OK here's my list, I start with the exitings conferences and then list the proposed new conferences in order of importance. Which of these would potentially interest you? These are the conferences we have now 10 apps 10 art 10 austen 10 austentest 10 austin 10 books 10 community 10 computer 10 cultures 10 deeper 10 dpo 10 dsm 10 environment 10 fitness 10 food 10 internet 10 lovelinks 10 media 10 movies 10 music 10 newtest 10 parent 10 poetry 10 politics 10 porch 10 projects 10 radio 10 restaurants 10 sex 10 sports 10 techbusiness 10 travel 10 tv 10 web 10 windows 10 yapp 10 These are highest on my list to create next 9 business 9 capcity 9 couples 9 crafts 9 culture 9 genx 9 health 9 homeowner 9 hosts 9 interviews 9 jazz 9 languages 9 life 9 newage 9 psychology 9 religion 9 science 9 singles 9 software 9 southwest 9 spirit 9 therapy 9 unix 9 working 9 And so on... 8 usenet 8 wireless 8 writing 8 7 boomers 7 country 7 feedback 7 games 7 golf 7 hacking 7 java 7 philosophy 7 photography 7 scifi 7 space 7 zines 7 6 boating 6 cooking 6 energy 6 filmmaking 6 lists 6 weird 6 5 bastrop 5 beatles 5 disability 5 earth 5 news 5 springkids 5 theater 5 veggie 5 water 5 4 aging 4 apple 4 buddhism 4 cars 4 classifieds 4 comics 4 drugs 4 eff 4 newyork 4 os2 4 outdoors 4 sanfran 4 tibet 4 wildlife

Terry, you already know my feeling about way general topics that internet users can get anywhere. Give em something they can't get anywhere else.

Of the above, which do you feel would fall in that category. Do you, or does anyone, have any suggestions for some specific topics or already formed communities that we could extend an invitation to?

Terry, you list is so inclusive it leaves me almost lost for words. Certainly lost for further ideas.

Just pick *one* that most appeals to you out of the whole list then.

Terry - Why not look for other groups like us? I did a search for "WWWBoard created by Matt Wright" and came up with several groups that might be outgrowing Matt's script. You could contact them by e-mail and suggest that they move their BB over here - it could generate more traffic for both of you! I'm sure that someone with some PR experience (Amy?), could help you word the letter so that they'd know that they would still be the host and could modify the header to their forum, etc - but not have the technical headaches of managing a CGI script. Here's what I've found so far: http://microimg.com/win95board/wwwboard.html http://www.nhn.ou.edu/~howard/cgi-bin/wwwboard.html http://www.wantree.com.au/~eagle1/wc_chat/wc_chat.html http://www.fangz.com/~sysop/wwwboard/wwwboard.html http://rossby.metr.uoknor.edu/~jgreen/msgboard/home.html http://www.nea.org/goodschools/teachwb.html http://www.off-road.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html http://www.orafans.com/ http://ssi.parlorcity.com/rbrown/wwwboard/wwwboard.html http://e-flight.com/e-flight/wwwboard/wwwboard.html http://www.usscreen.com/message/classified/ad.html http://www.vie.com/sniper/suggboard/suggboard.html http://gearhead.com/wwwboard.html http://www.treknet.is/saemund/wwwboard/wwwboard.htm http://profitproducer.com/wwwboard.shtml

Good idea, Kaff. Terry, you could include a testimonial from me. But let me see it first if you ghost it for me.

This is the voice of experience speaking. You can spend all kinds of time creating beautiful conferences for specific purposes that someone thinks will be of interest, and then watch them stand there vacant. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. Several T-shirts, in fact, and even a pair of logo-ized suspenders. It only works the other way around. You have to start with the nucleus of a group of people with a burning interest in communicating about something, and build the conference(s) around them and ther needs. And as their needs and interests expand, expand along with them. Here we have a bunch of literature freaks who have all of a sudden decided that they want to "do" html - and want a place to experiment and practice. So Donna is out there posting Burma Shave signs all over the place directing people to her newly created practice room. And if you had asked her a few months ago - even a few weeks ago - if she would be interested in joining a "learn html" group she would probably not even have given it a passing look. There are many excellent "learn html" sites all over the web - but they are not in the right "place" at the right time or pitched at the right "difficulty level" for this group. You can't start with the places; you have to start with actual people (not theoretical ones) and whatever it is that they "need". And a group such as ours can't "do it" for any other group - whoever ""they are will (as we did) do it for themselves - one way or another. The trick is, as Kaff points out, to find them and interest them in doing it here.

"Burma Shave" God! Joan your showing your age. It is not even advertised on TV anymore. LOL! You know I received a book a month ago for HTML, because I told you so. In the first place I bought a computer to learn how to use it and whatever else that entails. Never did I think that I would find Amy's BB and do nothing else. I have been ready to learn HTML for a while Joan. Anne's page has been a great source of "help" now, to get me to learn more about HTML.

"Burma Shave" God! Joan your showing your age. It is not even advertised on TV anymore. LOL! You know I received a book a month ago for HTML, because I told you so. In the first place I bought a computer to learn how to use it and whatever else that entails. Never did I think that I would find Amy's BB and do nothing else. I have been ready to learn HTML for a while Joan. Anne's page has been a great source of "help" now, to get me to learn more about HTML.

Huh?

Okay I know what I did wrong.

Terry, to be honest, I would only be really interested in any other groups if there were more hours in my day.I have checked out some of your other conferences, and like them, but right now, I cannot spread my big mouth any further(and it's probably better that way.)

Terry - I belong to two mailing lists that might do get excited about a conference. One is for cheerleading (my favorite teen's passion). Possible threads are stunting, try-outs, new cheers, disicpline, chat, university scholorships, coaching, national and regional competitions, TV broadcasts of competitions. Bet you did not know there was so much to talk about on this subject. I get about 10-15 letters a day from that list. the address of the list-serv is cheerleader-l@frank.mtsu.edu. the other is a Pfaff sewing list, one of several sewing lists, usually centered around the computerized embrodery machines. I get about 50 sewing posts a day. Possible topics: Brand and model comparisons, new software, quilting, computer connections, web-sites, fabrics, books & magazines, problem-shooting. the address is pfaffies@listserv.embroideryclubs.com. There is also a list called COMPUSEW or "The Pfabulous Pfaff Pfan Club; an Internet Interactive Guild." <COMPUSEW@kbs.net and embroidery@listserv.embroideryclubs.com, a list of computerized emb. machine users.

Great idea, Katy. In fact, Terry, with the capability to link to mailing lists, you should approach some of them, especially those who talk about graphics and the web. I wonder if the Spiderwoman list ever got back together. I can check that one out.

Possible sponsors to cheerleading conference: The uniform companies, the magazine (Am. cheerleader), the camps offered by UCA (Universal C Association) and NCA (National C. A.). Possible sponsors for sewing conference: the machine companies, national fabric chains, support software companies, magazines. the computer literacy of the sewing group especially will amaze you.

] the computer literacy of the sewing group especially will amaze you. __ But why? There are sew many parallels.

One of the lucky seamstresses with a brand new $4500 machine told us her husband was beginning to crumble because she was more interested in talking about her machine with her Internet friends than actually using it.

".. sew many parallels .." One of the lucky seamstresses with a brand new $4500 machine told us her husband was beginning to grumble because she was more interested in talking about her machine with her Internet friends than actually using it.

".. sew many parallels .." ;-) One of the lucky seamstresses with a brand new $4500 machine told us her husband was beginning to grumble because she was more interested in talking about her machine with her Internet friends than actually using it.

Do we have any volunteers for host(ess) of the new sewing or other conferences? I'd like to have this lined up before I start the conference. And, though I sewed my pockets last night, if you saw the job I did you would laugh.

Terry - I cannot volunteer for the sewing list at this time - but I can probably find you a very active, energetic volunteer from the list. I will talk to my daughter and her coach to see if there is a possiblilty of someone here doing this part for you. give me a day or two.