New Forum Sections! Some Topics Moved

Thank you for Bulgaria. aloha charlie

I like that the travel groups have a separate forum for their meetings.

Sounds like a good idea to have the travel groups be separated out, since they seem to be quite popular.

Now, how about that Iceland forum, since lots of people are doing layovers there and flying Iceland Air for the cheap and fast flights?

"Share your candid opinions about hotels and restaurants in Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and beyond!"

I know many Poles, Slovenes and Slovakians who would be very unhappy with the Eastern European designation. Slovenia especially stands out to me.

Webmaster, Thank you SO much for the "Travel Group Meetings" heading! This will make it so much easier and less time consuming for us--although I must admit it is fun to keep the various "off the Wall" conversations going!

I like that Travel Group Meetings have their own section. One concern is that new posters that might benefit from attending won't be looking there. We often have people come who saw the meeting info under General Europe. How can we best let people know that meetings even exist without some sort of general posting?

Thank you, Webmaster.

I see the new meetings site. Now, is it possible to alphabetize the list of sections?

Responses!

Iceland forum... don't count on it any time soon since there are no plans to have a guidebook or tour there. As always, if there isn't a specific forum for it, General Europe is your place (err.. or Beyond Europe in certain obvious cases).

"I know many Poles, Slovenes and Slovakians who would be very unhappy..."
Yes, we are well aware and apologies go to those who live in those countries. Our own guides give us a hard time about that. However, Americans think of anything that used to be behind the iron curtain as Eastern Europe. We agree with you in principle, but it doesn't serve the purpose of encouraging travel to these destinations (which would also help more people to learn that we shouldn't be calling it Eastern Europe).

"One concern is that new posters that might benefit from attending won't be looking there. We often have people come who saw the meeting info under General Europe."
While I agree that General Europe will get more traffic than the new section, there's nothing to say that people will be in General Europe to see such posts there either. Keep in mind that new Travel Meetings topics will appear in the All Topics view which gets more traffic than General Europe. The new section also allows people looking for this sort of thing to find it easier. It may also encourage more people to have local travel meetings. We feel that the benefits outweigh any negatives. As such, if we see topics about meetings in General Europe, we'll probably move them. I expect that will happen a bit since not everyone will notice the new section.

"Now, is it possible to alphabetize the list of sections?"
It has always been possible. ABC order isn't always the best order. Doing so inherently buries certain topics based on the letter the section arbitrarily begins with. While the order seems random, it isn't. Order is determined by a set of considerations. These include traffic levels, perceived interest, what we want to promote, what people need to see first to mitigate misuse of other sections, and other considerations. Yes, you could argue why one topic belongs above another until the cows come home... so thanks in advance for your understanding with how we have it set up. :)

Cheers!

Thanks for clarifying. And of course for all your hard work!!

How funny! I must be on the same wavelength of many at RS. Just last week, I was thinking that you should add a new Forum just for Travel Meetings! And there it is! Last year, I was hoping for a forum specific to Tour questions and it popped up about two weeks later.

Maybe you guys should hire me! I have lots of other good ideas too!!! 😉.

The BIG idea I have is to open a satellite center in Boston so I can work there. :)

Thanks for all your hard work as always.

This discussion about eastern Europe is very interesting. If we mean politically i.e. countries behind former Iron Curtain then we should write Eastern Europe. If we mean geographically we should write eastern Europe. Countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia feel Central European (and also better off than true eastern European countries like Romania, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Albania etc., which is true.) One paradox: Czech Republic is Eastern European country, Austria Western European country. But look at the map. Prague is quite farther west than Vienna. Also Austria in German Oesterreich means literally Eastern Empire. Funny.

I don't mind that Travel Group Meetings have their own section now, but I don't like that it's buried at the bottom of the list under "Tips & Trip Reports". Yes, I know it will show up in "All Topics" but that list moves quickly and topics are on the second page before you know it. I think it will be much more difficult for new visitors and occasional visitors to see it.

I never had a problem with the travel groups being w/ the rest of the feed and am still not sure how to access it except through the webmaster now. Huh?
I thought our group had dissolved when I couldn't find it for 3 days.

We had an active site when we were on the General Europe thread from folks that were not meeting attendees.

If it ain't broke, there's no reason to tinker. Very disappointed.

For me, the problem with the travel group meetings in General Europe was that there were so many of them listed, and any posting, even something as banal as "miss you", bumped the topic to the top of the list, meaning lots of scrolling to see topics I might be interested in.

So, for me, it's fine that it has its own area. Finding it just takes a look at the Webmaster's post about it having been moved.

But if someone isn't aware that there are Travel Groups, they wouldn't go looking for it. I am always scrolling past things that I'm not interested in. No one is forced to read threads if they don't want to.

Hi,
I've got a few replies for you all.

"If it ain't broke, there's no reason to tinker."
It has been suggested by many people over the years, especially recently, that travel groups should have their own section. This is the first time that I've thought that there might be enough activity around such a concept to warrant creating it. The argument by some is that it was "broke" because there were to many to sift through when reading the section they wanted to view (General Europe).

"I am still not sure how to access it except through the webmaster now."
This forum has three broad sections: Destinations, Tips & Trip Reports, and Reviews. It's under Tips & Trip Reports in a message board called Travel Group Meetings.

"But if someone isn't aware that there are Travel Groups, they wouldn't go looking for it."
I hear that concern, though using the All Topics view allows these comments to surface in another highly used space in the forum.

"Yes, I know it will show up in 'All Topics' but that list moves quickly and topics are on the second page before you know it."
To be fair, these would fall to the second page quickly in General Europe too, though admittedly not as quickly as All Topics. Do keep in mind that General Europe isn't quite the catch-all it used to be. The counter argument is, given the number of message boards we have now, the new Travel Groups board may thrive because people can find these announcements when desired.

"I think it will be much more difficult for new visitors and occasional visitors to see it."
I certainly hear that argument. Change can always cause some difficulty, but lets see if it can be an improvement. We'll be watching.

Cheers everyone,
RS Webmaster

Thank you, Webmaster, for all your hard work!

There are lots of deadly boring repetitive topics I'd like to see get their own section so I don't have to scroll past them all the time.

To bury the group meetings threads at the bottom of Tips & Trip reports just so people don't have to scroll past one or two is beyond ludicrous to me.