Thoughts on consolodating the forums

[MaryAnne]

IF (and that is a BIG IF) UKS were to carry on in 2019 I would propose streamlining the forums quite a bit.

1. Close the Other Scrapping forums. They are not used and there is no reason to keep them around. People should reply to any thread they feel is worth keeping and I will move those threads into General Scrapping before I trash the forums.

2. Close Cropping Central And Genealogy and move Photography to I&C

3. Does anyone use the library at all? I can see 4 people viewing it as I type this. Maybe also move it to I&C?

4. Not sure the Marketplace is used at the moment. Ditto Non-Craft shopping. Maybe just make all the shopping stuff one forum.

5. Let sponsors post in General Scrapping and move the Sponsor Shopping into that forum as well so it is more visible.

6. Combine Community chat, Just for fun, and the Book Club posts into one Not Scrap Related forum.

7. Close the hidden Sponsors business forum and communicate with the sponsors via PM only.

I would also ask every member to notify me if you are getting business related PMs from non-sponsors! I do get reports occasionally that people are offering to sell things via PM and that is def. not something we can allow moving forward! If people are not willing to support UKS then they should not be using it to profit. It’s not fair on the sponsor who ARE willing to support UKS.

What do you think?

[Crafty Sandra]

These ideas seem ok to me MA. Don't think the Marketplace has been used that much recently get the odd post up but not loads like it used to be. Maybe one shopping forum and if anyone has anything they wish to sell they can.

Combining community chat just for fun etc sounds like a sound idea.

I really hope that UKS can continue its such a friendly place.

[yiayia]

Hi MaryAnne. Any adjustments you make would be fine by me - I will just be SOOOO grateful if a way to continue can be found. As I have said before - If I need to contribute I would be more than happy to do so, I just need to know how other than Paypal.

[RED HEAD]

Yes I think that would work. It will be more compact
By combining some, people might use a forum that they hadn’t looked at before.
Ellie

[PinkSparklyScrapper]

Hi, Maryanne. I hope you are feeling better.
Any changes that would keep UK Scrappers going for a bit longer is fine by me

[Susie.A]

I think all of the above sound like great ideas, combining threads and getting rid of anything that hasn't been used for a while. It's funny, but looking at the suggestions makes me realise how my personal use of the site has changed over the years.

Community chat, went silent for quite a while and it used to be more for problem solving as I recall, I don't bother with it as a rule because my chat tends to go into the snapchat thread when posting photo's or monthly card challenge. Difficult Topics was useful but no-one seemed to miss it once it had gone. I imagine we will all adapt to changes quite happily, anything that might keep UKS going.

As I mentioned on the other thread, I am happy to pay a subscription no matter who is coming on as a guest and not paying. I'm hoping others feel the same way.

I am concerned that all this pressure may not be good for your health MaryAnne, too much stress doesn't do any of us any good.

[Cris]

I don't mind the changes at all but occasionally (when I get some time to work on my family tree) do find the Genealogy thread useful to get help from more experienced people. Could it be combined with something else perhaps so it's not lost altogether??

[g61]

Speaking as someone just dipping their toe back in after a few years away from active scrapping, I think your suggestion of combining forums is perfectly sensible especially if the result is livelier forums.

[MaryAnne]

I don't mind the changes at all but occasionally (when I get some time to work on my family tree) do find the Genealogy thread useful to get help from more experienced people. Could it be combined with something else perhaps so it's not lost altogether??

I think it would work to title threads in a way that says what you want. Genealogy: then your question will highlight it so those who could help will know to look! It could go under community for a while and see if it is worth keeping.

[Jill@ATDML]

That all sounds fine to me Mary Anne. As Cris said, I have found the genealogy forum useful in the past but your response is perfectly reasonable. I hope your health is improving now and will continue to do so in the coming months.

[alison 2]

All sounds good to me. Please keep the library, it’s a very useful resource. If it’s moved to I&C it mist even get used more as it would be seen more often
Thankyou so much for trying to sort this.
As Susie says, I do hope this isn’t causing too much stress on you, your health is more important x

[MaryAnne]

I am also thinking it might be useful to add a SPECIAL EVENTS forum so things like the Christmas Stoking swap or the newest of the new challenges can be highlighted. Then once a challenge has ended it would go back to I&C.

I just worry of I&C is really full of so many things, it makes it hard to really "see" what is current.

[Lurkio]

I haven't scrapped for quite a long time for various reasons, but started again a few weeks ago. I have to say that I'm really glad that the forum is still here, but even for someone who used to spend an awful lot of time here, if am being honest it's a little bit confusing these days. Please don't take it as a criticism, I really hope that I can become actively involved again. Simplifying the forums might well make it easier to navigate for 'newbies' or returners.

Rightly or wrongly, my impression is that Teams still exist (don't suppose my old one does), and that people spend most of their time talking to their team mates. It's lovely to have that continuity, but it does not make it feel very 'open' to other people. I can't find my old team, and there seem to be a lot of 'invite only' spaces on the site these days.

Thank you MA for keeping the place going, it is lovely to find it still here

[new2this]

I appreciate all the work you do, MaryAnne .... and I think all of the suggestions are very reasonable. Anything that keeps UKS in existence is OK by me.

[Susie.A]

I am also thinking it might be useful to add a SPECIAL EVENTS forum so things like the Christmas Stoking swap or the newest of the new challenges can be highlighted. Then once a challenge has ended it would go back to I&C.

I just worry of I&C is really full of so many things, it makes it hard to really "see" what is current.

I agree completely MaryAnne but I thought it was just me. I have to go searching when I'm looking for something in I&C. Mind you, it probably is just me as I get confused over the different types of challenges but I'm full of admiration for those who complete them.