Mike Johnston
EF5
Regarding the idea of an "avanced forum"....why not just have a section called "featured articles" and invite any of our more accomplished members to write a well thought out essay or article, much as would be expected of a magazine article? In this manner, it would clearly be 'read-only' - no need for replies, just an opportunity for members to read a feature work from some of the best and the brightest. Once you get into "secret" and "avanced", no doubt those kind of terms begin to sound off-putting to the general membership. So, an area like this wouldn't be a post board at all, it would be a distinctly separate area on the ST site with feature articles - maybe 5 or 6 a month - submitted to ST for publication and then viewable by any member.
To take some of the workload off of the administrator and moderators, perhaps we could establish some kind of editorial committee that would be responsible for selecting the articles each month to be published.
Hopefully, something like this would take us beyond the elites vs. newcomers conundrum. Face it, we do have elites, as does every field. So, rather than arguing incessantly over who shall be in which bushel basket, why not set up something where the elites can shine and others can appreciate and enjoy? Gives an opportunity for those who are more advanced to show their stuff to a wider community, instead of feeling like they need to cordon themselves off.
To take some of the workload off of the administrator and moderators, perhaps we could establish some kind of editorial committee that would be responsible for selecting the articles each month to be published.
Hopefully, something like this would take us beyond the elites vs. newcomers conundrum. Face it, we do have elites, as does every field. So, rather than arguing incessantly over who shall be in which bushel basket, why not set up something where the elites can shine and others can appreciate and enjoy? Gives an opportunity for those who are more advanced to show their stuff to a wider community, instead of feeling like they need to cordon themselves off.