Thread
Idea for the forums: Featured Member
Just an idea I thought I'd run past the admins here. I've seen this on a lot of other forums...
How about we have a spotlighted member each month? If they agree to be the spotlight man of the month, they can be profiled on here with interesting stuff like first Mac, favorite OS version, favorite hobby outside of Macs, why they collect 68Ks, etc.
Any thoughts on this?
How about we have a spotlighted member each month? If they agree to be the spotlight man of the month, they can be profiled on here with interesting stuff like first Mac, favorite OS version, favorite hobby outside of Macs, why they collect 68Ks, etc.
Any thoughts on this?
That sounds like a great idea!
And, a great way to get to know all of the members better!
And, a great way to get to know all of the members better!
And the myspace/facefook/etc cloning begins...
Sounds great. Wouldn't be so much a MySpace/Facebook clone considering it's purely isolated to the users of the forum and mostly profiles why they're here, what they do... going by Scott Baret's criteria.
I don't like it, people will be doing all kinds of BS to be featured for the month.
Why not spotlight a specific machine and a specific application every month so people can talk about them? Kind of like an ice breaker so new people who used either one can bring up something of interest without having to start a new thread.
Why not spotlight a specific machine and a specific application every month so people can talk about them? Kind of like an ice breaker so new people who used either one can bring up something of interest without having to start a new thread.
I for one welcome our new facebook overlords...
No seriously,
This is a great idea.
I would suggest that we do so for active members within the last 90 days. Special kudos should go to Armed Forces mebers (for any nation) as they deserve recognition.
That is all.
No seriously,
This is a great idea.
I would suggest that we do so for active members within the last 90 days. Special kudos should go to Armed Forces mebers (for any nation) as they deserve recognition.
That is all.
You do realize the 68KMLA isn't a real army right?
wtf... we are a real army! :O
we ARE an army!!!!!! let the 68k revolution begin!!! viva la revolucion!!!!
in all actuality, i think that the "Soldier of the month" thing is a great idea!
Next question: Who do we nominate, and how?
in all actuality, i think that the "Soldier of the month" thing is a great idea!
Next question: Who do we nominate, and how?
It could go off of a point system, like who contributed to help others gets a point, who ever goes off topic or starts trouble gets a point deducted, look at the Macs they have in their collection and what they have done on it or did to it. and could have a opt out for this also. but this would be very time consuming to pull off.
any other ideals on how to pull this off
any other ideals on how to pull this off
Lets just not let the Point System turn into another postcount thing...
Other than that, sounds like a nifty idea
Methinks Scott gets a point for suggesting the system 
Other than that, sounds like a nifty idea
Methinks Scott gets a point for suggesting the system
I guess that excluding posts from the lounge would make things a bit easier since the majority of the posts there are useless knowledge
i likes ponies, and dancin in teh rains, and OMG H.I.M., they is so deeps and really understands the pains i feel inside!
nah, actually all kidding aside it might be cool. nothing too...specific though, just maybe a paragraph or so with some basics "what was your first mac", etc.
nah, actually all kidding aside it might be cool. nothing too...specific though, just maybe a paragraph or so with some basics "what was your first mac", etc.
I like Pony's and Unicorns, with long eyelashes.
I think First mac and a some other useful computer info would be nice.
I think First mac and a some other useful computer info would be nice.
Unicorns would totally beat ponies in a fight.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Mostly because I would never get nominated since I derail practically every thread I post in and never offer any insightful advice.
Also, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Mostly because I would never get nominated since I derail practically every thread I post in and never offer any insightful advice.
If you want to share biographical data about yourself, my reccomendation is actually to do it on the 68kMLA Wiki.
http://68kmla.org/wiki/User:Cory5412
You can set up the page however you like, include whatever information you're comfortable with, and update it as needed. You sign into the wiki with the same username/password you use for the forum, and you click on the link to "your userpage" in the top, and it lets you edit your page.
I can't imagine the featured member thing going over too well, it would require a lot of resources to set up, and we'd end up with a "Kastegir's PowerBook 180" situation, where one member who didn't say or do very much at all was featured for three years.
http://68kmla.org/wiki/User:Cory5412
You can set up the page however you like, include whatever information you're comfortable with, and update it as needed. You sign into the wiki with the same username/password you use for the forum, and you click on the link to "your userpage" in the top, and it lets you edit your page.
I can't imagine the featured member thing going over too well, it would require a lot of resources to set up, and we'd end up with a "Kastegir's PowerBook 180" situation, where one member who didn't say or do very much at all was featured for three years.
why cory, are you suggesting that the Mod and Admin team here on the MLA have lives?
Lives? what a preposterous idea!
The main problem I can see with this is in the mechanics of doing it. If we use some kind of point system, is it automated or do the mods/admins take care of it? If it's automated, who writes the code, and how do we implement such a system?
And in either case, how do we prevent the system from picking the same person too often, or favoring a person with unfavorable attributes?
I think it's a bit too time consuming, and most of us pick up little tidbits of information about each other just by reading the forum anyway.
The main problem I can see with this is in the mechanics of doing it. If we use some kind of point system, is it automated or do the mods/admins take care of it? If it's automated, who writes the code, and how do we implement such a system?
And in either case, how do we prevent the system from picking the same person too often, or favoring a person with unfavorable attributes?
I think it's a bit too time consuming, and most of us pick up little tidbits of information about each other just by reading the forum anyway.
I set up a page there...but have another question about the Wiki. How does one go about adding a page where one is needed? For example, under "Drawing Programs", there are no entries. If I want to make one for MacDraw, how would I go about doing that?
Also, I have a tidbit about the Mac SE but have no online source for it...how do I go about documenting it? (It's something from personal observations regarding serial numbers)
Also, I have a tidbit about the Mac SE but have no online source for it...how do I go about documenting it? (It's something from personal observations regarding serial numbers)
You'll have to ask ChristTrekker about the serial number thing, but if you already have a page, say "drawing programs" and you want to add a link to a page, just add the text of the link you want to add.
[[New Page Here]] links to a page called "New Page Here"
You can alos use the pipe character to link to a specific page, but use different text for the link.
"For more information about these concepts, visit the New Page Here page, whic his located [[New Page Here|here]]."
[[New Page Here]] links to a page called "New Page Here"
You can alos use the pipe character to link to a specific page, but use different text for the link.
"For more information about these concepts, visit the New Page Here page, whic his located [[New Page Here|here]]."
I think this would be _much_ better. It would also help people expand the capabilities of their older Macs if they knew of more applications that could do interesting things. As it is now it seems like many don't use older Macs due to limited capability or flexibility but if we start showing off interesting apps people might get more into using their old Macs.
I'm also for the idea of spotlighting a specific piece of software or hardware. It wouldn't be difficult to set up the wiki to do that either, we could set up a two-column layout, one for information about the currently featured topic, and one for the standard content.
My wiki at http://ueberlandowiki.net/ has the layout that was actually created for the MLAgazine Wiki (before 68kMLA Wiki), which was intended to have a featured article on the left and a jumping-off point on the right. (i use both columns for links though.)
My wiki at http://ueberlandowiki.net/ has the layout that was actually created for the MLAgazine Wiki (before 68kMLA Wiki), which was intended to have a featured article on the left and a jumping-off point on the right. (i use both columns for links though.)
I second (third, fourth, fifth) this idea over the "Member of the Month" idea which although I'm sure was about pure intentions, seems like a forum disaster in the making.
I don't see what the big deal is here. *I* am always, and will continue to be, the featured member at any given time. Why are we talking about this? 
To foster the latent insecurity revealed by your post? :-*I don't see what the big deal is here. *I* am always, and will continue to be, the featured member at any given time. Why are we talking about this?
More seriously, I must me-too the proposal for a soft- or hardware-focussed periodic 'feature' rather than raves about members.
de
I completely agree. Sounds like a nice, warm, fuzzy idea...but implementing it has a lot of pitfalls that make it more hassle than it is worth.
I bet that Tom could figure out a way to pull a random page from the Members' machines category and make it a "featured computer" link here, or something. Not so much featured as random, but that would eliminate some of the headaches you describe. And I think spotlighting a 68k would be more interesting than spotlighting the owner, anyway. No offense, I like you guys, but I don't kid myself that anybody is actually interested in me except as it pertains to what I've done with my Macs.
Easiest way to figure out how something is done in the wiki is to hit the Edit button and look at the code. If you can't figure something out, ask on the community portal talk page, or in the wiki forum here. Check your "my contributions" link to see if anyone has cleaned up behind you (a couple of us more active folks will usually do that when we know someone is new), then go look what they did.
For the record, we're not so concerned about documentation as Wikipedia is. If you have something useful to share, add it.
C'mon guys. While I may not post as often anymore as I used to, I think we all know who the feature member should be.
yea, ME!!! lol
Yes, I agree to the proposal for a soft- or hardware-focussed periodic 'feature', too. Probably the board of admins is willing to use this kind of feature to initiate a continuous flow of new contributions to the wiki.
How about a featured wiki entry to work on? This way threads might condense to some very useful documentation.
How about a featured wiki entry to work on? This way threads might condense to some very useful documentation.