Is it possible to make it simplier to contact a classmate on the forum? The old one you could click on their name and you were in. Now the only way I can see that we can contact people is to go to members and search thru the list then click on their name and go thru their slew of pictures until you can post to send them a message. I would like something faster if possible.

On the old forums if you cliked the Classmates's name you went directly to the Classmate's Profile, where you could then send the Classmate a private message. On the new forums we added a "View Profile" button under the Classmate's name to fulfill this same purpose. I.E. clicking the "View Profile" button takes you right to the Classmate's Profile the same way the old forums did when you clicked on the Classmate's name.

Brad,

Would it be possible to generate interest in Forum use by a setting that will notify all Classmates of a Forum update, irrespective of whether they have used the Forums or not? I don't want to overload the system with mass messaging but do feel something like this might encourage more to use the Forums.

Mark

Although I agree it would encourage more use, unfortunately we can't create this option. Sending people email they didn't sign up for (and on some sites it would be a lot of email) can cause a variety of issues, including a much higher percentage of people likely marking the email as spam. With some of the big email providers (like AOL for example) this creates a real issue and can even lead to them blocking our entire mailserver, resulting in legit email not being delivered. I'm not sure what the exact threshold is, but I know percentage wise it doesn't take a very large percentage of people marking email as spam to get blocked entirely.

Next best alterantive though, try sending an email to your entire class recommending they subscribe to your forums, and provide step-by-step instructions for how to do so.

When you subscribe to the forum and get notice of the updates do classmates get a copy of what is in the new update? I recieve the updates and am notified when a new post is made. But I can view what they wrote. My concern is that they wouldn't visit the forum then, if they can view it thru the email. I find myself doing that if in a hurry. Or is that only an option to administrators? I have also noticed that if you get the notice and then they go back and change what they wrote, the notice we recieve has the original post in it. That could be a little dangerous for some if they wrote something and then thought it might be taken the wrong way.

I understand what you're saying, but unfortunately there is no such thing as "unsending" an email. The email is what it is at the time it was sent like any other email. Thus if somebody writes something and the email goes out, then they decide to change it, there is no way to change an email that has already been sent. Bottom line is people will need to be careful about items they post, because some Classmates will in fact be subscribed.

Receiving forum items in email being a detriment to people coming to the forums to participate you'll find not to be the case. In fact it's the exact opposite. Allowing forum subscriptions will significantly increase participation. The Classmate will in fact receive the full post in their email, and then can decide to simply delete it, or can click a link to enter the forums and respond. This is far better than depending on people to actively come to your forums to see if anything is new. For most peole reading email is a daily activity, while visiting your class web site forums usually wouldn't be.

Thanks for the thought, Brad, but that was the first thing I did when the Forums opened and they've had a reminder since. I seem to get the same few people contributing to the Forums so I'm now going to create a few more Topics and message the class about them asking them to contribute their thoughts.

I suppose we shouldn't expect the Forums to act in the way that instant messaging would. People will only take part when it's a subject they've got something worth contributing to it and it interests them. To a degree it's going to depend on what response they get to their original posting. It's sometimes worth disagreeing with a post, or offering an alternative viewpoint, just so the originator comes back for more! As I can see from the number of viewings each Topic gets, it's important that the Topics are about something the majority will connect with rather than something that relates to just a couple of people.

First and foremost we have to get people coming back to the site time and time again and I've found that adding something new to the site and messaging everyone to tell them about it usually prompts them to take a look. Now all I've got to do is find a way of making sure they use the Forums while they're there!

Mark we have been playing a game that you might incorporate. I post on the home page someones Senior Will. (It's been 36 years so it tests their memory). They can get clues if they go to the forum. I send out a MARCO. In a post I will put MARCO: this classmate lives in the same time zone as the high school. That gets them to come to the forum to find the clue. There have been several of them playing the game. Maybe you could do the same with some other exciting treasure hunt idea.

Hello, Ann.

Thanks for that suggestion. I'll bear it in mind for use at sometime. I think I get the idea, even if I'm not familiar with the terms Marco and Seniors Will!
I'm not sure if it's the right thing for my Classmate age group, though.

All suggestions are welcome, so thanks again, Ann.

Mark the Senior Will was something that at the end of the year the classmates would write. They would write something that they would will to other classmates. Marco is the old game Marco Polo. Kids would call out Marco and the others would call out Polo and you would try to find them. You could do a hunt like what classmate has this on their profile? And use some thing other than Marco just to show them the way to the clue. I think having something new for them to search for on at least a weekly basis brings them back to the site for clues.