Forum Merger Issues (was "Impending Forum Name Change")

[antoniseb]

Hi Everyone,

We are exploring ways to make this a better forum. One that is likely to take place is that a non-profit organization is being formed by Fraser and Pamela (et al), and it will have the budget for backups among other management things. The current name they are considering is Cosmoquest Forums but that is not final. It will still be the unified forum for both Bad Astronomy and Universe Today.

The overall structure of our forums, rules, and the unpaid nature of the admin and moderator jobs will stay intact. We will probably have new/more members.

At this point the date for the change is unknown. We will keep you up to date as things move forward.

[Buttercup]

I like the name Cosmoquest Forums.

[IsaacKuo]

Could it be changed to "Baut"? I don't like the name "Cosmoquest". It sounds cheesy, and seems completely disconnected from the tradition and past of BAUT.

Of course, I haven't been active here lately, so I suppose my opinion would carry less weight as a result.

[BetaDust]

Doesn't Cosmoquest allready have a Forum...? http://cosmoquest.org/forum/forum.php

-- Dennis

[antoniseb]

Doesn't Cosmoquest allready have a Forum...? http://cosmoquest.org/forum/forum.php

-- Dennis

Yes, they will be merged, and keep mostly the BAUT structure.

[Nereid]

Yes, they will be merged, and keep mostly the BAUT structure.

Does that mean we will get a whole new set of mods too?

[crosscountry]

Is there an option for current members to suggest names and vote?

[Swift]

Is there an option for current members to suggest names and vote?

You could suggest names in this thread

[Buttercup]

You could name it HaydenChristensen Forum.

*ducks*

[IsaacKuo]

Suggesting names is fine, but I don't think a formal voting process is a good idea. Ultimately, it's going to be decided by a the list owners, with advice from the moderators. I think it's best to simply state that from the start, rather than inadvertently give some people the wrong impression.

(This happened recently on the Debian desktop mailing list, where a lot of people got the wrong impression that there was eventually going to be some sort of vote, rather than just some last second fiat decision by one person.)

[BetaDust]

What will happen to the Admin's and Mod's allready on the Cosmoquest Forum?

8 Admin's:

* Ansr
* Cory
* cosmoquest
* Fraser
* Georgia
* Joe
* NoisyAstronomer
* starstryder

6 Super Moderators:

* borncamp
* jeanTate
* kmasterdo
* KnowTheCosmos
* NoisyAstronomer
* Tranan

Link

-- Dennis

[antoniseb]

What will happen to the Admin's and Mod's allready on the Cosmoquest Forum? ...

The details have not been worked out. We are not even fully committed that this will all happen, but it is very likely to happen. Knowing the people involved, the mods there will probably become mods in the unified forum, but again, it is up in the air. There are some mods there that are former mods or admins here. Hopefully it can all be resolved in happy ways, but if you have ideas about things that will make it happier for you, I suggest sending a message to Fraser while this is all still fairly plastic.

Is there an option for current members to suggest names and vote?

This is Fraser and Pamela's project. You can suggest names here as Swift noted above, but unless it's really amazing, I don't think the suggestion will change things. There is no online voting mechanism for this that I'm aware of.

[TheOncomingStorm]

What will happen to the Admin's and Mod's allready on the Cosmoquest Forum?

8 Admin's:

* Ansr
* Cory
* cosmoquest
* Fraser
* Georgia
* Joe
* NoisyAstronomer
* starstryder

6 Super Moderators:

* borncamp
* jeanTate
* kmasterdo
* KnowTheCosmos
* NoisyAstronomer
* Tranan

Link

-- Dennis

Oh great a whole another crowd to suck up get to know. Will we keep many of the sub forums such as OTB and SML?

[Frog march]

Cosmoquest makes me think of Quasimodo.

[ToSeek]

I think that everyone who is an administrator in either place will be an administrator of the new forum, and likewise for moderators. Given that BAUT is about kilopi/3 times the size of the current CosmoQuest forum, certain parties may have a brief attack of the vapors.

[R.A.F.]

I think that everyone who is an administrator in either place will be an administrator of the new forum, and likewise for moderators. Given that BAUT is about kilopi/3 times the size of the current CosmoQuest forum, certain parties may have a brief attack of the vapors.

A dozen more moderators???...what'll that make the total??

[antoniseb]

A dozen more moderators???...what'll that make the total??

Most of the people listed as moderators and admins on the other forum will not be moderators and admins after the merge. They are merely IT support people with privilege to kill spam. One or two of their moderators will be moderators in the merged forum... plus we're currently down one, after Moose and pzpfw dropped out, and slang joined up. The mod team will still be very familiar to you all.

[Buttercup]

...makes me wonder if people banned from BAUT will be there/here (when combined) and how to deal with that.

Glad it's not my problem.

[ToSeek]

...makes me wonder if people banned from BAUT will be there/here (when combined) and how to deal with that.

Glad it's not my problem.

When we merged the Bad Astronomy and Universe Today forums, there was a general amnesty, which effectively meant that we got to ban a whole bunch of people all over again when they returned and got up to the exact same shenanigans. I'm not sure exactly what the deal will be this time as the CosmoQuest forum is just getting started and only has about 4,000 members to our 100,000+.

[Buttercup]

...the CosmoQuest forum is just getting started...

Makes sense; I'd not heard of them before.

[antoniseb]

... our 100,000+.

And making the amnesty more difficult this time as compared to last is that we now also have 100,000+ members and 100,000+ banned spammers. When we merged last time (2005?), there were zero banned spammers and the number of banned people could be managed by hand.

[R.A.F.]

...the CosmoQuest forum is just getting started and only has about 4,000 members to our 100,000+.

Yet instead of them becoming part of BAUT, BAUT must become part of them?

Forgive me...I must not have enough information as this makes no sense.

Could someone tell me what it is I'm missing??

[Tog]

Yet instead of them becoming part of BAUT, BAUT must become part of them?

Forgive me...I must not have enough information as this makes no sense.

Could someone tell me what it is I'm missing??

Fraser owns BAUT along with the BA.
Astronomy Cast is now recorded as a live event in a Google+ hangout.
Weekly Space Hangout is also recorded this way. Also a project or Fraser's.
Every Sunday they do a virtual star party where people in the hangout stream imaged from their scopes for all to see. Also a project of Fraser's.
All of those can be viewed by non-Google + on CosmoQuest.org, and that has been running for several months.
Fraser owns CosmoQuest with Dr. Pamela Gay from Astronomy Cast, and possibly a few others.

I don't like the name either, but it site itself has a high following from what I understand, even if the forum doesn't.

[R.A.F.]

Fraser owns CosmoQuest with Dr. Pamela Gay from Astronomy Cast, and possibly a few others.

Surprised that they woud make a name change without listening to poster suggestions....or maybe I shouldn't be surprised.


How aboutAstronomy Today Forums?

It retains the "astronomy" from Bad Astronomy, the "today" from Universe today, and "forums" identifies it for what it is.

[ToSeek]

Yet instead of them becoming part of BAUT, BAUT must become part of them?

Forgive me...I must not have enough information as this makes no sense.

Could someone tell me what it is I'm missing??

CosmoQuest is a lot more than just the forum, so you shouldn't judge them just by the amount of activity on their discussion boards.

[R.A.F.]

CosmoQuest is a lot more than just the forum, so you shouldn't judge them just by the amount of activity on their discussion boards.

Of course, I mean no denegration to CosmoQuest...it's just that I'm getting that same ole feeling I had when BABB and UT merged...that the opinion of posters, here, matters little.

It would just be "nice" to at least "feel" as if we were involved in the decision making process.

[Swift]

Could someone tell me what it is I'm missing??

Who's paying the bills.

[Swift]

I am completely unfamiliar with CosmoQuest, but they apparently have a very different moderator and admin to member ratio than we do.

What is the treatment for vapors and does it involve changes in pressure and temperature?

[swampyankee]

I am completely unfamiliar with CosmoQuest, but they apparently have a very different moderator and admin to member ratio than we do.

What is the treatment for vapors and does it involve changes in pressure and temperature?

Treating the vapors is best done by a recuperative reverse Brayton cycle system. This permits them to be converted to an easily handled liquid state.

[Frog march]

what about 'NightReflections'