Kevan Cummins's activity

Sorry maybe it needs a little more explaining..You have anonymous users and registered users on ItalyMags.  Registered users are those that signed up for a username and password. You need to improve this and make it automatic - users simply check their email and click link.Both anonymous and registered users should be able to read all posts and all comments.To join a group you should need to be a registered user.To join a group you should simply click join and you are in (unless there is a good reason to turn on moderated membership).The group moderator can kick you out if you misbehave.It should be really easy to start up a group - but you need to give a reson for the group and support from admin about how to get your comunity up and running.Hope this helpsKevan 

Yep - you're right. But all posts and comments should automatically be public. Only members can post or comment. To join your group I just click join and I'm a member - that's what you need if you really want your groups on ItalyMag to work - I fear that it's going to die quiet soon if you don't get this sorted. 

HiI think I might have been a bit harsh there - it's just a bit depressing to hear everyone moaning - Ronald and other admin are trying really hard to get this working but I think if people want forums then give them forums. I've got both forums and groups on the sites I run  - mainly because there would be a huge fuss if I took away the forums. The forums are great for those who come to the site and want a bit of help, advice or support. The groups are where the real communities flourish.I think there is a place for both and I think you can get both up and running well on this site if you want to.If Ronald and the team do want to stick with groupsonly  then really it's up to the community to get this working - if you want your old forum about Getting Married in Italy or Building/Rennovation or Italian Politics then start a group about that topic and see if it is popular...Kevan  

HI everyoneThe main problem as I see it is that many users are used to forums, like forums and want forums. Forums are not good at forming real communities but are good for users who want to get information "Where can I get a UK passport in Italy?" However the community has been switched over to something called 'groups'. Groups are different by nature and are excellent for forming real communities. They allow users with a similar interest to come together and form groups. ANYONE can usually apply start up a group - on most sites this is given so long as the group isn't occult, pornographic etc and fits within the general theme of the site. If there is interest then the group flourishes - if not then it will wither and die. Inside a group is where the discussion, sharing ideas, photos, tips, personal information etc takes place. Typical reasons for forming a group might be location (see the Le Marche Chapter House for an example of a group that works well), hobbies, culture etc. Groups can be public or private. I would imagine that this site would only want public groups (unless you have special groups who need to hide their discussions - e.g. ItalyMag finance group??) For public groups on this site I would expect all posts to be public and non-group members to be able to read comments. This allows all users to see what interesting discussions are taking place in groups and make a decision on whether they want to join the group and start contributing to discussions. I would also expect most groups to allow automatic membership (unless you want to moderate every request to join a group!) The main piazza is not really where discussion should take place - it should simply be the home page where latest posts from across the groups appear - for anyone who wants to keep track on what's going on and might see something of interest. Now here is the good bit - you should also have forums! For those who want forums then give them forums. It works - these groups are built in a community platform called Drupal and the drupal community has both forums and groups - forums are great for all those "I need to get an Italian passport and don't know how to get one - can anyone help" type posts or "It's really hot in Italy at the moment isn't it!". Groups are great for ...well forming groups like the Le Marche Group, the Tuscany Group, Animal Lovers group etc...and hopefully inside these groups a real community forms - especially if the group is owned by the members and run by the members. If the people want forums then give them forums as well as groups. If you don't believe it works then here are Drupal Forums and here are Drupal Groups. Kevan    

HurrayI get paid in Sterling and live permenantly in Italy with an Italian mortgage so my income took a huge nosedive when the pound did so this is great news for me :-)Keep on rising Mr Sterling I say! Can't wait till it hits 2 euros to the pound (well I am an optimist) - or is it 2 pounds to the euro - all very confusingKevan

Sorry - there are two modules with almost the same name - you need this one http://drupal.org/project/quote to enable quotes for forums and for group discussions in Drupal. It works for sure - see screenshot above which is a Drupal group like the one we are in now and not a forum.

Hi Ronald - sorry cross posted and sent link to the module there - probably better to discuss by a PM as it's getting a bit techie for the forum.Threaded discussions just don't work in my  opinion and most users don't understand the way the threads work - keep it simple is my view on it You can use IMCE module to allow users to upload images in comments and it works with FCK Editor and TinyMCEditor if you want to allow users to upload photos inside comments or post but that's for another day...Kevan

Hi RonaldForgot to say that if you want to add quote to the comments on the site then the drupal module quotes is what I used on the TE site http://drupal.org/project/quotesIf you don't like the idea of these settings for comments then you can let the user decide and switch on Comment Controls.

Just realised screenshot includes a photo of me from around 15 years agon when I used to have hair - now it's mostly gone at the front and gets easily sunburnt

OK - so this is how it looks - in a flat-list expanded setting and using quotes to reply to an earlier comment. I tried it both ways and got user feedback and they definately preferred this