Recent Posts

 . . . or are you looking for some tips for your own upcoming travels? This is a space for questions, answers, and anything in between (whatever that might look like).

This "study abroad" board is based on the suggestion of a friend who recently spent three months in Spain studying dance and who found that, even with the most "up-to-date" guide books, buildings were not where they were said to be and prices were sometimes twice as much (or more) as what the guides listed.

So: have you studied abroad recently? We would all love to hear your experience. Was what the guidebooks told you to expect indeed there? What did you find that was unexpected? How were the classes, tablaos, studios and teachers you encountered?

It seems to me that a useful way to organize this kind of commentary would be to "start a new topic" (click the button above), and title it (in the "Subject" line) with the city you went to and what you studied (dance, guitar, singing, etc.). That's just me, though--you all do what you want.

As this conversation grows, we can add new boards and organize as need be. As always, do let me know if you have any other suggestions for the forum or the site. (For example, by responding to this post).

Best,
Andy

Hi Everyone,

This note is to let you know about some updates in the event and show posting guidelines here at SeattleFlamenco.org.

First, thanks to all of you who have contributed an event or show posting to the site. Web traffic and RSS subscriptions are increasing at a steady rate and I have every reason to believe that it is because of the quality and variety of your posts that this is the case.

One of the fastest areas that SeattleFlamenco.org is growing is in its Twitter following. So far we have 140 followers (including “relistings”); this number creeps up day by day. In order to capitalize on this fast-growing group of site subscribers, there are a couple things we can all do in postings to make sure listings are “Twitter friendly.” Most of you are doing this stuff already, but just so we’re all on the same page, here are some updates I’ve made to the “posting guidelines” pages:

• Please start your post with the date of your show/event in the format “month day” with a three letter month abbreviation (for example “Jan 5:” or “Mar 12:”). As you may or may not know, Twitter limits the character count on posts. This format makes it clear when your event is happening and leaves more room for your headline.
• Please limit your post titles to no more than two lines of text. When you get into the “three lines of title” territory, your title will begin to overrun the Twitter character limit and consequently be cut off.
• Finally, please do not publish your post multiple times. Use the “Preview Changes” button to see what your post will look like on the website and then publish it when you are satisfied. Publishing repeatedly sends out multiple posts to the RSS, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, which starts to look like spamming (and is definitely not how we want to present ourselves). For the moment, everyone is still able to publish their own posts without administrative approval, but if it looks like spamming is becoming an issue, I may disable automatic publishing for any accounts in question.
  

Again, most of you are doing these things already, so the overall impact of these guidelines on how you post should be minimal (or not affect you at all).

As always, I welcome your feedback on optimization and day-to-day administration of the site. If you have any comments or suggestions, please do feel free to respond to this post.

Thanks again for making SeattleFlamenco.org a great community resource!

Best,
Andy Fitzgerald
SeattleFlamenco.org

[Begoña Cervera "Cruzado" shoes - black suede with criss-cross straps]

Begoña Cervera "Cruzado" shoes - black suede with criss-cross straps

Size 6-1/2, purchased in Spain this year.  Condition is almost new.  The straps are elastic and too tight on my foot.  The heel is a little higher than standard (7cm).  $150 new, I am asking $100.


[img]

The original goal of SeattleFlamenc.org is to create a central online space for Seattle flamencos to organize and share information. With that goal in mind, I had initially created posting guidelines for the Shows and Events pages that recommended including events in Seattle and surrounding communities (like Olympia and Bellingham), but not as far as Portland or Vancouver, BC.

An event posting for a workshop in Portland, OR, has come up. Instead of taking it down, I would rather hear from you all about what you want to see on these pages.

• The "for" argument of extending the post listing range is that you'll see stuff like this (and it looks good, after all!).
• The "against" argument is that building a strong flamenco community in Seattle will be more difficult if we're constantly looking to our neighbors to the north and the south (both of which have strong flamenco communities already).

So, what do you think?

[How to Post]

How to Post
To post an item in the Flamenco Rastro, you will create a "topic" about the item you are interested in donating, trading, or selling. To create a topic:

1. Be sure you are logged in to the forum

2. Select the appropriate board for your item (Dance, Guitar, Percussion, or Everything Else

3. Click on the "New Topic" button (on the right-hand side of the window):

This will take you to the Forum's text editor window:

This screen may look complicated at first, but the only three things you absolutely need to know about in order to post are 1.) the text window ("Enter your post text here"--where, obviously, you enter your post text), 2.) the "Subject" field (where you will give your topic/listing a title), and 3.) the "Post" and "Preview" buttons (which, again obviously, you use to preview then post your message).

Everything else is extra. Feel free to play with the formatting options--and to ask questions if you're not sure how to do something--but don't feel overwhelmed by all the buttons: most of the time you can say exactly what you need to say with text alone.

To Add a Picture: The easiest way to add a picture to your post is to use the "Attach" function under "Additional Options" (the link to which is just below the post text entry window:

[Forum Overview]

Forum Overview
The Seattle Flamenco Forum is organized hierarchically into Categories, Boards, Topics and Posts. The text you're reading right now is a post in the topic (titled "How to Post to the Forum") on the SeattleFlamenco.org board in the General Discussion category. If you reply to this message, your reply is a post.

And why is this information useful to you? Well, with it you can get a global sense of what you can do with the Forum. As a user, you can start new topics and post replies to other people's (or your own) topics or posts. You can also suggest to the administrator ideas for new categories or boards--things you don't see yet, but you think would be useful to the Seattle Flamenco community.

You can tell where you are in the Forum by the look of the window and from the folder hierarchy list at the top of the window:

Category View: Categories are marked with red arrows--the boards in each category are listed below the category title:

Board View: When you click on a particular message board, you get a list of the topics on that board. The folder hierarchy list tells you which category you're in and which board you're looking at:

Topic View: When you then click on a topic, you see the posts on that topic. Here, the folder hierarchy list tells you which category you're in, which board you're looking at, and which topic you're viewing:  

How to Post
As a regular Forum member, you can create new posts on existing topics and create new topics on existing boards.

To Create a Post: To post a response to a topic (in Topic View), first, be sure that you are logged in to the Forum, then click on the "Reply" button:

This will take you to the Forum's text editor window:

This screen may look complicated at first, but the only three things you absolutely need to know about in order to post are the text window ("Enter your post text here"--where, obviously, you enter your post text) and the "Post" and "Preview" buttons (which, again obviously, you use to preview then post your message).

Everything else is extra. Feel free to play with the formatting options--and to ask questions if you're not sure how to do something--but don't feel overwhelmed by all the buttons: most of the time you can say exactly what you need to say with text alone.

To Add a Picture: The easiest way to add a picture to your post is to use the "Attach" function under "Additional Options" (the link to which is just below the post text entry window:

To Create a Topic: To start a new topic on an existing board (in Board View), first, be sure that you are logged in to the Forum, then click on the "New Topic" button (on the right-hand side of the window):

This will take you to the Forum's text editor window; it operates here just the same way as it does when you post a reply to an existing topic. Be sure to title your new topic (in the "Subject" field)--otherwise other readers won't know what you're topic is about!

[Registration]

Registration on the Seattle Flamenco forum has been set to entirely manual. This means that you can no longer register yourself. I regret that this is the case, but I was literally getting dozens of spam registrations a day. If you want help with your "sex life," there are lots of places on the internet that will be happy to help you out (or at least take your money and probably give you a computer virus for your trouble), but I suspect that's not the kind of posting we want here.

What this means for you: If you are a legitimate user (i.e. someone who wants to post to this board to discuss some aspect of flamenco), just drop an email to admin@seattleflamenco.org with a note to the effect that you would like to register and the name under which you would like to be registered. I will be happy to add you manually. Once I've registered you, you'll be a "full" member of the board you can change your password and customize your profile to your heart's content.

Again, I apologize for the baroque sign-up procedures, but the spam-bot situation was getting crazy. Hopefully the comfort of knowing that we can discuss flamenco here without the intrusion of lewd "enhancement" offers will offer some solace!



Here are the registration instructions from simpler days. Perhaps if new options present themselves, we can one day return to this format:

At first view, I know the Forum looks a bit complicated to some of you--lots of boxes, links, icons, whatnot. Most of the tools you will need to make the Forum work for you, however, are very simple and usually sitting there right in front of you. Before you can use the Forum, though, you will need to register. (Obligatory registration is, in fact, the only thing that's keeping the Forum from being overrun by spam-vertisements for . . . how shall we say . . . very un-flamenco-related products.) This post is a quick overview of how to register and get started using the Forum.

When you first open the Forum page from the main SeattleFlamenco.org menu, you will see the log-in/registration box in the upper-left hand corner of the website content box:

To begin registration, first click on either of the registration links (circled in red above). (If you have been exploring the forum and no longer see the registration box, just click on "Forum" on the SeattleFlamenco menu  near the top of the page and you'll be sent back to the Forum home screen.)

When you click on "register," you'll see a form that looks like this:

Choose a user name (what you will be known by on the Forum--names can only be used once, so if your first choice is already taken, you'll have to come up with some variant or a new one). You'll also need to enter your email address so that the administrator can confirm your account. Next enter a password and copy the CAPTCHA letters into the box below the CAPTCHA image (circled in red). (The CAPTCHA is another tool used to discourage spam-bots).

Read over the user agreement below the registration form and, if you agree to the terms of the Forum, check the "I Agree" box:

Once you have agreed to the Forum's terms, you will be able to click the "Register" button. Because the Forum has already been targeted by some aggressive spammers, new registrations must be approved by the Forum administrator. Certain email domains, IP addresses, and website affiliations raise red flags for potential spam problems. If the administrator sees these red flags in your registration, you will be sent an email asking you to confirm that you're actually a legitimate user, not a spam-stard. (If this happens to you, please don't take offense--this is one of the only ways to keep the Forum clear of obnoxious (and potentially offensive) ads for all sorts of stuff you really don't want to see.)

In general legitimate registrations are approved either immediately or within a few hours of registration. Once your registration has been approved, all you need to do to get started is to enter your user name and password in the "User Info" box, then click "Login"--and you're good to go!

'It's just like... a mini-mall!'

Sorry... nothing to swap or trade... jus sayin'!

It occurs to me (and has already been verified by some of you) that it would be useful for Seattle flamencos to have a space to donate, trade, barter, or sell flamenco gear. Maybe you've got shoes or a skirt that are still in good shape, but you never use. Maybe you're new to flamenco and want a decent pair of shoes (but are a bit put off by the new-shoes-sticker-price). Anyway, you get the idea.

So: how will this work? Well, I would like to hear from you all how you want it to work. For the moment I've created individual boards for what I imagine are the major divisions of "stuff trading": dance, guitar, percussion, and everything else.

I would be interested to hear if folks like the idea of a "media" space--for video or audio recordings, or books (though, of course, no illegal copies--we certainly don't need any piracy headaches). If you have any ideas or any input on this or anything else, please do click on the "reply" button above and let us all know what's on your mind (if you haven't yet registered for the forum, you'll need to do that).

And in the mean time, if you have something to donate, trade, or sell, click on the "new topic" button on the appropriate board (i.e. dance, guitar, percussion, or everything else). For detailed instructions on how to post, check out the "How to Post" topic. For feedback and questions about the Flamenco Rastro, feel free to reply to this post.

NB: SeattleFlamenco.org won't, of course, ask for a "cut" of anything you do sell here. It also doesn't shoulder any responsibility with regards to payment, warranty, or quality of anything posted here. Think of this space as sort of a Flamenco Craig's List--it's the same idea (but for flamenco stuff close by, obviously).

Cheers,
Andy Fitzgerald
SeattleFlamenco.org

Welcome to Seattle Flamenco!

This forum is here for you to voice your suggestions, thoughts, and concerns about about:

• This site, its goals and its project
• About the flamenco scene in Seattle
• About community building in flamenco scenes anywhere
• About anything else you see fit!

Right now, as the site administrator, I'm most keen on seeing what you that are checking things out are most interested in seeing here. For the moment I've only opened a "General Discussion" category and the Flamenco Rastro, but if you feel like starting a new discussion--please, be my guest. Above all I would like to hear your input about what sort of formats, tools, and resources you would like to see made available here. And if you have any comments about the SeattleFlamenco.org site or this forum, please don't be shy about sharing!

Cheers,
Andy Fitzgerald
SeattleFlamenco.org