DOcalendar
 

I know it's been talked about before... I'm just wondering if maybe starting a new thread since it's been a while might generate some brainstorms.

A fellow FT'er asked me tonight when I'd be attending a DO. So I thought I'd go look at the FT events calendar to see what my options were. Between the empty calendar and a ton of postings in here, it's not the easiest task to find a list of DOs...

So does anyone have any ideas for making this process easier? If there was a simple way to find DOs, I'm guessing more people might attend -- I'd certainly check it any time I plan a business trip to see if a side trip would work. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'll throw out one thought -- what if we have a (formal? informal?) DoTracker... like a moderator, but their sole purpose is to keep track of the events (either via submission via email or web, or just by committing to staying on top of the posts in community) and then update the Events Calendar (which would be nice to have linked from the Community forum).

What other ideas are out there? I'd really love to see an easier way to find out about the DOs... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks y'all for bearing with what amounts for me to ranting...

I offered to do this a few months ago, but the idea got thoroughly blasted.

I can't find the old thread, but lots of folks weighed in that they thought this was unnecessary and reminded me that the FT Calendar exists for that purpose.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

TG, I remember the discussion... and I thought, gee, okay, maybe they have valid points, maybe not. Obviously it hasn't worked out without *some* solution.

Would you still be willing to help, or has the collective FT pessimism turned you away? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Just casting my vote here against the calender.

I still believe that it is rather simple to use this FT Community thread (especially if it is used properly) to track do's.

I find it difficult to comprehend that more FT'ers would come to do's if they could find them more easily.

Here is a simple test. Can someone list all of the planned DOs as a response to this thread?

As much as this appears a way to get someone to list them all to use on a calender.. here is what I could find in five minutes total looking at posts for the last 10 days:

I only included ones that had what appear to have some interest, my judgement call LOL

8/31 to 9/1 SIN
9/4 SYD
8/23 ANC Mini do
8/25 SF Mini do
10/4 LAX Britt dinner
10/4 to 10/6 LAS
10/18 to 10/20 So Fla
12/21 to 12/29 NYC XMAS in the City
no date Kiwi do
9/13 to 9/15 Do by the Bay
8/24 ONT dinner
9/28 to 9/29 CPH
11/22 to 11/24 SCL
9/27 to 9/30 SIN Mini
9/30 to 10/6 HKG Mini

In five minutes I found this, not to hard I don't think. If I didn't have a meeting to run to now, I could have done a better job sorting and identifying descriptions but that just goes to show why a calender is not needed, this process could have been cut down to about 3 minutes if I didn't have to sort through the birthdays, appreciations, and the ten different versions of the same thing-trip reports.


[This message has been edited by TrojanHorse (edited 08-20-2002).]

And what a handy list that is to have!

Now think of how cool it would be to just have a calendar thread that listed upcoming events in order with a link to the original thread.

The first post on the thread would always be the current calendar... cancelled or expired events removed. I'm thinking something similar to the bonus code thread on the US Airways forum.

Well I can't say that I am familiar with the US Air thread all of these were easily identifiable in the current format. Now if we could remove and/or consolidate all of the other clutter in Community then we might have something even easier and a bit more clear than we already do. As it is, it only took a few minutes to scan the FT Community Thread forum to get these. People are still going to come here to Community to post anyway so a new calender link will only make an additional step or two for everyone. As it is, the other Calender thread just isn't used.

I agree that it isn't used... and I would never use it for something "small" like a "hey, anyone want to have dinner in DFW next week" kinda of post.

I would just love to see something up where I can quickly scan all the big and not so big stuff easily without having to search... community threads die sometimes, not for lack of interest, but because they roll of the first couple of pages or go a week without a post and people forget.

I would again volunteer to maintain a master thread... in fact, I would be glad to go ahead and put one together this weekend if no one has any serious objections to it... I'll wait to see if we have any issues arise as I don't want a new thread to turn into a flame war.

I think the same issues as last time

If one person "controls" the master calandar they basically "control" which DO's are on it.

Once again I vote that we either use the feature provided by Flyertak or continue with the willie- nilly posting of DO's in community. As Trojan Horse points out - it would really help if community was used for what it is supposed to be - a listing of get togethers and activities

Jan

Sometime talking about the DO is more interesting than the DO itself http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

no issues there ankullar - but

Priceline bidding ?

I would love it if the calender would be used more regularly again. I will be for a few weeks in the US in fall and would love to meet up with some people, and hey, DOs seem to be like my kind of party http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

This was the most accurate statement made to date. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Don't forget DUS-DO-3 (2 for me) 18-21 July 2003.

So is the concern that someone would be unscrupulous and purposely leave DOs off for their own personal reasons?

I guess I just would like to see something more user-friendly where I can search by date or by city.

Say I've decided I need to go to ORD on business... it would be nice to see if there is a dinner planned so I can plan my trip around it.

Or say they run the web fare list for next weekend... it would be nice to see what is going on chronologically so I could figure out if I wanted to fly somewhere.

Right now, there is really no way to search by date that I've found... and searching by city is hit or miss depending on what and where. Plus someone can post something a few weeks out... and it gets buried. Self-bumping only bumps other threads off the page. I recall a point a couple of months ago where just the view of threads active the past five days was six pages long.

I think the calendar is a great idea. It would be nice to be able to see at a glance what is coming up without having to stay on top of every thread that comes through here. Maybe I'm missing something but I just don't understand what is bad about the idea.

You are not missing anything http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

There is a DO calendar- but NO ONE uses it!!!

Why don't you just go ahead? As long as the page doesn't claim to be "the official DO calendar" I can't see how any reasonable person could object to having the info gathered in one place. Those who don't like the idea can still find the info elsewhere.

(possibly ignorant) PS. BTW, is DO short for something?

Hair-do, mostly, as in "nice do". http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Or a get-together, that is a gathering of FT'ers at some locale.

I cannot say with any degree of certainty, but didn't the term originate with the CatmanDo?

Techgirl,

I like your idea, and think that the fairest thing would be to try it out. If it doesn't work after a preset period, it gets dumped.

I have just attended my first do, and want to attend others, and think a calender would be an excellent idea. Whatever happens, I believe it deserves a chance.

Matt

Akhullar, that is the understatement of the year.

But as for the following issues that have been brought up:

1. Threads get buried: A good example is SCL Do in Nov, it was brought up quite a few months in advance (as was the DUS do), and of course it will be buried, yet it has been brought back to life many times by those interested in going. As the dates get closer to the Do Date the thread gains quite a bit more ink time. As for the Dus do well I just missed it in my rush to post a list prior to a meeting this a.m. However my point was in about two minutes you can glance at all the available do's to date.

2. going back to the "if FT Community was for meetings and gatherings" rather than happy birthday everyone, appreciation threads, five different threads on one weekend, etc. all the do's would fit on one or two pages and you could view all the do's in less than a minute as well as the ability to go into the thread to find out more detail on that particular do. In short lets clean up what we already have.

3. Some want to glance at a calender to plan a trip.. however from what I see;

a) many of the smaller do's are made when a trip is made by someone and someone announces that they will be in XYZ city and asks if anyone wants to get together,
b) as for the large do's, those are known quite well in advance anyway.
c) For the weekend web savers, either glance at whats up.. if it isn't posted by the time you have to buy a websaver.. it probably isn't scheduled.. then see (a)

4) as Jan_Az said, someone could control the Do list and decide what does and does not go on. Such as when there are conflicting do's such as YYZ and PDX. Do's don't have to be postponed just b/c another gathering is taken place elsewhere

5. For those of you who want a calender, use what we have!!!!!!

We have a calender that anyone can use.. I went to look at it tonight, its fine, other than the fact that that calender and the other two calenders which sort by city and flight are just not used, plain and simple. I think that statement says a it in a nutshell.

6. Finally where would this new calender be? Would it replace the Events Calender that we already have? Is it sanctioned by the board owner? Who selects what goes in it? Do we start listing birthdays, anniversary's, etc in it??? if not, who makes this decision? In the end we run into the same issues that FT community runs into

Larry U, you are very correct sir.

The term DO Was born wtih the Catman do 1, NYC October, 1999.

Catman Do 2: March, 2000

Catman Do 3: March, 2001

Now, if I remembered to COPYRIGHT "DO" I could have charged people for use of the word!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Viking... this might answer your question on what a "DO" is:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/002054.html




[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 08-20-2002).]

I admit it was pleasant to see that list that Trojan Horse made a few posts in - even without it being in dated order.

And, I agree with whoever said that it can't hurt to try it out, and if it doesn't fly, fine - nothing for the official FT Calendar to feel threatened about. Perhaps if it wasn't referred to as a Calender, but a Quick List (or something), this might also make it not such a big deal.

Its time for you Hagbard Viking to sign up for one of the few DOs in Europe this fall. CPH 28-29/9.

Or maybe just like how Sheryl has the zones for Hotels as FIRST post on each city Priceline bids index. Very useful. Does UBB allow that feature, i.e. a specific thread to STAY on top of any Forum?

I agree, try it and see if it works. Far too many extraneous threads in this Forum at times, and things like the DUS DO #3 for a date a year hence will vanish from sight for months at a time otherwise.



------------------
~ Glen ~

Why are we making such a simple thing in what we have so difficult:

If we just eliminate the crap that could very well be posted elsewhere all the Do threads will all fit on one or two pages.

FlyerTalk Community
The official get together page for the FlyerTalk community

My browser must be blocking where it says the amazing race , appreciation , birthday , email me , Fantasy FB , Five Hundred Post, Freddy Jr , Humiliation , Priceline , and Thank you FT'ers post here as well so we can bury the get together information.

Making a Thread like Sheryl's (OZstamps post) is only going to create more chaos. Sheesh I hope Sheryl isn't going to run this one then... it will be edited to death without our consent although thats for another thread

Glen, sadly this version of UBB doesn't support "sticky" threads...

This is my point. This thread is not getting current postings because it has been planned far in advance. Therefore, it is not likely to be on most FTer's current topics list.

If you knew about it, possibly you would like to attend.

Oh dear god! I know I'll probably get flamed for this. I know this was said earlier, “If you don’t want to use it don’t, however, some might find it useful.” I don’t think techgirl will exclude Do’s, if two or three or four fall on the same date, GREAT, more opportunities for FT’s to get together. All someone would have to do, is send an email to the keeper of the Do calendar, and ask that a Do be added. Much like mjm has created a SIN Do info page.

Just my thoughts.


[This message has been edited by DFWTripGuy (edited 08-21-2002).]

The keeper of the calendar huh? - So now instead of a publicly available calender or board someone gets to be the "keeper". I have real issues with this

I don't think it is a "keeper" issue.

The problem as it is now... folks who host DOs don't always post them on the FT Calendar which is a separate thing completely from FT Community which is where the DOs are posted. In fact, the Calendar isn't even easy to get to.

I for one, would not post a "hey do you want to get together for dinner" on the FT Calendar. But I would post it in Community.

It seems like the same folks who complained the last time are complaining again this time. And while I agree that there is a lot of extraneous stuff in the Community Forum, I don't see where getting rid of the extraneous threads is gonna solve the problem that you can't easily search for DOs by date or location and that threads roll off the master view after five days of inactivity and off the first page a lot quicker than that.

You know what? I'm just gonna go ahead and start the thread that I'm envisioning. If you don't like it - flame away. I'm pretty flame retardant. Or better yet, just don't click on it. :P

Wow - kinda reminds me of a client meeting I was in yesterday or Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing.

For those of use that can't check FT daily, it would be great to be able to see a calendar of events, rather than having to read through pages and pages of items.

[This message has been edited by back seat (edited 08-21-2002).]

Looks like we are well on our way to those who are against this calender and those who are for it, this will be interesting to say the least.

I am curious as to how someone other than Randy or his staff can input a calender in this community thread and give everyone access to post to the new calender? I am referring to everyone having input access just like Randy has already done in the calender made for this exact type of topic? If the originator is the only one who can post into the calender it sure DOES become a keeper issue as Jan_Az states.

... and it is a keeper issue on the US Airways thread with the bonus code thread too, and yet for some reason, that thread seems to be a peaceful place. No one has come out and accused the person who started that thread of abusing anything.

Look... anyone can start a thread in FT as they see fit as long as it is within the terms of service. This is really easy. I will list what is already posted on FT with a link to the thread. If it is posted with a date, I will list it. If I miss something, then post to the thread and I'll get it updated. Easy peasy.

Obviously it won't be real time... but my main concern is capturing the threads that roll off the front page. I'm in the process of trying to get all these listed with links right now... and already I've found several that are still pending that have rolled off the first page or worse yet, rolled off the "last five days" activity.

So correct me if I'm wrong, you will be posting links to threads that are in the same forum and in some instances on the same page????????????????????????

* * * THIS IS A DUMB IDEA AND IT WILL NEVER WORK * * *

That is what was once said about the aeroplane, credit card, flying a man to the Moon, fax machines, splitting the atom, cell phones and indeed the computer.

Unless those folks tried out their ideas we'd all be walking everywhere and still using quill pens. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I imagine a few months trial as techgirl suggests for a SUMMARY thread is the only way it can ever be assessed.

ScottC who knows lots about BB boards advises us that UBB does not support a 'sticky' thread that allows it to stay at top of a Forum. Unless only one or a small number of persons is given access to it, new DO's and changes/details/side issues etc will enter into the thread, so it will soon be 700 posts long like the useful US Airways one, but which is now debating whether claiming one is gay or not to get 1,000 points is ethical - an an example of how long threads can stray somewhat off topic.

I feel sure that in the same way Moderators have restricted access to one Forum if FT staff code the user account thus, that techgirl or anyone else - maybe a few others can be given access to that specific thread?? It can then be kept current, kept short, and kept entirely clear of extraneous, even if humourous and well-meaning posts. Just my 2 ozzie cents worth, which on today's exchange rate are valued at ............ http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

------------------
~ Glen ~



[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 08-21-2002).]

So Oz

You are now proposing an unelected "keeper of the DO's", or did I misunderstand your post?