amalgamation

phil · amalgamation

As there's such a lot of small sites doing the same sort of thing, would it not be better if a few of them got together to make one site with more members who contribute.

macconraoi

Are you suggesting having all the WUM's in the one place ? Very Happy

shark

www.mayoplodders.com is one off those small sites

MrsL

What's a WUM, and am I going to regret asking that? Confused

macconraoi

A WUM is a wind up merchant Very Happy

MrsL

Thankyou - haven't heard that for years, we used to use it in Scotland a lot. WUM sounds even better Laughing

phil

Well.... we would know where they are but would we know who they are??

macconraoi

I think each small site has its own individual quirks and characters,each is unique in its own way.What would be the benefits to each site if they were amalgamated ?

Camile

Hello,

In theory it's not a bad idea I think ..

And the idea behind is I think having one central place to look at a good few messages .. instead of plenty of sites with few messages ..

makes it's more lively and interesting .. and saves having the same persons talking to each other all the time ..

Camile

shark

phil whats is wrong, with this site. Question

look at the amount off members, on it,i don't think anybody is complaining.its a great site

phil

Do you think the other sites will join us then.

macconraoi

I wouldn't think so.

shark

i think it a great idea.if you but it to them in a nice way,you would have one hell off a site,or you can just move over to www.mayoplodders.com phil as this site gone as far as it can go.maybe one forum for all off ireland is the answer.great idea Wink

macconraoi

I think this site has a lot to offer and each site is different in its own way.

Camile

I agree with Macconraoi on this one.

And summer time (like if we were getting any) is always a quiet time for forums.

Camile

shark

blowin

Not a bad idea but there are a few issues :-
I would guess that the first one is the ego of the person who set up the original site . It is not complicated to do but does take a fair bit of time , particularly if you include all the posts you have to discretely put up on other forums in order to recruit new members to your own . You will note that there have been several raids on this one recently . Fair game , and Admin has deliberately left this one open to raids so people can make their own choice but I have seen several good forums lapse into slanging matches and fragment into boring cliques as a result of members promoting their own links .
And perhaps , if I am honest , there might have been /still could be some fantasy about about making a little money from sponsored advertising . That won't happen unless you are clever enough to generate a huge number of hits but , who knows , the delusion of that posibility kind of justifies spending hours on the system when you could/should be doing something more productive -- like mucking out the pigs on a cold wet night .
Each forum seems to have its own unique character , even if the topics they cover are pretty much the same . I think this differentiation is good . You will note that there are no Mods on this one and Admin has never had to intervene in a dispute . What a lovely polite bunch we are , even when we disagree !! That could be lost if we merge with another culture . Like the EU version !!
Finally , I am not sure that it is technically possible to merge small forums other than by getting all members to leave one then sign up to the other . Existing posts would have to be copied and pasted across and , I think , would all become merged into one chunk of text without paragraph / sender breaks for any given topic .
Having already said that ^ was my final thought I will add yet another , as I usually do :- one other possibility would be for the individual small forums to agree to divide their readership by subject . Indeed I had this discussion in the early days when Countrytalk was the first of its kind in Ireland and a member was proposing to set up an alternative . Credit to her she didn't want to step on my toes and we agreed to follow separate lines of specialisation -- but in practice it doesn't evolve that way . You have to keep reasonably general or be very highly specialised in order to gain membership and get enough hits to qualify for a free Domain name .
So , in conclusion , should we all go someplace else and close this one down so Admin has no more legal liabilities ......... or try to persuade someone else to do the same ?
Or , of course . there may be a another way ... ???

macconraoi

I for one would not like to see an amalgamation of sites,Phil do you think it would be of any benefit or would it be detrimental to amalgamate sites.Would we end up any better off ?

phil

The question was more about a site that recently closed down.A site that i thought was very good,it went quite then died,maybe there was more to it.

When you think about what blowin said,it would be impossible for two or three sites to get together.

Its not just the people that's on a particular site,i think its also the interaction between those people that make it successful.

blowin

The ideal compromise might be for the mutual members of several sites to post up a link to a topic which had already started on another one , rather than repeat the responses . In that way the more innovative / well informed forums would gain more readership and there would be a lot less duplication and need for skipping around .
Only problem with that is the tribal / loyalty aspect of human nature ! If one thinks that a potential rival is trying to take over your gang then a certain amount of slagging will take place . Then the forums need Mods to keep the peace . There is nothing new under the sun , as the saying goes .
But in the dawning of the age of enlightenment and whatever might follow from year 2012 I will ask Admin to get off his butt and establish diplomatic relations with our competitors . Or kindred spirits might be a better view on the subject . Is the glass half empty or half full ?