How do you keep up with, read, and reply to discussion threads on CCS?

[Dan Goodwin]

In another thread, the topic came up up about how we keep up with threads on CCS.

The way we follow and read and contribute to discussion threads here is at the absolute core of our experiences as CCS members.

And it's the area where it's most easy to get overwhelmed and confused! (And I include myself in this!)

So I thought it'd be a good idea to share how we each do this, and maybe pick up some tips from each other as to how to do in the way that work best for each of us.

How do you follow and keep up with replies to threads?

Do you have email notifications?

Do you have the email notifications set to send an update each time a reply is made to a thread you're following, or as a daily summary?

(If you didn't know about any of these options, please just say and I can explain them in more detail).

How many of the thread replies do you read in your email inbox, and how many do you actually visit CCS itself to read? 

How do you decide which threads to follow and which (and when) to stop following? 

(Again, if you want to know more about starting and stopping to follow discussion threads, just say, and I'll write it in more detail).

Finally, how often do you visit the main page of CCS to find out what's been happening? Or do you visit CCS almost entirely by clicking through the links in the email notifications?

Looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences (and picking up a few tips myself!) 

Dan

[Dan Goodwin]

Thanks Di, good to hear about your experiences. I recently reduced the size of the Main Page, and the number of things on it, so hopefully it is faster. I'm glad you've found ways around your equipment's limitations, and are able to access CCS as much as you do.

[Dan Goodwin]

I've been experimenting with the way I follow CCS activity the last week or two, and wanted to share my thoughts and experience: 

(LA = the Latest Activity box in the central column on the Main Page of CCS)

I've switched off virtually all email notifications from CCS, except for receiving a message from a group I'm in, a message from CCS (ie a message that I broadcast myself as the network host like the Weekly Creativity Thread broadcast) and when someone comments on my page.

The first two of these I have no way of seeing on CCS itself, so need them set to receive them by email notification. Everything else I can get by visiting the Main Page and looking at the LA.

So, instead of the email notifications, or following any parts of CCS using the RSS feeds, I've simply visited the Main Page, and looked at the LA. I've clicked on the blue More button, until it's opened up all the new posts since I last visited. (The easiest way I find to do this visually is click the more button until I see my face leaving a reply on something - so everything above this is more recent activity that I wouldn't have yet seen, posted since I last posted a reply).

Then I work upwards, reading the replies, and when there's one I want to read more of and/or reply to, I Cmd-click the "Replied" link.

For example, if it says "DJ replied to Mary's discussion...", I click on the word "replied" as that takes me directly to the reply. I Cmd-click (on a PC this would be Control-click (hold the control key and left click your mouse on the link)) so it opens in a new tab in my browser.

I find this much easier as it keeps my place in the LA list. Once I've read/replied as I wanted to in the thread that opened in a new tab, I close that tab and it returns to the previous one open - ie the Main Page of CCS and I can see exactly where I got to in the LA stream. 

I continue up the stream of LA until I'm at the top. If I have a bit more time, I might then refresh the Main Page and see of there have been any new replies since I first opened the page. But as I usually do most of my catching up earlyish in the morning (my time), most CCS users (ie the Americans!) are fast asleep, so there's not many new replies coming through.

I've found this has worked really well. I'm not swamped with emails, and I feel more in control of when I visit CCS, and all the activity is there in one place - the LA stream.

The only additional thing I've done is visit the Sustaining My Creativity (SMC) group page. As this is a private group, the new activity obviously doesn't show in the main LA stream, so I visit the forum in SMC and catch up with the replies there in the threads themselves.

Hope this is helpful to others, I think it's how I'll continue to visit and reply to CCS activity in the coming weeks. 

[Dan Goodwin]

As an add on to this, I have also just turned off virtually all Google+ email notifications, which means, like on CCS, I will catch up with updates by visiting G+ online and looking at the main stream of activity, and the Notifications tab there which shows updates on any posts of mine that people have commented on, or where people have added a further comment to something I've already replied to. 

This will mean that I've eliminated the two main sources of new messages in my inbox by far - CCS and G+.

Now, aside from a few necessary billing updates and so on, my email inbox is reserved almost exclusively for personal, one to one emails. Which will support my recent intention and actions towards engaging more one-to-one with personal coaching clients, readers of my blog, members of CCS, and people I meet and collaborate with. It feels like an important step towards being more streamlined and organised and more present.