Just want to wish the annual obligatory good New Year Wishes to all board members old & new (where ARE some of the veterans lately, anyways?).

Seriously.. a Happy & Healthy 2009!

With hopes to make a pilgrimage before the Amsterdam city council outlaws all remaining forms of fun,
-ta

here here, I joined the site about 4 months ago before a trip to the dam.
My god it was gold info on these pages.
So happy new year to everyone. and I hope we can all meet, drink and be merry...
cheers

Admiral, I'm not sure if you've seen my recent trip report, but I've become somewhat disenchanted with the whole RLD/FKK thing. I'm wondering if others have gone through the same process. Also, after a certain point, there's only so much to say about weed and sex in AMS. Maybe folks get tired of seeing the same questions and the same answers.

I agree with Neuro. There is only so much you can read about AMS and weed and RLD. Wonder if this whole thing can branch out? Ignatzmice seems like such a "way ahead of the game" person, maybe there can be more to this site?

Jaime,

We're all ears. Do make suggestions for what you'd like to see.

I thought only older people got bored with sex!!!!??? ;-)

Wim is still young at heart!!! LOL!!!

It certainly wasn't meant as a criticism of the site, quite the opposite. I was was just wondering out loud what path you, and all of us, might go down in the days ahead.

You have provided one of the few sites I visit almost daily, so a major THANK YOU! I think my point was.......that the reason I stop by and look around most nights is to enjoy the feel for all things related to Amsterdam, not just the weed, and the women. And please don't think that I don't enjoy hearing about the weed and women.

I am sure whatever other topics spring up will be of interest. Thanks for asking.......Happy New Year. I almost made it back for NYE again, but not to be. I will be there at the end of January and beginning of Feb.

Perhaps a visit to Uncyclopedia's entry on Amsterdam will help you see our favorite city in a new light? http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Amsterdam

A better 2009 to everyone!

Highway 61.....................Thanks, but I don't need, of all things, a Wikipedia, version of Amsterdam. I have been in Amsterdam enough times to not need Wikipedia to give me a tour, but thanks for the thought.

Well Mack the Finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61.

Jaime, the link is to a parody of wikipedia that has a funny entry about AMS. My apologies if it isn't your sense of humor.

no problem....................sorry to you If I sound offended or jaded. BTW HIGHWAY 61 RE-VISITED is one of the great albums (CD) of all time! No problem bro.

So...how to branch out (ie, improve the board) to keep old members coming back for more?

Here is what I think would be my best observation on this. There are 2 kinds of information offered here; info with a long shelf life (why can't I take pictures? what's the best way to exchange dollars for euros?) and info with a short shelf life (who is that new girl at the end of Bethlehemsteeg? anybody want to get together for a drink next weekend?). The long shelf life info gets people here in the first place, but the short shelf life info keeps them coming back for more.

However, with some notable exceptions, long and short shelf life info is delivered in the same way. More attention to the difference while making improvements to the board can make the point that there is something here for both newbies and longtime members.

Some specifics in this regard:

Putting a lot of effort into structuring long shelf life info into something more like a text (or a wiki, etc) actually has a downside. People won't be drawn into conversation by asking questions. And it's obvious that many don't read existing FAQ's anyway. I've often thought that a good middle ground might be a standing thread called "links to popular discussions" or some such. It would just be a series of posts along the lines of "here is a link to a good discussion about taking photos", "here is a link to a good discussion about exchanging money", etc.

One place where shelf life consideration could yield a big improvement is the Device. There is a lot of info in there, but unfortunately much of it is too old to be of practical use. Functionality could be greatly improved simply by adding a "date of most recent report" filter. In other words when doing a search allow the user to specify that he only wants to view reports that have been updated within the last year or whatever.

On a different front:

Although it would break the AMS/NL theme of the board, it might be time to recognize that a significant FKK/DE theme has evolved on its own. Good first steps towards making this explicit would be (1) creating a dedicated discussion area beyond the "Other Cities :: International" category and (2) expanding the Device to include FKKs.