| 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. |
