• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Future of the Forum

I understand the concerns over real names and birthdays etc being transferred, and I don't believe they should be

Usernames, passwords and emails must be transferred, because the functionality of the software depend in them. No email = no way for the forum to communicate with the user = no way to recover forgotten passwords

However, I don't get why people are concerned about the posts being moved to a different forum, and I do not believe there are any legal ramifications regarding this whatsoever. What would the difference between a group of people taking over the forum, and the same group of people taking over the whole of JREF? What it comes down to is, JREF is just people. I'm betting that many of the people involved in JREF and in the Forum when they both first started are no longer involved, so the original group of people are no longer responsible for breach of the Forum sign-up T&C.

Al that needs to happen is that the new group of people sign-up to the same privacy conditions that JREF are signed up to (if indeed, JREF even has a set of privacy conditions that it has signed up to.
 
icerat said:
As has been mentioned, everyone will be emailed, and JREF will continue to link to the site. The only noticeable change (unless we update the software at the start) will be the removal of the JREF logo.
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I do think a global sticky thread would help. I signed up with an email address I don't check often. And I usually get to JREF when my browser auto fills to the current events sub forum, and then I go to other sub forums if I'm interested. The only reason I know about this at all, is because I'd wiped my browser history and started coming to the Recent Posts page instead and saw this.
 
smartcooky said:
I understand the concerns over real names and birthdays etc being transferred, and I don't believe they should be

Usernames, passwords and emails must be transferred, because the functionality of the software depend in them. No email = no way for the forum to communicate with the user = no way to recover forgotten passwords

However, I don't get why people are concerned about the posts being moved to a different forum, and I do not believe there are any legal ramifications regarding this whatsoever. What would the difference between a group of people taking over the forum, and the same group of people taking over the whole of JREF? What it comes down to is, JREF is just people. I'm betting that many of the people involved in JREF and in the Forum when they both first started are no longer involved, so the original group of people are no longer responsible for breach of the Forum sign-up T&C.

Al that needs to happen is that the new group of people sign-up to the same privacy conditions that JREF are signed up to (if indeed, JREF even has a set of privacy conditions that it has signed up to.
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People are concerned about email because it contains their real name.
 
There's no benefit to JREF making this news any more public then they already are, ergo they will not do so.

This is something they are intentionally trying to do as quietly as possible.
 
Aepervius said:
People are concerned about email because it contains their real name.
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Step 1: set up a new hotmail, gmail or yahoo email addy that doesn't contain your real name.

Step 2: sign into forum and go to UserCP>Edit your Details>edit email & password

Step 3: enter your password, your new email address and confirm as indicated

Step 4: Click Save

How hard was that?
 
You could apply a hash function to the emails in the DB before transfer. That way, passwords could still be recovered by those who explicitly opted to re-share their email address with the new owners.
 
Francesca R said:
What keeps coming back to me is:

Given that

1--There is at least the scintilla of possibility of legal liability to the JREF if it voluntarily transfers post content to a third party, arguably outside the authority of its non-exclusive licence which does not allow this

2--There is zero positive payoff to the JREF at all (we believe) in transferring the forum content, rather than--say--deleting it all

. . . Then there is no way I can make the cost/benefit part of "move the forum" come out as being superior from the JREF point of view to "burn it down".

At this stage I will therefore be rather surprised if the forum and all its content does not disappear
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Bad Astronomy has changed ownership and server with no problem.
 
Kil said:
A small quibble. While not nearly as large, and these days, shrinking, The Skeptic Friends Network is the longest-lived skeptical forum on these interwebs.
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And at this rate, JREFF won't outlive them.

Damn it, I need to find my old login over there. That was like ten years ago.
 
JoeBentley said:
There's no benefit to JREF making this news any more public then they already are, ergo they will not do so.

This is something they are intentionally trying to do as quietly as possible.
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Not true. It's publicly available in the place that will be directly affected - the Forum. And has been announced on the web site.
 
idoubtit said:
Not true. It's publicly available in the place that will be directly affected - the Forum. And has been announced on the web site.
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The only reason I know about it is because this "Future of the Forum" thread is at the top, and I clicked it out of curiosity.
 
In my initial post I put out a call for detailed ideas. We have received productive feedback and suggestions and a proposal. In five days, the JREF board will close the call for proposals. So, if you have any lingering brainstorm ideas that you wish to propose, please email to sharon@randi.org by
Wednesday, August 13, at 12 noon Eastern time U.S.

(Posts here are not proposals.)

Then, we will proceed with the necessary steps. JREF board will make an announcement in conjunction with the party who will take over the Forum.

CLARIFICATION: The original post did ask for advice on hardware/software updates. I was not clear at that time that transitioning the board to a new owner who would do that work was a viable option. That has since become the preferred option. Various factors will be taken into consideration including difficulty of the transition, costs, timescale, responsibilties of maintenance, etc. If you have an innovative idea for making a JREF Forum more streamlined and less sprawling in topics and content, for example, that would be a worthwhile proposal.
 
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"But Mr Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months."

"Oh yes, well as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn't exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything."

"But the plans were on display ..."

"On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."

"That's the display department."

"With a flashlight."

"Ah, well the lights had probably gone."

"So had the stairs."

"But look, you found the notice didn't you?"

"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'."
 
Henry Bannister said:
If forum rules will be coming up for discussion, can we ban things like the three or more huge ROFLs as an only response to a post. If someone thinks a post is stupid then they should say why rather than just using mockery.

It would be nice to have racism, sexism and homophobia against the forum rules too but I doubt there's much chance of that. :)
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That's great. We don't even have a new forum yet and already people are dreaming up stupid new reasons to ban people. :rolleyes:
 
sadhatter said:
You know i wanted to read the whole thread before posting this, and i know others have posted similar, but for my two cents...

I don't feel betrayed by the decision, but i do feel sad, both personally, and for others who were in a similarsituation to mine.

I was hip deep in woo, one day a friend of mine asked if i had ever honestly talked to people with the opposite view points, articles, studies and what not didn't sway me, there was nothing personal
about them, in my woo addled state i could justify them as made up by whoever suited my fancy at the time.

But upon seeing the plethora of folks willing to engage in debate, and more so the differences in debating styles on both sides i was swayed. When i saw people like myself acting like children and those on the opposite side being rational, and nice, it was a real eye opener and saved me from dozens of delusions from the harmless to the mentally crippling. I think the dissolution of this forum will have a negative impact on people that were like myself, it was one of the best resources in regards to digging myself ( and later some friends) out of the woo cess pit.

I honestly think the whole is more than the sum of is parts, the crowd the branding and the moderation made this hands down the best place.
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This! This is why I think the forum is properly an educational tool (and many posters here are educators by example, demonstrating sound thinking), and it's unfortunate (but done and dusted) the folks at JREF haven't grasped the value of throwing these rescue lines of reasoning to people like myself and sad hatter who have been blindly swimming along with our near culture and friends but with certain discomforts which can become crippling problems, and the clear thinking and sound reasoning and kindness I've seen here is something I'd hope this new forum will consciously continue.*

It's like a therapy, a resource for self-education, a psychological medicine, and an online city (I won't call this place a commune-ity ;):cool: ) available to all several billion people on this planet!


In all the talk about branding and names, and adding to my post above asking for the focus to be expressly on critical thinking, I also think it's equally important to make "education" a conscious and core aim of the new forum…

There used to be something on British telly (tv) called The Brains Trust where they got together some bright and knowledgeable people and had them discuss things. That sounds quite like the forum, with heckling from the floor and the platform being open to people of knowledge and wisdom from all walks of life, rather than the old elite. The Brains Trust Forum. No, the brains forum. No… Education is key, I feel sure. :cool: :boggled: :boxedin:



*I hesitate to say, but perhaps consciously also exclude the kind of cruelty to weak-minded or otherwise disturbed people that I've also occasionally seen here?
 
idoubtit said:
In my initial post I put out a call for detailed ideas. We have received productive feedback and suggestions and a proposal.
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Let's be clear. You said in that post:
If you ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE about forums, please provide your advice. I am well aware of the value of the forum and the large number of members served. You do not need to convince me of that. What you need to do is come up with some ideas on how to save the data and continue the forum on a stable, responsive platform. That may mean moving to a different forum software.
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Remember, too, the context. The whole context of your post had to do with performance issues, not jettisoning the forums.

In five days, the JREF board will close the call for proposals. So, if you have any lingering brainstorm ideas that you wish to propose, please email to sharon@randi.org by
Wednesday, August 13, at 12 noon Eastern time U.S.
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This is new, isn't it?

(Posts here are not proposals.)
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And yet you said in your initial post:
Send your detailed ideas to sharon@randi.org or post them here for discussion.
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[Emphasis mine.]

Then, we will proceed with the necessary steps. JREF board will make an announcement in conjunction with the party who will take over the Forum.
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Your usage of the word, necessary, is unfamiliar to me.
 
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