This has just been brought up again on S's thread so I wondered if anyone had any thoughts.
PM has been mentioned before a couple of times. I personally reckon that this would be a good idea it works v positively on other forums I use. I have noticed that some members have found the lack of real + private messages a real negative of this forum. If we had gear we wished to offer, or organise a meet we would be able to. I am aware that some members consider this as 'secret posting' but my take on it is that it would enable more meets, swapping gear + a further dimension to this friendly community.
The other idea I had was to have a 'RSPB forum' page on facebook that those of us wished could join, then without even becoming friends you could still send a message if you wished. One of my forums that offers PM's also has this facility. No idea how many here are on facebook or if this is really whats needed. It would be really easy to set up + pop a link on the home forum page + not take up much time of the tech team. I do think that there is increasingly a call for this + that it would enable the forum to run more smoothly!!
Those are my thoughts. What about everyone else?
'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks' John Muir.
Excuse wobbily dyslexic spelling!
every other forum I am on has PM's as standard... however... I have been told that this forum is different from other forums!
anyway... yes it would of course be a useful feature... exchanging numbers etc for meeting up
meets in general I would suggest go under an arranging meets section.. this works well on other forums
if you don't want to use PM's then don't.. its that simple
what goes around comes around!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guyfrankland/sets/72157623175917620/show/
There probably is a case for PMs but we must remember the forum is not a full time occupation for anyone. The mods work tirelessly and the birds come first. This is first and foremost a community and as such just a place for friendly discussion
Of all creatures, man is the most detestable, he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~ Mark Twain