Forum Calendar

[maddog5150]

Forum Calendar

I thought I read somewhere that there was (or was soon to be?) a forum calendar where we could enter various rides or events for all to see. Is this still in the works?

 

[Venture]

Forum Calendar

I thought I read somewhere that there was (or was soon to be?) a forum calendar where we could enter various rides or events for all to see. Is this still in the works?

There is a calendar available for the forum, but I find it kind of clunky...

Let me ask, when you are looking into events, are you generally looking at a specific date first (i.e. "I'm free the weekend of June 20th, let's see if there is anything going on then...") or are you looking for a list of all upcoming events to see what the future holds so you can plan your schedule accordingly? If it's the latter, then I've been thinking that a simple database with a few fields like event date and location would probably suffice. It would give a nice concise list of all events in one easy spot.

 

[jajpko]

I would like to see it in a form that we could look at and see what rides were planned and also if you were planning a ride, you could look and see what dates would be available. Also you would have to have a mod edit and add your ride or others.

If there are multiple rides at the same time, your method would work the best. In a monthly form with dates from 1st to last. Does that make sense? lol

 

[maddog5150]

There is a calendar available for the forum, but I find it kind of clunky...

Let me ask, when you are looking into events, are you generally looking at a specific date first (i.e. "I'm free the weekend of June 20th, let's see if there is anything going on then...") or are you looking for a list of all upcoming events to see what the future holds so you can plan your schedule accordingly? If it's the latter, then I've been thinking that a simple database with a few fields like event date and location would probably suffice. It would give a nice concise list of all events in one easy spot.

Visually the calendar view is kind of nice if you have a specific date in mind. However, the database idea would be nice and simple. And like Japako said as long as it was sorted by month, it would be close enough to a calendar. If you were planning a ride you could look at the other rides or events to see if it would conflict

If the database rows can be sorted by clicking on the column header, it could make for some easy sorts. Kinda like filters in Excel

Some possible fields:
Event Type (ride, seminar, open house, rally, etc...)
Description
Year
Month
Start Date
End Date
State
City/Town
GPS Coordinates
Member List (would give you the ability to add your name to the event/ride, this would allow you to see how many forum members might be at an event)
Cost
Accommodations

Hmmmmmm, I'll keep thinking on more fields.... :-\

 

[Venture]

Visually the calendar view is kind of nice if you have a specific date in mind. However, the database idea would be nice and simple. And like Japako said as long as it was sorted by month, it would be close enough to a calendar. If you were planning a ride you could look at the other rides or events to see if it would conflict

If the database rows can be sorted by clicking on the column header, it could make for some easy sorts. Kinda like filters in Excel

Some possible fields:
Event Type (ride, seminar, open house, rally, etc...)
Description
Year
Month
Start Date
End Date
State
City/Town
GPS Coordinates
Member List (would give you the ability to add your name to the event/ride, this would allow you to see how many forum members might be at an event)
Cost
Accommodations

Hmmmmmm, I'll keep thinking on more fields.... :-\

The Database allows sorting by column header, so the Start/End date fields would easily sort. I can't set a default sort though, at least not at the moment (enhancement I need/want to make).

Let's give this a try and see how it works. The only part that can't be done in a normal field is the "Member List," at least not in a way that would allow members to add their name. Only the "owner" of the record (most likely the person sponsoring the event) can edit the fields (or a moderator can as well). But, the "Comments" section would allow folks to chime in. Or, we can include a field to hold a hyperlink to the discussion thread over in the forums where folks can say if they're going or not. Lots of options.

I'll create this and we'll try it out.

 

[maddog5150]

Awesome! Thanks. I will post up the Moonshine Lunch Run in IL as a first test and fill out as much info as I can.

::012::

 

[Mellow]

How about this, I do an RTE section at ST-Owners.com, the titles must start w/YYYY-MM-DD then state/province and city and finally the restaurant name and I sort that sub-forum descending, this is what it looks like, maybe that approach would work here.
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?278-Ride-To-Eat-(RTE)

 

[Venture]

How about this, I do an RTE section at ST-Owners.com, the titles must start w/YYYY-MM-DD then state/province and city and finally the restaurant name and I sort that sub-forum descending, this is what it looks like, maybe that approach would work here.
http://www.st-owners.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?278-Ride-To-Eat-(RTE)

Generally the same idea, different implementation.

The database provides superior sorting (and soon, filtering), as well as enforcement of required data to enter a record. The yang to that ying is the fact that most folks don't quite get it...

 

[Mellow]

Generally the same idea, different implementation.

The database provides superior sorting (and soon, filtering), as well as enforcement of required data to enter a record. The yang to that ying is the fact that most folks don't quite get it...

I hear ya, wish your DB had a vbulletin version.

The nice part of making it a sub forum is comments are down along with posts so it gets some activity just from that.

 

[Venture]

I hear ya, wish your DB had a vbulletin version.

I'd love to convert it over to VBulletin as well, but I'm about 2 projects backed up right now. I have a few really nifty things that are half to 9/10ths baked that need to get out the door first. Then maybe...

 

[Mellow]

Thank you sir, wish I had the spare time to do some of that fun coding, I tried a few things but life and 'the real job' kept getting in the way... any spare time left over and I gotta ride. LOL

Thanks for the work you do here, it's turning into a great resource and lots of friendships are being built, which is even more valuable.