Ooooh! Nice threads! (dooyoo-uk.tripod.com)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	dooyoo-uk.tripod.com
Date:	02/08/01 (103 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Commmmunity spirit, More information, Chat room!

Disadvantages: can get "heated"

Ho hum, this is a good idea! I think I’ll write an opinion on a topic that a lot of the more famous, and established writers have already written and posted months and months ago! This should be a doddle! ;)

Well, where do I start? The Opinionated Community (TOC or OpCom for short) is a message board that deals primarily with dooyoo (in an unofficial capacity), but also has other topics of discussion like Beenz, Ciao (and other opinion writing sites), competitions as well as companion threads to plain “chat” threads for having a laugh, writing pieces of fiction or beginners web design. It’s an open community – you don’t need to be invited, or know any secret handshakes, so everyone is welcome!

I first became aware of the OpCom when a Dooyoo member posted a comment on one of my opinions giving me the URL (web address) of The Opinionated Community. This was a while ago, around the start of February, and so I trundled along to see what the score was. I signed up a few days later, and have been a member ever since.

There are around 10 or 11 forums, some exclusive to OpCom, and some shared with other communities. You can post in any of them once you register (you don’t have to use your Dooyoo name) and set up your profile. This means you can end up making friends, not just with other Dooyoo users and OpCom members, but people from across the Atlantic as well!

There are two versions of the OpCom – one is done in a pleasant yellow and brown colour scheme, and this is the one I’ll link to below. The other is a darker black and blue colour scheme. Why two sites? Well, one has more, ahem, adult language on some forums that are not available on the kiddie friendly (or at least “friendlier”) brown and yellow site. If you really want to see the “dark side”, I’m sure an OpCom member can point you in the right direction. Apart from having an “adult langua
ge” forum, and a list of profiles, the two OpComs are the same with the same posts being displayed on both.

There are three main categories in the OpCom – “Dooyoo Community”, “Suggestions and Concerns” and “Speak Easy”. At least, these are the ones I would frequent most often. If your tastes lie elsewhere, then obviously you would spend more time reading and posting on these topics. There’s also an associated chat room that’s accessible via the web, or by an IRC client (pIRCh or mIRC, for example).

Posts on the OpCom can be done either in plain text, or as HTML. Don’t worry if you don’t know any HTML – it’s used on rare occasions, and if you find yourself wanting to post in a “fancy” format, it’s only a matter of asking the members (i.e. posting a query!). If you feel overwhelmed by what’s going on, feel free to “lurk” (i.e. read the posts, but don’t post yourself) until you feel ready to jump in. At the moment, there are (I think) around 200 members, so it’s quite small and cosy at the minute. Don’t let that put you off though! For those of you who may be interested, there are archives of posts on all forums going back many months (probably right back to the very start, although I haven’t gone back that far!) so you can see what we’ve been talking/arguing about for the last few months.

· The Rules and other helpful bits.
There are rules to be there to be followed, which is only to be expected, but these (IMHO) are completely fair, and not in the least restricting. The two main ones that spring to mind are “No naming and shaming” and “No plugging”. What they actually mean in English is that you’re not allowed to name other people for whatever reason, and you’re not allowed to advertise your opinions (“Everyone, read my op on the OpCom now!”)
. There are also other handy hints about improving your use of OpCom by providing some basic information to get you started. But, follow these two main rules, and you shouldn’t stray too far wrong.

· Dooyoo Community.
The discussions that take place in this thread can be quite varied (and sometimes, quite heated!). As you could probably guess from the title of the forum, this is where you come to discuss most things dooyoo. The topics that are frequently discussed in here are things like members (“A Good read” is an ongoing thread), outstanding opinions that we’ve read on the site, trends we’ve noticed around the site and this is where new members of OpCom pop in to say “hi”. If you’re looking for a spot of advice on almost any matter Dooyoo related, then this is the place to come. The friendly members will do their utmost to help you with any query, and you will be welcomed with open arms.

· Suggestions and Concerns.
It’s self explanatory, really, isn’t it? If you have a problem with an aspect of Dooyoo that you think warrants the attention of the dooyoo staff, you can post it here. The Dooyoo staff sometimes poke their heads around the door to see what’s going on, but only when they’re not incredibly busy! You can generally get feedback from both staff and other members alike by posting in here. This is also a good place to post any suggestions you have for the improvement of Dooyoo. Again, you can get feedback from both members and staff, leaving you with a nice, warm, fluffy feeling inside!

· Speak Easy.
This is where the more social side of the community resides. Practically anything (topic-wise) can be posted here – jokes, funny web sites, and strange stories etc. have all made an appearance at one time or another. Speak Easy is also the place where OpCom members arrange gatherings. Recent gatherings have been in Nottingham and Tavistock and t
here are more planned!

· The Chat Room.
Available as a Java link from the OpCom, or from your favourite chat client (pIRCH, mIRC or Microsoft Chat to name the obvious ones – personally I use mIRC), from 8pm until late most days is where you’ll find the OpCom and Dooyoo members. In case you’re wondering why we would want to talk about Dooyoo all night long, well, we don’t. In fact, Dooyoo is probably one of the least talked about topics. The recent trend has been towards both Banzai! (bonkers Channel 4 “betting” programme) and eBay (apparently some people are finding it addictive, but it’s evil really!). If you do pop into the chat room, don’t be shy, speak up! We want to hear from you. Ignore the mad ramblings that you’ll undoubtedly witness, you’ll be talking like that yourself if you hang around!

Recently, Dooyoo staff members have been bouncing some ideas around in the OpCom forums. This is what makes the community (and Dooyoo itself) so great. It’s nice to know that your point of view is welcomed, so if you feel that you have something to contribute, or if you simply feel like extending your dooyoo family, drop in and show your face! Just don’t be put off by the madness of it!

For the sake of fairness, I feel I must point out to you, the reader, that the OpCom is not the only dooyoo community on the web. I believe there is one on Yahoo! (I don’t know the URL – sorry!) although I am not aware of any others. The URL for the OpCom is http://dooyoo.community.everyone.net/ and the settings for the chat room (if you’re using mIRC or pIRCh) is:
Server: chat.planetz.net
Port: 7000

if you need to add these manually.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

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