Miscellaneous Forum

Hello, Everyone,

Yesterday in one of our weekly meetings, Stephanie came up with what we think is a great idea for a new feature on VT and we just wanted to get a sense of whether or not this is something members would both like and use.

Recently there's been a lot of discussion about forum posts in the travel forums that aren't really questions but recent travel news. The information is very helpful, but not really appropriate for the forums. Members can post the information as tips, but since these are issues of a timely nature, they can easily get lost there. (For example, a tip about an impending metro workers' strike in Paris would be too hidden in "Warnings and Dangers" for someone to find it in time to have it be of much use.)

If we were to add a sort of "Breaking Travel News" feature, do you think you would use it? If so, how would you like it to function and where you like it to "live?"

We're open to any and all ideas, so don't hesitate to post them here and feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!
Courtney

Brilliant idea!

Don't know if any other travel websites do this....but if not then it would give VT a huge advantage.

It is really horrible to arrive somewhere and find e.g. that the train you intended to take is not running because of engineering work and you have to take a lengthier substitute bus journey instead (very common in the UK at weekends/holidays).

I think it need to be placed very clearly on the VT homepage (near the top, and really 'flagged-up'), with news posted just under the continent and country name (trying to separate it into towns etc would be far too clunky...quick and easy access is essential).

I'd suggest keeping the template as simple and clear as possible.

I also think postings should be made time-limited and automatically deleted after, say, 2 months (or whatever), so that pages do not fill up with no-longer-relevant info. Or perhaps the notices could be automatically moved to the originating member's country 'tips' section?

Courtney,

I think it is an excellent idea and I would certainly use it. As leics said, the front page would appear to be the obvious place, although I know you are consciously trying to "de-clutter" the home page now. Perhaps a section in the "Latest Activity" page would be best.

I think it's a good idea too and would agree with J's suggestion of having it clearly flagged and regularly emptied.

On a related topic how about some sort of permanent bank of knowledge /tips apart from forums or tips on pages ?
A good example of what I mean is in John C's ( royslaven's) new HP. Here he has given all his accumulated knowledge for getting the best deals on airlines. etc.,especially longhaul. Invaluable information which would be very atractive to anyone coming to this site.

This is the sort of concept that could be used very well in a vt wiki on each country and then further divided by state/region. I'd love to see something like a wiki used as an intro to each.

Thumb nail list:
Climate
Best times to visit/avoid
Special events and public holidays
Currency
Power (240 volts and needs a three pin plug - diagram)
Population
Highlights to visit
Areas to avoid
Brief run down on government and include warnings
Transport
Distance airport - city and transport options incl costs
Impening travel "problems" (as per original)

That's a "kick off" list and I'm sure others can add to it.

Depends on which is most likely to turn up via google, I think.

I don't know how google works really, but the sort of info I hope this will provide should be easily find-able by non-members/web surfers as well as VT members.

Done well and clearly, and made easily accessible, I think it would pull in lots and lots of folk to VT (even if they did not stay).

My above reply to Planxty's post re placement.

Travel forum I had participated do post information on travel that is not a question, nor tip per se. Information on a train strike,hurricanes,improvement on travel by public tranports, road conditions,hotels ratings, how tourist industry see the future, etc, are all information I can use when planning my trip.

It can be sort of like we already have for meetings section, where a window can be put up as Travel Information or the like, and we can post there these type of info for all to see, included it in the search engine like keyword.

I think it will add to VT.

I agree with Jane, it should be posted prominently with other home page news ...however ...

there should also be a link from the page where you "land" after:

- selecting to post a forum question for the place/region

- searching for the place/region.

:))

Yes....good idea.

A link to 'xxxx latest travel news' on the forum and travel guide pages for each country would be excellent....and might help with google searches too.

If it is possible maybe you could also have a scrolling marquee on the top of the page with a few words about the event (i.e. - Metro Strike Paris Today 7/2 affecting Lines 13 and 14). The additional details would be in a members post.

yeah like yesterday its first day of 5,5 VAT tax on all restos, prices not seen much difference, just an example of information ,which of course will be expanded with details.
I do feel this information is missing here, and it is in other forum I have experience with.

You have my vote, only serious stuff I assume?

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion-422735-1-1-Miscellaneous-0-0-World-discussion.html


PJ

Great idea.. we could have used news on a rock slide and road closure
at Yosemite. Would posts be dropped after say.. 30 days to keep things current?

Perhaps some sort of timescale that the poster fills in themselves might be in order. For example, if a transport strike is due to last for three days, you could select dates, as in the deals section. I am sure the computer whizzes at VT could work out a way to make that post drop off after the appropriate time.

If it is something else, perhaps a road washed away etc. you could select a radio button saying that you don't know how long the situation will last for. However, to stop the system getting too cluttered, there would have to be an ultimate cutoff, a couple of months or whatever as J suggested.

I do like the suggestion of having these "tips" linked into the relevant pages for the place in question.

I am not particularly interested in the ratings "game" but I am sure someone will suggest being able to rate these things, so you might as well consider it now. Personally, I don't care either way on that.

Hope this assists,

fergy.

Sounds great to me too!

Something I'd be interested in, and I think this was argued here before, but I'll bring it up again for your notepads, was some sort of "itinerary" function possibility. Like, somebody in the know about London could write a "London Morning Walking Tour" itinerary. (Including where to have breakfast, places to visit on the walk, and where to stop for lunch) ...Or an "Explore Old Montreal" itinerary. ...Or a "One Day in Tulum, Mexico". Or even a "Five-day from Vienna to Krakow" itinerary. Or "Explore Europe by Bicycle". I think these would be very handy--giving places to see and timelines. ...Especially when they're based on real life experience. Yes, I'm lazy. And yes, it takes a lot of research for a person to choose all the places they want to see on their own and I'd rather download one and use it as a template.

it's a great idea

here in the melbourne forum we have been fielding queries about swine flu (alas there has been another death)

would some things come from the news and others from members?

I don't think ratings are necessary......it might well encourage multiple postings about the same issue (which would, again, defeat the whole object imo).

Maybe ratings should only be considered once the idea is up and running and it becomes obvious that people are not posting?

BTW, I'm staying out of this so that it's a member's only discussion and we can really get a sense of what you want in this feature, but I am reading everything!
C

It is a great idea...but there must be a thousand and one happenings all over the world every day which would qualify. Perhaps a new tip section for "Important Latest Info" for all destinations and then a "Latest Postings" for that tip section on each destination's travel guide - which would show,say, the last ten tips.

That way you don't have the problems with the time-limited news as all tips will still be there even when outdated but the most relevant ones would be at the top of the "Latest Postings".

Does this make sense?

And of course for any major information the VT home page could be used, with banners and links as someone suggested earlier.

I like the '10 most recent tips' for a location idea.....separate from the news, obviously. And still kept only to continents/countries, because otherwise it would become too unwieldy.

Simple, clear, easily-accessible and up-to-date info might well lead random web browsers (e.g. those arriving via google, as many of us originally did) deeper into VT, perhaps posting questions and even becoming active members themselves.

The way I was thinking is that the structure to do this is already there - i.e. you can sort hotel tips into latest order on the destination guides. So if someone is researching a trip and goes to the destination guide they will see the section marked "Latest Important Info" (or whatever I called it last post) and be able to check that out.

Good idea. A few days I tried to post news on the new Deutsche Bahn weekday equivalent to the Schöne Wochenende runabout ticket, and also on a detailed magazine article by a professional writer on the subject of how to obtain the best bargain fares on SNCF (France). I started both Forum postings with 'This is NOT a question' . . . and both postings disappeared down the drain.

I like Kaspians idea about the itinerary thing but I think that is a seperate discussion. I know I could write any amount of tours of London.

I'm not entirely convinced about the "10 most recent tips" concept. With the greatest respect, we all know that some people will post multiple tips on a place they have just visited with absolutely no text and just one photo entitled "Church", "Bridge" or whatever. The casual visitor may stumble on this and think that VT is full of such things, obviously an erroneous notion. I think there is sufficient scope now for a genuinely interested surfer to choose best rated tips, most recent etc.

Courtney, I say this slightly tongue in cheek, I know you are a VT staffer but aren't you a member as well? No need to be shy, you know you are amongst friends! Glad to know you are reading this, but you must have a view.

fergy.

Yes, I am definitely a proud card-carrying VT member as well but since we really want members to feel a sense of ownership about changes in the site (at least to the degree possible), I was trying to stay out of it. ;)

That said, since I think it's fair to say that it's pretty clear that members like this idea, I'll go ahead and say I think Stephanie had a stroke of genius. The truth is, we HATE having to delete helpful posts just because they aren't in the form of a question and I think it would be great to have someplace for emergency or just timely information. I'm not sure what I think the format should be just yet, but it's something I'd really like to see.

Good for you Courtney, I knew we could draw you out, and I agree, Stephanie has come up with a damn good idea.

I like your comment that you want members to feel a degree of ownership. I don't think there could be another site where people felt more ownership. Let's be honest, we provide all the content of the site.

Like yourself, I am a proud card-carrying member, and still believe passionately in the concept that underpins VT.

In your place, I would let this post run for a few days, or "boost" it to the top (which, no doubt you can do) to get a better idea of member reaction. Realistically, there are a minute proportion of the VT membership that have replied to this post. I think you should take further "soundings" before you make a decision. We just happen to be the people that were online tonight (today, wherever you are). I am sure others may have contrary views. Out of over 1 million members, although many are not active, I would be surprised if there were not. Also, someone may come up with a brilliant idea for how to run it.

Again, thanks for consulting us before jumping into a new project, nice to know you listen to us, and I know you do.

fergy.

Yes, I think she hit the nail on the head with this one. I especially like the idea for truly "breaking" travel news. For instance, the night Michael Jackson died they unexpectedly closed off Hollywood Blvd. because his star is there and there was also a premiere going on at Mann's. They announced it on the radio as I was driving home and I was thinking that a tourist probably wouldn't have access to that information. (And that particular area is really congested as it is.)

Glad you feel you have ownership--let's see what transpires in the next few days with this question. :)

Great idea and I like the rolling marquee that someone suggested too. I would definitely use it.

Great idea! I would certainly use it. And a time frame would be good too. I'd probably use it to let people know of events that are happening in my city like the show, Red Bull Air races, school holidays etc. I know I can use the vt meetings/event page for this but that is not the first thing people find on the front page of vt....it's sort of hidden down the bottom of the page.

Yes, a breaking [travel] news section is an excellent idea. I ran into a problem on a train trip from Amsterdam to Brussels - there was work on the track that necessitated a train change. I was lucky and a couple of members mentioned it on the Amsterdam forum - but that was pure luck.

The front page, top of the page, a BIG headline: Breaking Travel News...and only the most urgent info there. I don't see this as a place for ongoing news, nor for ratings, nor for general info. Street closings, work on train tracks, road detours, strikes as originally posted and so on should be the only items in this feature.

I am sure that everyone planning a trip would appreciate this kind of news.
And yes, it should be time limited. If *only* for such 'emergencies', it need not remain for more than 7 - 10 days imo.

If dated, e.g. next week from Monday X/X/XX - Wednesday X/X/XXXX, then it should appear from the date posted (a week in advance) till the ending date of the occurrence only. That is sufficient.