posted on Nov, 12 2005 @ 12:39 PM
First of all, I would like to apologize for my tardiness as well as for my very limited participation in recent history. I have had difficulty
keeping an allotted schedule on the whole and the internet was the easiest sacrifice........
That said....
Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
I think one of the things that was lacking was enthusiasm.
Team members started out posting their assigned information. But, without much feedback from the project leader, enthusiasm waned. And, eventually,
research died out completely.
These projects need the leader and maybe another to help keep the project going. The projects need a sense of direction.
I think people have good intentions about doing research, but lose interest without guidance from the project author(s).
I think that Don'tTreadOnMe is right on the money here, and I would like to see more discussion centered in this area. The problem with the research
forum isn't a lack of topics, or even interesting ones. The problem is in the collaborative efforts of the scholars( of which I too am guilty); the
conflicting schedules and even the motivations of some well meaning people who want to be a part of a project but do not well understand how best to
obtain and interpret information......for whatever reason. Not pointing fingers, as much as trying to suggest that we should work on a scheduled,
consisitent transfering of thoughts and ideas that extend beyond the project thread. u2u's could be utilized, sure, but I wouldn't mind having a
place where basic collaboration and editing/critiquing of project members information prior to the actual posting on the thread proper. This would
allow for a more fluid thread that, for all intents and purposes, should contain the concise, detailed pieces of actual evidence, or even strong
points of conjecture. Kind of having a space to brainstorm and collect ideas pertinent to a given project between members free from a public setting
where the research becomes the conversation...in order to produce the ideas and thoughts that will utimately make-up the end product...with the full
participation of each member in given project to all posts. rather than just their own contributions......
The point here is to allow for more detailed participation...as well as to encourage a broader understanding within the project. Such rudimentary
collaborations are where ideas and direction are created and focalized.....allowing for specific collections of data.
The answer could be as simple as including within the Research Forum policy a suggestion to encourage more private communications with team members.
Or perhaps I am overcomplicating what I would consider to be a given....but dedication to each project member and the project as a whole need not
necassarily be measured in consistent postings......rather a detailed, concise presentations that truly was a collaboration. The onus would be on the
project leader to ensure that reminders be presented, ideas are communicated between members and an 'on-task' mentality' is purveyed throughout the
course of a project........
Support for the Research Forum must come from within...from the scholars.
Miscellaneous Idea: Maybe a fronted thread that works out and offers helpful suggestions for scholars to communicate more thoroughly.....kind of a
basic outline for group collaboration techniques and so forth. After all.....a project is only as valid as the communication between it's member's.
Otherwise, it's just another thread collecting thematic thoughts without direction, without a centered goal......
Just my two cents.......
MemoryShock