New Forum through Irish

General Michael Collins

Once again, I hope I am not breaking the rules, but I have a new forum through Irish here - http://foramnagaeilge.freeforums.org/index.php

I would like to see many of you over there in future. It's a new venture and I'll be looking for members, moderators and native speakers, especially since I'm not yet fluent in Irish myself.

Join!

Insect Overlord

Táim tar éis cuntas a chur le chéile ar an suíomh nua sin.

Fadhb amháin atá agam ná nach bhfuil mé cinnte cén fóram atá oiriúnach le hadhaigh caint ginearálta éadromchroíoch, mar shampla "After Hours" anseo. An mbaineann an fóram Cúrsaí Reatha leis an nós sin?

Nó an bhfuil áit eile ar an suíomh do dhaoine atá ag iarraidh aithne a chur ar a chéile, seachas topaicí troma a phlé?

General Michael Collins

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Táim tar éis cuntas a chur le chéile ar an suíomh nua sin.

Fadhb amháin atá agam ná nach bhfuil mé cinnte cén fóram atá oiriúnach le hadhaigh caint ginearálta éadromchroíoch, mar shampla "After Hours" anseo. An mbaineann an fóram Cúrsaí Reatha leis an nós sin?

Nó an bhfuil áit eile ar an suíomh do dhaoine atá ag iarraidh aithne a chur ar a chéile, seachas topaicí troma a phlé?

Go raibh maith agat. Tá áthas an domhain orm daoine mar tusa a feiceáil ar an suíomh. Maidir leis plé ginearálta, is feidir liom roinn a chruthú ar luas lasrach. Is mór an náire gur rinne mé dearmad sa céad áit.

Go raibh maith agat arís a chara.

pog it

It's a nice idea General and a good forum like this if done well would be a great addition to what's out there for learners.

However, I would suggest that you clean up all the spelling and grammatical mistakes in your forum titles and subtitles, etc. as it might put people off using the site.

General Michael Collins

pog it wrote: »

It's a nice idea General and a good forum like this if done well would be a great addition to what's out there for learners.

However, I would suggest that you clean up all the spelling and grammatical mistakes in your forum titles and subtitles, etc. as it might put people off using the site.

Certainly, and this is something I could use assistance with. Perhaps you could PM me some of the corrections, if you have the time. Thanks.

General Michael Collins

Well I made an effort to fix the mistakes I could find -- no doubt I made a bigger balls of it, but I still send the same message of invitation to all the Irish speakers who care. And the ones who don't as well.

The current forum address (as in .freeforums.org) is I plan, a temporary arrangement and eventually I hope to improve the site in a number of ways. But, first, I need the interest of the Irish speaking community on the internet.

pog it

General Michael Collins wrote: »

Well I made an effort to fix the mistakes I could find -- no doubt I made a bigger balls of it, but I still send the same message of invitation to all the Irish speakers who care. And the ones who don't as well.

The current forum address (as in .freeforums.org) is I plan, a temporary arrangement and eventually I hope to improve the site in a number of ways. But, first, I need the interest of the Irish speaking community on the internet.

From what I know forums take ages to build up from scratch but maybe consider getting a translations section going for americans, etc. as that will generate more traffic. something like what they have at irish gaelic translation. They generate lots and lots of traffic here. But for that you would need to have fluent speakers there to get it started, and then make up pretend questions/users to get it going. This is probably why nobody has done it before- it's very time consuming and slow to get going.

Why not spend another good 3-6 months to work on your Irish by posting on already establised forums and build up a small group of people committed to posting often to start your forum going.

General Michael Collins

pog it wrote: »

From what I know forums take ages to build up from scratch but maybe consider getting a translations section going for americans, etc. as that will generate more traffic. something like what they have at irish gaelic translation. They generate lots and lots of traffic here. But for that you would need to have fluent speakers there to get it started, and then make up pretend questions/users to get it going. This is probably why nobody has done it before- it's very time consuming and slow to get going.

Why not spend another good 3-6 months to work on your Irish by posting on already establised forums and build up a small group of people committed to posting often to start your forum going.

Sounds like a very good plan a chara. And I mean that, genuinely.
I certainly plan to work on my Irish, and what you say about translations is interesting. I am committed to making this work, (it's not just on a whim), and I will be promoting this into the future. Once again, thank you for your advice.

Insect Overlord

I've been having a look around and trying to experiment with the Moderator Control Panel. I don't think I'll be able to change the spelling/grammar errors myself. It looks like that require Admin permissions. I'll PM you some corrections tomorrow instead.

Insect Overlord

pog it wrote: »

It's a nice idea General and a good forum like this if done well would be a great addition to what's out there for learners.

However, I would suggest that you clean up all the spelling and grammatical mistakes in your forum titles and subtitles, etc. as it might put people off using the site.

I've gone through the forum-titles and descriptions and fixed as many mistakes as I could find. I've also added a new forum just for site-feedback, so if anyone spots something I've missed they can let us know here.

The lay-out of the rules has been updated (as well as edited for grammar and spelling mistakes) and I've fixed a few things in the Cé Atáimid fógra as well.

There's a new forum for Arts. I'll sub-divide that into dedicated fora for Filíocht/Prós/Griangrafadóireacht/Scannáin/Ceol as the site gets busier.

General Michael Collins

Without a doubt, I needed someone on board with a better fluency in Irish, and who I know is dependable. IO fits the bill, and as you can all see, he has justified himself already. I feel there is an increasing potential here, especially with the help of some all ready present members, and the great selection of potential ones.

Aard

Go easy on the number of sub-forums you have. From my experience, there needs to be a good forum-to-member ratio. Somewhere like boards.ie can have hundreds, but a fledgling board like yours OP should at most need about three or four. Personally, nothing puts me off a new board quicker than seeing a load of forums with few or no posts. As time goes on, they may be necessary, but at the start your main goal is to get people talking.

It's like at a party: there's a better atmosphere when everybody is kept to one or two rooms. If the same number of people are spread all over the house and garden, then fewer people interact and the party seems kind of empty and boring.

Right now, I'm sure you could get by with a "Plé as Gaeilge" forum for any kind of conversation through Irish, and a "Ceisteanna gramadaí" forum for discussion of the language itself for learners. I wouldn't worry about mixing topics up in the general discussion forum (like having a "Cad is ainm duit?" thread next to "Fadhbanna polaitiúla sa 3ú domhain"). It's way more preferable than having to switch forums all the time, and keeps the place interesting and more dynamic.

Anyway, just a few comments! Good luck with it, and work hard at letting people know about it (in a non-spammy way of course!).

General Michael Collins

Update : The Number of Forums has been cut by a substantial percentage. The Forum looks and feels more compact as a result of it.

Aard

The history, politics, philosophy and religion could all probably fit under the one roof. Call it "What not to talk about at dinner"!!

You'll probably be more keen to splice and dice forums as time goes on. Remember to follow the will of the users, rather than trying too hard to shoebox them too early.


Anyway, looks good!

General Michael Collins

Thanks for the advice again, you've been very helpful!

Aard

Another thing to consider with so many forums with comparatively few posts each, is to have an easy way to get back to the homepage to switch foums. People generally are lazy, even the most well-intentioned, and if it's too tedious to even find a new thread, they'll just switch tabs to Facebook or something.

Also, just realised you have an "Aiseolas" subforum in the "Fograí & Aiseolas" forum. It's a bit much for a board so small tbh. The "Introduce yourself" sub-forum is likewise labrynthine; just have it as a thread.


Again, I hope I'm not coming off too critical. Boards usually die for a few reasons:

1. No common purpose, other than to chat in general (not a problem here, as the Irish language is the common factor)

2. Low user-retention (huge problem at the start; requires a dedicated few to keep things going.)

3. Complex layout -- both in the sense of the general look of the site, and its structure. This is really where you'd want to be vigilant. Most of the boards I visit have hundreds of regulars, but at most around 5 forums (including any anouncements/rules forums). You see it here on Boards.ie -- the admins are always reluctant to create new forums for things that can easily be discussed elsewhere. Only when there is a critical mass are splinter forums made. I really think you could get away with merging Spórt / Ealaíonna / Stair & Pol / Feals & Creidimh into "Cursaí Reatha & Comhrá". Effectively that's what they are anyway. You need to give the feeling of a tight-knit community where anyone can comment on anything, rather than having posts strewn disparately that then become niche.


Are you familiar with the "Daltaí" boards? http://www.daltai.com/discus/messages/board-topics.html They seem to do OK with two forums: "Gaeilge only" and "Gaeilge/Béarla". It's probably the only successful Irish board online. Others I've come across over the years have always suffered from the "prescriptive discussion" model. The more open and relaxed the experience is, the more it'll thrive.


Anyway, I should probably stop pontificating here, and start contributing on FNG!

Insect Overlord

Aard wrote: »

Also, just realised you have an "Aiseolas" subforum in the "Fograí & Aiseolas" forum. It's a bit much for a board so small tbh. The "Introduce yourself" sub-forum is likewise labrynthine; just have it as a thread.

I've fixed one of those and GMC fixed the other.

Aard wrote: »

2. Low user-retention (huge problem at the start; requires a dedicated few to keep things going.)

I'll be writing a lot over the coming weeks, starting new threads and responding to others as much as possible. Hopefully a few others will take the hint and build up the content with me!
Getting the word out to other websites will be part of the challenge. I refuse to spam other fora, but the temptation is there! :pac:

Aard wrote: »

I really think you could get away with merging Spórt / Ealaíonna / Stair & Pol / Feals & Creidimh into "Cursaí Reatha & Comhrá". Effectively that's what they are anyway. You need to give the feeling of a tight-knit community where anyone can comment on anything, rather than having posts strewn disparately that then become niche.

I'm running the risk of being too optimistic, but I think we can make the site work without having to condense the boards any further. The Daltaí boards are a good model of where cutting back works, but others (the Limerick Blogger Forum, for example) are a nightmare to read because every single topic (ex. sports) is jumbled up together.

You might be right, and we're sure to get a clearer picture of what does/doesn't work over the coming weeks, so we can keep taking good advice on board as and when we get it.

Aard wrote: »

Anyway, I should probably stop pontificating here, and start contributing on FNG!

Like I said, all good feedback is very much welcome! So thanks for the critique so far.

dambarude

Had started replying to Cuimhní Cinn ón nGaeltacht last night when I had to go outside running after cattle:pac:. Should hopefully get a chance to reply to a few topics on it later.

General Michael Collins

dambarude wrote: »

Had started replying to Cuimhní Cinn ón nGaeltacht last night when I had to go outside running after cattle:pac:. Should hopefully get a chance to reply to a few topics on it later.

I know the feeling!

Insect Overlord

Welcome message updated for guests and new users.

Twitter page - http://twitter.com/#!/Foram_Gaeilge

Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/F%C3%B3ram-na-Gaeilge/170480066358793

Agus anois tá seoladh/ainm nua againn! www.foramnagaeilge.com

Insect Overlord

I'm looking for feedback in this section here to help us put together grammar tutorials.

Any opinions/requests?

Insect Overlord

We've started the process of translating our language pack from English into Irish.
The hope is that by the end of the process we'll have a full Gaeilge language pack suitable for phpBB3.

It'll take a while to change over all the forms (especially with some of the longer clauses on the Administration and sign-up/registration pages) but we're off to a good start. For the time being, please excuse the mixture of Irish and English headings on some pages.

Insect Overlord

Seans go gcuimhin le roinnt daoibh an suíomh a bhíodh agam cúpla blian ó shin, http://www.foramnagaeilge.com. Fóraim lán-Ghaeilge a bhí ann.

Táim tar éis á athlainseáil an tseachtain seo. Tá sé ciúin fós, ach ní haon drochrud é sin. Tabharfaidh sé an deis dom gach rud a ullmhú agus a cheartú sula n-éiríonn sé níos gnóthaí. Má tá suim ag éinne ann, cruthaigh cuntas agus beidh mé sásta aiseolas a ghlacadh chun feabhas a chur air. Is cuma cén caghdán Gaeilge 'tá agat, cuirfear fáilte romhat má tá fonn ort í a húsáid.


Some folks might remember the website I used to run a few years back, Fóram na Gaeilge, a home for discussion forums in the Irish language.

I've just relaunched it this week. It's still very quiet, but I'm hoping to use this opportunity to fix things up and get the site fully prepared before it gets busier. For anyone who's interested, set up an account with us and let me know what you think of it. I'll be happy to take on board any feedback that could help improve the site. All enthusiastic users are welcome, whatever your standard of Irish.

craoltoir

Cad faoi chlár imeachtaí don tír ar fad a bheith ar fáil ar an suíomh? Easpa mór é dar liom nach bhfuil a leithéid ar fáil go héasca. Bíonn fhios againn is dócha faoina bhfuil ar siúl inár gceantair féin ach má bhíonn muid as baile áit éigin eile sa tír ba dheas foinse eolais a thabharfadh eolas dúinn faoina bhfuil ag tárlú (ó thaobh imeachtaí gaeilge/gaelacha de) ar fud na tíre.

Moonbeam

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Seans go gcuimhin le roinnt daoibh an suíomh a bhíodh agam cúpla blian ó shin, http://www.foramnagaeilge.com. Fóraim lán-Ghaeilge a bhí ann.

Táim tar éis á athlainseáil an tseachtain seo. Tá sé ciúin fós, ach ní haon drochrud é sin. Tabharfaidh sé an deis dom gach rud a ullmhú agus a cheartú sula n-éiríonn sé níos gnóthaí. Má tá suim ag éinne ann, cruthaigh cuntas agus beidh mé sásta aiseolas a ghlacadh chun feabhas a chur air. Is cuma cén caghdán Gaeilge 'tá agat, cuirfear fáilte romhat má tá fonn ort í a húsáid.


Some folks might remember the website I used to run a few years back, Fóram na Gaeilge, a home for discussion forums in the Irish language.

I've just relaunched it this week. It's still very quiet, but I'm hoping to use this opportunity to fix things up and get the site fully prepared before it gets busier. For anyone who's interested, set up an account with us and let me know what you think of it. I'll be happy to take on board any feedback that could help improve the site. All enthusiastic users are welcome, whatever your standard of Irish.

Breathnaíonn sé go maith.
Ní féidir liom Gaeilge a scriobhach, ach tá mé ag iarraidh a dheanamh níos fearr.
Chuir me an naisc timpeall.

Insect Overlord

I've merged this thread with the original from 2011.

It's been 4 months since the launch. We're up to 19 members and 21 topics now. Building slowly, but that was expected!

What would be the best way to increase traffic? I was thinking of referencing news articles from Foinse, Nuacht24 and various links on Facebook, but there are complications when it comes to copying and pasting articles these days...