Anything extra to add to the site?

[iceman]

Hoi..

The site has been up for about 2 months now, and it's received a tonne of positive feedback (thanks everyone!) and a stack of one-time and return visitors.

Now that you've seen the site in action for a while, is there anything that you think would be worth adding, changing, removing?

Any new sections?

Any new content?

Anything that should change?

I appreciate your feedback as it'll help make this site better and hopefully bring more people into these community forums.

Thanks

[rumples riot]

Good little site so far, I think you might like to get a few more forums together. Subjects are a little limited at the moment. You might like to split the astrophotography into deep space and solar system. Also maybe a beginner forum, lots of people are timid about asking that "dumb question". A less intimidating forum will ease newcomers into the hobby.

Perhaps also set up a Astrophoto forum that focuses on the issues like focus, setting up for a run, what camera to use, and the processing side of things. The one issue that I found really lacking on CN's forum is that no one is really willing to help the beginner in a step by step procedure to produce better shots. I am quite willing to share the knowledge that I have so far and a forum that focuses on these type of issues will help others from the frustration that I suffered.

Paul

[seeker372011]

How about a "great deals" section?

If anyone has come across a great deal-say a special that some dealer is offering or whatever that would be worth sharing with the community would it not?

just my 10c

[iceman]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions!

In the beginning I didn't want to create 20 forums for individual little niche areas because I wasn't sure how many people would come and visit, let alone sign up and start posting. So I created some fairly broad categories that cover multiple areas.

But slowly the forums are getting more visitors and more people signing up.. I do like the idea of a beginners forum! I've had a few beginners email me, and maybe a less technical forum might prompt them to sign up and post!

I also like the idea about tips and stuff for astrophotography - I know what you mean about the steep learning curve to taking good shots. I guess ideally these should be articles on the IceInSpace site itself, rather than just a forum thread..

Perhaps I should have a "resources" menu on the site, and sub-sections for astrophotography techniques etc.. I'd need contributions from members like yourselves, because as you know my imaging experience is very limited!!

Maybe they can start out as forum threads and once they've got enough content in there, the best bits are extracted into an article..?? Thoughts?

Seeker, I like that idea - do you envisage it as a forum or as a section on the website? It could be combined into the Buy/Swap/Sell forum, or a separate forum on it's own. Interesting or great deals could be added as a news item on the main website, pointing to the forum thread or something.

Anyway thanks for the feedback i'll try and get onto some of this today.

Keep it coming guys, please! Your help will only make this site a better place to visit and hopefully get more people signing up and contributing!

[rumples riot]

Thanks for the mods to the forums, now we can really start to get this place rolling. I would love to see this place eventually rival the lofty heights of CN.

If you need a moderator for one of the forums please let me know. I know at the moment it is not too much of problem, but this site will grow quickly as word spreads.

Let me know what you think.

Paul

[iceman]

Hi Paul.

Thanks for the offer and I will definitely be looking for people to help out with moderation etc as the forums get more popular.

I don't know that we'll ever rival CN, but i'd be happy if we can get aussies communicating in australia, instead of communicating in forums in other countries! :)

[rumples riot]

Just let me know when you need help.

Paul

[mch62]

I know it is not a forum heading but have you thought about an equipment review section .
That is what drew me to cloudy nights and I like to read peoples experiences on there equipment.
An Ozzy view on things would be great.

[iceman]

Good idea Mark... I can add a menu to the website for it, but of course i'll need everyone else's help to actually review the gear and submit them to me to put on the site.

I'll try and set it up today. I guess reviews should ideally be submitted via email, and ideally would contain pictures etc. Either link to the pictures or attach them to the email.

What sort of categories should there be?

Reviews ->
.. telescopes
.. eyepieces
.. filters
.. mounts
.. software
.. books

What else? Anything to add or change?