[BobD]

Hey gang,
Another opinion poll--just thought of this...

As we upgrade the message board, what do you think about the topic structure. Do we need more or less. I was thinking about a standard sharpening topic.

Alternatively, we've talked about getting the search function ironed out and making the topics much more general, especially in the scrolling and woodworking sections.

Let me know what you all think.

Bob

[Nancy_G]

I think a separate Sharpening topic sounds like a great idea.
And, we have several very active wood spirit carvers as regular contributors .... How about a Wood Spirit topic like the Caricature, Wildlife and Holiday ones?

Hmmmm..... then we might need one for walking sticks and canes, one for snowmen, one for Noah's arks, one for carousel animals, one for ...............................

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

you could have one for paint and techniques.Or maybe one on tools and equipment as well....but with a lot of different threads...maybe it takes away from the personal nature that makes this such a great forum ???

[squbrigg]

Personally I like the mix of the General board, like opening a present at Christmas, you just never know what surprise will be next. I seldom go into Animal or Holiday, not because I don't enjoy them, just never can understand the difference. Carving is carving, and if I have something to contribute, I reply, I do. If not, then I move on.

Beginners and General are my regulars. Finishing would be an option I would agree with, (it isn't actually carving) but the rest would be covered by General.

Just my two cents.

Bob

[Donna_T]

Bob,
I kinda like the idea of one for sharpening, too. But then, I think the General and Beginner could be combined. They overlap so much anyway.

I think I'd rather have fewer, not more, categories. Leave the 1. holiday and 2. birds and animals then have 3. general and 4. tools and sharpening. Pretty much everything we talk about could go in those categories.

Donna T

[Colin_Partridge]

Nancy hit the nail on the head sounds good but where do you stop do we really want to do all that. I have had a theory my whole life 'If it aint broke then dont fix it'. Not that I'm opposed to change some times change is good but you could be opening up a whole can of worms. Just my opinion for what it's worth.
Colin

[don]

I pretty much read any new posting in all catagories without worrying which heading they are under. Unless you are going to strictly moderate the list ,A bad idea, we like to get a bit off topic every once in a while, Enery Don

My two cents worth:

We get a mixture of topics thrown in each sub category which makes it a nice surprise. I also read all sub categories when their is a new entry. However, I don't always click into every title posted.

If a new sub category is being concidered, I believe the most positive direction would be a 'I need help with' type category, regardless if beginner or experience, we're all looking for help and tips to make our carving process better.

I see this type of a 'help-question' listed in just about all the sub categories anyway.

We all like to share info./ pics. / comments / etc. which would stay in the respective categories but someone looking for specific help would have a nice place to go to first. Additionally, past posts are brought forward weeks later we someone ask the same question again, this would make it easier to find if all under one 'help category'

Well, maybe it ended up being ten cents worth. Coffeeman

[BobD]

I see, after reading this, that there are many different opinions, so let me ask this...

How does everyone feel about combining the beginner and general topics? Especially if we add a 'Advice' or 'How do I' section.

Do we really need the caricacture, Holiday, and Animal Carving sections or can we combine that into general as well.

The reason I ask is that we are really updating the search function to make it much more useful. So if someone is looking for specific information, they will be able to search it. And those of us who read all the new information anyway won't have to keep traveling through all the sections...

FYI We're looking at several different types of software right now and our primary criteria is that it is compatible with the current software, so we don't lose our archives. I know how important that is--especially if we can get the search function to work well.

Anyway, that's my $0.10 worth...

Bob

I read them all anyway so combining them would actually make it faster for me.