I'm sure everyone here has seen the TagBoard on the main page at one time or another before coming here. Obviously, it was for people from around the world to throw in a few words about anything in general.

The reason for the Forum's creation was to provide space for users to discuss anything without the limitations of the TagBoard. However, it was also created to relieve the congestion of the TagBoard, especially during important JC events when the TagBoard had to support up to 30 users at the same time. Clearly, the Forum is a better option for that sort of discussion.

Now, I've brought this up before, but it's worth pointing out again and raising suggestions. Even though the TagBoard is much easier to use, as far as I see there should be some restrictions to what users can do on it. From the beginning, there have been people flooding the TagBoard with multiple inane messages. I know it's a simple feature, but seriously, there's no need to make four or five tags. Personally, I like compressing all of my thoughts into one message, and as such I get irritated by people posting "Hi", "Anyone here?", "JC you rock!" and "gtg dinner now". Since I have no role in the site itself, I'm in no position to complain, but I know I'm not the only one who gets irked by these posts. As far as I know, the TagBoard is not the place for small talk. I know Lily used to censor them herself, after all she used to remove mine all the time, so removing tags isn't anything new.

Of course, you'll probably disagree with me on everything I've just said.

Lily's Blog on her Delicate page is the perfect example of what I mean. We simply look at her page and drop off a few comments without being too comprehensive, and if we want to take things further we have IM programs and email, not to mention to Forum itself.

To summarise, I think there should be a short set of guidelines on what you aren't supposed to do on the TagBoard and adhere to those rules.

What guidelines do you have in mind?

Personally I think any negative comments about JC's girlfriend, other players or anyone in general should be "banned" but the problem is how are you going to regulate the tagboard?

Also, I'm one of the guilty ones that likes to "chat" on the tagboard. Not on a daily basis but usually while watching the livescore. Do you object to that as well?

Yeah, a lot of people go there for score updates during matches. I know I do when I can't watch on TV. Sounds like we need a JCF Chat Room. *gears in my head start turning*

*agrees fully with everything Scott has said*
:( But what can I do about it?! I mean yes, I used to regulate the tags (when the site had just started...feels like a century ago!) but now with all these new people visiting, I don't have the time, nor patience, to constantly delete tags (unless they're seriously offensive)! ...and plus, sometimes they're in completely different languages!!

And plus... to be fair, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people would love to participate on the Forum, but their English vocabulary and basic knowledge of the language does not permit them to actually take part in Forum discussions.
So who am I to bar them from the only place where they can meet and greet other JC fans from around the world??

oOh and I don't think there's anything wrong with TagBoard congestion during Live-Scoring!! I love the madness *grins* and sometimes it's the only place I'm able to get the scores! (ie. Thailand Open 2003)... :)

I'm not sure if you ever participated Mackenzie, but Kat and I ran a chat room during some of JC's matches (I think during RG?!) this year and the turnout was rather...disappointing...
It seemed that many people were more comfortable with the "simplicity" of the TagBoard, so while there were say 10 people (4 active) in the chatroom, there would be 30 people on the JCF Online page and more people leaving comments, asking questions etc... :unsure:

I was at my grandmas during RG and she doesn't have internet, I didn't even know there was a chat room. Did you publicize it a lot?

Yeah, like a HUGE bold link to the chatroom a few hours before and during the match...!!

apology from a lowly thai on how sucky thailand open web was... those silly people brought shame to the nation <_<

recently there have been a few girls on the tag board claiming they have met JC (not you aussie girls.. some girls fro TMC) but from what they were talking about.. it was rather unpleasant if not.. unreal. I found that quite disturbing. Also I've seen some abusive stuff on the board before. Tag board can be easily out of control...

LoL.. oh don't worry about it dear, I'm sure that they'll fix it for next year ~ after all, it wasn't the only tournament without live-scoring!! *grumbles*

Yes... I know which girls you're talking about Pimmy... and even though I have a hard time believing that what they're claiming is true, I have no proof against them, so there's really nothing that I can do about it...

And... not to mention all this talk about Pat vs. Sharapova... it's like the only thing people are talking about on there right now ...utterly ridiculous... <_<
...but we *always* see the whole girlfriend issue blow-up during times when JC's not playing... I'm not saying that it should be condoned - and I certainly will not take any part in it - but if that's what girls want to discuss, then who am I to stop them?! After all, if they don't do it on the TagBoard, they will surely find someplace else...

Pimmy, better to not have a tag board then to have one that doesn't work, that really makes people look silly, a la TMS Madrid.

EDIT-I meant livescore, not tag board.

I'm not sure but I think the chatroom you used for RG (or was it DC?) was complex. If it's not too much of a hassle maybe you should try one last time for AO. If that's a flop then forget about it.

Plus it must be hard on you and Kat to stay up to regulate the chatroom (talking about for tourneys in Europe and the States where the time difference just kills your sleep patterns). :blink:

Well, her story seems pretty consistent (she's told it on at least 3 different occasions). And apparently she has pictures as proof. Anyone want to contact her and find out if her story is indeed true?? :blink:

:blink: ...my god, I've only seen it ONCE... and even then it wasn't really anything worth deleting the tags for... hmmm... =/

*shakes fist at European time zones* :P ...they are like the WORST!! I think RG live coverage started at around 11PM on normal TV here...*sigh*... well at least now I have cable so it'll begin at around 7:30PM <_<

In regards to the actual chatroom setup, I think Kat actually implemented it, so I don't know a thing...(!!)

*coughs*

and what story might this be?!

Staying sharp ^.^

Did someone say something about 24/7 monitoring? *volunteers* =)

Dear, dear Scottie, you'd scare them all away from tagging! ;) ...even though I know you'd get great pleasure from removing those tags with only one word in each to complete a sentence spanning 5 tags... :mellow:

okay..im a guilty culprit of rather ' chatting' on the tagboard..but that is what many of the people do. i do it to meet ppl around the world who share the same interests of jc and tennis as i do!...and if they do not have instant messengers then i do 'chat' on the tagboard..but otherwise i do refrain from doing so!..i think a chat room sort of feature would be good for the site. as many of us that do use the tagboard as a chatting feature also find it too slow and tedious to consitently refresh the page! although it would be hard to monitor and supervise the chat rooms...its still a suggestion.
if your sick of ppl congesting the tagboard..and posing monosyllable and quite unimportant msg..then i think it would be a good idea..but otherwise..the tagboard is really a place were many of the fans can really interact with each other and share out love for JC on an instant basis..if some ppl do write those spanning messages, im sure we do it untintentionally..can u blame us..we have so much to say about jc that is has to span that long..j/k!
but anyway..sorry about post msgs like hello, or gtg, or anyone here?..but i really think they are reasonable msgs to see if anyone is actaully out there who you can befreind..i mean thats how i met alot of my freinds who are jc fans !

Well, there's no actual need for a chatroom. The small talk on the TagBoard belongs on the Forum. Although Lily would be happy to have a chatroom as long as she doesn't have anything to do with looking after it, like we said before the TagBoard only goes up to 30 users during peak events. That's not enough to warrant a chatroom that will be dead for most of the day and alive for half an hour one in a while.

katrelle:
Hey, I've been watching you =P

that sounds like a bright idea. i cant even use the tagboard or do the vote thing cos ders no button on my computer that r supposed 2 be under dem sayin "tag " or "vote"

Roisin, that's probably because your computer's resolution, you can scroll down in the windows to get to the buttons. On my comp I can see the "Tag" button but not the "Vote" one unless I click and scroll down the vote thing.

On top of that, I don't think you'll be able to use a chatroom if you can't load a TagBoard.

scottie : you've been watching me..should i be worried??..do i post msgs to much? arghh!

Hey, it's my job. I don't really pay much attention to what you post, but if you stand out in an obvious manner, you tend to shoot yourself in the foot more often than you'd want to.

Don't worry, you're clear.

right, thanx mackenzie, i'll have a look!

so I'm not the only one with that problem :P......

nope, cant seem 2 fix it....

I suppose I should put my 2 cents in - I must say I get annoyed sometimes by it, and thoughts of getting rid of it altogether does come to my mind.

as for the chatroom - it WAS used during RG if I remember correctly, the turnout was indeed pretty poor, but it was one of those free ones @ bravenet, and a lot of ppl seemed to have troubles with their java settings stuff... (yes - I know what I'm talking about!) it didn't require registration.

as for whether there is a "NEED" for a chatroom, I dunno, I don't mind having one as long as I don't have to monitor it all the time.

Don't worry about monitoring, Lily will find someone whose name starts with 'S' and ends with 'cottie_theNerd'.

The issue I'm worried about is the actual purpose of a chatroom. Like I said before, there's not much of a fanbase on at the same time, and there's little you can do in a chatroom that you can't already do with each other on the TagBoard, Forum and IM programs.

Well isn't it nice to have us Admins agree on something for once??
I think that Scott has a really valid point here because I truly do not believe that a chatroom would be of any use when there are already so many other ways to get in contact with people if you *really* wanted to... and not enough people to keep it alive during non-live-scoring times...

I agree with Lily and Scottie_theNerd during RG I knew that there was a chatroom, I didn't use it because I was watching it on TV...... and because there not so many JC fans who are online at the same time the chatroom would be empty most of the times..... I talk to JCF fans on MSN or on the Forum, I rarely use the tag board, I like the forum cuz it's easier to understand it's cuz it doesn't fade away after a view replies (I hope you get my point) :) *I have spoken :P*

Anne has a very good point. You're supposed to be watching JC when he's playing, not talking about him =/

I totally agree with this. I think some people find it a bit too daunting to try and participate with forum discussions.

I frequently see French people chatting in French on the tagboard, so a few days ago I decided to chat there for a while (I really need to do anything I can to improve my French) & I asked if people often visited the forum. The response was mainly that they never go there, so perhaps something could be done to encourge more foreigners to join in with the forum to help eliminate some of the general chatting which takes place on the tagboard. Perhaps people could set up some topics in some of the languages which are commonly used by people on the tagboard in the locker room. I don't know what you'd do about moderating, though I'd be happy do help with anything in French.
Well, it was just a thought... ^_^

I would if I could. <_< *kicks TV*

lol, I can only see the grand slams, AO and US partly cuz it's in the middle of the night with us, and some TMS but not all and all the Dutch Davis Cup..... maybe this year against Spain.... :)

Me too. In England we don't even get US Open coverage, but we get the other Grand Slams, and usually Britain's Davis Cup plight... Not that that usually last very long. Go!!......oh....... :P

life without pay TV is becoming increasingly harder.....

Kat ~ completely OT, but I thought that you'd find this amusing...
I was bumming around the house today (it's because of the heatwave I swear!) and was flicking thru cable channels when I landed on an English Premier League match... didn't know who the heck was playing, but the name "LAMPARD" popped onto the screen, so I was like, "hey that's Kat's dude...*must watch*" ... :blink:
I've only *just* realised that I sat thru an ENTIRE soccer match (Chelsea vs. Bolton Wanderers) to oogle at a guy that I have absolutely no interest in JUST BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED HIS NAME ON YOUR BLOG... :o

I hope you're as disturbed by that story as I am...*nods*

Isn't that the same story over how you fell in love with JC...?

hahaha, that match was so funny. chelski r so loaded its untrue but they lost against bolton of all people..........

btw,smartie there was us open coverage on sky. n they show all the tennis masters series events 2 and davis cup semis n final. eurosport have RG and TMC and bbc have GB davis cup matches n wimbledon....phew!

roisin: True, but I don't have sky or digital TV, so from that list, all I have is the BBC. :evil:

I didn't know Premiership matches were broadcast in other countries.
Well, they say you learn a new thing everyday. Which is an odd saying, because you don't learn many old things... :wacko: