Job Discussion Forums

[caesar]

This forum has had the new layout now for about six months. I know, in the first month a few polls were taken but people really didn't have any idea about the program then. Six months later, how would you evaluate phpbb as a forum for discussing job-related matters as compared to the old bbs?

I personally feel a lot was lost when multi-string discussions were given up. All the discussions seem so..."samey" and shallow and it's very rare to see an idea picked apart and closely scrutinized from all angles like on the old forum. Has the forum gained something to replace this? if so, what? What has it lost? I'd argue that it's lost DEPTH and BREADTH.

Am I a minority of one? Am I the only one who feels a great deal was lost for the sake of smilies and avatars?

I'm interested in hearing what everyone has to say, so if you don't feel like posting it openly, you can e-mail me.

[Irish]

I've been thinking about this lately and I agree that the character of the board is very different. I'm not sure if the cafe has lost breadth and depth exactly, but there certainly seem to be far more "silly topics" (for lack of a better term) than were seen under the old style. (But this depends on one's definition of "silly.") Perhaps that's a function of having posts appear instantly--at times, this place feels like a chat room. That's not necessarily a bad thing. As long as people get the information they need, let others blow off steam. Actually, I learn more by PMing people than by reading the threads.

Having things split into country-specific categories has been helpful and I've learned much more about the areas I'm interested in than I did using the old board. On the other hand, I miss reading posts from long-time members who work in places that I'm not interested in. Being short on time, I usually skip over those forums and stick to the ones I like. More efficient, yes, but I miss reading what they have to say.

Perhaps something was lost when the format changed but perhaps something was gained as well. I neither pine for the old board nor love the new one. However, I admit that the new one has been far more useful to me than the old one. But that's just me.