Feedback, comments, thoughts wanted please.

[Ian Adams]

Because my trip reports are crap and wouldn't compare in any way to some of the interesting stories I've read so far!
Simples

Pretty much the same for me too - I also think this is relevant ..... there's people who will always write something and people who never will.

and this ....

I like the competitions - a range of different styles of competitions will help - trip reports, photos, caption competitions, random winners, voting etc.

.... that (I think) would pique interest.



Ian

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Actually to write a very good trip report is exceedingly difficult. That in itself might put folk off. Perhaps if something truly exciting occurred ( we moved a rock and blundered into three miles of virgin passage ) a really great report could emerge. Otherwise it can all sound a bit  -- well pedestrian. Imagine doing a write up of normal trip to Swildon's sump one. Regarding that I might be asleep by the time the team bottomed the twenty. So the writer has to have an " angle ". ( I did sump one and back naked ). Umm. You could give it a try though I hear it has been done. The trip I mean though I doubt any report ensued. Loads of trip stuff in club magazines. Perhaps that's where they belong as at least there is a bond of sorts between writer and reader whilst here that is less so. I do get the forum's " angle " they want more input and where do they score above club magazines ? Yes more images. As many as you like and surely no decent trip report should be without them. ( As ever this place is oh so short of images ). Ahh here the old reticence returns. My photos are crap and I cant write for toffee. ( maybe the view of many here ). The good news is that for a trip report you dont need competition category images. Most any old thing will do as its the content and its relationship to the text that counts.
After seemingly to crawl down a negative passage I am stomping off along a subterranean highway. Dont worry what folk think. It aint the Booker prize. Lets have some entries but try to make it different in someway. Writing is like public talking. Best advice is to just be yourself. If you want to say " Me and my mate Bert went down Swildons " - fine. As long as it's a story and interesting who cares? A few steamy photos of Bert falling into The Double Pots and you are there.
There it is then. I managed two paragraphs of old waffle on a non subject sort of subject ( a more succinct description currently escapes me ). A trip report ought to be a bit easier. Ahh that's assuming you actually went caving at some point. Oh. Is that the rub? Perhaps the majority here dont do any caving at all. Where's me armchair ?

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Arghh.

Now here is a problem-

" Your session timed out. Please try to resubmit your post "

Not helpful dear forum if I am trying to construct a literary masterpiece. :-\

 

[cap n chris]

Aha, but TOR is writing from the perspective of being around a while and being here longer; trip reports and fresh threads are the first thing that greet newcomers to the forum and I suspect they are unlikely to trawl through the thousand previous threads about Swildon's Hole; a fresh thread with a fresh-viewpoint from the eyes of a newbie to caving is EXACTLY the sort of thing that similarly fresh people will want to read, voraciously devouring every word and relevant adjective.

For those of the UKC subscription base who herald from an earlier geological epoch "yet another Swildon's trip report" is precisely that, I grant you. However, there are many others out there for whom this would be novel and hence interesting. It's an active cave, constantly morphing; bits move, routes get added, things 'happen'...

 

[cap n chris]

Write your literary masterpiecii on a wordprocessor and then cut n paste it to here.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

What is a word processer Oh erudite one ?

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Surely the trip reports are not aimed at Newbies to read . I am sure much of what I could write about would put them off caving for ever.  Like wise " A Days Digging in Grebe ".
Though from what I see the good Cap'n has a remarkable agility when it comes to words. A good trip report should be found interesting by everyone. Oh I wasnt knocking Swildon's. I used it as an example that everyone would know. If only I could heave myself out of my armchair I might conjure up something truly fascinating ( not frightening ). Oh dear my best days are long passed.

 

[cap n chris]

What is a word processer Oh erudite one ?

It's a bit like the parchment and quill you are already familiar with, but has more moving parts, mostly little buttons you can press to create sentences on a brightly illuminated pane of glass.

There are rules, though, and you must be careful to observe them, namely if you use the BIG LETTERS it means you are having a funny turn and need to rest with a thimble of horlicks.

 

[Roger W]

What is a word processer Oh erudite one ?

'Tis a computer program that allows you to type stuff as on a typewriter but without having to keep putting pieces of paper in.

Names like WordStar and AmiPro might be familiar to you.

Unfortunately, today the system of choice (?) seems to be a piece of Micros**t's' evil bloatware...   

However, using such systems you can type as slowly as you like for as long as you like (or as long as your better half will let you), then - as the good Cap'n says, you can electronically copy your masterpiece and paste it into your forum entry.

It must be easier to do than calibrating a Disto or mastering Therion.

 

[cap n chris]

TOR might benefit from this online tutorial....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Sounds far too complicated Roger. If its something inherent in the forum why is it there ? I have taken ages to write up stuff on other forums and not come across it before and you do get notified if others have posted in the meantime.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

TOR might benefit from this online tutorial....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

Sadly the Old Ruminator suffers from the C.B.A. Syndrome. I just want to type it here and post it.

 

[cap n chris]

Photograph your diary page(s) and post them as images instead?

 

[The Old Ruminator]

I had a thought. I could type it as an email or draught then copy and paste it here. :

That would work wouldn't it ?

 

[cap n chris]

Yep

 

[JasonC]

I'm wondering why so few folks have entered the two current competitions: 

Are the prizes not of interest to cavers? Do folks own enough rope and warm jackets? 

To echo others: it's not that we're ungrateful - keep the competitions, they're much appreciated, and the prizes are certainly worth having.

For myself, I do write trip reports for my club journal (well, someone has to...) but I guess I feel to enter a competition (one with a prize, dammit!) it has to be about something pretty special.  Like doing a 12-hour epic or nearly dying of hypothermia.  You feel that if a report of a standard trip where nothing untoward happened was offered, everyone would think 'yeah, so what, he expects to win with that ?'

 

[Pegasus]

Thank you to everyone for their feedback and PM's 

Competitions will definitely be staying and I'll be looking at running a caption competition soon.

A reminder, winners are chosen at random for the two current competitions, so provided a bit of effort is made you have as a good a chance to win as someone who has written an epic tale and remember what might seem mundane to you is still good to read over a brew 

There have been some excellent tales posted and to be honest I'm glad I don't have to choose the 'best' as winner - am happy for random.org to do it for me.

As ever, thanks to all for their support of UKC 

 

[Pegasus]

I've entered most of the competitions and will do for the jacket one - although I do own more than my fair share of warm jackets! Might be worth noting that the Rab jacket is not a down jacket and hence probably more useful to cavers.

There's probably a direct link between the effort required and the number of entries. Writing up a trip report type entry takes effort and as anyone who has produced a club newsletter will tell you there's people who will always write something and people who never will.

I like the competitions - a range of different styles of competitions will help - trip reports, photos, caption competitions, random winners, voting etc. 

I hardly ever visit the home page (unread posts is my landing page) so regular bouncing of the competition threads might help.

Hope this helps
Steve

Hi Steve, thanks for your feedback - a range of different styles of competitions is a great idea and soon as I saw Lucy's photo I thought it would be ideal for a caption competition.  It's on the home page but also here: http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=19512.0

Pegasus 

 

[badger]

I very sadly lost the use of my laptop for more than 2 weeks from my post re trip write up, however the next time we have a trip write up comp I will write it up and send it in, although depends when it is, as this particular write up might have next year might have a big up date coming.

 

[Pegasus]

Thanks, Badger.

Looks like a caption competition was a fab idea - how the heck are we going to choose a winner!??