Thanks Tony. It is a good idea to open the events list to all but I am concerned that so much that is only of interest to LDWA members has been put in library. Maybe the libary should be members only.
David H

David,
Opening up the events listing to the public is one of the changes that will be implemented soon.

Maybe I am being Naïve but it seems strange that the library is open to all comers and contains items that could be considered private if not confidential to LDWA members. Yet the events list that could be usefully opened to the general public requires a membership number and password to access.
David H

It's not ideal, I agree, but this was a quick fix pending a revamp of the menu structure which will be part of a group of improvements which should be implemented in the next few weeks.

The Library is under 'LDWA Services' on the menu at the left hand side. However, you see the link from the home page, and when you enter the forum the link vanishes from the menu...

Good to see that progress is being made and a lot of the new features and fixes sound like a big enhancement to the site.

What has happened since April?. I did see a mention of the Library in one post but I was unable to see anything on the site about it

Sue,I think promoting the the forum in Strider is a good idea. Some of the recent practical threads (Injury!,Arthritis, ankle rub) must be of interest and value to many members - including us old codgers. What would be even better is for someone to volunteer to produce the article for Strider..........

Hi Matt, I think one of the issues is that a number of active LDWA members are of the 'pre-web at work' generation, and whilst many will have invested in or have access to a pc, it simply doesn't feature as importantly for them as it does for younger members. I know this isn't true for everyone, of course, but maybe it's worth promoting this forum at group meetings, for example, especially to 'occasional' site visitors. Maybe also a quick resume or list of current threads/discussions in Strider?

Sue, simply attempting to stir a reaction (any reaction)out of the great silent majority. So far they are remaining silent!! Matt.

It all sounds really good, so many thanks. (However please give us 'majority' chance to read & respond, Matthew, before suggesting we don't really care).

Strange really, 3 of this forums biggest whingers and critics - John, David and myself - are the only 3 that bother to say well done and thanks for the effort.
Perhaps the majority of the organisation really don't care after all? Matt.

Thanks for update Tony sound`s great.

Lets see where can i go for a whinge now the LDWA are coming up to speed.

Seriously though thanks for the hard graft and the update.

John

Thanks for the report Tony, we do appreciate what the committe do but do like to grumble now and again. I will off for 15-20 weeks, so there is one less to have a shot at you. In the meantime good luck with what you are doing.
David H

Sounds good - thanks to all those putting the work and time into this project. I'm sure it will bring benefits to the organisation as a whole. Matt.

A couple of months ago I reported that the National committee had agreed to open up the full events listing and forum to all. The Internet sub-committee has now sorted out the details and work on the changes has begun, with a view to implementation in the next few weeks. It may seem to have taken a long time to get to this point, but to give an idea of the large number of projects currently under way, I thought it worth while to give a few details from the ISC meeting the other day:-
* As well as opening up the forum there will be changes to the layout, including last posting first, a preview option, HTTP links added, etc, in fact most of the suggestions which have been made in this forum.
* Reg Chapman has done a lot of work on improving the membership and direct debit systems, and these are now working well, but a few more tweaks are required to sort out minor problems that came up during 2007 renewals.
* Just about ready to go is a completely new section, The Annexe, which will be available for event reports, the best of Strider articles, photographs (not just the Exmoor 100!) and much more.
*Another new section, not quite so exciting, is The Library, which will contain the Constitution, AGM minutes, insurance details, Guidelines for events and other essential documents.
*There will be a variety of enhancements to the Long Distance Path section, including the facility for users to add comments on individual walks. It is planned to make the LDP section “public” once sufficient routes are available on line.
*The Hillwalkers Register is now outgrowing it’s space as a Strider supplement and yet another new section is under development. The format is still to be finalised, but we hope to include a selection of articles and photographs as well as the full tables of completers.
*We all recognise that the "Look and feel" of the website is rather staid by current standards, and a redesign is being commissioned which will make better use of current wide screen monitors and more powerful computers. This will require quite a bit of input from those with more imagination than myself, but I expect this will be ready to go later in the year.
*Other developments in the pipeline include a Register of Hundred completions, FAQs, online entry to events, click-through links to Multimap for event start locations as well as more mundane matters that members will never see. Discussions also included how to improve our search engine rankings and how to co-ordinate the work done by several developers.

I hope this gives an idea of the scale of the work being done and reassures members that we are not just sitting on our behinds. Some of the work is being done professionally within the constraints of our budget, but much is by volunteers, including Reg Chapman, Garfield Southall, Paul Lawrence and others.

We think we have enough on our plate for this year, but as ever comments and suggestions from members are welcomed. I promise we will not ignore them.