I'm still here! Well, still working 200% time for Breakthrough Listen. Yes I know long time no see. I've been quite busy, and less involved with the day-to-day operations of SETI@home... but I miss writing technical news updates. And clearly we (as in all the projects of the Berkeley SETI Research Center) could always use more engagement. So I want to get back into that habit.

However, I would like a different forum than these message boards. I'll be writing mostly of Breakthrough Listen stuff, so this may not be the most appropriate place. Also non-SETI@home participants would be unable to post responses.

Any thoughts on preferred communication methods in this day and age? It's hard because people have their favorites (blogs, facebook, twitter, reddit, instagram, tumblr, ello, mastodon, vero, etc.).

Basically I'm looking for places I can post stuff where anybody can view, anybody can respond in kind and ask questions (not that I'll have much time to answer but I'll try since I'll be likely asking questions too), but I won't have to moderate or spam filter or what-have-you. I know there's a lot of hostility towards facebook and the like, but it *works* (at least for now). There are general Berkeley SETI Research Channels already, but I don't want to overwhelm them with my frequent informal nerdish ramblings.

Now that I'm writing all this maybe I should just start a Breakthrough Listen forum here on the SETI@home page, echoing whatever I write elsewhere. Still, I'm curious about what people think about this sort of thing these days.

In the meantime, if you want - I encourage you to sign up for the general Berkeley SETI Research Center social media channels:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

Thank you all -

- Matt

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-- BOINC/SETI@home network/web/science/development person
-- "Any idiot can have a good idea. What is hard is to do it." - Jeanne-Claude

/me pokes Matt to see if he's real and not an illusion. The other 7 who read this thread seemed to think so. :)
Welcome back, Lazarus.

On the BTL forum, I'd rather that be here or in a general place and not Facebook, as I'd rather stay far far away from their reaches. When a potential employer will ask me why he can't find me on Facebook, and what I have to hide, I think I'll be the one walking out. :)
You'll do want some form of moderation to keep the lunatics at bay.

:)

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I don't know of any other outside the 4 you mentioned sorry.. Unless a dedicated website was made!
Facebook does have the ability to create closed groups not sure of the rest..

Steve

Facebook already has decidiated Seti@home page where Matt is a one of moderators so if he wanted, he could post there as well. But not everyone likes FB so....

Now that I'm writing all this maybe I should just start a Breakthrough Listen forum here on the SETI@home page, echoing whatever I write elsewhere. Still, I'm curious about what people think about this sort of thing these days.

Thank you all -

- Matt

That sounds great. It'll keep the interest going & maybe there will be times that a question could crossover to here.

I dislike intracting with the social network platforms in general.

I'm happy enough to search youtube.

The level of personal engagement with providing feedback and the like will be completely different to here.

I think it would be best to make a subforum here with BTL, since mostly everyone who is interested already has an account and there is moderation here, with rules as well.

I disliked FB enough that I only use it about once every few years

Matt,

Every independent place you mention for interaction requires me to accept the terms of spam and monetization of my personal information. Sorry, but that precludes me. Maybe I'm just different that way.

A forum here, fine. I know the issue is being able to post with a RAC of Zero and the huge amount of spam that would generate. Talk to Jord as he seems able to handle it at the BOINC developers forum. While BTL doesn't belong there, perhaps it could be put there?

Hello Matt,
I also not find a good idea to post a forum on all other media.
Well advertising for SETI and BOINC.
I fully agree with all others remarks here below who have doubt and very good reasons about doubts.
Keeping it here, as subforum seem me the best. And by the way, it stay between Seti users.
No external unwanted person..

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Hello Matt,
I also find that Facebook and alike would not be a good place for your new forum, I would prefer if you keep it here.

Talk to Jord as he seems able to handle it at the BOINC developers forum.

3 years of developing the spammers script. It still needs regular updates because the others don't sit still either. And it's not foolproof, because by using StopForumSpam, it can happen that people's email address/IP address get registered as that of someone malicious, while all they did was using a VPN that was used by a spammer prior to them using it. But luckily those are just a hand full.

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Yes, Please post discussions like this to Facebook! This forum is too hidden and obscure. I would love these discussions to be in a modern public space like Facebook. It could only help to increase public support for your efforts.

@ Matt:
Maybe a dedicated thread here in Tech news? That would make it harder for the SPAMmers, yet keep it here on SETI. And don't make it so that the 0 RAC people can post - why would they need to?

@ Darrin Butts:
As others have pointed out, FB (and the others mentioned) is/are commercial, data-gathering organization(s) that many people avoid, just because it/they is/are so popular with others... I avoid FB when I can, and don't belong to some of the others at all! ( 0 Twitter, 0 Instagram, comments only on YouTube...)

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.

Hello, from Albany, CA!...

Why not just expand the SETI@home Staff Blog forum here to include GBT as it's rarely used. ;-)

Cheers.

Why not just expand the SETI@home Staff Blog forum here to include GBT as it's rarely used. ;-)

Cheers.

That gets my vote.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Facebook can be of use, but it can be very hard to find and then follow a thread.
Keeping it here has the advantage that it is very easy to both find and follow current and historic threads.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Of course there is the old-school way.

Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 5371 in Berkeley California, and in 4 weeks time get a personal letter back from Matt.

:-)

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Yes, Please post discussions like this to Facebook!

Because for many reasons, not everyone uses Facebook.
The current Cambridge Analytica goings on is probably the latest and best argument for not using them at all, in any shape or form.

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Grant
Darwin NT