Your Forum, tell me what you want!

[forzascalea]

Hi all,

I am going to be working on the site over the coming months. I will not be touching the forum but adding other features.

The this end, if anybody has any ideas or suggestions for the website please let me know.

I want the site to be a product of its users so please let me know your thoughts, i can't say i'll include everything but I will consider every idea.

Ciao for now, David

[Italy4me]

Hi David!
I wonder whether it would be possible to send new members a link to a FAQ page that will help them learn how the forum works and how to search for topics of interest to them?

It is always lovely to greet new members but often their first questions have been asked many times and the answers are already within the forum - and could be found quickly if they are helped to know how to look for them.

And maybe new members could be encouraged to make their first posting an introduction?
Something along the lines of "We live in London but have just bought an apartment on Parco Meridiana, Scalea" or "we have been reading about Calabria and the area around Scalea and wonder if it would suit us as a holiday destination with three teenage children" etc .

That could help everyone to place who is where and/or what information they are looking to glean from the forum.
It needn't be compulsory but can be helpful to all of us who try to post advice on various topics re travel, local services etc.

[bella_ciao]

Originally Posted by Italy4me

Hi David!
I wonder whether it would be possible to send new members a link to a FAQ page that will help them learn how the forum works and how to search for topics of interest to them?

It is always lovely to greet new members but often their first questions have been asked many times and the answers are already within the forum - and could be found quickly if they are helped to know how to look for them.

And maybe new members could be encouraged to make their first posting an introduction?
Something along the lines of "We live in London but have just bought an apartment on Parco Meridiana, Scalea" or "we have been reading about Calabria and the area around Scalea and wonder if it would suit us as a holiday destination with three teenage children" etc .

That could help everyone to place who is where and/or what information they are looking to glean from the forum.
It needn't be compulsory but can be helpful to all of us who try to post advice on various topics re travel, local services etc.

Hi David,
Nice to see you back on the forum again! I second Lesley's suggestion - couldn't have put it better myself and it would save us all from repeating ourselves too often and make the forum more interesting for viewers and members alike, freeing up space for new posters who are genuinely interested in the area, or would like to know more about what's available. I like the introduction idea, as well (it might encourage those who feel a little shy to bring something to the table that might be helpful to the rest of us, too).
There is quite a wealth of very useful information on here now but, as this area (Calabria) is still relatively new to many travellers, more of the same, or even newer or different info., is always welcome. What's nice is that everyone has something to offer because their experiences either parallel or they have some extra helpful pointers, or bits of advice to share, so all can benefit potentially. Having it organized in a way that makes it easily accessible to all will be most useful - it may take a fair bit of work, as I appreciate, but I think it will be very worthwhile.
Anyway, here's hoping other members have some more helpful suggestions.
Ciao a tutti,
Frances.

[Doug]

David,
I agree with the above, but the system already allows a search option. First timers or others need to be reminded of that option of searching old threads and posts before asking new questions.

We are in that mode with an Expats in Italy forum about getting our Permesso di Soggiorno that has gobs of information over the years. We need to focus our search of information before asking a new question. Going to live in Italy permanently doe not excite most viewers of this site, but there could be a few.

My point -- tell people to search the existing before re-asking a question.

[forzascalea]

Lesley + all - Yes We will definitely get them to search the forums first, great idea and would save a lot of time for everyone. I will put a sticky post on top of the forum saying "read before posting"!

Doug - I hope the Permesso di soggiorno is easier nowadays! what a nightmare. We had to do ours at the police station at Paola, it took 7 months. I heard now that you can do it at any post office, that would be much easier.

Frances - I will be re-doing the area guide and it will not be a part of this forum anymore. It will be catergorised with a search facility. A standard entry will be free but I will also be offering paid entries which will have photos in the search results etc...

-In general-
The big thing up in the air at the moment is the photo gallery. it is terrible and needs sorting out. I have been unable to find a good gallery that will integrate into this forum therefore I will have to implement a stand alone gallery. I will probably have a gallery that just has one username and password for everybody and they can freely view and upload pics, then the administrators of the site will moderate it.

I was also going to do a property section which I will be totally unbiased and people can just advertise their properties on it, agents who want to advertise on it will have to pay.

Just to be totally honest and up front, some of the changes I will be making will be to earn some money from the site (property section and guide section), however I will state clearly at this stage that I will not be touching the forum, and the other changes will not detract from the user in any way. In fact it will all be much better.

Anyway if anyone has ideas please let me know, even if you disagree please let me know, as always your thoughts are important to me.

[bella_ciao]

Frances - I will be re-doing the area guide and it will not be a part of this forum anymore. It will be catergorised with a search facility. A standard entry will be free but I will also be offering paid entries which will have photos in the search results etc...

Hi David,
Thanks for the update and it's good to know that the site is going to be upgraded.
Could you be more specific about what would be regarded as a "standard" entry as opposed to a "paid entry", please? I can understand that you would want to charge businesses for advertising on your site but supposing, for instance, an ordinary member wanted to recommend somewhere to others (e.g. accommodation, restaurants, places of interest, etc.) and maybe upload photographs or add a link to a website? I do think one of the appealing things about this website is that you are able to access information that is useful for travellers to the area, or make your own contribution for the use of other members. Personally, I have been put off by websites that charge me for accessing certain information and will therefore be more likely to search for one that doesn't.
My feeling is that businesses should be the ones that pay for the privilege of using your site to advertise and that ordinary members should be able to access the information without charge. Since the (broader) tourist industry in this area is still in its infancy, people still need to be able to access this information freely in order to familiarise themselves with the area and to decide on an itinerary for their holiday.
This is just to ask for some clarification - I appreciate that you have probably weighed all of this up already but I do think it's worth mentioning.
All the best with the revamp.
Ciao,
Frances.

[forzascalea]

I agree with everything you say. I will definitely not be charging the end user for anything. As you say all information needs to be accessed freely. Please let me clarify that all access to EVERYTHING will never be chargeable.

My Idea for the guide section was to allow free basic listings (i.e people who just want to recommend somewhere). But charge businesses a nominal fee to list their business with photos etc... (some sort of enhanced listing, haven't figured it out yet!)

I had a similar idea for a property section, to list a property will cost a nominal fee, nut agents can pay a monthly fee to be able to list unlimited properties.

Again everything will be free to view to the end user. The forum will always remain unchanged, and the photo gallery will work!

Please understand this is not a greed thing, but it would be nice if the site paid for a bottle of Italian red wine every now and again!

I appreciate the feedback, as always let me know your thoughts, David.

[caoimho]

Hi David.
This sounds like a good idea and local businesses should pay a small advertising fee to you. Just a passing thought, I have noticed some people looking for places to stay in and around the Scalea area. Perhaps people with properties to let (we considered this for a while but changed our minds), could advertise on this site for a small annual fee , rather than have property links scattered all over the net. That way people could see whats available and landlords could offset the advertising costs in the rental price. Anyone looking would see lots of properties on one site and save them having to ask if anyone has a place or scouring the net,all for free..Just a thought
Ci vediamo
Kev

[bella_ciao]

Originally Posted by forzascalea

I agree with everything you say. I will definitely not be charging the end user for anything. As you say all information needs to be accessed freely. Please let me clarify that all access to EVERYTHING will never be chargeable.

My Idea for the guide section was to allow free basic listings (i.e people who just want to recommend somewhere). But charge businesses a nominal fee to list their business with photos etc... (some sort of enhanced listing, haven't figured it out yet!)

I had a similar idea for a property section, to list a property will cost a nominal fee, nut agents can pay a monthly fee to be able to list unlimited properties.

Again everything will be free to view to the end user. The forum will always remain unchanged, and the photo gallery will work!

Please understand this is not a greed thing, but it would be nice if the site paid for a bottle of Italian red wine every now and again!

I appreciate the feedback, as always let me know your thoughts, David.

Hi David,
Thank you for clarifying your proposals for the revamped site and I do understand that it is still at the 'idea' stage. I felt sure that this was what you meant but it needed some further explanation for the benefit of all members and viewers of the forum. Sometimes you are blocked from viewing information on some websites until you pay 'up front', which can be really irritating when you only want a specific piece of information for, say, a project.
I fully understand the idea of charging businesses a fee for advertising on the site, or someone who wants to list a property for sale, and this is quite normal and acceptable. It also provides some return for the work involved. BTW, I would not have put you in the "greed" bracket and sincerely hope that thought wasn't conveyed in any way, shape or form. I'm sure I speak for most other members when I say that your new proposals to upgrade the site are most welcome and it is nice to know that it will be getting that kind of input, which has to make it more user friendly in the long run. It will be nice for people to access the various pieces of information they are looking for all from one source, especially if they can do so in a hassle-free way. I suppose that's easy for me to say - you're the one who has all the work to do!
Anyway, thanks again for explaining it more fully.
Best regards to you, Melanie and your "wee one", Gabriella.
Frances.