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<DIV><SPAN class=343455017-12042004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
agree with chip - the value of having something pop up in your email is huge. I
probably wouldn't bother to visit the forum site as much. Also, a lot of times
people send attachments by email in response to questions. This might not be
viable for a forum site. I still think there are benefits to the forum though -
the most important being the archive of threads. Jason - do you have the
infrastructure to build an archive?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343455017-12042004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343455017-12042004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Vikram
Sami</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> postman@gard.com
[mailto:postman@gard.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Chip Barnaby<BR><B>Sent:</B>
Monday, April 12, 2004 10:42 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
BLDG-SIM@gard.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [BLDG-SIM] format of the
list<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>Alec et al --<BR><BR>I agree with all of your
points.<BR><BR>However, one of the values of the eMail format is that activity
announces itself. When a message appears, I take a moment to read
it. If I have something to add, I answer.<BR><BR>I imagine that I would
rarely go read a forum unless I had a specific question or issue.<BR><BR>Can
forums be set up so they send an occasional eMail noting that 42 new postings
have appeared in the last week? Or perhaps there is some other reminder
scheme commonly used?<BR><BR>It would be too bad if the forum scheme resulted
in a lot of posting-into-the-void.<BR><BR>Chip Barnaby<BR><BR><BR>At 11:50 AM
04-12-04, Alec Stevens wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"><FONT face=arial
size=2>Hello,<BR></FONT> <BR><FONT face=arial size=2>(a question for
Jason Glazer, perhaps)<BR></FONT> <BR><FONT face=arial size=2>Is it
possible, feasible, or worthwhile to change the format of the bldg-sim list
to a web-based forum?<BR>There are several forums that I participate in from
time to time that are web based. <BR>Advantages are many:
Threads are categorized by topic, and old threads readily archived.
Sample topics could include things like DOE2 simulation questions, weather
questions, Energy Plus questions, job postings, conferences, calls for
papers, etc. You can also decide what you you are interested in and
what you want to read about, rather than having to sort out an inbox-full of
posts about something that doesn't tickle your fancy.
<BR></FONT> <BR><FONT face=arial size=2>Not sure what the budget is for
maintaining the bldg-sim list, but I think the usefulness quotient would go
up a notch if it were a web forum.<BR></FONT> <BR><FONT face=arial
size=2>Example web forums: <BR><A
href="http://www.taunton.com/pages/forums.asp">http://www.taunton.com/pages/forums.asp</A><BR></FONT> <BR><FONT
face=arial size=2>What is the general sentiment out there? <BR>(if this were
a web-based forum, we could initiate a user poll to find out the
answer!)<BR></FONT> <BR><FONT face=arial size=2>p.s.: I am not trying
to start a ruckus here, I definitely enjoy the list and have found it very
useful over the years. <BR></FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT face=arial
size=2>Cheers,<BR></FONT> <BR><FONT face=arial size=2>Alec Stevens,
PE<BR></FONT> <BR><BR><PRE>
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</PRE><FONT face="Courier New, Courier"></BLOCKQUOTE><X-SIGSEP>
<P></X-SIGSEP>---------------------------------------------------------<BR>Chip
Barnaby
cbarnaby@wrightsoft.com<BR>Vice President of Research<BR>Wrightsoft
Corp.
781-862-8719 x118 voice<BR>394 Lowell St, Suite
12 781-861-2058 fax<BR>Lexington, MA
02420 <A
href="http://www.wrightsoft.com/"
eudora="autourl">www.wrightsoft.com<BR></A>---------------------------------------------------------</FONT><PRE>
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