Who is out there?

I'll chime in here...I like the new forum.  I also really enjoy the blog posts you guys put out here.  Definitely some useful info that I try to incorporate in my skiing and I also just like reading anything about skiing.  I think the site is great and would like to contribute more in the way of blog posts etc. but with work, kids and all, life is busy.  Ski season here in Chicago is coming to an end and I'm going to need sites like this to get me through the long cold winter...I think I just need to move south.

I'll chime in too.  I like what was here.  It was/is really a great place to discuss skiing and it really has helped me improve.  Aditionally, it has always been positive.  However, I'm excited about the forum.  I like being able to have a place to BS about random skiing stuff, even when it has nothing to do with my sets.  This is especially true with winter looming. Some great forums over on BOS, but I feel like a bit of an outsider on that site.  This site feels more like home.

So, for my first random forum post, here are two links to my 4 year old's favorite water ski videos.  When he was 2 years old and potty training he liked to watch these as his "reward".  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxWYb3uDzb0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMko-ju6z4E

I used to post a fair bit on here but didn't keep up after the "change". Sorry Joel, but I find the format hard to follow, seems like random bits all over the place and not a real obvious flow. On a positive note, I"ve always liked this forum for the lack of ego and it's friendly atmosphere. BOS is great but can become a bit like a frat party. Also, being female, I'm not super crazy about some of the comments made about women over there.

T- what sort of suggestions do you have to help reduce "random bits all over the place"? It's one thing to criticize, it's another to help with the solution. What is the solution?

One thing I did just do is blend the "Diary entries" together with the "Blog posts" on the front page. So, whether I type up a new post, or you guys do, they all show up in the same place.

I can't speak for T-To but she could be refering to the thread organisation.  You can't look at a threaded list all at once.  But maybe the forum fixes that?

Well seriously gang, let me know any ideas you have and I'll most likely be able to implement them.

Well since you asked, I would say bring back the old format.  Threaded posts about topics.  The ski diary format just doesn't do it for me and it seems very hard to follow.  The one thing I liked about the new site is that I could see your posts front and center.  Now you've gotten rid of that too. 

When you switched to the new format and forced a re-sign up, I couldn't even get signed up again.  You finally took care of it for me and I can't say I"ve spent much time on the site since then. 

It seems on the new format I have to seek out people/ski diaries I want to follow and keep checking in with them.  In the old format I could just see new posts since the last time I was here.

Maybe other people use the site differently than I do.  I'll pose the question back to you,  how do you use the site in the new format?  I can't seem to make heads or tails of it so maybe a little tutorial on how you expect it to work would be helpful.  It could be I just need to change the way I look at it.

I'd also be interested in the site statistics since the format changed.  has traffic gone up?, Down? stayed about the same? 

Joel, I have to say, I appreciate your efforts here but I have to agree with a couple of other posters. I preferred the previous format over the current one. I think it was more inviting as far as participation and you had developed a following.

But as long as there is activity and as long as I'm a skier, I'll keep coming back. I tend to post on here about 10 times more than on other boards for whatever reason.

Regarding using the site- IMO it could not be easier. At the top of the left column of the site are the latest forum posts. At the top right are the latest comments made anywhere on the site and a link to where they were made. In the middle are the latest diary entries (on the front page or via the diary menu item). How I use the site is I go to the front page, look left, center, right and dive into any new content. That's it.

Regarding ski topics threaded- there is a forum now. It does that exact thing. Could not be more straightforward. We are writing in a threaded discussion right here.

Regarding blog posts- same thing as it was before except others can now make their own blog posts rather than having their blog-esque stuff get lost in some forum thread like the old site. It's way easier to attach video and photos. I decided to mix my posts together with everyone else's because that would eliminate yet another separate thing- my blog, your blog. Now it's just a blog regardless of who writes it. I don't care if we separate it again. Whatever.

Look gang, ANYONE can put up a forum and get great traffic numbers. Look at thewaterskiforum.com. Very basic forum, great participation. I love it. I don't want a site that is a forum only. I can write. I can take video. I like photography. I travel and experience a lot of stuff in the waterski world. My friends and I have a lot of fun. We love life and this sport. I want to share that with everybody. I want to give people a glimpse of what's happening in my brain as I try to get any good at this crazy sport.

I made a very concious effort to elimiate the forum as the FOCUS (although note it is back FWIW) knowing full well that 90% of the site traffic was forum traffic. The goal was literally to put the value of the site- editorial, videos, blogs, user blogs FRONT AND CENTER. You know? I'll tell my story, you tell your story, and we'll make that the focus. I don't do advertising on this site. I don't make a dime on it. I'm not going to sacrifice essentially the integrity of the site mission for page views specifically. I'd rather not have a site at all than have a site that is a forum wrapper.

If you have specific tweaks, like put my blog posts here, put everyone else's blog posts there, etc. then I can do them very easily on this platform. Stuff can be rearranged. For example, if my latest blog post should be on the front page like the old site- that's easy. I can do that. Tell me where to put the other diary posts then. As a menu item? Off to the side? Below my posts?

Don't just say "the old format" because I don't know what that means specifically. Kill everybody else's blog posts, put a link to the forum on the main menu, and put my latest post up front? We've got a forum. We've got my posts. We have everything the old site had. We probably just have to rearrange things a bit so try to be constructive and specific with suggestions.

OK guys, what do you think? Did a little re-arranging to match the old site format a little more closely.

Personally, I was just happy to find the site.  I like the fact that there were all different levels of skiers posting and that it was a place to track our own progress, or lack there of.  It was a place to post and get some feedback on your technique or advice on how to improve from others who have been there.  I have learned alot from reading others diary postings and perhaps the addition of the forum will be an eaisier way to ask a question and get a response without creating a whole diary post. 

In short, thanks for creating and maintaining the site.  I haven't posted for a while due to being really busy this time of year and I haven't been in the water since about a week after my last post.  By that time I was counting jugs instead of buoys ( we replace the real balls with clorox bottles over the winter but leave the course in place ). 

Finally to restate, I think the centerpiece of this site is the diary section and following your blog Joel.  That is what I like about here versus say BOS.  Again, Thank You!

Hi, been some time since I used the forum but I'm back and have a few questions I'd like to ask. I'm just a free slalom skier and have the following questions to ask: Firstly, how tight should a binding be, loose enough so the ski comes off when you take a tumble or snug fit to control the ski (tried the snug fit approach approach and twisted my ankle. Maybe the biinding should be a little tighter? Secondly, since it appears the forum set up appears to have changed some I have to ask how does one post a comment, It's probably a stupid question but I couldn't figure it out?

To start a new topic click on the forum link in the main menu. Then click "General Discussion" and then "New Topic" to create a new topic. You can also probably get back via the forum sub-navigation at the top of the forum pages. As far as posting a comment- you just did! I'd make your questions a new topic entirely so that it stands out from this topic.

I had back surgery about 2 months ago after rupturing a disk in June and really didn't ski much at all.  I like this forum aspect better than what was in the site after the change I think it will promote more discussion.

I never really got going with a blog this year because I was hurt.  I did like in the old format the way it could be almost one long narration that was easy to read and catch up on some folks.  Assuming the PT goes well I plan to be skiing again next summer and will get a new blog going.