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Post by Rajiv on Oct 27, 2011 13:05:05 GMT 8
.... I'll rename the "Reports" board as "Post-Game Reports & Comments". Likewise for the Reports boards under the "Women's & Mixed Games" and "OPSAGE" categories, except for the OPSAGE category, it will be "Post-Event Reports & Comments as OPSAGE covers more than just games.
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 29, 2011 0:26:41 GMT 8
I've moved the following threads from the Administration & Overview board to the Discussion & Introductions board:
* People & standards * Player Lists, Round Ups & Updates (renamed "Players, records & keeping contact") * Report threads & player polls * Regular women's / mixed games (renamed "Women's & mixed games")
On the Discussion & Introductions board itself, I've merged "Mixed games" into "Women's & mixed games", "New players" into "People & standards" and "Explaining the points system" into "Players, records & contact details") . I've also merged "Old-style 4-team mini-tournaments" with "Proposal for new format 7-a-side mini-league" and renamed the thread "Mini-tournaments".
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 29, 2011 12:02:58 GMT 8
The "Please use the message board" thread has been moved the from Administration & Overview board to the Discussion & Introductions board, and renamed "Using the message board". The "Bring your game "online"" thread has been merged with in.
Also relating to the message board, the "Proboards apps for smartphones" thread on the Discussion & Introductions" board has been merged with "Problems registering or logging in" thread on the same board. The thread has been renamed "Accessing the message board". The posts relating to accessing the message board with a smartphone on the "Using the message board" thread have also been moved to the "Accessing the message board" thread.
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 29, 2011 14:04:28 GMT 8
.... It helps to know the names of other players, especially those you play with regularly. .... I've come across several players calling out to team mates they have played with several times before as "Hey" or the like, and it's quite clear they don't know their names. .... It makes for better communication within a team, and a better game experience, if you know the names of your team mates, especially those you've played with before. We always have new players, or players switching between games, or less regular players coming in, so there are always new names to learn. However, the more effort you make, the easier it gets. .... Every schedule thread includes: Everyone should aim to be at the venue 10 to 15 minutes before the game. Introduce yourself to those you're not familiar with. The names appear in the line ups, so it's a matter of connecting the name with the actual person, rather than learning names from scratch. And of course, the suggested line ups are posted on the message board 6 to 4 hours before the game. Unfortunately, there are still players who don't make good use of the message board. I believe players who make good use of the message board get more out of their games. Amongst other things, they have a better insight into the issues that arise in relation to our games, and as such, are less likely to be adversely affected by such issues. And it helps to be registered.
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 29, 2011 14:10:17 GMT 8
The message board is blocked in many offices. Reza has pointed out to his firm that GIFFA is about health and making contacts, and they have relented, allowing access. If any of you need my help in persuading your firm or company to allow access to the message board, let me know, I'll help in any way I can. Alternatively, the increasing use of smartphones means you can access the message board without using the office network. As set out above, there are Proboards Apps for both Android phones and iPhone.
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 30, 2011 14:18:08 GMT 8
.... I would hope that everyone feels comfortable enough to post their proposals, suggestions, invitations and offers directly on the message board, rather than emailing or SMSing me. After all, what I usually do is just quote the e-mail or SMS on the message board. .... The threads on the Discussion & Introduction board now cover a wide range of subjects relating to our games. .... Threads will be renamed as necessary to cover the current scope of the thread and to keep them relevant. .... As the subject threads can be modified to keep the thread relevant, there is less need for new threads on the "Discussion & Introductions" board. Feel free to post your proposals, suggestions and observations on any appropriate thread on the "Discussion & Introductions" board. If I think it may be more appropriate on another thread, I will just move the post.
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Post by Foo Cheong on Oct 30, 2011 17:09:59 GMT 8
Oh, I was out when I thought of a holiday game. I did not have internet access and thought I'll SMS in case you need to book the pitch asap.
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Post by Rajiv on Oct 31, 2011 15:37:20 GMT 8
.... ..., I'll rename mixed games as "all-comers" games, and this thread will be renamed accordingly. The "Women's & Mixed Games" category will also be renamed in the same way.
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 3, 2011 8:32:28 GMT 8
.... The reports/comments board and the General category are intended to give everyone an opportunity to discuss our games and other stuff on the message board, at their convenience. I try to encourage players to do so, as the more players do so, the more other players will do. A snowball effect - albeit a slow moving snowball.  At a practical level: * The more players post on the message board, the more other players get to know them. * The more players use the message board, the more likely that players will pick up on available spots for our games on their own, without the need for me to SMS.
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 3, 2011 18:04:07 GMT 8
The schedule thread doesn't often run into two pages, but when it does, players sometimes have difficulty finding the line ups as clicking second page. .... .... I can reverse the order in which posts in a thread reply, so that the latest is the first reply on the first page. It might help if I did so fall all scheduling boards (Team Matches, Regular & Extra Games, Schedule for Women's & Mixed Games, Proposals/Details for OPSAGE). Even if the thread doesn't run beyond a single page, it would help that players don't have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the latest post. On the other hand, it will cause some confusion when the change is first effected. I will make the change immediately before I send out the next e-mail Update, so that the change can be announced immediately in the e-mail. I may also add a sticky on the Regular & Extra Games board, the one that is most used. I haven't done it yet. I need to make sure any change goes through as smoothly as possible, and players don't get confused by the change. I'll leave it for a bit later.
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 16, 2011 23:28:59 GMT 8
Pages of the message board has at various times today been very slow to load up, and it has at times been even slower to post, taking more than 5 minutes. There have been server issues. Please read here.
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 17, 2011 17:16:03 GMT 8
I've merged all the "Scheduling Matters" threads (those for August & September 2010, 4th Quarter 2010, 1st Quarter 2011 and 2nd & 3rd Quarters 2011 from the Archive sub-board to the Overview & Developments board, together with that for 4th Quarter 2011), and moved the merged thread to the Discussion & Introductions board. As there are no threads left in the Archive sub-board, I have deleted it. The thread for 2nd & 3rd Quarter 2010 also covered payments. I have moved 3 posts dealing solely with payments to the Payments thread. I've also moved the remaining threads on the Overview & Developments thread, other than the General Information thread, namely, "Rain policy", "Message board layout" and "Playing rules & principles; system", to the Discussion & Introductions board. I've created three new threads on the Overview & Developments board, namely, "Players & Social", "Venues & Game Dynamics" and "System & the Message Board", which provides links to relevant threads on the "Discussion & Introductions" board. I have also renamed the Overview & Developments board as Overview. As it is cumbersome to deal with playing rules, principles and the system in one thread, and there are other threads dealing more effectively with principles and the system, I have renamed the thread "Playing rules", and will move posts in the thread relating to principles and the system to more appropriate threads. I've revised the "General Information" thread on the Overview board under the Administration category to reflect the changes in the layout of the message board
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 17, 2011 17:17:55 GMT 8
The schedule thread doesn't often run into two pages, but when it does, players sometimes have difficulty finding the line ups as clicking second page. .... .... I can reverse the order in which posts in a thread reply, so that the latest is the first reply on the first page. It might help if I did so for all scheduling boards (Team Matches, Regular & Extra Games, Schedule for Women's & Mixed Games, Proposals/Details for OPSAGE). Even if the thread doesn't run beyond a single page, it would help that players don't have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the latest post. On the other hand, it will cause some confusion when the change is first effected. I will make the change immediately before I send out the next e-mail Update, so that the change can be announced immediately in the e-mail. I may also add a sticky on the Regular & Extra Games board, the one that is most used. I haven't done it yet. I need to make sure any change goes through as smoothly as possible, and players don't get confused by the change. I'll leave it for a bit later. I've just realised it's not currently possible to do that.
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 21, 2011 15:29:06 GMT 8
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Post by Rajiv on Nov 26, 2011 14:31:36 GMT 8
The search function on the message board is useful for finding stuff. You can search within a board or within a thread. However, it doesn't find a term if there is a slight variation, and doesn't always find a term if it occurred several months ago. Still, worth trying it if you need to find a post.
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Post by Rajiv on Dec 9, 2011 12:13:12 GMT 8
.... 7. Srini (not able to post from his iPhone) .... If anyone has had a similar problem, but found a solution, please let us know.
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Post by Rajiv on Dec 10, 2011 13:57:05 GMT 8
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Post by Rajiv on Dec 10, 2011 17:03:28 GMT 8
The worst of it seems to be over. At its worst, I was just trying to get information about today's game out in time, so the above post was only on the thread for today's game. I've now moved it here.
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Post by Rajiv on Dec 11, 2011 8:55:28 GMT 8
Still taking two or three attempts to load a page.
If it's worse for you, SMS me.
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Post by Rajiv on Dec 13, 2011 7:20:49 GMT 8
The message board home page shows the date and time on which there were the most number of users online. This is shown in the "Info Center" at the bottom of the home page, under "Users Online". I take this to mean the most number of users accessing the message board at any given time. For a long time, it was 37, achieved at 1.25 am on 10 November 2010. This is reflected in the home page saved in PDF on 17 July 2011 attached to the post on that date above. Yesterday, almost a year on, at 9.05 pm, that number was exceeded - it hit 39. The current home page saved in PDF is attached, showing the number as described above. .... It hit 48 yesterday at 6.47 pm. I'm not sure if one person clicking on several links within a short time pushes the figure up. If it does, it wasn't me. 
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