It is great to see the number of people who are posting thoughtful, and
provocative contributions to this forum, and to see the variety of
issues that are being raised. Thank you all. This is the stuff of a
public issues forum.
As the forum gets busier, it is becoming more important to follow some
posting guidelines, so that people do not get overwhelmed with a lot of
posts that are difficult to follow. In particular, it is important to
use "Topics" correctly.
I am opening this "Topics in this Forum" topic to explain how topics
work, to list the benefits of using topics, to provide some simple
guidelines for using topics, and to draw your attention to some of the
active topics that we have in this forum (see below). I encourage you
all to read this post, and take some time to follow the topic guidelines.
Over the last few days, various folks have posted to the "Guest
Speakers" Topic,
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/24st8NYmTWDckdt1SGobrt
about issues that are not specific to the Guest Speakers process, and
that are already being discussed in other Topics. As we go on, when
people do this, I am going to keep diverting those posts to their
"rightful homes". This will unavoidably cause some disruption to the
flow of conversation, but will result in a forum that is more manageable
for all. I encourage others to take up "Topic Cop" roles as well, so
that we can develop some momentum towards a Topic Happy Culture in this
Forum!
cheers,
Dan
. .
Dan Randow, Forum Manager
Canterbury Public Issues Forum
http://canterburyissues.org.nz
<email obscured>
ph 03-377-5377
. . . . .
HOW TOPICS WORK
Posts in the forum are organised into Topics. The Topics are listed on
the "Latest Topics" page.
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/canterburyissues/messages/
A Topic is made up of all the posts that have the same subject line (or
topic title). When a Topic gets a new post, it moves to the top of the
list on the Latest Topics page.
Topics make it easy to keep conversations about different issues
separate. Using the Web view of a Topic, it is very easy to read all the
posts about one issue, one after the other, on a single page. There is
more about the benefits of using Topics, below. There are also some
examples of Topics, below.
USING TOPICS CORRECTLY
To use Topics correctly, follow these two guidelines.
1: Adding to a Topic.
Only add to a topic if your post is actually on that
topic. If it's not, then start a new topic (see "Starting a Topic",
below).
To add to a topic using email, just reply to the email keeping the
subject line unchanged.
To add to a topic using the Web, login to the website, visit the topic
and find "add to topic" there.
You can easily navigate from each email to the Web view of the topic,
by following the link in the message footer.
2: Starting a Topic.
Only start a topic, if your post is actually on a new topic. If it
is a comment on a topic that already exists, then add it to that
topic (see "Adding to a Topic", above).
When you start a new topic, make sure you give it a title (or subject
line), that accurately describes the subject that you are posting
about.
To start a new topic using email, post an email to the group with a
subject line that has not been used before.
To start a new topic using the Web, login to the Website, navigate
to the Topics page,
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/canterburyissues/messages/
and click "Start a topic".
BENEFITS OF TOPICS
Shows respect for the people who have already posted to the topics,
especially when you read their posts, and respond to them in your post.
Makes it easy for people who visit the Forum on the Web to follow the
separate conversations, while they are occurring concurrently. Many
people follow this forum by visiting the Website,
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/canterburyissues/messages/topics.html
or using Web Feed Readers.
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/canterburyissues/messages/view_thread_rss
Both of these tasks are much easier if the title of the post accurately
describes its content.
Makes it easy for people who visit the site on the Web to follow the
separate conversations, while they are occurring concurrently. Many
people who receive the postings via email, receive a lot of email. It is
much easier to follow conversations using email, if the subject line of
the email accurately describes its content.
Makes it easy for people who receive the "Topic Digest" by email, to
find out what is actually being discussed in the Forum.
EXAMPLES OF TOPICS
The "Peak Oil and implications for Christchurch" topic
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4cYOM0GlXpQrfpeMxF4Ebs
is a good example.
Another good example is the "Introductions" topic,
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/3z8Cb3CfqQI0nD7A09zv0X
a good place to introduce yourself, when you begin posting to the Forum.
In his enthusiasm for people introducing themselves, the Forum Manager
(Dan) has made "Introductions" a "Sticky Topic", so that it always
appears at the top of the list, even if other topics contain more recent
posts.
Here are some other examples of Topics in the Canterbury Online Public
Issues Forum.
"Guest Speakers"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/24st8NYmTWDckdt1SGobrt
A topic for explaining what the Guest Speaker role involves, and for
discussing who the Guest Speakers are, and when they are going to
participate.
"Who should be the new Mayor of Christchurch?"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/2IeK6Jp4BrwiatTvmmzW2j
A topic where there is already an active discussion about
"independence" in local government elected representatives.
"City Mall Redevelopment"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/7mDFZrNyorFE8DAaCauRso
"Light Rail for Christchurch"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/2aLOaST73Chtkn14RQAcuu
And here are some old ones, that have much potential for reactivation.
"Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/6nPHyGE6C3ROfCuAJsCbLI
"Traffic congestion"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/2iFwmhySAGzn1a0Yo8ob28
"Pollution in the Avon / Heathcote Estuary"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4LnjwhOW3fA5C5s3Suy5EF
"Disengaged and disillusioned young people"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/iomzGhn31ucKqqqV18JPn
"Police operations in Christchurch"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/1lapX15wpxAZLAnnuSxpFz
"Central Plains Water Scheme"
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/3yXe824VDroQnkYrwzClBa
By the way, the "short links" that appear on the topic pages are useful
for linking to topics and posts, because they're short.