JoelR

Why can't you use YouTube Live Stream for interviews? I'm not super familiar with it, but how about:

Inspired by Cory Doctorow: The 'Enshittification' of TikTok https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/?ref=platformer.news The concept of "enshittification" presents a stark warning to all digital platforms. Initially, a platform thrives by being user-centric, only to later exploit its user base to favor business customers. Eventually, even these business relationships sour as the platform seeks to monopolize all value, leading to its decline. This cycle not only undermines trust but can spell doom for once-thriving online communities and forums. How can we, as stewards of our communities, remain vigilant against the early signs of enshittification? Are there specific indicators we should watch for that suggest a shift away from user-centric values? What strategies can be implemented to balance business objectives with the needs and expectations of our user base, ensuring the long-term health and integrity of our platforms?

I would definitely encourage you to use a third-party solution like SendGrid if you want things like analytics. You may also want to clean up your newsletter list to only users who have visited / joined in the last one year, so your bounce rate is not excessively high (especially if you have a very old list). Will be curious how you iterate on newsletters, keep us updated - newsletters and social media outreach are two areas that I'm personally weak in, and always interested to hear how others are doing.

That's a nice collection!

Eternal September is early Internet slang for a period beginning around 1993 when Internet service providers began offering Usenet access to many new users. This flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums, and the influx of newcomers seemed unending. This surge can dilute the unique culture and norms that take years to cultivate within our forums and communities. But does adding more new users have to be a death knell for your community customs? How do you maintain the essence and culture of your community in the face of constant new membership? Is there a strategy that has worked for you in orienting newcomers without stifling growth? What impact does the perpetual influx of new users have on the long-standing members of your community? Do you see a change in their engagement or contribution levels? Can the principles of inclusivity and growth coexist without compromising the core values and norms of our forums? How do we balance the need for fresh perspectives with the preservation of our community's identity?

Some things that I personally found interesting about BlueSky in my onboarding: Content moderation is in the hands of the user: you can choose in your Moderation settings what you want for content filtering. Do you want to see hate group iconography, or do you want to be warned? Do you want to see spam, or show all spam? (What I didn't see, however, is who defines hate group iconography and what that covers) Discovery is in the hands of the user: during the onboarding, I was asked to select one or several types of discovery feeds. Some are reasonable and default such as Following and Discover, but you can also choose more unique feeds such as Quiet Posters that show posts from your quieter followers or All-Time Bangers that show the most popular posts sorted by likes. Some things that I didn't have a strong opinion about: I didn't get the feeling that BlueSky is different enough from Twitter. It has the same look and feel (and even a blue butterfly icon), but with nowhere near the popularity or audience. And if no one uses you as a social media platform, do you matter? As an end-user and an average user, the AT protocol doesn't matter to me. It sounds good in theory to have different independent platforms, but does it actually matter for 80% of the users? The AT protocol probably only benefits fringe groups.

https://invisioncommunity.com/forums/topic/477045-when-can-we-expect-ic-5-to-be-released/?do=findComment&comment=2963466 IPS recently announced in their company forums last week that they were almost ready for private beta with a small number of customers, which means public beta near the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2. I expect we'll start to see some more screenshots and views of the IPS 5 in the next few weeks! We haven't seen any news on the changes to Pages. They say that changes to Pages is another month. Pages is an all-encompassing app, and any changes to Pages could be substantial in nature.

Hi, This is an automated message by Invision Community's cloud email service. From the Admin Control Panel of your profile: The Invision Cloud Email Service received hard bounces from this email in the past. I've manually unblocked you, so the message should disappear. But please do confirm that your email address on file receives community emails. This is the first time I've seen the mail bouncer on IPS cloud in action.

This is great! Let me know if there's anything I can do to also help you cross list on Invisioneer.

I want to set expectations that it will be hard for anyone to accomplish the successes of vbulletin.org. That was a different time in community and software development. I think we should focus on the future, whatever that may be, rather than trying to emulate the past.

Hi @Chris59 Thanks for your critique. I would love for you to step up and fill this space, if you think it would be useful for the Invision Community. These are some great ideas. When I put together the Marketplace Directory, it's goal was simple: offer a central listing by a trusted and independent third party. I never set out to turn this into a reviews site of plugins and apps, but if this is something that you are interested in, would you like to step up? I'd be happy to work with you and turn this into a productive conversation. Joel

Hi, You can adjust your settings in Followed Content > Discussions, where you and other new members are auto-subscribed to parts of the community. I've removed your follow settings on your behalf.

Mail Bouncer by Silvesterwebdesigns / stoo2000 is the standard one used by most IPS communities. The one by Deschutes Design Group / Jon Erickson is newer. I don't have any experience with the file, but I like him as a developer.

In an age where digital spaces are becoming increasingly complex, the principle of Simplicity Theory challenges us to rethink our approach. The Simplicity Theory says that people prefer simple experiences because we don't have to think as hard. It's simple for us to think about, understand, and remember. The McDonald's posters above show the sophistication behind simplicity. This concept suggests that simpler designs and communications are not only more appealing but also easier for our brains to process, leading to a better user experience. But as we strive to create engaging and feature-rich online communities, one has to wonder: Are we inadvertently complicating the user experience? How does the balance between offering robust features and maintaining simplicity impact user engagement in your community? Are more options always better, or can they overwhelm members? In what ways have you applied the principles of Cognitive Fluency to make your community more accessible and intuitive for members? For instance, have changes to layout, navigation, or language positively affected participation rates? Can simplifying aspects of our communities actually lead to deeper, more meaningful interactions, or is there a risk of diluting the richness of our digital ecosystems? As we navigate the delicate balance between complexity and simplicity, let's share insights and strategies for designing communities that are not only feature-rich but also fluently navigable and cognitively appealing. After all, the goal is to foster an environment where engagement feels effortless and inviting. 🌐✨🧠

I've become a strong believer that launching a community is one of the last things to do in your preflight checklist. What I mean by that is there is so much prep work that you should do in advance: Assess the size and scale of your overall audience Become a trusted voice or leader Identify an audience that will either follow you, or identify an existing audience that you can uniquely tap into Identify what value your community can uniquely offer And THEN launch a community. To compete on the modern web, you can't build forums and then expect users to join.

Okay we definitely need @Pete in this conversation 😆

I do believe that instant communication is key for online communities and group discussions, and wish forums would do a better job at capturing the essence of 'live' conversations.

In Notifications, check your notification settings for Followed Content You can also check what you follow in Followed Content: https://www.invisioneer.org/followed/?type=forums_topic&change_section=1

There are tons of powerful filtering options in Leaderboard! It's based on Reactions, so you'll first want to make sure you customize (or at least review) your community's reactions, how many points each reaction is worth, etc. In the Leaderboard, simply change the filtering to the content and timeframe you want. https://www.invisioneer.org/leaderboard/

Forums just won't die either 😄 I personally think there's a generational shift going on, where the millennials that grew up on Facebook and Twitter are phasing out, and Gen Z is all about TikTok. With that said, I think you really need to know your audience. Your audience may be gamers, which is more Discord and Twitch. Your audience may be technology journalists, which may be more Substack. There are a lot of secondary platforms that have millions of users.

I have no idea what your community or niche is about, but have you thought about trying to compete where they don't compete. In other words, there are a lot of areas in which social media doesn't compete. Social media doesn't compete in organization. Social media doesn't compete in structure. Social media doesn't compete in building reference databases. Social media doesn't compete in in-depth technical knowledge (and by technical, I don't necessarily mean engineering or physics, but I mean the really nitty gritty details of niches). Are those areas where you CAN invest your energy your time? Social media is not all powerful. Social media has many weakneses. And independent communities who lean into those untapped areas can still thrive.

Totally agree. Ideally, users (on mobile) would be able to record or snap photos on their phone, and it would automatically embed into the post. Videos would be encoded, images would be resized, etc.

Thinking of threats is probably a good annual exercise. What I think is most important is not that you map out every threat and your response, but about having a framework. There's always the risk of problems (even problems that you can't imagine!), so having a process - communicating with members, communicating with your moderator team, moving quickly, bringing in expert advice- is foundational.

What's the problem of Ireland to London? Because of Brexit?

AI technology is capable of creating hyper-realistic videos and images of celebrities or everyday people without their consent, poses significant ethical and legal challenges. As administrators and managers of online communities, how do we tackle this emerging issue? What measures can we put in place to detect and prevent the spread of deepfake content within our communities, ensuring we do not become unwitting amplifiers of nonconsensual imagery? How do we balance the freedom of expression with the imperative to protect individuals' rights and reputations in the face of technology that can easily fabricate realities? In what ways can we educate our community members about the implications of deepfake technology, both as consumers and potential subjects of nonconsensual imagery? The implications of deepfake technology stretch far beyond mere legal concerns; they touch on the very fabric of trust and truth within our digital spaces. Let's engage in a thoughtful discussion on how to responsibly navigate this new terrain, protecting our community members while fostering an informed and vigilant online environment. 🌐🔍💡