group, but you are certainly welcome to help us get it working!

One of the things we will do with groups is move all our a2k-centric discussions there. 99% of the visitors to the site don't care about the site-centric stuff so it's just clutter to them, but the core members who drive the site really do.

We plan to have an able2know group that we use for communication with mods and for able2know-centric feedback and I'd certainly welcome your help in the community liaison role we'd previously discussed.

1 Reply

@Robert Gentel,

I can't really think of any cooler goal, and I think you're on to something that could explode into a very useful resource in education. I'm sure you know there are a lot of lesson plan sites dotting the web...and teachers sharing advice and experiential narratives... but gathering the best of the best in one place is just plain sexy. Excited about the possibilities. If I can help (or just benefit through use), please inform.

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@DrewDad,

DrewDad wrote:

If we can get people to pay for the privilege of joining our groups.... I call dibs on Lenny Conundrums/Neopets.

That is actually a pretty good subject to use as a group, most of the members don't care for it too much but we get a lot of people signing up for that subject. It would be one of those thing were it would serve both sides better than the current setup.

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@Robert Gentel,

Robert Gentel wrote:

chai2 wrote:
Which leads me to the question Robert; What do you consider monopolizing a thread? Or being extreme?

Who cares? The point is that I can't wait to have my own group that is curated more than a2k and I can.

Quote:
Are you monopoloizing a thread if your posts take up more than X percentage of the total? Or is that a generic way of saying that if you don't like what a person is saying, that means they are monopolizing? Or being extreme?

It's a generic way of saying I can decide for my self who I want in my group.

Quote:
What some people may consider monopolizing, others may consider an interesting and educational read.

No **** sherlock.

Quote:
Same goes for "moderating extremes". By whose standards? Yours? I don't know what your standards are.

Exactly. And you don't need to. I am not asking about what people think of my standards, I am asking who wants a group. You don't seem to want one, so that's fine but I don't know what your point is.

That last sentence is totally what I don't get about your entire response to my thoughts.

Maybe I'm being dense, but I totally don't get what you mean about "who cares, I can't wait to have my own group that....."

A generic way to decide who you want in your group? I don't understand that either. Obviously I don't get the point of these groups at all. So, if you have a group, you can include or exclude people, even if they want to be a part of it?

So if you talking about something that might be of tremendous interest to me, you can exclude me? Even if I had something you might want to hear?

Jesus wept! That sounds that high school popular people cliches that keep others from even knowing what the people outside of the group would even have to be like in order to belong.
That's total bullshit.

I don't know what your point is with all this either, not if people are not going to be "allowed" to belong.

I'm not being difficult or obtuse on purpose Robert, I really don't get what this group stuff is supposed to be about.
How can I know if I want a group, or want to be part of one, if I can't figure out what you're talking about.

All I know is that whenever someone wants to include some people, it excludes a lot more than that.

This whole thing makes me feel very sad.

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@Robert Gentel,

Robert Gentel wrote:

chai2 wrote:
All this "seeking membership" stuff....I'll be honest, it makes me feel kinda unwanted.

I get why but it's supremely silly and most of the insecurity on this thread about groups is completely misplaced. In any case, I don't have time to hand hold about this.

It's just forum hosting, I guess you don't want your own forum but there are those who do and who get it and who I am addressing my request to.

ok, the part I bolded?
Please, and really, I mean please don't take this personally, but my gut, immediate response to anyone who would say that they don't have the time to hand hold is a big "**** you"

Is that part of what having a group is all about, being able to say to someone else that you don't have time to hold their hand? Well, aren't you hot ****, Mr. "I Have a Group and Decide Who Gets to Belong"

That is one of the most condescending things I've ever had said to me here.

Here, hold this.

Oh, I'm sorry, am I being extreme?

1 Reply

@chai2,

For a moment there I thought your post was an ingenious joke illustrating the purpose of groups.

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@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

You're welcome Mame. I guess we need to find someone else to symbolically head the World's Most Marvelous Canadians group. It's not going to be the same without your help Mame.

Oh thanks, Tsar, and actually, ALL Canadians are marvelLous, and I know it won't be the same without my help, but hey... I have things to do. Sorry 'bout that. Busy girl and all that. Plus, I'm not a groupie, so it just doesn't jive with me.

1 Reply

@Mame,

Hi Mame..... spotted you on New Posts and thought I'd say hello. Hello.

1 Reply

@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

I'm not being difficult or obtuse on purpose Robert, I really don't get what this group stuff is supposed to be about.
How can I know if I want a group, or want to be part of one, if I can't figure out what you're talking about.

I guess the easiest way is to wait and see what it's like. It will be kinda like this:

http://groups.able2know.org/philforum/

Basically a discrete (separate) forum, hosted by a2k. On the main a2k there will just be a "groups" link that lists groups to peruse, or not.

There are a lot of reasons people might want a smaller group, I set this discussion out on the wrong foot by saying I want an idiot-free one but that is just a reflection of generalized frustrations I have with quotidian idiocy I have been dealing with on and offline. There can be many less divisive reasons for wanting a smaller group such as teacher/classroom, abuse victims, niche subjects etc and ultimately I do not expect it to have much impact on a2k activity levels. Most of what groups will enable is stuff that a2k does not currently support very well and stuff that is not happening on a2k or that is happening but not doing well on the public forums.

Groups are just a tool, they just represent the capacity to create hosted forums on able2know. If it doesn't sound like your cup of tea it isn't going to be a mandatory drink so it doesn't much matter (just like the millions of other forums on the internet that you aren't interested in don't matter).

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@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

ok, the part I bolded?
Please, and really, I mean please don't take this personally, but my gut, immediate response to anyone who would say that they don't have the time to hand hold is a big "**** you"

I won't take it personally, but please don't take it so personally when I say I don't, and I really don't, have the time to answer all questions and forum drama. It eats up significant hours I don't have in my day to give. I don't have time in my day to enjoy a2k right now and even less to spend long unenjoyable stretches repeating myself. I feel like just logging on this week cost me 6-10 hours and this is a week particularly short on hours for me.

Quote:

Is that part of what having a group is all about, being able to say to someone else that you don't have time to hold their hand? Well, aren't you hot ****, Mr. "I Have a Group and Decide Who Gets to Belong"

No, it has nothing to do with groups, just me not having enough time to dedicate to answering questions about a2k and feeling overwhelmed.

Quote:

That is one of the most condescending things I've ever had said to me here.

Come now, saying I don't have time to hand hold is condescending but isn't even as bad as chai on a good day in the relationship threads. You give my talent to condescend way too much credit.

Quote:

Here, hold this.

Oh, I'm sorry, am I being extreme?

Par for the course on a forum I'd say. It reminds me to reiterate my call for volunteers to help run this community. I think I'm pretty thin on both time and patience for it and have been looking for help for a few years now.

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@spendius,

hey, spendi, i'm still over here Smile

so you can still say hi (in London) if you want to - ha ha.

Robert - if there's anything non-technical I can do, I'm in. I'm just not computer-savvy, but otherwise, I'd help.

1 Reply

@Mame,

Thanks! Right now there are significant non-technical needs. The site work basically breaks down into technical administration, development, moderation, and "customer support". I personally would like to focus more of my time on the development needs and less on moderation and customer support.

In the area of "customer service" I'd like to better focus what I do. Basically, no matter how much we post and explain it will need to be repeated for people who will ask about it on the forums without having seen it. That process is particularly time consuming for me and it's also pretty frustrating because a lot of the time people don't just want an explanation, but want the site to go in a different direction. In short, things like plain differences of opinion on how things should be run.

In those cases I think "community liaisons" would be helpful. They would essentially be members who help spread answers etc and who collate feedback on behalf of the community. Things like pointing to where the answer is to a certain question and making sure that feedback gets to us. The feedback is very useful but the process of managing it is very laborious, and I would love to have some more structure to the process as well as some more help with it.

2 Replies

@Robert Gentel,

Rolling out new things to a community is one of the absolute hardest things to get right. It takes a multi-layered and concerted effort to get the desired changes to take root in the minds of the people who inevitably simply want things to remain as they are, as well as a super-thick skin and some flexibility on the part of those making the change (as I'm sure I don't have to tell you, people reflexively get pissed all the time).

I'm willing to help, if you guys can find a way for me to help.

Cycloptichorn

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@Robert Gentel,

Quote:

I'd certainly welcome your help in the community liaison role we'd previously discussed.

Ready when you are...

0 Replies

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