New Forums

We are happy to announce a new series of forums on the AAVSO web site to help support a better online community for our members and observers.

Many of you will already be familiar with some of the forums, which have been online for years. But we have added many more this week. We also upgraded the capabilities of the existing forums. You can visit them at this URL:

                                                            http://www.aavso.org/forum [1]
                     
You do not need to be logged into the AAVSO web site to read the forums. But you do need to be logged in to post a message to them. AAVSO web site accounts are available free to the public.

These forums will be replacing the function of the present AAVSO Discussion Group [2]. There are a number of advantages to using the forums:

• Since e-mail addresses are not used, the forum content can be made 100% open to the public.
• For the same reason, your e-mail addresses are better protected against spam and harassment.
• Persistence of Threads: When a discussion is started on a forum, it forever remains there. It does not have to “die”. Others can comment on a thread days, weeks, months even years later. This will help prevent the same questions being asked over and over again. Also, it means it is easier to find answers in the first place. Yet, those not interested in the topic can easily ignore it without it filling up their inbox.
• No More Cross-Posting: It is not possible in the forums to post a message across many topics. We have created many forum topics and can create many more when needed.
• Remaining on Topic: It is very easy to move a thread from one forum to another. Ex: If someone posts an advanced photometry topic in the Getting Started forum, it is easy to move it to the Photometry forum.
• Images: The forums allow the use of rich text/HTML to format posts. This makes it easier to embed images/light curves, attach data, etc.
• Web site forums are a more popular communication venue among younger generations of Internet users, so it may help attract newer and younger members.   

Note that there is a way to “subscribe” to a forum so that new messages are e-mailed to you when posted. Instructions for how to do that are at the URL above.

We feel it is in the best interest of the organization to take advantage of the many features this upgrade in technology will allow. Our discussions will become more focused and accessible while being more useful to future members and
observers.

AAVSO staff will be in our chat room [3] throughout the day on Thursday to answer any of your questions about the forums. Feel free to stop by and chat!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments [4]. You can also post them to the new forums!

Here are some links with tips on using the forums:

• How to subscribe to forums [5] - so e-mails are sent when people post
• How to navigate the forums [6] - a short, straight-to-the-point guide
• Guidelines for forum use [7] - best practices and advice for new users
• Rules for Participation in AAVSO Forums, Chat Rooms and Discussion Groups
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