Regional Forums

[rebeccajo 14]

i would think if it has anything to do with a specific location's nuances, i would leave it in the Reg Forum, for example - dealing with the local medical exam providers, or a consulate's specific requirements. Posts such as "when can I get my EAD" or "how can I get my <insert state> driver's license" should be moved.

yes. If it is specific to that country or region leave it there. I am not sure if this is a perfect solution.

I tend to believe the Regional Forums are somewhat 'clique-ish'. Again, Capn will correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt the traffic in those forums is very heavy. It's my opinion that the general population of VJ is well served if immigration questions are kept to the immigration forums, rather than the General Discussion forums.

I agree. General Questions should be in the respective forum. Things that are very specific to there and general regional chat can be in the regional area.

LOL.

Define 'specific' and 'very specific'.

If more people read the Immigration Forums why wouldn't you want regional information in there?

*shrugs*

Seems to me like the Regional Forums are just becoming segregated communities people don't want to venture out of. I think that's a shame.

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

Well, in some cases like you said people may (while waiting on the immigration process) want to hang out with people from the same region or country. In that regards the regional forums were made just for that. So having a little space for people to hang out with people of like minds can be a good thing for that.

[Mags 112]

Anyway, the point of all that rambling was that I think in a lot of cases it might be better to leave some interview (etc) related questions in the regional forums if that's where they're posted, because it can be very, very easy for people to give completely wrong advice with only the best of intentions. Not that it would have mattered in that case, but in the reverse situation, if someone who'd gone through London went around telling everyone that, say, there's no need to worry too much about taking evidence of an ongoing relationship because they're not even going to bother looking at it (as was my experience, and I'm sure a lot of other people's, at interview), it would be much more of a problem. Not to mention that, especially if you're a bit new round here, it can feel pretty awkward to keep piping up with 'thanks, but are you SURE about that??' until someone with consulate-specific experience/information comes along. Even stuff like that 'does the beneficiary need to bring a copy of the petitioner's previous marriage certificate to the interview?' question that keeps cropping up on the UK forum - I haven't seen anyone say they've actually been asked for it, but the occasional 'they definitely want it in Montreal!' response can confuse things a bit and lead to a bit of panic. I think with questions like that, where you really, really want to know what happens at YOUR consulate, and your consulate only, posting in the general consulate discussion forum is only going to lead to confusion and well-meaning misinformation, and threads disappearing off the front page before they've been seen by someone who might actually be able to give a semi-reliable answer.

That's kind of how I look at things really. I'd rather have experience from someone who has been through that actual embassy, rather than 15 other members answering who have been through various other embassies with different protocols.

Just my $0.02c for what it's worth!

[LaL 418]

yup and I am right there with you Mags, however i do see the other side as well. I can see posting about needing the affidavit of support in some consulates where others do not require it. Posts with the best intentions by members going through a different consulate could be misleading, and require many more posts to work it out.

Right now there are nuance threads in MENA such as *red flags* and *consular returns*. Those are absolutely necessary for people navigating through MENA. Sure its helpful for others as well who may run into challenges, but the sad fact is, these consulates are well documented in making these cases difficult. I would be against things such as these being moved.

Unfortunately I do think many questions get re-asked due to member's unaware of the regional discussions. You're right though Becs, many *regionals* do not venture out of those areas.

[Mags 112]

Right now there are nuance threads in MENA such as *red flags* and *consular returns*. Those are absolutely necessary for people navigating through MENA. Sure its helpful for others as well who may run into challenges, but the sad fact is, these consulates are well documented in making these cases difficult. I would be against things such as these being moved.

Unfortunately I do think many questions get re-asked due to member's unaware of the regional discussions. You're right though Becs, many *regionals* do not venture out of those areas.

Yup, valid points too. It's a really grey area isn't it?

[rebeccajo 14]

Yup, valid points too. It's a really grey area isn't it?

I think so.

To me, points like how much medicals cost at a consulate; how to fill out forms for a consulate; and simpler rhetorical questions like that belong in the Consulate Forum. Not the Regional. Purely because they ARE more simplistic and because more readers from that Consulate might find the answer there, rather than the Regional Forum.

Specific issues (such as what Laura refers to - and for example of London, the ability at that consulate to 'self sponsor') belong, IMO, in the Regional Forum.

Why do I feel that way? I guess because I recall this board before the Regional Forums were created. I believe the friendships made and the knowledge base was broader when when we didn't have a 'neighborhood' to go to.

It did create issues of having to sift through and find members from your consulate (if you needed that info). And members did post advice in threads they 'shouldn't have' - but they still do that now! LOL

I know none of us want to split hairs with this issue, but it seems confusing. Unless we just all agree to have slightly different points of view, move what we feel should be moved, and trust each others judgments. I personally am unclear on how Captain feels about this issue (sorry Captain but some of what you say seems contradictory) and there indeed may be no real place to draw a line and change grey to black and white.

And frankly, since 'thread moving' leaves a link behind, I don't really see a big problem.

Edited April 3, 2007 by rebeccajo

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

I have a custom feature that I may roll out in the next few weeks that may help with this. The feature is pretty unique and will make finding and communicating with people from your region even easier :-). Expect a beta release of this soon!

And you guys are right, this is a gray area with no clear solution except that when there is an obviously misplaced or general thread that can be moved.

[Andy 2]

My own view is that the Regional areas were created for non-immigration issues - things like travel, tourism, culture, a place for people from each area to have general discussions. Immigration issues are best not served there, because while it may be true that there needs to be a place for exchange of details about specific consular processing, experiences etc, having them take place in the Regional areas means that many people don't find them. Since such things are of crucial importance to everyone going through the system, and since we want to encourage users to read for themselves whenever possible, consulate related immigration matters really should be in the defined Embassy/Consulate topic area in the immigration part of the site, where regional sub-topic areas could be replicated for specific consulate discussions perhaps.

This would allow the general regional area to return to it's intended purpose, and help keep VJ more focussed and organized.

[TracyTN 237]

I agree that the regional forums were 'created' for the purpose Andy stated, but reality is that is not solely how they're being used now.

And as I stated before - asking a London specific question which is subsequently answered wrongly by Montreal or Phils filers is incredibly frustrating not to mention potentially misleading. What if you posted the question, got an answer that sounded acceptable only you failed to realize the poster was going through Montreal - you then left and followed their instructions, didn't come back and check your thread until after the fact. Could cause you some issues that otherwise would not have happened if your question had been answered by another London filer.

[Andy 2]

I agree that the regional forums were 'created' for the purpose Andy stated, but reality is that is not solely how they're being used now.

And as I stated before - asking a London specific question which is subsequently answered wrongly by Montreal or Phils filers is incredibly frustrating not to mention potentially misleading. What if you posted the question, got an answer that sounded acceptable only you failed to realize the poster was going through Montreal - you then left and followed their instructions, didn't come back and check your thread until after the fact. Could cause you some issues that otherwise would not have happened if your question had been answered by another London filer.

The fact the Regional areas have become used for things different than originally anticipated tends to show that we didn't structure them correctly. It's certainly true that to have a London question answered with potentially inaccurate information from another consulate is frustrating (and dangerous), but there's nothing preventing that in the regional discussions, within which most countries (unlike the UK) don't have a specific area of their own.

What I would propose is to create the same (or rather similar) regional sub-topics in the Embassy/Consulate area as exist in the Regional topic at present, so that immigration questions relating to regions, countries and consulate procedures and processing specifics can be answered in the context of the immigration-specific area of the site and thus be visible to everyone, leaving the current regional topic areas for the more 'off topic' purpose for which they were intended. It is not as if creating new sub-topic areas is going to alter the amount of posting traffic, just concentrate the content in the places it needs to be, and help develop a more consistent structure for the site.

I think that latter point is somewhat salient, given the sheer volume of threads being moved on an almost daily basis. If nothing else, it shows we haven't got the structure right just yet, and that people aren't necessarily using the right resources when they visit here. After all, if we were to want to pin guides etc that relate to consular processing, we would typically not do so in the Regional areas but in the Embassy/Consulate areas instead. If we are comfortable with posters posting immigration-related content about consulates elsewhere, then we have to accept that they likely aren't going to see the pinned information, and neither may a lot of others.

[rebeccajo 14]

I agree that the regional forums were 'created' for the purpose Andy stated, but reality is that is not solely how they're being used now.

And as I stated before - asking a London specific question which is subsequently answered wrongly by Montreal or Phils filers is incredibly frustrating not to mention potentially misleading. What if you posted the question, got an answer that sounded acceptable only you failed to realize the poster was going through Montreal - you then left and followed their instructions, didn't come back and check your thread until after the fact. Could cause you some issues that otherwise would not have happened if your question had been answered by another London filer.

Tracy, you and I agree on most things, but on this point I'd like to say....

Whatever happened to accountability for one's own case?

[TracyTN 237]

I agree with you - as you know, I'd never ask a question and take anyone's answer at face value. I'm going to research it as much as I can myself, THEN ask questions and weigh the responses as necessary.

My point was more to the type that we are familiar with around here - who want to be spoonfed everything, which unfortunately is starting to become a 'norm' of sorts.

[rebeccajo 14]

I agree with you - as you know, I'd never ask a question and take anyone's answer at face value. I'm going to research it as much as I can myself, THEN ask questions and weigh the responses as necessary.

My point was more to the type that we are familiar with around here - who want to be spoonfed everything, which unfortunately is starting to become a 'norm' of sorts.

We can't stop some folks from having a microwave mentality, unfortunately.

We can try and help the rest by having the discussions where it best serves the majority.

[TracyTN 237]

I understand that, too. But not just the spoonfed folks, but someone who generally does not do that but posts there for a quick answer (as they are about to send out a form or whatnot) and gets wrong information.

Besides that, I guess I don't see the problem with leaving a thread where it was originally posted (if posted in a regional forum), particulary if it is very consulate specific or may help another poster. (Yes it leaves a link to the old thread, but those fall off the main page quite quickly in the original forum.) Unless its just blatently in the wrong place.

Edited April 4, 2007 by TracyTN

[meauxna 15]

What other ways can we use to encourage people to post in the 'right' place to start with?