Does nobody come on here anymore?!

[Ryan]

I put a few posts up a while ago and there have been no replies, Does nobody come on here anymore? I used to get replies after ten minutes ! wheres everybody gone?

[jude]

is true - it's v. quiet. I think it is generally more quiet at the weekends - makes me think that people are off having fun which is a good thing! I just cleaned my snails out and even they are not doing a lot.....sundays....pah!!

[Ryan]

My mrs broke the lid to my snail tank ! grr they`re in temp housing now.yeah it just seems totally dead in here!

[coyote]

In my experience, most discussion forums are less active during the weekends. I'm a member of 5 other (non-snail) discussion boards, and every single one of them are a lot less active on the weekend, if that's any consolation.

[Katie]

iv noticed that too, not many people come on anymore

[snailysnail]

its definately a lot more quiet than when i first went on here...hope some more people turn up! although we are getting new members, some of them are only using it to ask one question, then not returning =[ maybe we need to make the forum more appealing...like definately organising a photo competition...there is a lot of discussion about it, but it just kinda goes around in circles, everyone agreeing it would be a good idea, but nothing happening. what would be good would be a monthly one, getting more people involved.

anna x

[Katie]

yeah, id say we should do some more contests, id love to take part in one!

[brgwnth]

i don't reply to much ATM because there is something wrong with the computer and it keeps messing up the dates on the forum so newer posts get overlooked by my computer

[snailysnail]

ooh same here, i have to go into every category and see what's new....a right hassle lol.

anna x

[Rachel]

i'm getting that as well. also summer hols mean vacations and days out so people have less time to come on here.

[ginageorge]

I always scroll down to the bottom and check out the 50 most recent posts Its easier than going through all the site

[snailysnail]

wow...i thought it only had the last post on there lol thanks!
but it would be good if someone.....moderators? i don't know who's supposed to take charge of competitions, it would be great to get a competition running...even if its just a small one like 'most creative tank setups' to start with.

anna x

[coyote]

I can't promise anything, but let me see what I can talk the other mods into.

[donut]

i guess as well anybody with little kids like me has less time during the holidays to browse i have been neglecting things recently

[snailysnail]

oooh thankyou coyote! thats really nice of you! someone has to start the ball rolling lol
anna x

[Ryan]

That such a good idea !! weekly/ monthly photo competitions and set up competitions ect,maybe with snail related prizes!? much need!! I`ve been trying to pull some new members in from other sites,I`ve had a few people say they`re going to join, HEY MODERATORS!! I`d be happy to help in any way if I were needed.....

[apple]

One more post on here lol.

[coyote]

Prizes are an interesting idea and would certainly be a big incentive for people to participate, but it needs to be asked:

What kind of prizes?

Would they be something substantial, like a tank or other kind of equipment?

How about the shipping charges if the winner was in another country?

Would a smaller, cutesy kind of prize be acceptable?

Where would the prizes come from?

Could they be obtained for free from somewhere to give away?

If not, who would be willing to pay for them?

These are the kinds of things the other mods are going to want to know.

[coyote]

I'm sure there are other details I haven't thought of as yet, but my point is that they need to be considered if we're going to do this the right way.

My intention is not to be a wet blanket about competitions, but only to consider all the issues in advance so it can be organized properly ahead of time.

[kanin]

Maybe the prize could be a snail? I think that some of us who breed our snails could be willing to donate a baby snail for a competition. Some also end up with baby snails by mistake and are more than willing to donate. As coyote pointed out the issue would then be postage and who to pay it. The winner could pay it himself but that could seem unfair. Also the cost could rise as the donor or winner could be in another country(like me).

I think that maybe we could arrange a competition where the prize would be a donated baby snail(or two) and the winner could pay postage, a snail is a generous prize. Newcommers to this forum often seem to be searching for snails or planning to get snails and this kind of competition could get them to hang around waiting to see if they win.

I could always donate maybe a iredalei baby or more, not at the moment though as the ones I'm expecting already have buyers. My Pomatias have mated though, but it will be a while before any babys could be sent via postage. Don't know if their are prizeworthy as they are native.
I do think there are more than me that could be willing to donate a snail though.

The prize could be some sort of badge or trophy shown with your name and avatar, even though it's not worth anything I think some people would find it worth competing for. Probably not newcomers though...

[coyote]

Custom-made seals can be designed at this site:
www.says-it.com/seal/circle.php

Unfortunately they don't seem to have a snail emblem.

[Ryan]

Snails are a great idea for prizes! or anything to do with keeping them ,sphagnum moss substrste a nice tank ! and the winner could choose from a list what they want. As far as paying for the prizes thats something we should concentrate on isn`t it? thats the only obsticle really.The best idea I`ve got is a pool.Entrants all put in an amount of money,say a pound.When there`s enough money to buy the prize,the compitition is held.As far as postage is concerned depending on how much it actually is,it could either come from the pool money or the winner could pay the postage,if the postage is far less than you`d pay for the prize in the shop its ok.I`ll ask my mrs what she thinks later `cause she`s a right clever clogs and will probably come up with a better idea.....

[Ryan]

Just had an idea of how to get around the postage issue.I don`t know if this would work out but if each entrant specified a shop local to them,ie where they get they`re snail stuff from,may be the pool money could be used to buy the prize from that shop,on line,and then the winner just goes and picks it up! I`m just brainstorming here !

[brgwnth]

Aug 11, 2008 18:21:05 GMT snailysnail said:

wow...i thought it only had the last post on there lol thanks!
but it would be good if someone.....moderators? i don't know who's supposed to take charge of competitions, it would be great to get a competition running...even if its just a small one like 'most creative tank setups' to start with.

anna x

i tried to get one running but i don't know who is in charge of the competitions...


Ryan: if we all did pool, hw would the money be collected?


about the prize thing: i have a small shop near me called Angels Fly South. it has lots of quaint things, including snail ornaments and paraphenalia (probably spelt wrong). if anyone would like me to get a list of the items, i would be more than happy.

what about if one of the moderators set up an ebay account in petsnails' name? we could all put our money into there then.

kanin: a problem with having baby snails is other countries. america for example cannot keep GALS.

[Ryan]

Well yes America can`t have GALS but then why would they enter a GALS competition? lol Yes a moderator would have to set up an acount somewhere and we`d have to send money to it via a secure paypal type thing, I should think that would work ok.....