Jamie,

You already have my thoughts in a lengthy and wordy email but I'll paraphrase here for our members.

There is only so much you can say about the Kilt. We all say hi to new members just for something to post. So I stand behind my comment that X Marks is no longer a discussion forum.

Therefore I believe we should re-structure the forum to become the world's greatest Information Forum.

Every new person who happens upon this site has come here with questions. It should be our job to answer those questions as concisely, completely, and factually as possible.
However, the current structure of the forum does not suit that purpose.

I suggest that we do such things as;

1) Increase the tutorials section by having our resident experts such as Barb, Matt, Rocky, etc. write tutorials on the subjects they know better than anyone else.

Then when a new person comes here and asks (for the 435,666,229,123,483 time) "Can anyone wear any Tartan?". The answer can be a simple, "Matt Newsome has written a very authoritative article on that subject. Please click this link to be taken to that article".

2) Have a way, by having a paid administrator perhaps, to keep this site up to date. For example we currently have a comparison in the tutorials section on the different Kiltmakers. This article was written over four years ago and has never been updated since.
Timely information in this internet world is very important.

3) Change the design of the site to make this information easy to find by a new guest or member.
How many of our members have never known that we have a tutorials section or have never read them? How many times has someone come on with the suggestion such as "We should have a map of where everyone lives" or the question "How do I post a photo"
It's usually because they can't find the applicable section where those answers already exist.

4) We should then accept that we are not a discussion forum, we are an information forum. When a new guest or member asks about where he can go to discuss concealed weapons in his Kilt or where he can post "up the Kilt" photos we can openly and honestly direct him to those forums that are out there, that do discuss those things.

5) We need to get our Mod Squad out from behind the "Tweed Curtain" of anonymity. Let's set up a "Meet the Mod Squad" section. There you can read a bio of the Mods, learn how to contact them directly, and find out which one to contact when you have a Mod sort of question such as "What section of the forum should this question be posted in?". or "Is this subject relevant to this forum?",
This could also include the "Duty Mod". The Moderator that is on-line right now and ready to answer these sort of questions.

To be an Information Forum we need to insure that the information we present is;

a. Timely, up to date, and quickly updated.
b. Accurate, and backed with confirmed facts.
c. Is easily found and referenced.


All of these are easy changes to our Clan. It will make this a place to be proud of and where we freely contribute our collective knowledge.
It also in no way stifles the ability to voice a complaint of a bad vendor, or praise a good one.
It also still allows us to talk about those things we wish to discuss but in a more open and honest way.
Information is the key to everything in this world, and I, for one, think we need to start collecting that information from our members and sharing it with the world.