Hi,

Just happened to come upon 250 or so posts which went unanswered.

I thought many of them were relevant.

I am a forum member since March 2005 (very junior) and pardon my insolence; but there are threads which aren't relevant to this forum - eg. Who is your favourite actor/actress? Does it fit in here? Has it anything to do with travel?

Once again I noticed the hackles raised when Lovelyindia (God rest her/his soul) started a 'skirmish' in which all the major (and minor) IM'ers were involved (I too posted my two penny worth). Afterwards I realised that the thread wasn't actually relevant.

Posts go unanswered especially during the week-end. Moderators could resurrect the relevant posts during weekdays?

[steven_ber]

The subject of irrelevant threads is best left for another thread.

Unanswered threads ????

I used to check the 'unanswered threads' section regularly and try to reply to some, but I give up after a short while.

I found that whilst there were many questions that give enough information, there was too many that didn't.

I am willing to spend twice as long providing a reply as the person has spent on posting the question, I am willing to put as much thought into a reply as a person has put into a question, unfortunately, for some of the unanswered threads, that would only require a 30 second reply.

There is also the problem of multiple questions in one thread.

You may find a thread about the weather in Madhya Pradesh, in that thread there may also be questions about trains from A to B, and about appropriate dress, and seeking advice for a trip to the mountains towards the end of their trip, but the very people who could give good advice about the latter subjects are not likely to have viewed a thread about the weather.

Thread titles again, I now only look at threads where I think I can offer useful information, but there are probably many threads that have dumb titles, where I may have been able to offer good advice, but the thread title didn't indicate what the person wanted to know.

Lately the website has been very busy, so most members will just look at the 'latest threads' section and pick out any threads that are of interest to them, it makes the thread title very important.

[concoran]

I am not sure if Lionel made a comment, or asked a question.
With respect, I must say that all the threads are relevent (except for e.g who's your favorite brazilian actress which is relevent is brazilian forum but not so much here). If any new member asked about what to do in Hampi or how to get to Coorg from MP, most of them get answered anyways.
Indiamike, imho, is a place to hang out among indophiles, to discuss stuff, to ask questions and to answer some if you can.
No thread can be relevent or irrelevent, after all, relevency is relative.
While it gets time consuming, I believe that the moderators are doing a fantastic job in keeping this a very controlled and useful site. To them, my thanks are due.

[Nick-H]

I don't think there is any restriction on just how the section of the forum can get! Joke of the day, death of pope, falling in love, getting a dog. Hey, people even talk about stuff that is India-related in the section!

[cyberhippie]

It's the nature of the beast that is IM. The mods do try to steer the site in the "India travel" direction but in the past this has often led to anger and slanging matches by the affected poster.
Short of more censorship there is little you can do about the problem I feel. People like to chat about India and posts have a habit of going off on some tangent unconnected to India travel.
I think we're all guilty of that.
However I have noticed a kind of chatroom mentality becoming quite prevelant on IM, lots of inane one liners, chatting and humour which serve to keep the better posts off the front page (I know you can go to the individual forums but I'm betting the home page is where most visitors reside)
But again what can you do it's an open forum, perhaps a bit of self censorship would go a long way to help these unanswered posts receive the attention they deserve!!!!!

[Nick-H]

Originally Posted by cyberhippie

... lots of inane one liners, chatting and humour which serve to keep the better posts off the front page...

.

[indiamike]

I am considering just dropping the whole 'Latest Forum Topics' off the front page since it gives the impression that if it falls off the front page of the site then it won't be seen.

Either that or I will cut back on the sections shown on the front page or change it so replies do not bump the thread back up to the top.

[cyberhippie]

Losing the Latest forum topics from the front page may well be the way to go mike.It will make life a little more complicated for the addicted chatterboxes not seeing their names in lights so to speak.
Also it may encourage new users to delve a bit deeper into the bowels of IM.
So what are you going to do with all that space????

Originally Posted by indiamike

I am considering just dropping the whole 'Latest Forum Topics' off the front page since it gives the impression that if it falls off the front page of the site then it won't be seen.

Either that or I will cut back on the sections shown on the front page or change it so replies do not bump the thread back up to the top.

That would be a good idea. (Considering the increase in traffic ever since I joined). Serious surfers would be encouraged to delve into the treasure trove of information that Indiamike provides. Keep us posted, please...

[Nick-H]

Mike, could you put a 'Latest threads' search in that box with a <More> or <Show All> button at the bottom?

Personally I don't find that box, as it is, too useful --- it is too small. I always use the Latest Threads or New Posts facilities ...and I still find, on an occasional trall through the forums, stuff that I missed somehow.

[cyberhippie]

I wonder how the new look will affect Indiamike should the big cheese decide to change the format of the forum.
I have feeling the traffic may be a little slower, I don't know about other people's surfing habits but I'm quite a lazy surfer, I often get turned off by sites where the info is too deeply hidden.
Magically Nick has already come up with a great idea to alleviat the problem!! Nice one

Originally Posted by indiamike

I am considering just dropping the whole 'Latest Forum Topics' off the front page since it gives the impression that if it falls off the front page of the site then it won't be seen.

Either that or I will cut back on the sections shown on the front page or change it so replies do not bump the thread back up to the top.

Just a suggestion: What about the chat room? I find that it is hardly in use. You could get rid of it. People seem to be using the threads (and the shout box) to chat instead of the chat room. From March 2005 to now, I have been able to chat once and only once.

[sadhuji]

Prof. Lionel Aranha - From March 2005 to now, I have been able to chat once and only once.

i think it was i who you chatted with!!

Originally Posted by sadhuji

i think it was i who you chatted with!!

You are absolutely right!

[xealot]

If you get rid of the front page Mike ... pretty please give us somewhere to go where we can list all the threads and order them by which was posted in last! Pretty pretty pretty please!