| Q |
What is the Discussion Forum?
|
| A |
The PCG relies on intelligence information from its members.
The forums allow web browser-based discussions and reporting
that is available to the entire membership. This tool has
proved to be invaluable in both the fighting of campaigns
and in the rapid dissemination of information to members.
It allows online discussion of factors affecting the membership
and allows this discussion to be carried out over extended
periods of time as well as in an almost "real-time" fashion.
|
| Q |
Why a browser based discussion forum?
|
| A |
The use of a browser based discussion forum
allows easy access to the widest variety of members including
those who have limited Internet experience. The discussions
are stored on a central database and so provide a useful reference
material for new members and for research of our "intelligence
gathering" activities. |
| Q |
What software does it use? |
| A |
The original software was a shareware product
called WWWThreads. This has been altered and amended over
time to better reflect the needs of the members and is currently
undergoing an incremental improvement program. |
| Q |
How have they been useful? |
| A |
The discussion forum has been central to
the ethos of the PCG. It has enabled us to react extremely
quickly to events and has enabled members to share information
and experience in a variety of ways. Members share information
about good and bad Agencies and Clients and of market conditions
as they evolve. The motto of the forums is very much "Share
what you know, learn what you don't" and has evolved into
a lively and robust community. Discussion is sometimes outspoken,
sometimes irreverent but always fascinating. It is the major
tool that we use in creating our very real democracy. |
| Q |
Will it be replaced in the future? |
| A |
Almost certainly. However the database
contains the history of the PCG and a wealth of information
and experience. Any replacement will have to ensure that we
don't lose this and will have to have richer functionality
than any product that we have currently researched. The PCG
is keeping a close eye on technological developments in this
area and is investigating alternatives. To date nothing currently
available matches our requirements as well as the current
software. This will inevitably change over time. |
| Q |
Why is the response so slow? |
| A |
This should no longer be a problem. The system has been
re-tuned to better reflect the size of our membership and
the current number of discussion topic boards. This has
greatly improved the response of the server. Before you
contact the PCG about this please ensure that other websites
are responding normally as many reports of slow response
turn out to be a members ISP that is performing poorly.
If you are still having problems please use our contact
form
In addition we are investigating ways of improving the
server capacity to cope with increased membership over the
coming year.
|
| Q |
I can only see the area marked Notice
Board and Public, how do I see the other boards? |
| A |
You have not "logged in" to the forums.
Use the "login" link at the top right of the forum index screen
. Enter your PCG username and password. If you have forgotten
your password there is a facility on the login screen to have
it privately emailed to you. |
| Q |
Why doesn't the send private function
work? |
| A |
There is a software bug in this function.
Try sending the mail by entering the recipients username manually
via the send private function at the top RHS of the screen,
rather than clicking on the username. This workaround usually
solves the problem. |
| Q |
Why doesn't the search engine always
work? |
| A |
Again there is a software fault. Try reducing
your search time downwards. Try "less than 6 months". We are
looking at fixing this bug by rewriting the search code but
this is not a trivial job. In addition try reducing the number
of forum boards searched (this also lightens the server load).
|
| Q |
What does 'NT' or 'nt' mean in a message
title header? |
| A |
This means that the poster has not included
any text in his message. The full meaning of the post can
be gleaned from the title. However, we do ask that posters
refrain from posting messages such as "I agree (nt)" or "Here,
Here (NT)" as this just clutters up the database and index
entries. |
| Q |
There is so much information on the
forums, can I read the posts offline? |
| A |
Try subscribing to the email digests. This
will mean that once a day you will get an email containing
all the posts for any boards you have subscribed to. You can
do this by clicking on "edit profile" at the top RHS of the
screen (you must be logged on) and at the bottom of the screen
you will see a list of boards that can be subscribed to. Click
on the subscribe "radio button" receive a daily digest of
the posts for that board. We recommend that all members subscribe
to the Notice Board and that infrequent visitors subscribe
to the forum Summaries board to get a flavour of the content
of the forums from time to time. |
| Q |
How do I add "emoticons" and do other
clever stuff in my posts? |
| A |
Please see the forum
FAQ on the top RHS of the main forum page for information
on this and other more technical information. |
