New Features

[Mike]

It's been a while since we've been able to do much updating to the site but as we might have a bit more time soon we'd like to know what sort of things you'd like to see on New Rider to make it better.

This could be features like


picture gallery integrated with the message board
premium forums (small charge to join but more specific forums and less random chatter, more PM allowance etc)
more articles on the main site
blogs


The only feature we're not keen on at the moment is live chat due to the security/safety issues.

Let's see what you'd like.

[palmerlover52]

More articles!!!! The ones already there are great!

[fuglyjowls]

Not really a new feature but is there any way the classified ads can be organised so that it easier to see what area they are in? For example if you look in south west section - it covers cornwall to dorset to gloucestershire yet without reading each advert there is no way to see where they are.

Just a thought.

[Skib]

The small ads problem applies to many sites. Not just NR.

If only people would put their nearest town in the heading! The South East area (even London) can cover herts and Essex right down to the sout coast. Kent and Sussex

[Mehitabel]

how about a premium paid forum *for* the random chatter? ;)
a picture gallery would be fantastic.

i'm not bothered either way about blogs - another site i am on has them and i don't feel it's added anything, if anything it has taken away from the forum as people post in their blogs instead of on the forums.

[Tootsie4U]

how about a premium paid forum *for* the random chatter? ;)

Ya know, that sounds much better.

Considering the rules of the forum state that OT chatter is not allowed, why make the non-chatter section seperate via subscription when its not supposed to be here anyway.

My personal opinion is that I love the site and it'd be hard to make it better than it already is. :)

[Skib]

Mike you are already Brilliant as are the mods. So these are responses and suggestions only.
Articles
I have not used these often but I think there might be good reason to upgrade?
The videos illustrating e.g. shoulder in and leg yield could be bigger and clearer now than when they were first designed?

My imagined ideal for a riding handbook for New Riders is to have a basic How To entry. e.g. how to rise in rising trot.
But in addition to have a series of further entries on each topic, describing the ways in which different trainers with very different ideas approach rising trot. Taking the discussion on - not assuming there is only one correct way to do anything. But offering alternatives so that people can then decide on the relative merits or relevance to their own riding?

Sections on the Board
I should like to see my own haunt, the Mature rider section, include its own Café area for chat and up dates among "older" riders. At the moment quite personal stuff gets muddled up with and is permanently archived with serious discussion of solutions for older or returning riders.

Payment
I don't currently pay to use any riding Board. I am not currently a member of IH. But for what it is worth I do not think that paid for boards or boards which segregate paid up members from the world at large, guarantee a higher level of discussion. NR is better.

I should not like to see segregation on New Rider. If we need to pay to support the Board, then everyone should pay.

However, I have had experience of membership only genealogy boards where one had to pay. Sooner or later a members only board begins to feel exclusive and some people sense their own exclusion - they feel they are not wanted, or knowledgeable enough etc etc.
Then one of them (feeling the need) sets up a rival free message board. Which eventually gets going, attracts many of the same people and becomes more useful.
In other words, NR is so excellent as it is, that, if it did not exist as a free board, it is highly likely that someone would eventually establish a replacement.

[Mehitabel]

i'm a member of a paid board. it actually works very well, we have less troll trouble, and plenty of new members coming all the time. it went subscription because the owner did it herself though, originally paid for everything herself, and eventually it got so busy that she had to get a new server and upgrade everything, and it wasn't fair to expect her to pay 4 figures to do that. the leftover money goes to charity.
but the whole board is paid - not just a section. non-subscribers can view the board, but not post, or search (i think) etc.

[nicolaj]

I thought a review section for books etc, bit like the style on Amazon would be really good.

There are so many books etc out there it's difficult to know if they are any good and some are quite expensive. Maybe it could be organised into schooling or confident rider, NH that sort of thing.

Members could add new publications as they get them or add their own comments if it has already been entered, not as a debate about the book itself, just honest opinions and whether it worked for them or not.

[Crazyhorse]

I would like to see a tried and tested section where people can post reviews of products, reccomendations etc. Loads of posts ask questions such as where can I get boots for wide/skinny calves, what is the best winter coat to get etc, so may be really useful to have this option.

A picture gallery would be useful.

I think more video clips would be very useful showing all paces, as that would really help those who are just starting out, together with how to put on a bridle and saddle. Also, one showing step by step how to tie a quick release knot, as it is essential and difficult to learn by looking at diagrams.

[galadriel]

I love the recent upgrade, providing for email notification that I've rec'd a PM to also have the text of the PM. Fabulous. That's just about the only thing I was dying to have.

I would likely subscribe to a paid forum section; I would love to help support NR. You guys are awesome. More PM allowance would be very nice too.

It would be nice to have an area for mostly serious posts and less chatter. A paid area where people can go to chatter--so that the main forum is less crowded and frivolous--would be fantastic. ("Today's pics of Firefly and Serenity" could easily go into a chatter section ;))

~ ~ ~

Crazyhorse, check the subforums--there IS a "Tried & Tested" section:
http://www.newrider.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=58

[Shadowlark]

Great ideas all, esp the photo gallery, and if it can be made searchable like google images - so you can say find horse in a clip or photos of arabs or who knows what.

Perhaps more of a review section in general rather then being in forum format. Say, Throughgood cob width saddle - people could give it 5 out of 5 stars and what the like/don't like about it. Dr.Cook bridle.. rated etc etc. Black Stallion movie rated.. again searchable so if I want to see what people have to say I Can find specifics - or just browse under "Dressage Saddles" or Treeless saddles or whatever.

One thing that would be kind of nice, would be a section for us crazy north americans. There is a large group of us, and some things are easier addressed by those on the same continent - such as I need XYZ for my horse.. where can I find it. Has anyone tried XYZ from who knows where in the US or Canada. It wouldn't be exclusive, but sometimes it's nice to talk to those in the same part of the world. (yes I realize.. .can of worms..)

Thank you so much for all the hard work
Shauna

[colettybetty]

How about a regular price update on any internet tackshop bargains out there ? Posters could add any good buys as they occur.

[bexj]

I use the riding school and riding holiday search quite a lot, so an update on this would be great! Perhaps you could include the basic details on an establishment for free, but if they want to include more details, then they could pay a small fee for the advertising. Also it would be good to have an area for people to add their own reviews about a riding school.

Not sure about a paid subscription either - I quite like it that people can dip in and out as they wish (even though I am an addict, I understand that others aren't:o ) and just because they don't pay a fee doesn't mean that an occasional posters writing is any less useful and I think we would lose this element. If the "youngsters" wanted to have a fee paying forum for OT chat, etc then go for it!

I like the idea about a review section for books and videos too.

The general features and articles are good on the main site and it would be nice to see some more of these, maybe covering some of the most frequently raised topics on the forum.

It's a great site Mike - thanks to you and your team for making it what it is:D

[xXSundanceBayXx]

make the avatars be allowed up to 40kb :) ive got a good one that is 35kb

[Zanie]

make the avatars be allowed up to 40kb :) ive got a good one that is 35kb

yer i agree:cool:

[Guest]

I like the idea of a 'gear we rate' section. It's always handy to find out what people think about stuff before you buy it.

[Stella2]

I enjoy it as it is and can't think of anything else that I'd like at the moment! I'm not keen on the idea of a paid section, especially one for the more serious amongst us, whilst all the o/t stuff that shouldn't be there is going on at the NR we all knew and loved :confused: We often see posts from people who mostly lurk and have only posted a few times months ago. Yet they are often friendly, useful contributors. I guess it might not be worthwhile to that kind of member to stay if it was a paid site (since they wouldn't a 'a regular').

[burness_21]

how about opening a seperate forum for O/T chat as i feel that all the guys on NR are friends and i find it really hard not talking about O/T stuff on here as i like to share my experiances with friends. i also like the idea of members rating products as i am never sure what stuff to buy.

[Guest]

how about opening a seperate forum for O/T chat as i feel that all the guys on NR are friends and i find it really hard not talking about O/T stuff on here as i like to share my experiances with friends. i also like the idea of members rating products as i am never sure what stuff to buy.

I agree that this MIGHT be useful as my PM box is constantly getting filled up with OT e-mails. Maybe a higher PM box capacity would be good.

[skye06]

Not too sure about off topic stuff as one of the best things I like about NR is that everything is to the point(in this case horses) , would like to see a few more topics perhaps or sub forums, possibly in the lines of a tack sub forum in the training of the horse or a Breeding sub in horse care.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

i like it just the way it is :)

[Dina]

I like things the way things are as well,but a picture gallery would be pretty cool and the idea of a place we can review tack would be pretty handy as well :)

[Herbie's mummy]

i would like piccies in our sigs :) looks nice and they would only have to be tiny:D

[millie n pride]

i would like piccies in our sigs :) looks nice and they would only have to be tiny:D

The pics in sigs get annoying lol. It distacts me from what i'm reading and not having them is one of the reasons i like NR more than some other forums :)

[Roheryn]

And I was just thinking how much I like this forum and how much more user-friendly it is than some other sites I've seen! :) I like the way the thread-subscriptions are set up, and the Search function.

I like the suggestions for a tack review thread: I too think that would be a good idea.

And I wish there was a forum for horsey fiction/poetry here--would anyone else like to see such a thing? Where people could post their own writings?

[LindaAd]

I also like it just the way it is; I would hate to have to pay for it, I think that would change its nature, and paying for part of it would be even worse.
I like the idea of new forums for tack and clothes, and for books, videos and films. And an integrated picture gallery would be good. Also more articles, maybe - they're handy for reference, but I don't read them much.

But basically, please don't do anything that would make it too different.

[chickflick1066]

i would like piccies in our sigs :) looks nice and they would only have to be tiny:DI'm going to have to disagree with you on that one I'm afraid ;) Please no!

I'm rubbish with change :o please don't change it too drastically!

[neen]

Reviews classified by product would be good. At the moment, you need to run a search on the brand name, and it can take a while to find what you're looking for.

Actually, some kind of classification system for past posts would be great. Recently I had a question about Western saddle fitting, but I didn't get it answered until some people helpfully posted links to past threads. There were just too many posts containing the words "western" "saddle" and "fitting" for me to find anything useful using search. I'm sure people would be happy to "tag" threads they found useful with their "topic" -- so nobody would have the painful task of trailing through years of posts deciding how to classify them.

Also second the book reviews -- I would find these really helpful.

[horseygal90]

I don't like the idea of a paid section - I for one wouldn't be able to, and it'd create a divide between those who can and those who can't. That's what I like about NR, everyone's equal.

[Peanut]

I don't like the idea of a paid section - I for one wouldn't be able to, and it'd create a divide between those who can and those who can't. That's what I like about NR, everyone's equal.

I totally agree.

[Trewsers]

I like the idea of a 'gear we rate' section. It's always handy to find out what people think about stuff before you buy it.

Thats a darned good idea - I like to know what I'm buying be it jods or lead ropes!!:) Am always finding myself posting questions about boots or some kind of horse gear.....

[teabiscuit]

there's a tried and tested section tucked away in the money saving tips forum, they discuss gear they've tried on there, but it isn't busy.
can it be made more prominant do you think?

[mu0ljk]

More articles - or perhaps more updated articles in the main site would be good?

I personally don't think that paying for certain sections would be good for the sense of 'community' that exists on NR.

To be honest I don't think that this site needs much change to it - it's great the way it is!
:)

[Shadowlark]

I wasn't really thinking a Thread, so much as an actual section, set up like the movie pages, you click on the movie, and you can see an overview of it and a rating out of 5 or 10 or whatever. From there you can read peoples specific comments. The current thread isn't effective, because it's "hidden" and it doens't really compile the info. And then you have so many, esp Saddle threads running all over the place - with people repeating themselves.
Esp with the treeless saddles and the throughgood saddles.

I realize this could be exhaustive work wise, esp to set up - but boy could it ever be cool!

[JOJOBA]

I really dont like the idea of a paid subscription thing - that's one of the reasons I like Newrider over other sites, paying for a specific section would just segregate it. Please dont make us pay!

I cant think of anything I do want, ;). I know what I dont want though - I dont want to pay, I dont want 'chatty' posts or sections, Im not fussed about pics in the signature. A little more text space in the signature would be nice though.

Oh I would like it if Cafe threads didnt expire... I go looking for a specific reply sometimes and then find out it is gone :(

xxx

[Shadowlark]

Have to agree with the Sig thing.. I joined a really nice Arab board.. and couldn't find the chat for all the clutter in the Sigs so almost immediatly stoped going, it became an eye sore! Sorry when I am reading the posts I want to read the posts not dig thru sigs for the meat of the txt (I love your horses, but I think the Icon is plenty to show them off ;))

[Mossy]

The subscription issue arises every so often. Please don't. The entire purpose of NR is that it is accessible. Subscriptions can be divisive, and exclude the New browsers from the very information they may need. By all means cut the OT chatter out of the site. Just my thoughts

[lizzy]

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one I'm afraid ;) Please no!

I'm rubbish with change :o please don't change it too drastically!

Ditto :D

[Shadowlark]

Discussion that got going over in the Cafe.. rather then reposting it... good Thinking Scarlett!

http://www.newrider.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=93718

[Pink's lady]

Please don't let photo's into the signature unless they are long and thin - they are so off-putting and make reading down a thread difficult. Esp if they are square, deep photos. And the avatars are plenty big enough.

Onething that would be good would be pruning out some of the old, never used member accounts. If you've ever tried to look through the members list there are thousands of them, taking up pages and pages and difficult to search (plus they used up names others might want to use).

You'd need to do it so that you didn't delete ones that are used but there are so many that signed up in, say, 2002, haven't posted once and when you look at the 'last activity' date in their profile, they're not been on for 3yrs.:rolleyes: If they are still here they'll have long forgotten their password;)

I would be willing to pay for subscription if I had to but wouldn't want. But maybe you could put a post limit of it - after 500 posts you have to pay a subscription to continue. Might cut down the pointless posters and if you get to 500 you're obviously addicted;) And maybe have an appeal panel for those that can't pay but are a valued memeber of the board. Or have an age limit. After 500 posts you're going to know how old they are;)

[JOJOBA]

500 posts? I guess we're both addicts then PL!
I agree with everything you've said except the paying part, and the appeals board - imagine the tantrums if someone found out they werent 'valued' enough! (I know Id have one :p)

xxx

[ajhainey]

I like it as it is - can't think of anything more I'd want tbh. Please don't break the winning formula! aj xx

[Pink's lady]

except the paying part, and the appeals board - imagine the tantrums if someone found out they werent 'valued' enough! (I know Id have one )

oh, the joys. Do you think we could run the appeals board;)

Personally I don't want it to change to a paying board, but if it does, then that might be a good way of doing it. Without the tamtrums of course.

[Herbie's mummy]

What about age?:)
So the people who have 500 posts then go on to a vote system and the fave's get picked?:S:S:S or have i got this totally wrong?

oh and about the pics in sig.....i love em lol:D

[Pink's lady]

So the people who have 500 posts then go on to a vote system and the fave's get picked?:S:S:S or have i got this totally wrong?

Yep, read my first post again.

[martini55]

The only thing about the appeal board- how do we really know that the person can't afford to pay the subscription fee? You might get people chancing their luck to try and get free membership. I am sure if it did become a paid board, it wouldn't cost that much as there are so many members we could easily cover the costs :) And then there is the whole issue of people feeling that they are not valued members if they are not chosen, it is a bit unfair to be honest and might create cliques?

I think the board is fine as is, it shows with the number of members and the huge number of posts there is on a daily basis :)

[LizH]

Like the idea of short videos showing how to put on a rug , tie knots , pick out hooves etc. Also book/DVD reviews would be good.BUT REALLY I LOVE IT JUST THE WAY IT IS (sorry to shout):o :D

[catscradle]

i like it just the way it is :)

Agree with the above but would like to see a Veteran Horse board

[horseygal90]

Agree with the above but would like to see a Veteran Horse board

Oh, like that idea. Though would we then need one for youngsters?

[Afellpony]

I dont like the idea of a paying section either. It's fine as it is.

[neen]

Section for youngsters would get my vote.

But it would be great if it didn't have to be a separate forum -- if threads could just be tagged with topics. That way everyone could see them as they were posted, you wouldn't get deserted "niche" sections, you wouldn't have to fret about which forum you should put your post in -- but if you were searching through the archives, you'd find it easier to locate things.

I use NR as an information resource more than anything, but it can be really hard to find the older stuff, because so many of the search terms are used so often!

[katieB]

Neen, you can kinda view everything as one big forum if you click the New Posts button at the top of the page, all the threads show up in the order they are posted but you cant see what section theyre from.

I dont like the idea of paying a subscription, cant we have just ONE horse related thing that doesnt cost anything!

[CrisO]

Personally don't like to see it split in subscription and free but I can understand that maybe it needs to generate income.
What about a separate section for buying and selling. Not adverts but advice about dealers, advertising, vetting etc. Seems enough posts on the subject to justify a separate section.
Agree with suggestion for reviews and recommendations of products Maybe extend that to include recommended links to other websites

[horseygal90]

Not strictly a board thing but could we have some kind of search button on the classifieds, even if it's just for county? I'm getting fed up of going into South East and finding only ones from Suffolk or Essex.

[Bay Mare]

I don't have a problem with paying but I do have numerous (BD/BHS etc) subscriptions already! I haven't even joined the professional society for my work because it's a 'luxury' that I can't afford :eek:

An ice skating forum that I was on went to a paid board and it closed within 6 months, another (free) one set up in it's place almost identical to the first with all the same people on it.

I'd like to see the 'matures' forum be age limited so that we could have more mature discussions (I'm not talking anything risque here) than we would have on the open board. I'd also like to see less off topic stuff on the boards which is usually thinly disguised by a passing mention of horses.

Maybe have a forum for critiques?

I quite like the board as it is to be honest. Funding via merchandise might be a nice idea.

I do like the picture siggies though :D

[Soupdragon]

I love it as it is.

More prominent "Tried and Tested" section would be good for reviews and opinions of products.

Not keen on much off-topic stuff, or too fussy sigs with big pictures.

There have been a few suggestions for a NR badge so members can identity each other at meet ups/other events - so maybe some NR merchandise would be nice such as badges or mugs?

[Shootingstar]

I would be willing to pay for subscription if I had to but wouldn't want. But maybe you could put a post limit of it - after 500 posts you have to pay a subscription to continue. Might cut down the pointless posters and if you get to 500 you're obviously addicted;) And maybe have an appeal panel for those that can't pay but are a valued memeber of the board. Or have an age limit. After 500 posts you're going to know how old they are;)


I couldn't pay the subscription, I'm 12, so you can see there is already difficulty seting in there:eek:

If you had to pay, that would be the best way to do it, but people would just leave or make a new account (people can get round IP bans you know!) Would hate to make it a pay-forum, and paying usually kills the community, making it too commercial and *shivers* would hate to see in a few years, newrider get into the same sorry commercial state 'neopets' is in at the moment!

[Shootingstar]

There have been a few suggestions for a NR badge so members can identity each other at meet ups/other events - so maybe some NR merchandise would be nice such as badges or mugs?

Would like to add:

NR badge and mugs etc would be a good idea, and not too commercial either. But that could be pretty hard to do. But if you did, jumpers/sweatshirts would be cool XD


I'd like to see the 'matures' forum be age limited so that we could have more mature discussions (I'm not talking anything risque here) than we would have on the open board. I'd also like to see less off topic stuff on the boards which is usually thinly disguised by a passing mention of horses.

But would that end up replacing the 'cafe area'? I mean, I'm 12, and I think it could isolate the younger members a little.. next thing, people under 16 will be sending off 'parent permission' forms!!! (Meaning, since many people's parents can't seem to be bothered to do this, would be denied acess to NR :( )

[horseygal90]

How about a bit section in the Tack bit?

[Mehitabel]

the MontyFund is considering doing logoed t-shirts and sweatshirts - we're just sorting out organising a competition to design them at the minute. although NR is not affiliated to the MF, they'd be good identifiers?

[Daffy Dilly]

But would that end up replacing the 'cafe area'? I mean, I'm 12, and I think it could isolate the younger members a little..

I'm 18 and I don't feel like I belong in the Matures area. It's not that people are nasty or anything, it just feels almost like an area that teens aren't allowed in, perhaps because we don't count as mature riders? As Firefox has already pointed out, putting an age limit on it would probably make a lot of people feel the same way I do. And lets face it, there are "matures" that are more immature on here than many of the younger members.

Saying that, I can see the reasoning behind the age limit, I just don't feel that it would be very fair.

[Zer0]

Something like a horse equipment review section would be nice.

Like, if you get a new piece of tack or a new helmet, you just post a thread (the title would be the name of the equipment, ex. Collegiate Raised Bridle or something like that) and say how much you got it for, what you like, what you dislike, what could be better, and would you recommend it or not.

[JOJOBA]

I agree with one of the things Daffy Dilly said - I never go in the Mature Riders section and subsequently miss out on loads of the stuff that's going on! If there's a Mature section surely there should also be a (strictly ON TOPIC) Young Riders section? Or neither?

xxx

[Soupdragon]

The "Matures" is my favourite section and how I got onto NR. It's described as being for those who either return or take up riding later in life.

I think we matures do have particular issues that you young'uns who have been riding and round horses since you were knee high to a grasshopper ;) are less likely to have - like less confidence, a higher sense of self preservation, less agility :) less general horsey know-how as it's been acquired later in life, more aches and pains, and maybe things like families, work, jobs, mortgages to juggle as well.

It can be intimidating as an older beginner/novice to see a young teen flying round a course of jumps or doing fancy lateral work while you're still struggling to mount from the ground/master rising trot .. or even silly things like how to tack up, etc. All these firsts are huge achievements for a later starter whereas a young'un might just take it all for granted! eg:

first canter
first jump
first walk to canter transition
first hack
first hack alone
and the biggie - first horse!!

and then comes all the worries and fears about handling, feeding and looking after your own for the first time

All our "firsts" might not seem like much to younger ones who are so used to horses and riding or even if they started a bit later but are still relatively young (as in teens!) - they are probably still a lot more gung ho about things than those of us who started in our twenties or later.

So I love matures - it's nice to know there are others out there in the same boat.

But that's not to say these things don't matter to younger members - or that they're not welcome on matures. I wouldn't like an age limit on matures. Anyone and everyone should be welcome.

Maybe it should be renamed Late Starters or something instead if the title is offputting :)

[Mossy]

Surely "Mature" has two interpretations. One is to do with age, and yes us old souls do have issues that you young 'uns don't. At fourteen if you fall off and break a leg you miss school. If you break something when you are older the mortgage does not get paid! It does tend to concentrate the mind. However mature also means established, confident, competent and able to discuss different views in a rational fashion. I am sure there are members of this board who are not past the first flush of youth but count themselves as mature riders. Plus the fact that no matter how you define mature, I am not a late starter. My grandaughter is now the age that I started riding at, and yes she has sat on Mossy, with my daughter up behind her.

[Soupdragon]

Surely "Mature" has two interpretations. One is to do with age, and yes us old souls do have issues that you young 'uns don't. At fourteen if you fall off and break a leg you miss school. If you break something when you are older the mortgage does not get paid! It does tend to concentrate the mind. However mature also means established, confident, competent and able to discuss different views in a rational fashion. I am sure there are members of this board who are not past the first flush of youth but count themselves as mature riders. Plus the fact that no matter how you define mature, I am not a late starter. My grandaughter is now the age that I started riding at, and yes she has sat on Mossy, with my daughter up behind her.


Agreed, but the forum description of "Matures" is "for those who start or return to riding later in life" :)

Whatever it's called, I hope no-one would be put off although I do still like having a specific forum for "matures" (in the sense of later starters) - I notice however that people do start off posting in "Matures" and then graduate to the other forums, maybe when they've got that bit more experience and confidence :D

[BeachRiding]

I like it the way it is, although a Veteran horse forum would be fun,as well as a youngster horse. But I don't think many would post in them.

[Bay Mare]

But would that end up replacing the 'cafe area'? I mean, I'm 12, and I think it could isolate the younger members a little.. next thing, people under 16 will be sending off 'parent permission' forms!!! (Meaning, since many people's parents can't seem to be bothered to do this, would be denied acess to NR :( )


The 'Matures' section is there already so why would it replace the Cafe Area? The Cafe Area is already pretty much overrun with the younger members of the board anyway which precludes a lot of the older members of the board from taking part in the majority of the discussions. The Mature Riders section is one forum on the board, I WAS NOT suggesting making the whole board over 16s!

Do younger board members ever go on the 'Matures' forum anyway? I would have thought that most of the younger members wouldn't find it that interesting.

[chikakane]

I think the success of NR is down its accessibility - so the fact that 12 year olds read the Mature section and vice versa is fantastic. You're doing an excellent job - please don't change too much!

I'd love to see a video "How To" section to answer all the questions I'm too stupid and embarrassed to ask myself! Or is that what the Starting Out forum is for? Anyway, it's all great, jolly well done and all that.

[Stella2]

A spellcheck?

[Skib]

I have only just discovered the spell check and also that it doesnt spell check the title of the thread.

As you post an answer there is a little ABC ikon above and to the right, above the smilies? If you left click on this it spell checks.

If you dont see this ikon, you may need to right click in the field where you type your post. It may prompt you to install the software program ieSpell. Once you have agreed and done that you can spell check both Pms and your posts.
Once you have it installed, right click brings up the spelling options. So as I have it already, it is hard for me to go through all the steps for you.

[LindaAd]

I'm 18 and I don't feel like I belong in the Matures area. It's not that people are nasty or anything, it just feels almost like an area that teens aren't allowed in, perhaps because we don't count as mature riders? As Firefox has already pointed out, putting an age limit on it would probably make a lot of people feel the same way I do. And lets face it, there are "matures" that are more immature on here than many of the younger members.

Saying that, I can see the reasoning behind the age limit, I just don't feel that it would be very fair.

The "Matures" is my favourite section and how I got onto NR. It's described as being for those who either return or take up riding later in life.

I think we matures do have particular issues that you young'uns who have been riding and round horses since you were knee high to a grasshopper ;) are less likely to have - like less confidence, a higher sense of self preservation, less agility :) less general horsey know-how as it's been acquired later in life, more aches and pains, and maybe things like families, work, jobs, mortgages to juggle as well.

It can be intimidating as an older beginner/novice to see a young teen flying round a course of jumps or doing fancy lateral work while you're still struggling to mount from the ground/master rising trot .. or even silly things like how to tack up, etc. All these firsts are huge achievements for a later starter whereas a young'un might just take it all for granted! eg:

first canter
first jump
first walk to canter transition
first hack
first hack alone
and the biggie - first horse!!

and then comes all the worries and fears about handling, feeding and looking after your own for the first time

All our "firsts" might not seem like much to younger ones who are so used to horses and riding or even if they started a bit later but are still relatively young (as in teens!) - they are probably still a lot more gung ho about things than those of us who started in our twenties or later.

So I love matures - it's nice to know there are others out there in the same boat.

But that's not to say these things don't matter to younger members - or that they're not welcome on matures. I wouldn't like an age limit on matures. Anyone and everyone should be welcome.

Maybe it should be renamed Late Starters or something instead if the title is offputting :)

I think the success of NR is down its accessibility - so the fact that 12 year olds read the Mature section and vice versa is fantastic. You're doing an excellent job - please don't change too much!
.

There's been a lot of discussion about this in the Matures section lately. I agree with chikakane - an age limit would be bound to be unfair to some people, wherever you set it. I think the title and description are fine, and people can just wander in and out as they like. Same with the café area. I think if you fragment it too much, with too many sections and sub-sections, then people get put off because they're not sure where to post, and they may miss a lot of interesting stuff because they don't think they (or their horse) is old enough, or they don't think they belong to whichever group it may be.

So I don't think any of that is broke, and it doesn't need fixing. What I would like to see is more flexibilty in the classified section; I'd like to be able to search for, say three countries at once, like Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire, rather than just huge areas like South or South West, and then have to wade through loads of ads from Cornwall or East Sussex. But I don't know if that's feasible. And if we have to have payment, then lets have it in the Classified section, but please, please not on the main board.

[Cheko]

Yeah! I think a Cafe Area for older riders would be good.:D

[Giveitago]

cafe area for kids
best gear/farrier/vet/massage/feed recommendation. And dare I say, things to stay clear from, dealers/dodgy horse people/ uninsured yards.

monthly show/horse event stuff like tele programmes, but include some spectator stuff like driving rally, local XC etc.

I would really like to see the 'how to' section. Then, if i need a hint on jumping etc, rather than posting another thread I could look it up on a dedicated page. The dressage and jumping forums that are already there are just too high level for me to use.

[chickflick1066]

Do younger board members ever go on the 'Matures' forum anyway? I would have thought that most of the younger members wouldn't find it that interesting.
How young do you mean Bay Mare? I'm 17 and regularly enjoy reading the posts of the members who regularly post in the matures section (Domane, Little Dolphins, Hairy Cob, LindaAd and Imp to name a few) and I'm sure they don't mind me replying to their posts so yes, us younger do like to see how you old fogies are doing ;) :p Meant in a light hearted way of course :)

[amylou_84]

Im 22 and not sure what to consider myself so i browse all sections :D Im not one of the younger group but not quite mature :)

[booboo]

A spellcheck?


totally agree hear i oftenhave to go back and look through my words ive written and change them.

[Mike]

Thanks for all the comments - it gives us a good idea of what would be popular and what to avoid. We are currently looking at some gallery software which will allow pictures to be stored against your user account as well as in specific categories which we think we enhance the board nicely.

We'd also like to reaasure everyone that there are no plans to have any charging for forum access at the moment.

We have some other interesting ideas for the site as a whole - more on those later when we've had time for a little more research.

[Bay Mare]

How young do you mean Bay Mare? I'm 17 and regularly enjoy reading the posts of the members who regularly post in the matures section (Domane, Little Dolphins, Hairy Cob, LindaAd and Imp to name a few) and I'm sure they don't mind me replying to their posts so yes, us younger do like to see how you old fogies are doing ;) :p Meant in a light hearted way of course :)

Sorry to post after you, Mike, but I forgot that I'd participated in this thread (old age?) so just to answer chickflicks' question:

I was thinking of 16+ to be honest.

I never used to go on the Matures thread because it didn't seem to be that relevant to me at the time (I'm old in years but mentally the age of my shoe size at times ;) ) but since more adults have come onto it I've found it a lot more interesting.

I'm not meaning any offence to the 'younger' end of NR but a lot of their threads, mostly on the Cafe Area, preclude a lot of the older people on her from participating which is why I thought that it would be nice to have a forum specifically for the non-kids .... if that makes any sense :confused: :D

Realistically I'm not really bothered either way, I'll still come on here unless it turns really horrid (which I doubt).


Whatever the changes I can't wait to see them :)

[Shootingstar]

Whatever it's called, I hope no-one would be put off although I do still like having a specific forum for "matures" (in the sense of later starters) - I notice however that people do start off posting in "Matures" and then graduate to the other forums, maybe when they've got that bit more experience and confidence :D

I realise that some people come to think 'matures' means 'O/T adult discussion', rather than 'late startes' as it has been put ;)

I don't mind a section for people who've just started riding at a later age, but(as I said) it could become the center of the community, replacing the cafe area and effectively, chucking me (and anyone else up to around the age of 18) out :(

[Cheko]

If 'The Mature Riders' Section' is to be for those who returned to riding later in life that would exclude me too. I've never given riding up since I started at the age of 10.(except for 6 months - no not for babies)!.