Hi Ian
I haven’t yet contributed to a group build so don’t feel qualified to vote. I will post my impressions of the group build set up though. I find there are rather a lot of group builds on here, and that unless I specifically go into the group build folder I don’t know what is running.
This is probably linked to the way I use the site. When viewing the site I mostly utilise the “recent posts” link to see what has been posted since I last visited. This makes me unaware of the group build threads, as unless something new has been posted on the associated chat thread I will not see the “live” GB. Another thing I find is that it is not always obvious what is being built as part of the GB.
Where this ramble is taking me is that for me to be aware of GB progress, I think you need to publicise the GBs a little more on the recent posts tab. If others use the site in the same way, this may help to maximise participation.
Would it perhaps be possible to put a sticky post at the top of the recent post tab saying which GBs are currently live? Also, could there be a “summary” thread where progress on all builds by all participants are posted as they go along. This would allow participants to post updates without committing to a full build log. Lastly, could all build threads related to a GB be identified as such, to show participation?
Obviously this is just my take on the situation as it stands, and has echoes of the old site I posted on, but it worked, because GB take up there was pretty widespread. The downside of that participation level being that not taking part could make you feel a little out of the game. I am also aware that I may have answered a different question to that asked by the poll
Selection of GB subjects is a whole different ball game. Some of the best ones I have participated in are those that pushed me right out of my comfort zone..