I gotta second you on the forum thing. phpBB is out there, free, is fully featured (PM, profiles, &c.) and works beautifully.

For that matter, why doesn't TechShop Mothership just have one forum for all of the locations? We only need about 6 individual sections (wood, metal, textiles, electronics, announcements, and 'General') plus regional ones for Portland, Durham, Menlo, and SF. I've always been bewildered at the detachment from TS Corporate in this regard. Why aren't there quarterly video-conference-enabled country-wide parties held at each TechShop simultaneously or something? Ya know... FUN!

Bulletin board sounds great. Probably the easiest thing to do is to throw up a cork bulletin board at the front door that has a policy stated above: "All posters will be removed on the last Friday of the Month" or something to that effect.

For those who might not "get" the importance of a better forum, here are some thoughts. People who use the Internet to network and get things done are used to certain features. Most of these are oriented towards being able to use the forum quickly and efficiently.

1. Clean design, w/o a lot of junk that takes a long time to load and makes it visually cluttered.
2. Built-in PM function, to quickly send a personal note
3. A good front page w/ all the subforums in a row, that graphically shows what forums have new messages.
4. User icons: these are not just cute pictures; they serve a function by allowing a user to quickly scan and see who has responded in a thread.

I'm sure there are more, but it's irrelevant because it's all been worked out by others, resulting in phpbb as the default software to use. I am active on many forums on various subjects, and because they are well designed, I can hit multiple ones in different browser tabs at the same time and read them all in just a few minutes. That's good efficient design.

Attempting to build a new forum w/o using the open source phpbb software is like reinventing the wheel, and the wheel in question came out sort of... hexagonal and lopsided.

Look at Menlo's or Portland's boards. We should steal one of those.

On community in general: the forum and the community white (or cork, or magnetic) board are just ways to build a sense of community. Without that sense, then TSRDU is just a bunch of tools with a roof over it. People will come, use what they use, and leave. No excitement, no passion, no synergy.

We had it and IMO we lost it. There are other ways to build that sense (which I'll write about and some of which I'll be willing to helm) but setting up communication routes is the first thing.

This has gotten really long. Blame my workplace for giving me President's Day off.

JC

FWIW, I hear if you pre-treat the melamine with acetone before doing anything else to it, it works just like any other decent whiteboard. The issue is the dust and grid and crud that accumulates in the open air during shipping & storage.

Let's all check out the positive direction we're headed on http://techshoprdu.com/node/616

It relates to this thread and started out a bit tense to say the least, but I think we're getting closer to the solution over there.

I also want to say how much I appreciate the passion everyone seems to have over these issues. It shows how much people care about their TechShop.

It would be horrible if everyone said this sucks........ who cares?

Thanks for caring,

Scott

I deleted it for you John. Only because you said you wanted it that way. I didn't even read it all. I should have unpublished it or asked you what you wanted it changed to. but I didn't think of it fast enough. Well, feel free to repost anything you want public.

And that functionality does exist in a way. Anyone who ever wants to edit or remove a post, simply has to ask me. I'll do it for you in a heartbeat. Editing someone else's is a different story, but if you want to change your own words, I see no reason not to do it for you.

Scott

Otay, back to the physical board: Is there going to be a place designated for it, and is there a white/cork board available? Or should I go looking for some melamine?

If so, then I can mount/label the board once the wall in question is painted, and make a vinyl sign for it, as I offered above.

JC

Thanks for deleting the post, Scott. I'm a bit tetchy so I'm going to remain quiet instead.

More URLs.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=128
http://www.dryerasemagic.com/

Rust-oleum is a 2-part epoxy system... coverage is only about 7'x7' with one kit ($25) and 2 coats.

Hopefully someone can attest to some quality results from the Rustoleum whiteboard paint. It looks like a very slick way to go if we want a large or non-rectangular board. Notice that they also have a magnetic primer:

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=127

...which just makes it all the cooler if the two can be combined. Nice find!

I thought I had already answered this, but will do so again.

Yes, we have a bunch of whiteboards, some of them magnetic. None of them have any particular "assignment" other than that they are our TechShop whiteboards. I guess that means they can go anywhere except into private spaces.

We can make sure one gets put in a prominent space. Where do you think it should go? My first idea would be to put it across from the kitchen along the hallway. With that said, I guess it's about time for me to post the relatively final floor plans. Upstairs is done.............. I think. Downstairs needs work yet.

I'll upload the upstairs plan and then add a link to tonight's blog unless someone has a better suggestion.

Thanks,

Scott

Yeah, Scott, that seems like the best spot. It's right on the hall in the main drag through the second floor.

But now that I look, again, after I've figured out how to see the 3D view in SweetHome, I'm not sure there's space given the windows. Maybe right where you have the bookshelf now & bump that to one of the smaller open wall spaces.

In any case, it doesn't have to get decided right now, but somewhere along there seems ideal.