Babble

Thanks for making the changes - adding a new thread makes a lot more sense now.

But I have to agree with a PP, splitting it up into broader categories at some point might be a good call.

Also, how can we tell who is staff? Where do we go for help if we spot trouble?

 

Thanks Mary. I have not seen any trouble; I just figure forewarned is forearmed and so on.

No offense, but this site reads like it was written for people who spent very little time around children before becoming parents and are really anxious about losing their 'coolness' to parenthood. Some of the articles read as though children are these little unfamiliar aliens. I realize parenthood is different but are so many people really so aliented from children in their young adult years?

 It's pretty hard to relate to concerns over fashion and the music scene. For a college student to care about those things seems natural. But there is something to be said for gracefully surrendering the things of youth. A great sense of happiness and peace comes from that.

Being a parent isn't about being cool or hip, in no matter how cutting edge you were I can guarantee you when your kids are teenagers they will think you are a dork. You aren't supposed to be cool, you are supposed a stable, guiding, reliable force in their lives.

It seems like some articles are  trying too hard to be hip. Maybe that is the interest of the typical urban parent and I am abnormal. It's rather sad to me if that is the case. It reminds me of when I see 40+ year olds getting plastic surgery and dressing like teenagers. It screams pathetic, narcissitic, self-delusion.

i think you're being too harsh ...

spend some time across the entire site (all articles, blogs, columns, etc), you should certainly get a dose of what you're looking for!

Love what I've read so far. Searched the site for twin-specific content and was disappointed not to find any.  We need you!

I looooooove Babble.  I'm curious how you select your bloggers and other writers -- I'm a middling-successful writer/editor, and I'd love to help you make this site a success.

I really like this site and find the writing to be refreshing and very good.  The design is easy on the eyes and invites me to stay and read... I like that.   I am not a young mother so probably not as tech savy as the younger crowd.  It took me awhile to figure out that the babble logo takes you to the home page.  But I think thats more reflective of my age, as I did not grow up with computers. A section or blog for open minded grandparents might be nice!

Hey folks,

 

So glad I found this community.  Love what I've read so far.  So glad to see some of my favorite bloggers participating in an initiative from one of my favorite online magazines.  Awesome all around....except that I see no mention of adoption.  As a prospective adoptive parent (received provincial approval, file gets sent to China in New Year) I'd love to see more about this aspect of parenthood and some of the unique challenges surrounding adoption.  I'm sure there are cool, hip adoptive parents out that that would be great additions to the Babble family.

 

Oh my word!  Just finished "I Feel Bad About My Neck" by Nora Ephron.  If you need a laugh and/or a reason to get in bed early, pick up this hysterical book.  Easy, fun read during the holiday season!

I have some specific suggestions for the blogs section.

First, the front page for the section is unwieldy. Why this thing with "launch full blog" at the bottom? I end up reading the strollerderby posts, and getting to the bottom and having to click that and then having to scroll through them all again to find where I left off.

I'm also not sure the three blogs over on the right really need to be segregated from Stroller Derby. Why not just make it all one thing? It doesn't really add much to have to click in three different places. Instead, maybe make there be a clear link on each post which shows all blog posts by that author. (Currently, in the "full blog" but not on the front page, the name goes to the regular member info page, where one can find all posts and comments and photos all mixed together, so this would have to be a bit more specific than that.)

 Finally, I think most of the posts would be better off with an intro paragraph and a read-more link, given the 12-times-daily update schedule. The current long posts make everything scroll off the page quickly.

 I suppose I could just use an RSS reader and spare myself all this pain, but, y'know, it'd be nice to actually be able to visit the site.
 

I for one would appreciate the ability to hide individual threads.  There are currently three pages of topics, but most of them are not interesting to me personally.  Rather than wading through all of the topics and trying to remember which threads interest me, it would be helpful to have a way to focus my view of the overall board.

Hi Karl,

Mary, the moderator here, we are in the process of breaking up the threads into easily navigatable forums. We hope that this helps you easily find the topics you are looking for!

Thanks for the comments.

Best,
MaryP

I did catch that threads will eventually be categorized, but I doubt that will address the issue entirely.  I've been on a handful of message boards, each employing its own strategy for usability.  Categorization of threads is by far the most common strategy, but it always - always - fails to some degree.  The problem is that moderators create categories, but users create threads.  Some threads clearly belong in particular categories, but sometimes it could belong in more than one, so thread creators go with the best guess, and then half the thread becomes an argument over which category it  belongs in.  Then a moderator moves it, and that sparks an argument over why a moderator should get to determine a thread's category rather than the creator.  And on and on, until the thread topic becomes a distant memory.

The message board I've found the most user-friendly employs a simple system of thread prioritization.  Basically, you start out with every thread displayed on a single page.  Rather than forcing a folder system on the users, users may open each thread then choose whether that thread is of high, normal, low, or even lower (i.e., ignore entirely) priority.  Users can set the page to display all threads regardless of priority, or limit the display to a certain minimum level of priority.  Since there will inevitably be threads in every category that won't interest me - but also threads in every category that will - I've found that it's easier to throw everything together, but allow each user to determine what gets displayed.  Just my personal preference.

This site is really funny.  Not always intentionally, though, rather it is often funny in the way a preening primadonna is funny.  I read it when I think that life here in the LandofOZ is just too strange, just too Red state, just too small-urban-crazy weird.  Then, I feel better about things.  Maybe it is because I was raised in a rasta camp and suckled by a she-wolf that the preoccupations with urbanity and babylon pretensions crack me up.  Eye and I sometimes feel that the writers and bloggers think that they are the Adams and Eves of parenting.  That nobody borned or raised kids before them.  But hey, they certainly make for some amusing reading.  Jah bless you and keep the laughs coming.

Jah

 

Love it, would love to see a message board like UrbanBaby board, instead of sticking everything into different categories. One big board is best, fastest most addictive.