What would you like to see in the Forums?

[Josh]

The forums have become a place for a wide variety of topics and a lot of activity.

Should we add new topic areas? Or keep it simple? What else?

Look forward to your suggestions.

[michga11]

i like a lot of everything.

[SFOInsuranceLady]

I would like to see State specific informationn regarding coverages, laws, etc...because what may work for someone in one state, may not work for another.

[michga11]

I would like to see State specific informationn regarding coverages, laws, etc...because what may work for someone in one state, may not work for another.

or more like may not apply. different rules and laws. i think this is a great idea, though. our agency has insured's across the country and don't know all the rules and laws that apply per state.

[Josh]

Any specific coverages of interest?

This might make an interesting feature in our MyNewMarkets article series.

[michga11]

Any specific coverages of interest?

This might make an interesting feature in our MyNewMarkets article series.

general liability
workers comp
property
e & o
etc...etc...

how about anything and everything that comes to mind? make it broad, as it's always best.

[pita3333]

Josh: This is not truly a forum item...but surely is a need, also tracks well with a recent IJ Univ topic.

Someone needs to create/sponsor a mentors forum or program. To match up experienced industry professionals with those who are new or just desiring to enter the industry.

Perhaps link it up with the IBA Interact program by offering speakers/instructors.

This is something that I think would greatly benefit the industry.

[darnovak]

*All users required to register and use their real name
*For all posts, the name and state should appear somewhere in the post even if it has to be done by the system. I am tired of reading an interesting post only to find that the individual does not include the name of at least one state. Hello, where are you?
*No advertising or solicitation - users should email each other direct for such purposes. If you want advertising or solicitation, provide your email in your post - I guarantee you'll get it.
*People who post should learn the difference between (and when to use) their and they're, your and you're, and that you don't make a word plural by adding 's and so on. I hate to be the spelling and grammar police representative, but when I encounter improper spelling, word usage, and grammar, the credibility of the person goes in the dumpster. The post should at least be coherent enough to be understood - a typo or dropped letter here and there is not what I am referring to folks.
*Most hated error of the decade? The word 'monoline' used in place of 'unsupported'. Monoline does not mean unsupported. Get a glossary of insurance terminology (or a good insurance text) and look it up. On second thought, maybe the definition has been rewritten by the insurance experts. Did I miss something along the way here? My insurance texts are from twenty-five years ago. Aieeeee!

regards,

[KPIA]

I love forums, always have (well, at least since the www came into existance). I used to do newsgroups, I participate in many different forums on a wide range of topics. That being said:

1) Active moderation with banning of destructive/counterproductive members/discussions. Basically, reign in overly confrontational participants.

2) Someone made a reference to state by state forums which is a great idea but they would have to be a subboard to avoid cluttering up the main forum list. Better yet, I think, would be to break it down by region, just as the news sections/editions are. Have a national forum, west, east, etc.. That would give some break up to locality while making sure that no underrepresented state board gets ignored by the participants.

3) Start a political forum and make a rule that political arguments stay there, period.

4) Create a "BS" forum where participants can discuss sports, entertainment, whatever tickles their fancy. Helps create a sense of community and helps keep people returning to the forums.

5) Consider sub-forums for specific carriers, either under the national forum or the regional forums.

6) Consider forums dedicated to personal lines, life/health, commercial, etc..

I realize these suggestions are somewhat contradictory in that if all were to be implemented they would likely create too much splintering. Too few forums and they become a disorganized mess, however, too many forums and you end up with forums that are too specialized for a limited number of participants. So maybe a little to start with and some aggressive marketing of them to attract more participants. As the boards grow, the need for additional specialization would become clear as the forums mature.

PS: I love how they include it on the daily headlines e-mails, maybe try to squeeze them into the right column instead and do a section for most active topcs as well as the new topics like you do now.

Good luck.

[michga11]

2) Someone made a reference to state by state forums which is a great idea but they would have to be a subboard to avoid cluttering up the main forum list. Better yet, I think, would be to break it down by region, just as the news sections/editions are. Have a national forum, west, east, etc.. That would give some break up to locality while making sure that no underrepresented state board gets ignored by the participants.

4) Create a "BS" forum where participants can discuss sports, entertainment, whatever tickles their fancy. Helps create a sense of community and helps keep people returning to the forums.

5) Consider sub-forums for specific carriers, either under the national forum or the regional forums.

6) Consider forums dedicated to personal lines, life/health, commercial, etc..

I think these are some real good ideas. I removed the others as I don't find them to be unimportant. I am a fast reader and scroller, so I have no problem skipping over posts I don't care for. I understand other people have a hard time doing this, but whatever. They can learn. It's pretty easy.

Responding to number 2 up there, I think that would be a topic that would need to be pinned. Also, is it possible to pin a main topic and have it include subtopics within it? Like where you can expand to coverage areas or state? Maybe that E,W,N,S, with whichever states applicable falling under that subtopic? i.e. - Hit pinned topic, expand to area (E,W,N,S) then expand to state. Maybe each state could also be broken down with an additional subtopic with the dedication to personal lines, commercial, etc. Now that would be fabulous.

[Josh]

Thanks all, excellent feedback so far. Keep posting!

@KPIA These are killer. newsgroups? Now that's something we don't hear a lot of

State forums seem to be a hot topic. We'll look at this soon. Perhaps user can choose a state when creating a new topic, then we can use that to filter posts by state/region... I like the region idea, as you said too refined = little activity.

Forums for personal lines, commercial lines also sounds like another that others appreciate.

ps: we even have some current progress on integrating active topics in the main site.

@darnovak I think anonymity can sometimes add value to the discussion (for example people can speak more honestly). We'll keep an eye on when it is used to attack or harass.

@pita3333 Great idea. How would you organize this? As a private (paid member?) forum?

[FurriePrincess]

Not sure if your Forums system can support this, but for Hard To Place, a form driven input box requesting type of business, state, line, and reasons risk is hard to place, might help draw some faster responses. Some posters don't indicate state or line of business, others have no clue as to the rating basis or specific criteria needed. The reply window wouldn't need to be form driven, just new posts. I think some of us who have been in the retail side for many years have forgotten how long it took us to learn the ins and outs.

[rmsnot]

Keep it simple (as is). Adding more categories will lead to fewer readers looking at each post. The result is that there will be fewer replies in total. Now we may look at something and offer an opinion even if it's not what we were looking for. With more categories I would not go to those I am not interested in and may miss something interesting there. There aren't that many posts in this forum to add more categories or think of restructuring.

[mclureins]

I would like to see an additional forum for advertising. Free where people can make comments and offer service and post opinions after they have used the service or make comments about them.

[Josh]

Now we may look at something and offer an opinion even if it's not what we were looking for. With more categories I would not go to those I am not interested in and may miss something interesting there.

Excellent observation. So much can be learned from the things that you're not looking for.

One of my favorite quotes, "when all you have is a hammer, all your problems look like nails".

Some of the most valuable things I know ,I learned when I wasn't looking for it. When I watched others solve their problem. When I was exposed to a solution I didn't know was possible.