Happy with Sailnet's new forums?

[Diligence]

Hi,

I've been gone for a while and recently came back to use the forums on Sailnet.com. I was surprised to find that the format has changed and I can no longer get all the forum messages sent directly to my inbox. I'm curious if people prefer this new format where you have to log on to the website to read/send messages?

I've posted some messages on the new forums, but no one has replied. I used to get lots of replies to all my messages.

I don't like it at all and really miss the old style; is it just me, or do others feel the same way? Why did Sailnet change their forums? Is it possible to switch back to the old method?

Thanks,

Rick

[sailingdog]

You do know that the original Sailnet went bankrupt under some relatively questionable circumstances, and was bought out.

As for your post on the Ericson hatch... you might want to try on the Ericson specific forum.

[administrator]

Originally Posted by Diligence

Hi,

I've been gone for a while and recently came back to use the forums on Sailnet.com. I was surprised to find that the format has changed and I can no longer get all the forum messages sent directly to my inbox. I'm curious if people prefer this new format where you have to log on to the website to read/send messages?

I've posted some messages on the new forums, but no one has replied. I used to get lots of replies to all my messages.

I don't like it at all and really miss the old style; is it just me, or do others feel the same way? Why did Sailnet change their forums? Is it possible to switch back to the old method?

Thanks,

Rick

Thanks for your observations and comments.

To address your concerns one by one let us offer the following:

You wrote: "can no longer get all the forum messages sent directly to my inbox"

We reply: You can. You can get instant messages notification, daily email notification or weekly notification through what is called "subscriptions". When you enter a forum there is a link at the top of the forum called "thread tools". If you click on this, a window appears with multiple options and one of the options is titled "subscribe". When you choose "subscribe" you're presented with a list of options that offer you "instant" notification (you're receive multiple emails throughout the day), daily notification, or weekly notification.

In fact you can even subscribe to individual threads instead of an entire forum if your interest is specific instead of general. This is much more comprehensive and useful than the old sailnet homegrown feature.

You wrote: "Why did Sailnet change their forums?"

The old sailnet forums were antiquated, slow and did not offer anyone the ability to include pictures in their posts. In addition they were developed by programmers who are no where to be found or accessible by the new owners of sailnet and we wanted a commercially available forum system that could be easily enhanced, supported and maintained that offered SailNet members more features and functionality than the old system.

You wrote: "Is it possible to switch back to the old method?"

The answer is no, we have chosen to use new system and dozens of emails from very happy members confirm the new style forums were a good choice.

In summary, we take you opinions and comments seriously and suspect that your comments were prompted primarily by a lack of knowledge and familiarity with our new forums. We hope that as you continue to use and explore many of the new features now available your impression will change.

In any event, thank you for your questions and we look forward to assisting you in the future.

kindest regards

SailNet Technical Support

[camaraderie]

The "new" forum format is great...don't change thing!

[jorjo]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

The "new" forum format is great...don't change thing!

Unless theres an upgrade option to harpoon a few particularly grumpy members and post the pic's.

[Diligence]

If I can figure out how to harpoon myself, I'll post a picture :-)

[Diligence]

Thank you Sailnet for the excellent reply. I'll try the subscription feature.

[Diligence]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

You do know that the original Sailnet went bankrupt under some relatively questionable circumstances, and was bought out.

As for your post on the Ericson hatch... you might want to try on the Ericson specific forum.

No, I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me.

My Ericson hatch question is posted in the Ericson specific forum; or at least I thought I posted it there. That could explain why I'm getting no replies. Where did you see it if not in the Ericson forum?

Thanks,

Rick

[Diligence]

You can say what you like, but the data tells the story. In the last week there has been only 4 posts to the Ericson forum. That's less than 1 post per day. I went back and looked at the old forum from 2005 and between 3/21/2006 and 12/31/2006 there were 3,842 posts. That's 285 days, or an average of 13.5 posts a day; and these were all quality posts. It used to be that if you asked a question, such as "where can I get a new sliding hatch?" you'd get several replies in no time. Even the Sailnet people would reply promoting their products and we'd buy from them. How can this new forum be any better?

[camaraderie]

Diligence...as far as I know there is no Ericson specific forum. There is an e-mail list for Ericson owners as well as the archive of that list under the resources tab. Is that what you are referring to?
I've been visiting sailnet since 2002 and while it was great for a while...it dwindled to nothing and has been really built back up over the last 6 months and I think it is better than ever. But...I may have been missing something on the old board. Lots of quality posts here daily IMHO but NOT particularly boat specific and they don't seem to be too focused on selling merchandise here now. Pls. confirm what you are talking about as I am at a loss to identify a specific Ericson forum other than the mail lists which sailnet merely provides access to.