Discussions

From day one more than ten years ago the forums section of eBrandon has served the purpose of being a local medium that anyone can read and anyone can use to share local thoughts both long and short in an easy to read and participate discussion format. As the internet has grown, eBrandon and its many sections including the forums have grown along with it to the point where many of the bigger discussion threads see more than 10,000 views from folks that rely on the site to be in tune with what’s on the minds of Western Manitobans.  
 
As the internet has evolved so have the many sources of information available. That creates an opportunity for the forums as a local place with so many eyes on them to further connect the dots on everything and allow folks to be as informed as possible when browsing or participating in a discussion on eBrandon. That’s why recently I’ve been experimenting with the ability to include an easy, user-friendly way to automatically support forum posts with information you may have found on some of the other social-ish websites including:  
 
- Instagram  
- Facebook  
- Pinterest  
- Twitter  
- Youtube  
 
Perhaps also you were reading a posting on a local media source’s Instagram account that should be discussed in a new eBrandon thread or you came across a posting on a business’ Facebook page that answers a question asked in an eBrandon thread. All are now super-easy to do without having to deal with nerdy HTML “embed” codes. All you have to do is place the regular link to the info from one of the above five sites in your eBrandon post and the content will automatically be included with the rest of the text in your message (see examples in posts below within this thread).  
 
A good example was this recent discussion about a storm system in the city in which postings put out by the Brandon Police on Twitter were included in the thread amongst the discussion in order to help create the best possible picture of the developing story for folks that are here to discuss and read about it.  
 
Just a few ground rules and notes….  
 
- Please don’t use this to advertise/promote. The purpose of including this option is giving an easy way for discussions on eBrandon to contain as much information as possible, not to increase one’s follower count.  
 
- On sites where a content owner has made their content private, you won’t be able to embed that private content in threads on here. This will be particularly relevant with Facebook where a lot of people have their privacy settings set to only allow specific people to see what they post. There’s no need to worry that your private Facebook posts will start showing up… they won’t allow the content to be embedded if your settings are set to make your info private. I imagine most use-cases for Facebook embedding on eBrandon will be business pages, government/politicians, media, local organizations and the like…. all of which should naturally have their content public. Might also run into this with some personal Twitter accounts that are “locked down” from public view.  
 
- Including embedded content that you yourself have just posted on another site should be seen as a last resort and not as a substitute for posting that information itself on here like you normally would have. For example try not to start a thread that’s based around a post you have also made on Instagram saying “I put this on Instagram, check it out.” If it’s a picture or text-based post it’s best that you post it as a regular eBrandon post without the embed. If you have a good reason to embed your own post from elsewhere please include supporting comments in your eBrandon post to help set the stage for why it is relevant to the discussion that’s taking place on here. For this reason I expect that most usage of this feature will be including postings that you’ve found from sources other than yourself when for example a newsworthy event is taking place (government, politicians, media, businesses or others that have shared info that would be relevant to a discussion taking place that is not yet in the discussion from someone else posting).  
 

That doesnt mean that regular website links didnt get a little attention themselves. As part of this update a couple of glitches relating to linking to regular websites have been fixed. 

That’s pretty much it. If you’re reading something on one of these five sites that belongs in a discussion, just copy and paste the link into your post here and the rest will be taken care of. If you notice any quirks please drop me a note.. I’ve really only tested this myself and so it’s possible we’ll find the odd glitch to patch up. If you’re simple a regular reader moreso than a poster, nothing changes except the fact that as you browse threads there’s the opportunity for a greater depth of info by combining relevant posts from many sources within the thread you’re reading without so many links opening separate windows.  
Enjoy!  

BREAKING NEWS: Kelly McCrimmon returns! u0026#34:I was honored to have been considered for a position with the Maple Leafs. It would have been a tremendous opportunity. With our team expected to contend this season, I felt I owed it to the group to stay here and try to help us take the next step.u0026#34:

A photo posted by Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) on Jun 22, 2015 at 1:24pm PDT

Thrilled that WestJet has confirmed service between #BdnMb and Calgary will be doubled with second daily flights!! pic.twitter.com/RZlqxOgmQy

&mdash: Mayor Rick Chrest (@RickChrest) July 20, 2015

Always like and appreciate new suggestions, but would like to try to keep this thread focused on the topic of the additions mentioned in the original post. If at all possible I appreciate new suggestions through the Contact & Support link at the bottom of any page in the site. thanks!