First of all let me say that in order to take part in this poll, you need to be logged in as a registered member - you dont need to post any comments unless you want to though. Michelle (aka Normskid) suggested that we somehow recognise the valuable trip reports that are posted here, following Hugh Manatee's recent report which is worthy of publication and you can see at: http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1988 The best way of doing this, I think, is to create another subforum where it is not possible to post directly to but moderators can move trip reports posted in other forums there. Many posts in the Cancun Info Forum are questions (which we love to answer) but the sheer volume tends to hide the feedback, and sometimes, the really great reports that people put together get lost in the sheer number of posts. It might be nice to have like a library where we can go to read trip reports of our members, we could either restrict this to detailed trip reports that have photos are lengthy and read like a short story, worthy of publication and maybe call it "Trip Reports of Distinction" or we could move all trip reports whatever their length / quality over there. Downsides I can see in this are: 1. If we have a forum just for really brilliant trip reports it might inhibit those from posting trip reports that arent so detailed. 2. People might be p****ed off if their report doesnt make it to the section. 3. I want to keep all the BBG trip reports in the BBG forum 4. More work for our moderators. Let us know what you think, this is your message board - what works for you works for me!
I'm goin' with "leave things as they are"....... All of the things you cited as downsides are valid, Steve. I think the prime one is that it could cut down on trip reports by people that think they are less "gifted" writers. Many will just not post a report... and lets face it..... most of us fall into the less gifted catagory. My concern would be that we would become hung-up on grammer rather than with getting people to post about their experiences in their own words without feeling that their input was being "judged" or "graded" by the readers. Recognition of a well written TR is certainly warrented and I think all of us have commented when one is posted... I think that's as far as it need go. Just my 2 Pesos .... Dave :dave:
If the only way to do what I suggested is to create another forum, I'd have to vote no myself, cause that wasn't really what I was suggesting. I'm NOT in favor of another forum for cataloging trip reports only. Michelle
As a moderator, I wouldn't be opposed to the additional work. But I agree that if you made a best of, those that didn't make it might be offended. And if you did a new forum, you would probably have to do one for each hotel just to keep things clear. Hence the vote for remanding the same. Although it was an intriguing idea Michelle..... Jamie
The thought of doing a seperate forum is intriging, but I would have to agree that if one is made that sub-forums would have to be made for each place, and if you did the best ones, some would feel left out and think "why should I do a report, since it will not be on there" and those could be the ones that could win an award. Great idea, but my vote is to keep it like it is at least for the time being.
Thanks for the input guys. I realise, Michelle, that a separate forum was not really what you was asking for, but although I could put a title under Hugh's name I couldnt make it clickable to link to his report, and the title would only show when Hugh posted a new message. So the suggestion of a new forum was a possible option to make the trip report be easily found. I think (in accordance with the vote) we shall keep things as they are for the time being.
I think it would be an excellent idea to have a separate forum for just trip reports and include them all. If you include them all then most of the downside goes away (#1, #2). It would make it easier for users to get the information they're seeking. Choosing this option the only thing I would suggest is include the resort/hotel name in the Subject line along with the dates. Don't know if the Mod's can alter subject lines but this would really add to the functionality of the entire site. Maybe it's just because I work in IT and it's ALL about the users and getting them what they want as quickly and easily as possible. Side Note: Steve, I'm sure I speak for a lot of folks who not only appreciate this site but your commitment to continually making it better. Cheers to you mate!
Hugh Manatee I am partial to establishing a new forum for just the best trip reports, but I feel that it somehow does not go far enough. Would it be possible to establish a new forum just for my trip reports? :roll:
How about just a page with a bunch of hotel listings, like the home page which you could link to from the forums? Once you click on a hotel name, you are given the links to all the trip reports for that hotel in the forum pages. That way, it's just one page to keep updated that will have links to trip reports in all forums.
