I appreciate the candid input on the forum in this thread. I'll continue to read the comments here and post as necessary. Please know that we'll look into all of the suggestions made here.
I'll address the suggestions made so far.
patentesq said:
1. Larger PM storage space.
I will look into this and try to determine a way to make it happen.
patentesq said:
2. Longer time to edit your own posts before it goes "permanent"
patentesq said:
3. Ability to delete your own prior posts in their entirety.
I'll address these two as one unit. First, there's a reason we limit edit time the way we do. The way we view this forum is perhaps different than other staffs view their forums. We consider our forum a continuous discussion and sharing of viewpoints. We like to see that discussion evolve over time and the only way to ensure that happens is to set limits on editing posts.
We have the time limit for editing posts set to one hour. After 5 minutes, the "last edited by" shows up. We consider these reasonable periods of time for editing posts while ensuring that conversations flow as posts are made.
As for permanent post deletion. We have the policy in place of not allowing members to delete posts in order to preserve the information on the forum. This site is an excellent database of information for our members and allowing post deletion would detract from that purpose. It would further detract from the conversation nature of the forum.
patentesq said:
4. Customizable home page, where only forums you care about are within view (with most current 5 threads can be readily seen).
Unfortunately, with the current software this is not possible. The latest posts are available by clicking "New Posts" in the Navbar between "Calendar" and "Search".
patentesq said:
5. Added functionality for "friends", which may be contact information or a private discussion board that only "friends" can see.
There is some possibility to add functionality for friends. However, one of tenets on this forum is open discussions viewable by all. Both members and guests can view the entire forum and this ensures that we are able to fulfill our mission of getting information to all of our members and guests. It is my opinion that private conversations, outside of PMs, will detract from the overall benefit offered by the forum.
I hope this answers some of these questions. I appreciate the feedback and will investigate further in the areas where I think we can improve the user experience. I look forward to hearing more from our members.
Thank you for your time.
-TN