Birding-aus a forum?

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Luke,

Thanks for your though provoking & the thought you have put into your post.

However I would like to add my vote to the Don’t Change group.

I am part of a community & not part of a website.

 

Comments to the point you have raised are as follows:

 

... I find the usability of Birding-Aus excruciatingly painful.

 

I find it instantaneous & efficient in its email subscription mode.

 

I think it would be wonderful if the information that is generously shared

here could be presented in another form, such that it is easier to read and

filter, yet does not detract from the overall experience of the user. I am

not sure that a forum design is the way to go, but there are plenty of

models out there now that could be considered. What about incorporating

wiki's for RFI's on birding sites so that the same questions don't get asked

repeatedly?

 

Many, most, questions on Birding-Aus have an answer that quickly gets out of date.
I for one don’t mind a refresh of “How do I get into Werribee WTP” or similar now & again.

 

For those of you that did not like Clair's suggestion, I wonder if you made

that decision based on well-founded knowledge and experience of what works

(as some of you have demonstrated in your replies), or just purely based on

resistance to change, and what is best for you? Do you really think that a

dozen or so replies against the suggestion is an accurate representation of

all of the users of Birding-Aus?

 

Yes, resistance to change is based on what is best for me.

It is also based on my experience with other groups I have subscribed to have changed format,

undergone a clumsy transition process & at the end effectively offer me no more usefulness than I had before.

 

I don't think it's a question of "If it aint broke don't fix it". The

website works, but there are now better solutions available. I believe it is

possible to create a website that can be simple to use and intuitive, retain

current users (and even make them happier!), and attract more. Surely the

more people who participate and contribute, the richer our resource becomes,

and the greater benefit for all? Isn't that what we should be striving for

here?

 

I wonder what the stats are like on this birding website et al? Are the same

people logging in all the time? What percentage of users contribute vs how

many read? How many hits are there a day? How can we translate that into

what percentage of the birding population in Australia are using the

website? These are the kind of things professional web developers keep an

eye on all the time.

Yes these are what professional developers keep their eye on. However this site is for the

birding users & ‘hits’ per se is not a relevant criteria for usefulness.

When I do an archive search I may see a last century format but I get what I was looking for.

 

On top of that, usability testing is a key component of any successful

website design. Ponder this: What would happen if you put someone in front

of a computer and asked them to go to www.birding-aus.org and find some

information on birds? Give them something specific to look for that you know

is there, but give no hints, no help. Try it with someone who has never been

on the site before and watch what they do. Where do they click? Do they get

it straight away? How long does it take? Ask them for feedback afterwards.

 

People with a birding interest but little Web experience that I have introduced to the site

seem to get it & use it without problems.

 

Over the past few months, there has been a lot of chatter about how modern

technology, particularly the internet, can be used for birding. This topic

is just another facet of the same theme that has been occurring over that

time; the current birding websites are not meeting the demands of the modern

birder.

 

There are plenty of websites more ‘modern’ than Birding-Aus. I use Birding-Aus in preference

to these. BA may have a couple of hundred regular posters. If it had several thousand then the

email subscription would be useless to me.

 

Regards, Chris Charles

On Wed Jan 27 20:45 , Luke Shelley <> sent:

<>
> Good, positive, suggestion Clair.
>
>
> Birding-Aus is a wonderful resource for information on birding...
>
>
> BUT

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