Most of the interest groups seem to have little use; I would like to suggest that most of them (Python, Java and C++ are the one's I'm thinking of) should have the current exercises nuked and replaced by a list of (hopefully interesting) programming tasks. This might go something like "generate a list of factors of a number", progress to "Generate a list of factors that are also perfect squares", move onto "generate a list of factors that are perfect squares and another that is not", then "Create a gui for this program" (quite simple with python and tkinter). Hopefully by the end of this "strand", the programmer would have a reasonably nicely-designed system for generating factors and processing them. I propose that for each LG, a number of these strands be created. The venue for this can be the relevant mailing lists.

And, yes, I am volunteering to help.

Quick question for Psion: is the absence of forums in the IGs a feature or a bug?

One other thing; I think that tighter integration with the mailing lists would be a good thing, so that IG user x can just "subscribe" to the IG and automatically be subscribed to it's mailing list - perhaps membership of an IG would really be membership of the relevant list. I've no idea how easy or not that would be, though. Again, if anyone gives me a pointer on where to start looking, I'm quite willing to help with this.

Hopefully, I'll have Internet this week and I'll be able to work on something like that for the Java IG.

buzgub, I totally agree with you on all you said. I originally asked for automatic subscription to mailing list but I was turned back by Psion. Now that the same idea is coming from somebody else, I'll sure hope he'll apply it.

I suppose the forums in the IG were removed becase there were underused. Also, I don't think there is an use for forums on IG when there is already a mailing list.

The idea with replacing the excercices with "tasks" sounds good. Excercices are a bit limited (like small fragments of a bigger problem).

It would even be interesting for "seasoned" programmers, since there is maybe a better solution for a specfic problem - or simply a different one.

Forums are gone by design.

I think the current IG templates support buzgub's suggestion, simply by breaking down the description of an exercise into separate tasks.

Ideally mailing lists would be integrated with everything. I'm not particularly eager to work on large new features like that, however, as I think something different than the current setup may be in store for TPU soonish.... (see "Join with YPN?" thread)