Hi anyman,
No I'm not suggesting that we return to the 'old forum' where everything was mixed,
and replied to -all mixed up down on long single page. Oh No. Very unscientific.
My suggested change would actually be very little different from what we have now!
ALL the different Forum 'Science divisions' would run down the main front page, in the form of one, prehaps two PICTURE ICONS which the writer or maybe Kate would place on the extreme left of the page. (You could have at least 25 different subjects (picture icons)
Everyone viewing the icon/s would know exactly what the postings were about.
At the moment, we all have to RELY upon the information that the writer can IMPART with difficulty, using approx the 2-10 words in the "new topic line" when first posting.
Descriptive words that often bears little relation to the type of science being discussed.
Everything else would be just the same. Ten or twelve average length postings, STARTS you onto a NEW page, ...just as it does now.
The main point being...that you could have (at least) 25 different icons (ie BASIC subjects) that could be chosen, to run down the left of the main page.
I feel it would be better than Kate trying to Put/Type out ALL the different categorys of the Sciences, onto all the different (projected) main pages. Thats even more unrealistic than the four main pages we have now.
Pages that people would have to FIND and reply to. And hopefully wait (having to GO and LOOK) for a reply, if they hav'nt forgotten?
I often find that once about 15 postings/replies are made, you get to access pages 2, even 3 or more
OFTEN by then, the subject has gone completely off topic. With no meaningful reference to the original subject matter.
In fact if the subject became greatly changed, (and the original writers became frustrated, the truly scientific minded
....would normally drop out....BUT, they could enter a new icon at the end of their letter and state "I'll resume this (different) topic from the more RELEVANT front page icon" IF THEY WISHED.
So that anybody that came in to 'scienceagogo' for the first time, accessing the front page icon of their choice....everything would appear quite normal.
The subject matter,would always TEND to equal the basic icon. I say tend to, 'cause no-one's perfect
I also feel icons would help keep the original science by subject matter together. Nobody could shout back and state "this belongs in 'Origins or should be in 'Climate"
No-one gets embaressed. You just change your subject (icon) by going back to the front page, and write under a different subject icon. Allowing others to carry on, as they want?
***A late thought. Using an icon you need not try to fit in description of your subject within the
"New Topics line" You could just add some related words there, alonside the DNA icon
ie -Umbilical - Blood - New gene.
Any foreseen difficulties or comments, guaranteed to give the Moderators, a headache
I'm done, ...off to buy some fireworks (Nov:5th)
