Concrete Trouts (dooyoo-uk.tripod.com)

Member Name: Slim Lee

Product:	dooyoo-uk.tripod.com
Date:	13/02/01 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun and keeps you informed with the latest news on DooYoo

Disadvantages: Where did all that time go?!?!

What is The Opinionated Community?
(OpCom or TOC for short).

Well, it’s a site set up by TheKnight, where a group of people have got together and created a kind of forum for everyone to air their views, chat and generally have fun. It’s not just dedicated to DooYoo, as there are also sections for those who write for Epinions. Ciao and WrittenByMe. Other sections include the Speak Easy where you can talk to other members about anything you like, a competitions section, another section for those who just love a good argument and a chat room.

There is a section for DooYoo users, surprisingly entitled DooYoo Community. You can also get in contact with the DooYoo team through here via the Suggestions and Concerns section. It gives you a good insight to see all the work they are doing to improve the site and cater for our every expanding needs.

The site is moderated / supervised by other members of DooYoo in addition to TheKnight, who include (in no particular order) Jillmurphy, ScotGirl, Andy(ArT)TriggTM, fruitcake and Necropolis. Apologies to any I’ve missed out!


Help & Guidelines
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A short section with useful notes on how the community works, the guidelines for the members to follow, and some hint and tips on how too use the site effectively. IF like me, you are inept at using HTML then check this section out first as there is a very helpful bit in there showing you have to post in HTML.


DooYoo Community
*****************

It’s a message board with “threads” on subjects concerning DooYoo. A “thread” is basically a subject that is posted onto the message board and replied to by the other members, giving a linking subject back to the first posting. There are currently over 4000 postings on this section of the OpCom and it is very active. A typical day will see anywhere between 5 and 50 postings depending on the subjects raised.
Some of the subjects can be on a serious note whilst others can be plain daft. It’s a good mixture though.

One thing that is great about it is the friendly atmosphere. New members are greeted warmly on announcing their presence. There are some helpful threads on recommended opinions and DooYoo users in there


Suggestions & Concerns
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A forum for us to get in contact with the DooYoo team, and to give them suggestions for improving the site and to voice any concerns we have about it. I don’t post much in here as most of my ideas seem to have already been suggested, but it’s good to see some of the ideas other members come up with.

The DooYoo team also reacts positively to them and post replies back on this section to keep the members informed as to the progress of the suggestions.


Speak Easy
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A general section where you can post and talk to other members about any subjects your heart desires that don’t necessarily concern opinion writing. Posting in this section range from the sublime to the ridiculous!

Right place for an arguement
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Not a section I personally use as I have enough chance of doing this outside of the OpCom! Some members like to let off a bit of steam here though

Beenz hunting forum
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Another section devoted to information regarding websites where members can get beenz. Members share tips on how and where to find the best deals.

Web Workshop
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Soemthing i'm totally clueless about. How to set up and maintain a website or homepage. I'll get around to it one day when I pluck up the courage.

Member Profiles
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Some of the OpCom members have posted up their own individual profiles on the site. It's separated out in an A to Z listing.

Chat room
*********


A great place to wind down and meet new people. Be warned though. Some of us can be a little strange at times (depending on the time of day and the amount of alkiwhole consumed … or the lack of it!). You can find DooYoo member in there most evenings from approximately 8pm until about midnight. A great place for a chat and generally to hang out while you’re logged on.

The chat room can be accessed via a link on the OpCom site (at the top labeled Java). I prefer to use the mIRC version that can be helpfully downloaded through the OpCom site (from the software section). I can then log into the chat room separate from the OpCom site. The downside to this is that you can hear the Muzak (Arrrgghhh lift music!) that some members play in the chat room (you know who you are!). Thankfully there is an option to turn it off though. Irritates the hell out of me! Oh and watch out for triplecthegame … he seems to have a fetish about slapping people with fishes … silly boy. Maybe it’s some strange Grimsby pastime I’m unaware of …

Pick an alias and away you go. You can change it at any time (as long as another user hasn’t registered it). Warning No.2: some people can be a little sneaky and hide behind different names so you are never completely sure who they are! Oh yeah, that includes me!

Bring some chocolate in with you (better bring lots as we have a few chocoholics in there!). Bring some beer too! Just try not to chuck the can at my head. I still have bruises from the last time someone did that.


Verdict
******

It took me quite a while to find this place. I initially thought it might be some kind of cliquey, confusing club (like many other forums on the net). At first it can be a little daunting to get involved, as it is with any strange new place, but we won’t bite!

So, go and dabble your toes in the water, post a few replies and get involved. You won’t
regret it!

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