Welcome to the EMA Discussion Forum!

Many of you are already familiar with the internet [I]bulletin board[/I] (bb) style of communication. For those that aren’t, youre probably asking “whats this forum thing all about?” I realize that I outlined some of this in a previous email, however I’ll do it again for those that didn’t get it the first time round.[LIST][][COLOR=Blue]The bb allows for posting and organization of messages / discussions grouped into topics - its easier to follow than a string of emails with multiple quotes and headers to filter out[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]Discussions can be had between different member with different privileges - logins can be stratified by group ( i.e. consultant - resident - students or whatever) in order to separate the forum[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]And for those that still like getting an email, you can subscribe to “threads” so that the board notifies you via email whenever some event happens (someone replies, a particular person replies or even every day or every week - so you don’t “have” to check it [I]everyday[/I])[/COLOR][/LIST]And so why would we want to do this?[LIST][][COLOR=Blue]Limit the size of my damn inbox - today I had a mere [B]56[/B] non-spam emails…[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]Security - email is inherently insecure - and while I doubt anyone is reading our email - you never know, and we discuss some sensitive issues via email[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]On that note - everyone has a separate login and so no one without a login and password would even be able to see the board[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]Scheduling - one central place to request shift trades instead of individual emails - esp when there is more than one person you want to / could trade with[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]Central discussion place so that no one misses out - many of the new staff (myself included) have often been included halfway through the discussion due to an omission in mailing lists - it also puts the onus on the individual to check the board rather than saying - [I]“I didn’t get the email…”[/I][/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]Cleaner output - no need to sort through the mess of email trash text to find the actual text of the reply[/COLOR][][COLOR=Blue]Ability to do polls securely - i.e. voting - and therefore reducing the need for voting emails / clarification emails etc etc[/COLOR][*][COLOR=Blue]In the furture, I see it being a great place for clinical questions / good cases etc and a very easy way to get followup on the patients you may have handed over[/COLOR][/LIST]I should say as well, that all this is my doing and in no way reflects the official opinion of the Division. If the idea doesn’t fly, then we quash it. Simple. I just figured the best way to get people over the “hump” is to present it in a non-threatening manner with Drew & Bill’s Survey.Please vote in the poll [I]after [/I]taking a little time to explore, and feel free to leave comments about what you like and dont like about the idea, including any categories / forums ([I]i.e.[/I] topics) I may have missed. The one that ojust occured to me is that if the Division members in St Thomas find this a useful tool, I could set up a forum or sub-forum dedicated to STEGH specific issues.Any technical issues regarding the forum itself (i.e. login problems, problems with the interface itself, difficulty posting, user options etc) can be directed to me - [COLOR=Blue]jonesmd@gmail.com[/COLOR]Cheers and thanks for listening![B] Andrew[/B]

Looks good Andrew. Now I just have to remember to check it. How do I go about setting up reminders on an every other day basis? Jon

Kudos to AndrewTrevor

Very good, Andrew. Survey set up was excellent. Thanks.

Jon,In a quick answer to your post - you can get the forum to “remind” you of postings by subscribing to forums (i.e. catagories) or threads (inidividual discussions) by :1. Clicking on [B]FORUM TOOLS[/B] [I]or[/I] [B]THREAD TOOLS[/B] in the menu at the [B]top right of the Forum/Thread in question[/B] and there you will see an option of whether to email you or not, and whether you want those emails daily or weekly. Every other day is currently NOT and option, but I’m sure I could hack it so that there would be if thats really what you want.2. So in order to get the forum to remind you of EVERY post, you would have to subscribe to EVERY forum which right now, amounts to 10. If thats somebody’s desire, I can turn that on from my end - just send me an email. (Or you can have fun by clicking on “Subscribe to this …” link on each one).I plan to send out one more mass email, perhaps with a link to a tutorial on some of the more basic functions of the forum.Glad people are diggin it thus far… now I just gotta get people to stop sending me emails !AEJ

Jones,The site looks great. I suspect there will be a learning curve for many, but should be well worth it!

Great job Andrew. And very well done survey Drew and Bill! Now I just have to figure out all the ins and outs of a BB. It’s my first time…where have you heard that before…NOD