Whats next for psychologyforum

[Turion]

I am constantly trying to improve this forum to make it a place that all our members find useful. I have many plans that I would Like to implement as the forum grows. However in order that the forum can continue to grow I would like to know what do you all think this forum needs.

I am thinking about the immediate future of the forum things that you would like to see on the forum, things that you would like more of but i would also like to know if there is anything you would like to see less of.

I am also open to long terms suggestions too,  if any body has any suggestions about the long term direction of the forum. i.e. including an article repository or a journal/blog function for members.

I am open to any ideas.

[Ajna]

This doesnt qualify as "useful" but... how about a chat room? 

[SWM]

i would like this too. i am looking into what the possibilities are.

[Enigma]

You could set up an IRC channel. 

[SWM]

i think irc will be the best way to do it, if i can integrate the channel into the forum using a java based irc chat client.

[SWM]

i'm having difficulties arranging the chat integration. it is a bit more complicated than i thought.

[Enigma]

Since everything psychological is simultaneously biological, I think a neuroscience board would be cool.  Also, I just declared my minor as cognitive neuroscience. 

[SWM]

if i create a neuroscience board would you get some topics going in it?

[PsyChris]

I'm also a neuropsychology student, so I second the neuroscience forum!

Have you looked at this mod for chat rooms? (http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=60)

It's pretty easy, just make sure you set the room up correctly so users are dispersed all over the IRC server or required to manually join the chat room.

-Chris

[Enigma]

if i create a neuroscience board would you get some topics going in it?

I'm sure I could find some stuff to generate some discussion. 

[SWM]

if i create a neuroscience board would you get some topics going in it?

I'm sure I could find some stuff to generate some discussion. 

Would this subject be in the category of psychology rather than mental health? and what would be best name for the forum neuroscience or neuropsychology? also if you could suggest ideas of a description that people might find helpful and words that people might type into a search engine.

i need suggestions because i know nothing about neuropsyche.

[SWM]

I'm also a neuropsychology student, so I second the neuroscience forum!

Have you looked at this mod for chat rooms? (http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=60)

It's pretty easy, just make sure you set the room up correctly so users are dispersed all over the IRC server or required to manually join the chat room.

-Chris

i will gieve this a try soon. i have a bit too much to do at present but i would still like to see a chatroom here at the forum.

also last time i tried to configure the chatroom i was on different server that had quite restricted permissions and i realised later that might be the reason that i could nto get the chat working.

will try this mod. thanks Chris.

[Enigma]

Would this subject be in the category of psychology rather than mental health? and what would be best name for the forum neuroscience or neuropsychology? also if you could suggest ideas of a description that people might find helpful and words that people might type into a search engine.

i need suggestions because i know nothing about neuropsyche.

Hmmm...I'd say it should go in the Psychology section as the Mental Health section relates to specific disorders.  I'd say name the forum neuroscience as it is more recognizable and less specific than neuropsychology.  As for a description, I'm thinking, "Everything psychological is simultaneously biological.  Discuss anything neuro-related, including but not limited to: neuopsychology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, evolutionary neuroscience, and neurological disorders."

[SWM]

an empty forum awaits you...
http://psychology-forum.com/neuroscience/

guests are not able to view the board yet.

[voodoo scientist]

As I said last year, activity would be considerably higher if you consolidated the forums. Currently, there are so many forums that it is impossible to get an overview of what's going on and what's new unless you read the forum often enough for "Recent Posts" to be useful.

When a user looks at a forum and sees no recent posts (many forums have only one or two posts within the last month, even if most of them have accrued many threads now), they will be disinclined to post themselves. Additionally, when users go to any given forum now, they are likely to see an existing (and often "concluded" or petered-out) thread on the subject they are interested in, which makes them further disinclined to post themselves.

I suspect that current activity peaks at the level that can be comfortably sustained by Recent Posts. With a proper forum structure, the forum could be allowed to grow to the size it deserves to, and hopefully attract regulars other than spiritual nutballs interested in discussing whether or not there is a secret energy source within the mind that puny science instruments can't detect and teenagers who want to legalize pot.

• The Off Topic forum could easily hold all the active threads in its whole category and have room to have more active threads.
• Similarly, all the Mental Health forums could comfortably be consolidated into a "Mental Disorders" forum (while this might sound drastic, there are only about four threads from all 2010 and even fewer from June in each of these forums).
• Dream interpretation can fall under either General Psychology (which I always felt should be called just Psychology, but that's more based in aesthetics than higher activity) or Parapsychology, depending on how you personally feel about it.
• Personality should be rolled into General Psychology.

Overall, when you look at the forum on a standard monitor resolution (1280x1024 is the most common resolution, ref. http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey), you should be able to get an overview of the forum without having to scroll more than half a page. This is currently only the case in 1920x1200.

If you reconfigured the forum like this, I believe you would see markedly more net users, posts per user and longer user cycles within a few months.

[SWM]

I have been thinking about reducing the amount of forums particularly for the less active forums.

I am not concerned too much with the scrolling down to see the forum or visual impact but i agree with removing/ condensing inactive or slow boards.

[voodoo scientist]

Lookin' good with the fewer categories and less forums. I can browse the forum in a normal manner now, and most forums have recent posts in them!

[SWM]

agreed on all counts. i will keep an eye on the stats page  and see what happens.

[acousticeagle]

gosh, SWM, this might sound weird, but possibly a list of people who are singles looking for other singles who are into psychology as well. I did a post recently saying I was a Briggs Meyers INTJ, terrible introvert, artist/loner type, freaked at going on a dating site, and won't put myself out there to find a partner. Weird, or not? I just don't know. To find someone suitable on my own wavelength seems an impossible task, but feel ready for that. Have no real clue how to start. It's a scary world of middle-aged singles out there. *wry smile* Look, it's not as if it needs to be a dating site - god forbid! (now I'm laughing). A stupid suggestion on my behalf, probably.

Just want to add that I reckon you do a good job here - it's a well-kept place unlike many forums on the net. So, I really appreciate the privilege of being able to add my bit. Good brain exercise.

[SWM]

hey, thank you for the kind words. I try my best to keep an orderly house.

Not so sure about this list of people who are looking for companionship/romance. 

By all means if you want to start a thread or two for people to make themselves known as single or available and to talk about meeting other people, that would not be a problem at all.  You could even start a thread asking other members how they might like a thread to be constructed, would they participate. of course you will get some disparaging remarks from certain memebers but you might get some positive repsonses also.

[curiouskorean]

you can go either a chat room or a status bar, either way works fine and the status bar can be used to link your thread

also It be nice if there was a political and religious psychology thread

[Enigma]

There used to be a subforum for social issues but that got absorbed into the off topic section.