We are looking at amalgamating the sections ‘About Insight Vacations’ and ‘The Insight Experience’ to make it easier for users to post questions in the relevant areas.
BB Main Index

We would welcome your views on this and any suggestions you may have in making the main index easier to navigate.

I will leave this discussion open for the next week to hear your views.

Many thanks for your continued support and feedback

John
Moderator

A good idea John. Anything that makes navigation easier for newcomers ( and not soo newcomers) is welcome. Jim

One thought I had, similar to one have seen above, is to put a great big SEARCH button, maybe in red, at the very top of each page. I know there is the find button, but that is not as obvious as I am thinking of.

quote:

We are looking at amalgamating the sections ‘About Insight Vacations’ and ‘The Insight Experience’ to make it easier for users to post questions in the relevant areas.

We would welcome your views on this and any suggestions you may have in making the main index easier to navigate.

Here is my suggested layout for a restructuring of the Bulletin Board's main index:

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HOW DO I USE THE INSIGHT VACATIONS BULLETIN BOARD?
A Guide to Using the Insight Bulletin Board
This is a read only forum. (see suggested outline of this forum below*)
Questions about using the Bulletin Board
Raise your questions here about how to use the various aspects of the Bulletin Board.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH INSIGHT VACATIONS?
Announcements by Insight Vacations
Bulletin Board and Website updates, new brochure releases.
Tour Director Hotlines and Q&A Sessions
This is now a read only forum. A new session will be held in the near future.

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JOHN BOULDING’S FORUM
John’s Blog
Find out more about day to day activities at Insight with John Boulding, Insight Travel Group's President/CEO.
Comments on John's Blog
Please feel free to comment on anything John mentions in his blog.
Development of the Insight Online Community
As a goal for 2009, I would love to find ways to stimulate further traffic on the board; so would welcome any suggestions you may have that may assist us in that endeavour.

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INSIGHT ‘CLUB BON VOYAGE’
2009/2010 Members’ Tour
Plan a unique Insight Tour by choosing one of our suggested itineraries or develop your own.
2007/08 Members’ Tour
Plan a unique Insight Tour by choosing one of our suggested itineraries or develop your own.

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THE INSIGHT EXPERIENCE
Insight Vacations
Which tour is right for me? Have questions about the specifics of your tour? Post your questions here!
Travel Advice
Get free advice from experienced travellers! Exchange messages about different customs, local language and learn what to pack, etc.
Premium Europe and Britain
Discover Europe’s history, its majesty and its great treasures amassed by empires each with their golden age. A unique, balanced Insight into the most diverse continent in the world.
Ancient Civilizations (Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt)
When you journey back in time to the lands of the Bible and the cradle of civilization, you’ll find some of the most astonishing sights in the world – all included in your tour price.
Premium USA & Canada
Insight shows our guests the real North America that you’ve probably only seen in the movies. If you’re looking for a run-of-the mill packaged tour, hurrying through ten states in twelve days, you won’t find it here!
Premium European Winter Holidays
Insight presents its finest winter vacation collection featuring the very best premium tours of Europe.
European Essentials Europe & Britain
Insight's unbeatable SuperSaver tours are the ideal solution, bringing you comfortable First Class hotels and great touring at the lowest possible cost. Truly a First Class experience, but at affordable prices.
Tour Tales
Share your Insight Experience.

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MEETING FRIENDS
Meeting Friends - Before You Travel
Prepare a pre-Tour Meeting Place! Post messages or exchange email with others planning the same tour as you!
Who is Going Where in 2009
See who is booked on your tour in 2009.
Meeting Friends - After You Travel - Stay Intouch
Made friends with others on tour? Look up and find old friends online and share messages about your trip. Make plans to meet up with Insight friends!

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PHOTOGRAPHY
Members Photo Gallery
Now that you are back from your tour why not share some of your photos?
Members Video Gallery
Now that you are back from your tour why not share some of your videos?
Photography Tips
They say a picture is worth a 1000 words. Therefore it's important to bring back some great photos. Post here for advice on what speed of film is best for vivid blue sky or what's the best digital camera storage.

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* SUGGESTED OUTLINE OF THE "Guide to Using the Insight Bulletin Board" FORUM
The first topic should be featured and be a directory of all the other topics in the forum. Here are some topics that would need to be written for this forum:

• Purpose
  What is the purpose of the BB?
  
• Getting to the BB
  How can I get to the BB? (Directly or via the Insight website)
  
• BB Membership
  Who can register as a BB member?
  How do I register as a BB member?
  What are the benefits of registering as a BB member?
  What are the "Terms of Service" of the BB
  
• Having registered
  How do I log on to the BB?
  How do I edit my BB profile?
  How do I edit my BB preferences?
  How do I get help on using the BB?
  How do I post Topics and Replies?
  How do I edit or delete my previous posts?
  When can I delete a topic and how do I do it?
  How do I use the BB search facility?
  Are there any collections of links to commonly asked questions on the BB?
  Is there any guidance on the BB on budgeting for tours?
  How can I best print out topics from the BB?
  What is UBB code and how do I use it in my posts?
  Where is the BB membership list?
  What is the meaning of "karma" as shown in the BB membership list?
  How do I use the Chat Room?
  Can I communicate with other BB members privately?
  
• The BB dichotomy
  How does the BB provide both real time and historical (archival) information? (illustrating why it is therefore important to remain "on topic")
  
• Tour journals
  How do I best post a tour tale?
  How do I easily find tour tales previously posted on the BB?
  How do I incorporate photos in tour tales?
  
• Members Gallery Questions
  How do I post Photo Albums on the BB?
  How do I send postcards using photos in BB photo albums?
  How do I download photos from albums on this Bulletin Board?
  How do I provide links to my publicly posted tour videos?
  How do I easily find photos and videos on the BB?

Some of these (eg. "How do I easily find tour tales previously posted on the BB?") could simply be a link to the existing topic in another forum.

You might recall, John, that you wrote a guidance topic during the life of the previous software version of the BB and I wrote some additional material which you blended in with your material.

phil

This message has been edited. Last edited by: phil,

The "Tour Director Hotline" has been around for some years now. Maybe it could be incorporated into the new 'Tour Director Q&A Session' somehow? Jim

John,

Maybe some of the new members, who visit the Bulletin Board, are a "bit shy" to ask questions. You can tell there a lot of people, who read the the Bulletin Board.

Why not post a few of the "supportive" messages somewhere in the beginning of each "Insight Experience". I know that the help I received from others, who have traveled on the same Insight Tours that I took, encouraged me to use the Bullentin Board. And now I log on to see, if I can help new members.

Dear All,

Thank you for your comments so far with ways of improving our main index.

I will keep this thread open a little longer for others to respond but in the meantime we are working on changing the index incorporating your valuable feedback.

Thanks once again!

John
Moderator

John,

some of the content of the following Eve documents may be useful in developing content for a "Guide to Using the Insight Bulletin Board" (as I previously suggested):

• User Guide
  
• Glossary

phil

Thanks for the advice Phil.

As you may have noticed we are starting to make changes to the main index based on the feedback received and should have this completed soon.

Kind Regards
John
Moderator

Thanks John. I can see some changes already. Thanks also for considering and incorporating my idea. Jim