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moss 2897 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 09:09
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My 2ps worth Spencer's thoughts.... "I am increasingly wondering about the quality of its current curation, eg in terms of it's structural content compared to the few other archaeological websites that I have cursorially visited. When was there a review of that content, and any ideas about improvement acted upon?" Well Spencer has thrown some balls into the ring, quite interesting but he is talking about updating TMA. So does it need it, I am not sure, the 'front' page covers most of what is happening in news, links, photos, blogs, folklore and field notes. The forum, with its ups and downs, seems to cover any other topic. The Modern Antiquarian started from a book and then grew in a very fast manner as people started to find the megalithic stones and sites that we all love and treasure. There are many ways of writing about everything, and the enthusiam of people as they trog out to some lonely spot overcome by the magnificence of the landscape is something to cherish, some photos are so beautiful. So perhaps TMA as a resource is still growing, is still in its adapting stage, finding new sites and caring for them. You cannot stop it in full flow and reorder it into something new. Spencer again... being a bit defensive here, we all know where he is coming from but he is soooooooooo right ;) "Before anybody chips in, my opinion to which I'm entitled, and I shall not post on this topic again, and I can but hope that any response will be constructive, informative, good humoured and good tempered. Remember... if the current contributors want an increase in their number to apparent former levels - and why should they not? - then that is the way it has to be. Not everyone is a learned expert, and everyone was not one once..and the possesion of knowledge does not make a better person than the rest, but 'just' a more informed one. Information should be shared to others by the so possessed who remain mindful that the recipients are equal as people from the outset." My idea; Desert Island books, 8 to be precise, of course your bibles will have to be TMA book and Burl, so only 6 to choose...
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drewbhoy 2555 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 09:17
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No change needed :-) Good points tho Moss.
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Sanctuary 4670 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 09:41
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moss wrote: My 2ps worth Spencer's thoughts.... "I am increasingly wondering about the quality of its current curation, eg in terms of it's structural content compared to the few other archaeological websites that I have cursorially visited. When was there a review of that content, and any ideas about improvement acted upon?" Well Spencer has thrown some balls into the ring, quite interesting but he is talking about updating TMA. So does it need it, I am not sure, the 'front' page covers most of what is happening in news, links, photos, blogs, folklore and field notes. The forum, with its ups and downs, seems to cover any other topic. The Modern Antiquarian started from a book and then grew in a very fast manner as people started to find the megalithic stones and sites that we all love and treasure. There are many ways of writing about everything, and the enthusiam of people as they trog out to some lonely spot overcome by the magnificence of the landscape is something to cherish, some photos are so beautiful. So perhaps TMA as a resource is still growing, is still in its adapting stage, finding new sites and caring for them. You cannot stop it in full flow and reorder it into something new. Spencer again... being a bit defensive here, we all know where he is coming from but he is soooooooooo right ;) "Before anybody chips in, my opinion to which I'm entitled, and I shall not post on this topic again, and I can but hope that any response will be constructive, informative, good humoured and good tempered. Remember... if the current contributors want an increase in their number to apparent former levels - and why should they not? - then that is the way it has to be. Not everyone is a learned expert, and everyone was not one once..and the possesion of knowledge does not make a better person than the rest, but 'just' a more informed one. Information should be shared to others by the so possessed who remain mindful that the recipients are equal as people from the outset." My idea; Desert Island books, 8 to be precise, of course your bibles will have to be TMA book and Burl, so only 6 to choose... I'd like to see a more active and increased membership than we currently have. This would mean a lot more respect shown toward the like of newbies just setting out who just happen to have an interest in fringe subjects such as dowsing, ley lines, crop circles and the like without the cynics going out of their way to destroy their interests and humiliate them from the word go. A single one-off post with a viewpoint is enough without a barrage of continuing put-downs is quite sufficient. People love their hobbies as it gets them out at weekends and will find out in time for themselves whether they are on the right track or not without others spoiling it for them. We have all been there and enjoyed the experience, let them find out for themselves as we once did. That's the only change I would like to see or active membership is going to decrease even further. Like Spencer that is all I am going to say on the matter.
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tjj 3606 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 09:43
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Spencer's discourse on TMA was well made. Personally I think it is a brilliant resource just as it is - one I always consult before going off on one of my annual adventures (i.e. holiday) to some far flung corner of the British Isles. That is the key to its effectiveness I feel - you can look up a site and read the field notes of those who have gone before. Almost always articulate, often humorous. Then write up your own field notes afterwards, if you wish - so there is a permanent record of your visit to look back on. I find that quite satisfying. Although there are quite a few Facebook prehistory pages around now they are too fast and not suitable for research or planning. TMA really belongs to the people who use it and I should give Rhiannon a mention here for the excellent Folklore archive she has been largely responsible for. There are a few gaps in The Modern Antiquarian book - for example, Julian Cope never wrote much about Northern Ireland and other parts of the Irish Republic so the Irish contribution here is particularly useful. The Forum can be entertaining and informative too. No changes from me.
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tiompan 5758 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 10:09
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This is a forum and that entails discussion , which means disagreements . If you don't like discussion or disagreement then you will be disappointed to discover that not everyone here will necessarily agree with you. If newbies here have an interest in fringe subjects they may not be newbies to the subject and hopefully they might be happy to discuss that subject . The core interest here is prehistory , regardless they will always be welcome and their interests will be discussed ,if anyone is interested enough to respond . More likely they will be unable to sustain an argument to support their beliefs rather than thwarted by cynicism . But if their interest can be destroyed simply by cynicism then it doesn't say much for the level of interest .
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tiompan 5758 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 10:18
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One thing that doesn't get mentioned much here is the light hand of the eds . Simply by not imposing yourself , great job , whoever you are .
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Jan 25, 2017, 10:57
Jan 25, 2017, 10:34
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tiompan wrote: One thing that doesn't get mentioned much here is the light hand of the eds . Simply by not imposing yourself , great job , whoever you are . I agree. It wasn't always the case - I think the Eds must have got fed up with people lobbying them to settle personal scores. Edited: In the interest of peace, harmony and understanding :)
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Rhiannon 5291 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 11:13
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Thank you June for the namecheck. But I must say, it's only because the folklore is a bit different that it's noticeable like that. There are (and have been) so many people beavering away at their own favourite thing, whatever it may be (photos, subjective and objective fieldnotes, tracking down certain types of places and things, different geographical specialties, the list goes on). And I think that's why this place continues to be successful and tick along - how many other "community websites" or whatever you want to call such a thing, last so long? I think it's so broad, and you can add a little or a lot and still feel like you're doing some Good for fellow enthusiasts (and perhaps even for the stones themselves). And like you say, it's a good record for your own adventures yourself. I (like many) have been here for a million years and yep (I'm sure like many) get periodically a bit pissed off with the forum. But 95% of the time it's not exactly argumentative and 99% of the time people aren't being actively unpleasant. Which must be better than most of the internet? When I get too fed up with it I try to focus on the main part of the website, not the forum, and try to think cheesy things about being the change you want to see..
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thesweetcheat 6210 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 19:13
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Nicely raised post Moss and Spencer. I spend lots of time on here (no, really?) and still find it an invaluable resource for planning days out and helping to find the less obviously signposted places. My recent trip to Gibbet Moor would have failed without Stubob's photos. I like the mix of stuff, it's definitely not a photo sharing site primarily, although many of the contributors post stunning pictures. The mix of notes, photos and folklore is great and gives a nice well-rounded idea of a place. I love reading and seeing photos of places I’ve never been and probably never will go. The other brilliant thing compared to almost every other site I use is the lack of adverts. So for me it’s already pretty good. Sometimes an opinion is raised that the direction of the site doesn’t match where someone would like it to go. I’d just reiterate what Rhiannon has said. It’s a community website, so the way to cover your own preferred angle is to contribute something that you’d like to see/read and maybe others will follow suit. There is a very broad range of styles of notes and photos, so as long as it’s on theme I reckon there’s a place for it. I find other people’s contributions an immense source of inspiration. Things I might change if it was down to me are small tinkering really. There was a change last summer sometime to the way pictures are rendered, so they don’t look as sharp as they did. There are also quite a few sites that are really one site but have been added as extras when really you’d visit them together, so perhaps a prune would be good in some places ( I’m pretty sure this does happen actually). But this is really trivial stuff and far outweighed by what we have got in my opinion.
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thesweetcheat 6210 posts |
Jan 25, 2017, 19:25
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Oh and I guess one of us should say it. It doesn't resize very well on a phone :)
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