I want to start this month’s letter with a thank you to our readers who have made the Pallet Enterprise what it is, "the magazine" for the pallet industry. I particularly want to thank those of you who have made our Web site (www.palletenterprise.com) the cyber water cooler for our industry as well.
We want what you want, the best communication system that we can provide the pallet and container industry. Many of you know that we recently changed the software that manages the Pallet Board, our online discussion forum. Even casual board visitors are probably aware that our decision has met some controversy. Some have questioned why we changed software and why we selected the one we installed.
First, there is no support for our old software; support has not been available for a long time. Not upgrading software would almost certainly bring serious problems. Our Webmaster assures us that it is not a matter of if, but when. So, we did the right thing and checked out the board software systems on the market. A few readers suggested software packages. We looked at all of them and selected the one that had the most desirable features.
A few posters suggested that we did not listen and picked the software without considering their suggestions. Nothing could be further from reality. We considered quite a few software options and chose the one we believed would function the best. We listened, but ultimately we had to choose.
Two things seem to stick out as reasons some board readers are concerned — the appearance of the postings and the confidentiality of postings.
The tree style used in our old site can be selected on the new Pallet Board as well. It isn’t the default, so you have to choose it on your computer. We encourage anybody who finds the new format less desirable to give it a chance.
The new system provides for even greater networking capabilities as it allows registered users to track discussions, post pictures, send private messages to other users and develop a personal contact list. Registered users can edit their own posts with the new board.
Once users get the hang of the new system, the following activities are easier on the new system: printing, viewing entire discussion threads on one page, locating the most recent posts, searching for specific keywords, preserving your identity/handle, keeping out spammers and tracking the threads you want to read.
Any concern over anonymity is unfounded and based on fear. A user can register and still maintain anonymity. To register and maintain your anonymity simply enter a screen name of your choice, use an email address that doesn’t disclose your identity, then edit "My Profile" and select the option to hide your profile.
Here are a few of the really nice features of the new system:
• The "Today’s Posts" and "Posts Since Last Visit" buttons are located on the main entry page. Once you login, clicking on these buttons helps you easily find all the new posts or those you haven’t read without having to read the entire board.
• Another time saving new feature is the tracking function. Users can track specific discussions or forums for updates. This will notify the user via e-mail of new posts without them having to actually visit the Pallet Board.
• Registered users can block posts from other board users. Does one boarder always seem to annoy you? Now, you can block his posts.
One way that we have listened to user feedback is by adding the Pallet Orphans section. This is a special forum dedicated to those looking to find a good home for odd-sized pallets. These are not the kind of pallets that you would spend money to advertise. But pallet companies and users would like to get rid of them. No 48×40 talk is allowed in this forum. But if you have some odd-sized pallets lying around and would like to sell or give them away, this is the place to post your announcement. We added this section based on user feedback. We are listening. Please feel free to add your two cents by e-mailing me at edb@ireporting.com or call 804/550-0323. The new Pallet Board can be found at www.palletboard.com.
