Separate Boards a Failure?

[erikthewise]

I just looked at the Disney Vacation Club Forum, and guess what? More than half the threads were "moved". Even after several months, people haven't caught on to where they are supposed to post.

It might help to go back to the "DVC Community Board" name for this forum, which is what it is.

The Theme Parks board, where the separation is much more desperately needed, is very tolerant of having "fun" and "business" and "planning" threads in the same forum. Somehow life goes on over there.

 

[DisFlan]

I don't know that the separate boards have been a "failure". Both seem much less vibrant, at least to me - but not technically a failure.

DisFlan

 

[TCPluto]

I just looked at the Disney Vacation Club Forum, and guess what? More than half the threads were "moved". Even after several months, people haven't caught on to where they are supposed to post.

It might help to go back to the "DVC Community Board" name for this forum, which is what it is.
.....
Somehow life goes on over there.

Wow, a "failure"... sounds kind of harsh.

I just looked; much less than half were moved. Of those that were moved, after considering the purpose of each board, the moves seem appropriate. Also, the moved threads were started by folks with an average of much less than 100 posts, for the most part, so they seem quite new to the boards in general.

Somehow, life has gone on over here too....

 

[tothebeach9]

what is the dvc community board? didn't see one.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I don't know about faluire, but myself I am never sure just were to start a thread on. It seems alittle unclear where to post what. It was easier the old way.

 

[shellybaxter]

I'm part of the "moved threads" problem. I've started two threads on the wrong board simply because I'm not used to DVC yet. While I have over 1000 posts, I am completely new to DVC and therefore the DVC boards. I never know there use to be one board and now there are two, so for me, its just been trying to get used to something new. I figure I'm in the DVC area and don't think about which board it is.

Again I appoligize to the moderators and promise to pay more attention

 

[mark&sue]

I too think it is a lottery on which one you post your thread to. Can this be re-visited at all?


Susan

 

[greenban]

I have a slightly different take. (Okay, who is suprised by that?)

I believe that there is a learning curve. When we first got our DVC COMMUNITY BOARD sub, many, many threads were moved, and we all were confused. Then with the change to the DVC PLANNING BOARD, and our new moderators (who are doing a great job), we reset the clock, re. the learning curve, and we are back to square one or two.

Now, having said that, I agree the 'tone' of the DVC boards has changed, and we all know that I liked and contributed to the immature fun. But what maybe fun to one person maybe annoying or even bothersome to someone else.

IMHO the pendulum swung too far to 'Grumpy' with the recent changes, but with time it will swing back towards 'Goofy', and in time will settle where the most users will be happy.

Such is life, it goes on with or without us!

-Tony

 

[MOMO2DK]

I am mostly a reader rather than a writer. And I have always enjoyed the fun that I could read going back and forth on the DVC forum.

But, I was happy to see the community, now the planning borad, as I like to read and recieve input from my fellow DVCers. I've had posts moved off the DVC board in the past, when my whole intent was to get input from other DVC owners about things more community related (cameras, travel ideas etc...).

Anywho, I like the trip planning forum, though community board might be a clearer descriptor, and as Greenban said, I think the tone will swing back.

 

[Caskbill]

what is the dvc community board? didn't see one.

The DVC-Planning forum was originally named the DVC-Community forum.

The name change came about because users interpreted the DVC-Community board as a general Community Board and were not keeping threads to be DVC specific. There were many threads started that had absolutely nothing to do with DVC and should have been placed instead on the DISboard's Community Board, or one of the other DISboard fourms such as Restaruants, Theme Parks, Transportation, etc, and in some cases threads were started just for 'fun', and again had absolutely nothing to do with DVC. It eventually got out of hand, so the board name was changed to emphasize the board was for discussing things DVC only.

All three DVC boards are intended to be specific about DVC related issues.

For some general guidelines on what type of posts go on which board, see the FAQ's that are posted at the top of the main DVC-Board.

Generally you can think of it as this:

DVC-Board: Anything related to the workings of DVC itself. Think of it as something that would be informative for someone coming to the board for the first time, and knew nothing about DVC.

Rent/Trade Board: As the name says.

DVC-Planning: Anything that doesn't fit in either of the above boards. Here's where you do your welcome homes, trip reports, grocery questions, etc.

 

[tothebeach9]

ok. great dvc point program. any target on when the point tracker might be available? If it is half as good as the other it will be wonderful.

 

[FoodLover]

DVC-Board: Anything related to the workings of DVC itself. Think of it as something that would be informative for someone coming to the board for the first time, and knew nothing about DVC.

Rent/Trade Board: As the name says.

DVC-Planning: Anything that doesn't fit in either of the above boards. Here's where you do your welcome homes, trip reports, grocery questions, etc.

I've never understood the difference between DVC-Board and DVC-Planning and I still don't. Apparently a lot of people are in the same boat, since posts are constantly being moved back and forth.

Why is a trip report (which by its nature happens AFTER you visit your DVC resort) part of "Planning" for instance?

Here's another recent example: a post titled "DVC Dining Plan," inquiring generally about how much it costs and what is included, was moved from the general board to the Planning board. But isn't that "related to the workings of DVC itself" and "informative for someone coming to the board for the first time"??

Likewise a post asking for a single fact (if SSR has a hot tub) was moved to Planning. Again, how is this planning?

Sorry, but the distinction between the two boards seems totally arbitrary to me.

Mary

 

[Chuck S]

The question about SSR is not about the DVC program (banking, borrowing, managing your points) etc. Specific resort questions fall more under the planning category. The Dining Plan also falls under planning, it can only be used while staying at a WDW DVC resort, it is not related to managing your points.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Also, the DIS has many boards already set up to provide the general WDW information that is sometimes sought after.

Dining Plan questions in general are covered extensively on our Restaurant Board. Park Tickets are discussed over on Theme Parks.

But we try to accomodate and for example have the DVC Dining Thread for those who are in particular seeking info on the plan for DVC members. That would be part of planning a trip, however, and not pertinent to the DVC ownership/club itself. It is a "perk" to be utilized while on WDW vacations, and therefore most appropriate on DVC Planning.

The great thing, though, is that even if a thread is directed to another more appropriate location, there will always be a redirect on the board where it was originally posted. So folks can always track down where to get the most information for the topic they are seeking.

Cheers!!

 

[Doug7856]

. . . Both seem much less vibrant, at least to me . . .

DisFlan

I agree. Something is missing and I don't think the changes have been good for the "community". When I first joined, it seemed much more friendly -- although disagreements were "vibrant"! It just seems to be more technical now and less about the "community". Just my opinion.

 

[OneMoreTry]

Here's my take, for what it's worth.

Disney World is maintained in part by an incredible, onerous, strict set of rules and barriers that keep people from being rude and destructive and annoying to others. Everyone has so much fun anyway they are usually and for the most part glad to temporarily give up a dgree of nastiness, aggression and selfishness for the common good. (That's why rude people stand out and seem especially annoying there.)

So -- many people understandably expect the same at the DIS. Well, gradually over time some of the DVCers here became "more expressive" and boisterous and less inhibited, ie. less Disneylike. There were cliques and inside jokes going on. (A really cool word "hanname" was invented. It's a shame that disappeared.) I'm guessing this either offended some people leading to complaints or led to a fear by DIS poobahs that would happen. So there was a crackdown and threads were shut down and some got offended and left.

They left and started a new forum elsewhere and the DIS went on as it should because it's a great place for Disney lovers but it's not as fun.

Maybe most of you already know this and followed it. I just thought I'd give newbies another spin on it.

I have to agree, though, that I cannot figure out where to post some of my thoughts and comments. Some are about WDW but not DVC, but I don't care what non-DVCers have to say about them so I don't post them at all rather than be moved. Some are about DVC and I honestly am not sure. I like the two-forum idea, though.

 

[Beca]

I have to agree...somewhat. I do feel more of a need to "censor" what I say. Maybe not such a bad thing (I am sure many of you will agree), but I do find that I come to the boards "less" than I did.

But, here's one thing I cannot understand. Why do the UK boards get their own community board, and DVC does not (anymore). Maybe the "whole other country" necessitates this, and I just don't get it.

I still love the amazing resource that the dis is, but I really miss the "mindless escape" and silly friendships that I made here. It's still a great resource, but the laughs (at least on the DVC boards) are few and far between.



Beca

 

[curiouser]

I think there needs to be a description under the DVC Planning Boards. I'm very new to the DVC boards as my SO's parents just bought in, so for those new and just looking to ask a question it can be confusing on where to post. My post was moved here and originally I didn't know where to post because there was no description under the DVC Planning Boards so I didn't know what types of posts belonged here. I think further clarification in the descriptions will help clear things up for people.

 

[jmminarik]

I've never understood the difference between DVC-Board and DVC-Planning and I still don't. Apparently a lot of people are in the same boat, since posts are constantly being moved back and forth.

On the whole, unless I'm reading a thread that's been redirected, I rarely ever check the planning board. Might be because the original use seemed to be 'Welcome me Home now!' announcements and other types of warm fuzzies while the "main" board was "useful" information.

Plus I'm too lazy to update the link to the forums on my home pages.

-Joe

 

[ErinC]

Here's my opinion (which I'm sure is worthless in this case), the fact that the moderators are STILL trying to explain the differences in the boards to newbies and us "old" folks shows me that the regular population isn't getting the distinction in the boards. Since we don't have a REAL community board anymore there is no reason for the boards to be split IMHO. There are other forums on this board that move 3x as fast as the DVC forums, so again, I do not see the point in the split. I read both forums, it was much easier when it was all in the same spot. If something didn't interest you, you just skip it, just like with all the other forums on the DIS. As an trained educator, you learn that if your students don't get what your trying to teach, you need to change your approach, because there is something wrong with your presentation. It's the same with split board, if we still need this much instruction on the "right" place to post, something needs to change. YMMV