Margaret J Evans

Why do you say you’re a terrible beta reader?

It’s a bit like when I had to read books for exams at school. It was no reflection on the work itself and I’ve read many of the books since with great pleasure. Something about picking up a book for a purpose (a meta-purpose if you like) that isn’t simply pleasure, idle curiosity, whatever, and my…[Read more]

Thanks for the topic. May I add that I’m a terrible beta reader. I would like to be more useful and hope to pick up some tips if this discussion develops and hopefully turns into something more.

Hi – that was a reply to Sandra, just for avoidance of confusion. Yes, there are several very appealing forums available, including Discourse (and I must say as a longtime repairer, I like your forum and the topic). That said, with Discourse, we would need a VPS or similar non-shared server arrangement*, unlike a traditional web-host, so the…[Read more]

OK, but what about the many other advantages of discourse?

@athelstone have you looked at moving to a 21st century forum like discourse? I use it on talk.restarters.net and it’s pretty slick. You can get email notifications and reply by email; can upload pictures, has trust levels and you can restrict areas.

Sand

Mum was a good woman. I say was; I mean is. She’s still alive. But since the diagnosis of dementia, well, for a long while before that, I knew she was slipping away.

She sits with me as I work.

I have a phone to repair. A capacitor has failed, a tiny surface-mount component. It is fiddly and the manufacturer won’t replace it. But I wil…[Read more]

Well done, Libby – a deserved win!! And thanks Ath.

DoW problems: Usability just isn’t what it should be; not being able to post pictures is a pain; definitely doesn’t promote idle chat.

The wordcloud was very far from perfect, but had one significant difference: the course offerings meant new people were always joining, wondering wth was going on, some figuring it out or persisting without fig…[Read more]

Well, there’s a lot to think about. And to get started on.

I certainly agree with the point about idle chat.

I have belonged to one or two sites that have been invaded and effectively ruined by the invaders, after which they failed. How is a site murdered?

As for contributers…well, that’s tricky. When it comes down to it, it’s people’s leisure time. If they feel compelled to contribute then I’d sort of hope it was some sort of internal compulsion…[Read more]

Blimey, managed to write something and very pleased to be able to enter the comp. Was a bit concerned at managing to get to 250 words and wanting to post without having to DQ myself! Happily at 256 words including title. 🙂

This might be the day.

He hadn’t closed the curtains. The sunbeam found the bed at 6.37 and warmed his left foot at 6…[Read more]