Max People in a Private Message

[Smokin' in AZ]

Any particular reason the max number of participants is 6?

Is it possible to be expanded? To say 10?

Thanks in Advance

John

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Sounds like a great idea John!

 

[tx smoker]

I like this idea!! There have been numerous times I've been hamstrung trying to communicate with people from the forum (but not in the public area) and it's been difficult with the max number of participants being 6 people. Trying to balance two conversations and pass info back and forth so everybody is on the same page isn't easy I'd be all for this and thank you for bringing it up John.

Robert

 

[Steve H]

Good idea!

 

[sawhorseray]

Sounds like wonderful idea to me John, good luck! RAY

 

[xray]

Seems like a good idea. I remember they increased the new threads from 5 to 10 with the new website.

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

bump....

 

[bmudd14474]

Any particular reason the max number of participants is 6?

Is it possible to be expanded? To say 10?

Thanks in Advance

John

yes there is. In the past the only reason there were groups that big messaging back in forth was to bitch and complain about stuff. If you have an issue with a cook or recipe you use the forum for that issue and have a bigger group to get opinions from and get your resolution.

That being said why do you think it needs to be bigger? Are the conversations your having with that many people private or are you just trying to get information from a small group or subset of people. Are you not wanting to post in public because you dont want to hear from certain people ?

Just trying to find out if there is a good enough reason to change.

The first reason I quoted has lead to alot of issues on the site in the past with people trying to manipulate people and or circumvent the wheel per say.

I just want to make sure that if we increase it that we dont discourage people from using the forum.

Ill be waiting for you reply.

Thanks

 

[bmudd14474]

Also keeping it low keeps spammers from being able to blast everyone if they get past the filters.

Im not saying no by the way just want to have a good reason to do it. You can PM me if you dont want to post it on here.

 

[Steve H]

yes there is. In the past the only reason there were groups that big messaging back in forth was to bitch and complain about stuff. If you have an issue with a cook or recipe you use the forum for that issue and have a bigger group to get opinions from and get your resolution.

That being said why do you think it needs to be bigger? Are the conversations your having with that many people private or are you just trying to get information from a small group or subset of people. Are you not wanting to post in public because you dont want to hear from certain people ?

Just trying to find out if there is a good enough reason to change.

The first reason I quoted has lead to alot of issues on the site in the past with people trying to manipulate people and or circumvent the wheel per say.

I just want to make sure that if we increase it that we dont discourage people from using the forum.

Ill be waiting for you reply.

Thanks

For a large part it is because the banter we post in the PMs wouldn't be P.C. for some, well, probably a lot of folks. Do we b!tch about things? Yes, sometimes. But there is no revolt going on. And to what end would that achieve? And what we do with the PMs is in no way manipulating anything. I don't believe we have reduced our post amounts due to this. But, I see your points in this matter.

 

[Steve H]

Also keeping it low keeps spammers from being able to blast everyone if they get past the filters.

That I fully understand. I've seen that on a forum I help run. You think weekend smokers can get cranky at times. You should try to keep about 23,000 plus motor heads in line!

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Brian, firstly thank you for replying so quickly.

As Steve said, mostly we (obviously there are already 6 people in the thread) just share ideas and a lot of good natured banter, the occasional food post that is not good enough for the public, and camaraderie. And yes on the very odd occasion a venting does occur, but those occurrences are rare.

This in no way has an impact on our public posts as all of us still post quite a lot. See all who replied to this thread and look at the posts throughout the forum from them. I do also see your point but we are not using it maliciously, but I can see how others might.

So in closing I understand your concerns but think with a slight increase to 10 you are still achieving the initial goals you describe above while allowing us to add a few more as and when desired.

Thanks again.

John

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I agree with Steve and John. I think it would be great to bump it up to at least 8 people. No one trying to not use the forum aspects but nice to have the option to send a PM to a certain amount of people on something specific rather than post it public if need be.

With the chat section now I don't think you would have the problems you did in the past.

 

[gmc2003]

Also keeping it low keeps spammers from being able to blast everyone if they get past the filters.

Im not saying no by the way just want to have a good reason to do it. You can PM me if you dont want to post it on here.

I have one question Brian. Does the staff/mods/admins have the ability to monitor what's said in PMs or private chat?

Chris

 

[bmudd14474]

I have one question Brian. Does the staff/mods/admins have the ability to monitor what's said in PMs or private chat?

Chris

Chris,

Yes and no. If someone flags a pm if goes to a modorator Queue for us to address. So Yes we can but you have to flag it.

Now we do have software that tries to check each member that joins to prevent spammers but its not 100%.

Hope that answers your question.

Thanks.

 

[jcam222]

I support this request for increase as well. Steve expresses the reasons very eloquently. It’s an opportunity to exchange some ideas and utilize a little more colorful language in general. I am a member of such a PM and we have a good time ribbing each other personally and exchanging ideas. We have all become close personal friends and as such make offers for sharing things and items that are not meant for public forums. If you take a look at the respondents to his so far you will also see we are very active on the forums every week , often multiple times. We may vent occasionally but if that vent is of enough concern you can be sure we communicate directly with a mod(s).

 

[chef jimmyj]

Boys will be Boys...Can't get through a day without a Fart Joke or ribbing some guy about having a Snack Stick instead of a proper 40mm Kielbasa...JJ

 

[jcam222]

Boys will be Boys...Can't get through a day without a Fart Joke or ribbing some guy about having a Snack Stick instead of a proper 40mm Kielbasa...JJ

Lol there has definitely been a reference for two to casing sizes

 

[tx smoker]

Just trying to find out if there is a good enough reason to change.

Howdy Brian et al. Just gonna toss this out for consideration along with the other stuff that's been mentioned. There's already been commentary to the effect that the discussion that some of us are involved in has not had a negative impact on our participation in the forum but what hasn't been addressed is how it has had a positive impact. Over the past few months I've embraced some new cooking techniques and put together some really interesting, creative, and over-the-top meals, which have been shared in the public forum with a tremendous amount of support from the members. Many of the members have also embraced a lot of the things that have been shared. A large percentage of the inspiration for the stuff I've done has come by way of the private discussion. Some of the things that have been discussed would not by themselves justify a thread posted publicly but when several of the ideas are combined into a cohesive meal, then we have justification for a public thread. In summary, not only has our discussion not had a negative impact on the forum, it has had a very positive impact. I believe all of us understand and respect the decision and rational of the staff to limit the number of participants and in no way would I expect it to be raised to a large number, but to up the allowable participants to 8 or 10 I don't see would be detrimental. Matter of fact, a couple more like-minded people sharing ideas in a conversation may well up the ante for even more creative ideas to share with the whole membership.

Your continued consideration is deeply appreciated,
Robert

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Bump!