Hi Chris, Martin's right, your conversation has certainly made us more aware of the Labs.

Some of my concerns remain. What motivates LM1 Members to post on the forum - other than social and non contributory comments? The forum is the public face of the community, so I'm very keen to see the forum remain a vibrant destination with valuable and project-centred content. That's good to pull people in so they discover (and potentially back) the project, and great for search engines (many people will potentially land on a LM1 forum page because it is indexed - unlike the LM1 Labs forum).

Following on from Doug's comments, how do we ensure those things that are said on the forum that are potentially valuable for the project are also mentioned in the Labs? Let's say a visitor makes a valuable contribution on the forum, but they aren't a member. I think the original contributor needs to be made aware if their post is mentioned in the Labs for two reasons. Firstly, because they are the originator of the idea and should be recognized as such, and secondly, because they may want to sign up to the Labs and post the contribution themselves.

Perhaps private messaging on the forum would be a simple solution as moderators and leaders could send a quick message asking permission to post the contribution in the lab, or ask they go ahead themselves.

I guess Mike if there was just one forum which included the Labs as a separate section rather than a completely separate entity.

I think the two forums should be integrated to be honest. One landing page. (It doesn't work this way, it's like we are two separate communities.) Then those that want to put a detailed idea in place can do so in the labs area.

If they are on the forum, they are a member already, so should be allowed access to Labs (in my humble opinion). Maybe without posting rights if there needs to be some differential. Then if something of theirs is posted to labs, they can at least see it!

If they are not a member, (in theory we will have lots of people randomly surfing in once word spreads,) then a post on general forum can be picked up and flagged for the labs by the Labs mods/admins. (Which are a different set to the ones on here!)



We don't have any private messaging at the moment either, otherwise your idea would be useful too Mike.

I have to agree with a lot of that Stavy.

There has to be some sort of smooth connection and correlation between this Forum and the Labs, or otherwise there is potential duplication of material or things slipping through the cracks. It's something which should be sorted sooner rather than later in my opinion.

There are great ideas and topics being raised by people on this Forum, and I'd hope this would continue (and indeed increase) in the meantime.

It is good to see a consensus emerging about the need for improvement to the Public Forum/Labs Forum. It is crucial that the foundations for community engagement are built well. We all want the very best for Lunar Mission One and we demonstrate this by giving our time to a project that we continue to be enthused by. Sometimes things are created with the best of intentions that now and again don't work quite as well as they should. I'm very much in agreement with Doug when he says the sooner the forum/labs issues are addressed, the better.

Stavy, I was hinting with my "private message" suggestion as I know you have also requested this in the past It's not something that is an option, it is one of many "must have" functions for any forum... Enabling private messaging for this forum is technically straight forward from an administrative point of view:

www.kunena.org/docs/Kunena_Features

If there are concerns about enabling private messaging or other functions, then those concerns can be expressed here. I appreciate that Spamming can be an issue with private messaging. The community would then have the opportunity to discuss the issues here. Transparency is everything when building a community.

In my view it is particularly important that the LM1 team, together with the web developers, exchange ideas about the development of the site here on the public forum. It doesn't take much effort or time. This would evidence a commitment to community engagement - a core aim of Lunar Mission One. I have found my very best solutions to practical challenges emerge when I listen to and work with others. In my experience people don't mind mistakes. We all make them - I more than most! What people mind more than anything is not feeling part of the conversation.

The LM1 community have shared ideas and shown they are more than willing to provide constructive feedback. This is a great opportunity for people who have control over the site to continue with this exchange of thoughts about how the forum and labs can be improved. This is the first opportunity for active engagement that will lead to solutions that directly benefit the project. I look forward to that dialog.

Just to take your spamming comment Mike, if that was to become an issue that's what the mods are here for. I know Stavy has engaged with the correct people re the forum I just hope something comes from it. There is a lot of enthusiasm here and would be a shame to see that lessen.