Please let us know what you think of bushwalk.com

[walkinTas]

Do you like this website, is there room for improvement?

You might like to use the poll to rate this website and if you wish, leave some constructive suggestions on how we can improve things around here.

This is an invitation to all memberships to have some constructive input into improving bushwalk.com with a view to possible changes further down the track - but no promises. Is there room for improvement? Which features of this website do you like? What is missing? Which bits should we consider retiring? What's at the top of your wish list?

Note: Because this is intended as a bit of a brainstorming session, the Admin team won't be commenting on, or discussing suggestions here, at least in the short term. Please try keep your suggestions constructive, thanks. If you'd prefer to make suggestions anonymously, please PM any of the Admin team.

[doogs]

If there's a way to send each new member a PM on joining that has a couple of simple things like be friendly to everyone and use the search before you start a new thread (it irks me a little when there are 3 threads on the same subject).
Scrounge some free gear for more regular competitions
Beer for regular posters

[ILUVSWTAS]

Beer for regular posters

What???

[doogs]

Beer for regular posters

What???

You know like Dan Murphys who deliver booze to your front door the Admins could have a whip round and send some to the best contributor of the week. It's a flawless idea that the moderation team surely couldn't refuse

[Nuts]

I agreeeee, the amount depending of course on usefulness of content !!!

[ILUVSWTAS]

I agreeeee, the amount depending of course on usefulness of content !!! do a search for gogo le bivy and you get some tiny korean guy bouncing in and out (speaking chinese) thats pretty much all that exists in the known universe!!!... in return i naively expect that the more closeted will forgive the use of the term '*&%$#!' (subgenus of Equus) now and then!!!

Hehehe well actually that raises a point to get the thread back on track... I know alot of ppl complain about the swearing, but we do have swear filters!! A bit more leniency to some things would be one of my suggestions. My golf forum (which is also kid friendly, and has 1000's of jnr members) has more balls than this one.

[Nuts]

balls..
Surely the kid thing is merely an excuse, they are beyond Control at school...
Seriously, the use of a few colourful expressions does make written communication a whole lot easier, even for those who rarely use them in conversation.

*I don't like those car camping adds (but iv'e fixed that)

*Why doesn't someone (not me) organise some walks outside of the annual meetup. People come and go from the forum if there is no other substance than third person style.. Are we too thin on the ground for this? (Some sort of kitty to raise a payment for someone (retiree perhaps ) to bother/offset costs with this on a regular basis? Not everyone wants the hassle of joining a club... ok, might have just thought this up on the spot but..)

*The photography comp seems a bit restrictive for its size (to me) and could do with more incentive... somehow..

[gayet]

*Why doesn't someone (not me) organise some walks outside of the annual meetup. People come and go from the forum if there is no other substance than third person style.. Are we too thin on the ground for this? (Some sort of kitty to raise a payment for someone (retiree perhaps ) to bother/offset costs with this on a regular basis? Not everyone wants the hassle of joining a club... ok, might have just thought this up on the spot but..)

I'll second that one. Maybe I am just too lazy to organise myself, but also I am a tad reluctant to launch myself into the great unknown by myself, and I know few people here (in Tas) that I would feel OK asking to join up with on a walk - I'm the quiet reserved type (i.e. shy).

[tastrax]

Good all round bushwalking forum
well moderated
good mix of private and commercial posters
good tolerance of government employees (ie Parks - not always the case in some forums)

[corvus]

*Why doesn't someone (not me) organise some walks outside of the annual meetup. People come and go from the forum if there is no other substance than third person style.. Are we too thin on the ground for this? (Some sort of kitty to raise a payment for someone (retiree perhaps ) to bother/offset costs with this on a regular basis? Not everyone wants the hassle of joining a club... ok, might have just thought this up on the spot but..)

I'll second that one. Maybe I am just too lazy to organise myself, but also I am a tad reluctant to launch myself into the great unknown by myself, and I know few people here (in Tas) that I would feel OK asking to join up with on a walk - I'm the quiet reserved type (i.e. shy).

I have the time and inclination to do this however my suggestions would be NWish based with probably no more than 30km return for an overnighter but can do longer if required
corvus

[eaglehawk]

I don't really post but as a reader I find the forum to be informative, well balanced and at times quite entertaining...
I think the site is fairly easy to use.
Thankyou to those who create/run the forum and to those who contribute.
I don't think the ads are that intrusive (not like on TV!) and if they are a necessity then so be it.
eaglehawk

[Son of a Beach]

Thanks for the feedback so far, everybody. Please keep it coming. The team here are going to avoid commenting on any individual suggestions for now (in the spirit that any idea is a good idea in a brainstorming session), but we may discuss some of them later on.

We generally think that we have a good feel for what the members are thinking or wanting from the site, but the posts in this topic are clarifying some of this for us, and indeed I'm sure will point out to us some areas where we've got it wrong. We do aim to be a member/reader focussed site and this topic should help us with that.

...so keep it coming.

[oldpiscator]

Have only been a member for a short time and am an oldy trying to get into some bushwalking/fishing trips. One 12km walk thru that rotten kerosene bush has let me realise that I need to moderate my ambitions a bit. Have picked up some terrific hints on this site and have found most comments helpful. This site is much better moderated than a lot of others. Keep up the good work.

[Azza]

My interest in the forum has dropped markedly in the last few months - now that it gained a much wider audience the increasing frequency of armchair experts, rubbish posts, dodgy advice and narcissistic posters has increased to the point where I've just about lost all interest.

Every now and again something pop's up that catches my attention.
The original attraction of this site for me was to see post relating to all the wonderful places out, see the photos and find out about how to get there...
Sadly I'm finding this lost in all the noise.
Maybe its just because I scan the RSS feed rather than browsing the site which means I'm seeing all the stuff that gets posted in here.

[Tony]

I am a bit like Azza,

While I do think this is one of the better forums, my interest in posting on Bushwalk.com has dropped off a lot lately too, a lot of has to do with some members continual disregard the politeness rules and these members have had a disregard for these rules for many years, while they are reprimanded by the admin (who I have total respect for as it is a very difficult job) they are allowed back on the forum only to do it again and again.

My personal thoughts are that if a member continually break the politeness rules, they should be banned or at the very least have all of their post moderated.

On a more positive side I would like to see a article forum, where member who like to write about bushwalking in general can post and it has less chance to be lost in the depths of other topics.

Tony

[Nick S]

Good:
- It's the best resource on bushwalking tracks around Tassie/Australia, there always seems to be someone who knows about that remote track or area you were thinking of exploring. Great site for overseas or interstate people considering a trip to Tassie etc.
- I enjoy reading the more political threads like re: the Western Arthurs, and walking clubs. BW.com offers a unique forum to express ideas.
- The gallery section is interesting, more so when people post photos from lesser travelled places.

Could improve:
- There are many new posts with similar topics which seem to be asking information already available using the search. I.e 'the never never'. which I don't bother reading.
- The trip report section could become a really handy section if it JUST had trip reports, and could be organised into regions.

My use has also dropped over the past year for a few reasons, partly because of work etc.
These days I generally only use the site when I need to find more information on an area, and the occasional scan for any rare or controversial topics.. like breminator.

[stepbystep]

Mostly good, would love to see more trip reports, but I'm guilty of not giving many either.

It would be good to see some prizes/vouchers for the photo comp or other competitions.

Some over zealous moderating at times, we're all(mostly) adults here and if we can't handle robust debate at times it's best not participate or use the foes feature. There are times when a spade has to be called a spade in order to make a point.

I still miss controversy corner, there are many environmental/political issues that affect bushwalkers directly but we are afraid to discuss openly.

Cheers, Dan

[frenchy_84]

The vanishing falls trip report restored alot of faith in the site for me. Personally, I was abit over all the gear reviews about a cooker that weighs 20 grams less than another, or someone asking about a tent they could use and be comfortable in and then being always directed towards a UL glorified bivy or a *&%$#! hammock, but thats just due to my personal interests being different to others and not a fault of the site itself, i could always just ignore the equipment thread.
I agree with SBS that there should be a controversy corner. And i dont see the point banning in someone, because it will only take 5 mins to create a new account and they will be back with a new name.

An annoyance of mine is people posting in wrong sections for example "Tent for the overland track" in the overland track section when it should be in equipment and also people not using the search function enough and then having mutliple threads on the same topic.

[Azza]

Or the fairly regular - I'm going to be walking the frenchmans cap track next (week/month/year etc) does anyone know what conditions of the Loddon Plains will be like?

err... Dunno - probably muddy, does it really matter?

[frenchy_84]

Im doing the overland track in May, whats the weather going to be like?

[taswegian]

Excellent source of information and a great place to see other bush experiences.

I endorse Azza's comments above.

I would like a permanent place for some info on what to experience here in Tasmania when one wanders up to the high places.
We read of too many that wander off and get lost or think they get lost and call for help.
Some are just simply underprepared for our Tasmanian weather.

Some recent posts have highlighted the fragility of our weather and what can start with a clear cloudless sky can soon turn to a flurry of snow and worse.
Even well marked and well formed tracks become obliterated in a big snow dump.

Your Anniversary walk demonstrated this in a mild way.

Winter like Snow condition was a feature and curtailed some of our planned activities but it happens like that sometimes

This one also highlights our weather http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9342 (thanks Nick for great post)
and a comment on that post

Just goes to show how you have to pack for ... every eventuality. Dis-respect Mother Nature at your peril!

I was going to post this as a separate post hence its rather laboured!

Other than that great work and keep it up.
thanks
Richard

[Explorer_Sam]

Excellent resource for bushwalkers from all over Australia.

[north-north-west]

If there's a way to send each new member a PM on joining that has a couple of simple things like ... use the search before you start a new thread ...

Please.
Actually, it would be really neat if - when any of you had a spare year or two - some of then repetitive threads could be merged. It would tidy the place up no end. Or even some of the endless "what sort of weather . . .?' rubbish culled.

Oh, and an AAWT section update thread stickied in the Victorian sub-forum. Then all the relevant queries and info could be kept in one nice neat spot rather than scattered hither, thither and yon.

[ollster]

I still miss controversy corner, there are many environmental/political issues that affect bushwalkers directly but we are afraid to discuss openly.

Two thoughts:
A private controversy corner that people could be added to "by invite only", so it's not exposed to Google et al.
A controversy corner that was by default hidden from view, but could be enabled in the "usergroups" User Control Panel feature (well, resigned from membership to view). Again it would be ideal if it was hidden from bots.

Mods would have to be willing to let it swing a lot more than the main sub-forum, so I guess it's probably not going to happen.

Either way I reckon it would devolve to a "sugar" storm pretty quickly, but at least most users would not then be able to see the resultant poo throwing.

[stepbystep]

I still miss controversy corner, there are many environmental/political issues that affect bushwalkers directly but we are afraid to discuss openly.

Two thoughts:
A private controversy corner that people could be added to "by invite only", so it's not exposed to Google et al.
A controversy corner that was by default hidden from view, but could be enabled in the "usergroups" User Control Panel feature (well, resigned from membership to view). Again it would be ideal if it was hidden from bots.

Mods would have to be willing to let it swing a lot more than the main sub-forum, so I guess it's probably not going to happen.

Either way I reckon it would devolve to a "sugar" storm pretty quickly, but at least most users would not then be able to see the resultant poo throwing.

You sir, reflect my thoughts on this precisely. Still think it's worth giving it a bash. Mods?

[north-north-west]

I still miss controversy corner, there are many environmental/political issues that affect bushwalkers directly but we are afraid to discuss openly.

Two thoughts:
A private controversy corner that people could be added to "by invite only", so it's not exposed to Google et al.
A controversy corner that was by default hidden from view, but could be enabled in the "usergroups" User Control Panel feature (well, resigned from membership to view). Again it would be ideal if it was hidden from bots.

Mods would have to be willing to let it swing a lot more than the main sub-forum, so I guess it's probably not going to happen.

Either way I reckon it would devolve to a "sugar" storm pretty quickly, but at least most users would not then be able to see the resultant poo throwing.

You sir, reflect my thoughts on this precisely. Still think it's worth giving it a bash. Mods?

+1

[Son of a Beach]

There's some really interesting ideas coming up in this topic. The moderator/admin team is trying really hard not to comment on any of them here just yet, to encourage open brainstorming. It's a bit of mind bender really for me - very difficult for me to keep my mouth (fingers?) shut on forum/moderation/etc issues.

However, we will start replying to some of the posts here some time soon.

[forest]

Is it possible to have email notification on a watched thread ??

I've liked this feature on other forums, Let's you know if you have a thread you are "watching" when someone posts.

[Mountain Rocket]

Is it possible to have email notification on a watched thread ??

As far as I remember there are currently two ways to achieve this.

1. This is at the bottom of every thread.

2. And this appears when you post a reply/quote someone.


One of my biggest complaints about this forum is a lack of a 'subscription' feature. I do not want an email every single time there is a new post in a thread. Rather, I want a list of threads that I am interested in (in one place) so I can easily keep track of them.

Another annoyance is similar threads seems to be dappled all over the place. This would be hard to change without a clearly defined rule-set as to what information should go in which thread and when it is appropriate to start a new one. However this would be more taxing on the moderation team - which might have negative effects elsewhere on the forum. It is also worth noting that this is a problem of most forums, but it particularly bothers me here for some reason. Perhaps there could be some work put into creating a whole range of new sticked threads to try and address common questions (i.e., 'new boots' or 'weather of x part of aus/walk)?

I feel like there is a huge wealth of information here, but (my fault or otherwise) it is not being totally being utilised.

[walkinTas]

@forest, @Robert H, Join the discussion here re: subscriptions.