new ideas for this site

[rosanna123]

i have some ideas for this site:
1. you could send a welcome message to each new member
2. you could get the compations back up and running
3. a feedback this wher we an leave feed backabout buyers and sellers

[lee2211]

The thing about feedback ect. has been slightly covered in the blacklist debate, and you were completely against it.

There also is all ready a place to welcome new members, it's right down the bottom, they post a thread and say stuff about themsleves and we post back saying "Welcome..." and maybe something else if we see fit.

[rosanna123]

i was against a blacklist, this is not ment as a blacklist, when it came to welcoming members, i was think that they could be sent a welcome message when they first join the site (it seems abit more personal and welcoming that way)

[morningcoffee]

Aug 3, 2010 18:48:01 GMT rosanna123 said:

i was against a blacklist, this is not ment as a blacklist, when it came to welcoming members, i was think that they could be sent a welcome message when they first join the site (it seems abit more personal and welcoming that way)

Personally I think that having a thread to welcome new people where anyone on the forum can come to say hello is far more personal than a template email sent automatically.

[rosanna123]

i wasnt thinking of a template e-mail, i was thinking of a personally written one

[ness]

That is not an easy thing to do, especially if there are several people joining in one day, as it's easy to miss folk out. Moderators aren't on 24/7 so the email may end up being a little late if it's not an automatic email.
Apart from editing the name to fit the new person, there is little, if anything, you can do to personalise it until the new member has posted a few times anyway, and by this time people have usually welcomed the new member to the forum.

[rosanna123]

ok but i do really think that a feedback list is a really good idea,

[lee2211]

A feedback list would probably be more trouble than it's worth, as to some people being diplomatic or even civil doesn't come easy and it could end up in a lot of trouble for moderators.

Say you sent me a snail, and it died two days after it was sent, and I moaned and demanded a replacement or refund, and you argued that as it was in my possesion for two days you weren't responsible, what would happen? It wouldn't get sorted as the mods say the won't take action and intervene in squabbles and then you could possibly get a bad rep when your argument is valid and it is my fault.

[rosanna123]

yes but when you set up say a trade and agree to send the snails both on the same day only to find out that that person did not send them and is then refusing to send your snails back and then you speak to a friend and they tell you the same has happened to them aswell, should that person not be put on a feedback list so that people know to be careful of that person. after thinking about this idea more, i think it would be a good idea for 2 feedback lists, 1 good and 1 bad, any posts for the bad feedback list could then be send to a mod or admin to be checked first with a full explanation of what has happened, dates aswell so that the admin/mod and decide if that feedback should be posted and then they could post it

[crossless]

Hmm.. I think it could be good idea that moderators atleast change titles of topic for more reader frendly.

People would get easier access to info if every topic had proper short title example "Snails shell damage" instead of "zomg plese help i'm freeking out here" or "MY SNAILS need help" or "what do i need to do now". It can be anyones snail, snails name don't matter neither in problem solving just write the problem in title shortly and that's it. And it's not really needed to know what's your current panicing level when everyone know when it's about pets of course you are little afraid can you help your lovely pet.

In one forum that I go to we lock right away our new member topic so that no one can wrote there just "welcome" I think it's more nicer to not over load too much of broads data space with writing one word and post it.

If you are afraid to new members to get thought people are rude here because don't answer back. It could be idea too that mods lock message and edit message and write with different color nice short polite comment that everyone here likes to know that new user to be welcomed here and mark mods current user name there who has said that little welcome note to new user.

[lee2211]

I agree Crossless, it's also really annoying (after reading through past topics) when people ask a question about the same topic when it's all ready been covered.

I also think in certain situations, with problems, that someone could maybe root through past posts and make a comprehensive topic/post with all the information all ready posted about the said problem. It could then be made into a sticky and would eliminate the untidiness that happens when people post about the same problem.
I know some people do look through past topics to check, but some don't. If you have a new question that hasn't been covered you can ask about it on this one particular thread and the information can then be edited to encompass the new information.

[crossless]

I moderate one page too that is on this same server as this. Well you can't take any messages and put them to old topic.

That place where I moderate I usually do like this:
1. Find the old topic.
2. Lock new one. Add message. Note has to be done with editing option so it won't disturbe people that check recent new posts. Wait about 2days and delete new topic when you think person has read it.

Mod message has too who had wrote the note and it's with different color for easier notice. Message from mod contains link that you will get answer here no need to new start to this subject when it's already made.

This work quite well where I moderate. Them if there's really nothing new toread I sometimes take so huge over dozen pages long topic and just take out short messages that don't affect overall conversation anyhow. Most popular topics I lock after 10pages so they are nicer to read if beginner finds information. When 10page long topic is lock just link to new page has edit there. Of course always when mod locks something you have to write good reason there so people don't wonder why its locked.

[crossless]

I think it would be important to re organize or change some of the categories. There's like 2 problem categories one in enough and news and announcements full of snail topics that would need to be else where and it's full of topics "yeey my snail got eggs" etc.

I put example how in other forum this categories are and they work really well:

Forum related things:
---------------------------
Admits announcements
Ideas and feedback
Problems (related to forum use not for snails)
-------------------------
Snails related categories:
--------------------------
General Discussion
Achatina species
Native species
Aquatic snails
Other land snails (rarer species)
Species caresheet
-----------------------
Other snail categories:
-----------------------
Gallery (pictures. every user can have only one topic for his/hers pictures)
Memorial section
Breeding
Habitat
Feeding
Illness and problems
--------------------------
Advertisements:
--------------------------
Giving & Selling
Buying
Misc selling advertisement (terrariums and other animals here)

[lee2211]

That is a great idea CroSSleSS very well thought out

[coyote]

"Native snails" can mean different ones in different countries. And by "native" would you mean naturalized introduced species (such as H. aspersa in many parts of the world) or truly native ones?

[crossless]

Yes, but I was meaning those native ones that this broads is kind of located to. And I think that native species are those that are truly native and those too which are for some reason introduced to wild.

But of course that category could be skipped too because people would put there own countries native species that are not same as the country that broads are located to so maybe just species section will be fine.

[rosanna123]

why dont you have african snails, european snails ond other snails

[lee2211]

Aug 17, 2010 18:38:45 GMT rosanna123 said:

why dont you have african snails, european snails ond other snails

No need for that -


Have sub-boards so for natives seperate the board into sub-boards of the continents.
Then have snails that are native to those continents. Say if a snail came from Africa and was released into Europe, you would post the thread in "Africa" because that is where the snail is native or originates from.

[Deleted]

You could have a clean-up, some of the posts are from 2006!

[lee2211]

Aug 26, 2010 10:34:59 GMT @goftrey said:

You could have a clean-up, some of the posts are from 2006!

Ehem. All moderators are doing our best, it takes some time you know. With people not reading past threads and going so off topic it's difficult.
Give us some time.
Anyway, some posts "from 2006" are a lot more helpful than posts from a few weeks ago!

[ness]

Agreed. It's a case of reading many threads and deciding what to keep and what to link with what to keep a logical order. Simply erasing old posts would result in the loss of some valuable information.

[Deleted]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to get at. -U-

[lee2211]

Aug 28, 2010 10:34:09 GMT @goftrey said:

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to get at. -U-

Well we're doing it as quick as we can.
There's a lot of rubbish to sift through.
Patience is a virtue, it'll be cleaned up soon.

[crossless]

I clean too when I feel like it. I don't want to spend all free time to clean forum. When I clean I just now re name, delete and lock some treads. I decided later to put links to lock topics because the search from specific area as General disscussion won't search from every page same named tread, just near by. So I clean first the ssssh away from there and then start to see what valuable info I safe and what not. Example there was almost 10 topics started this and last year about Brixton, so I deleted many of them and I keep finding them as I move further to clean more. Patience please. I takes long me to clean general dission by myself and then go clean to other section to clean it.

In general discussion was so much useless topics that I started with 72 pages and now theres about 24pages. Slowly I'm getting there to clean whole section and I can then clean something else.

[lee2211]

Aug 28, 2010 15:46:22 GMT crossless said:

I clean too when I feel like it. I don't want to spend all free time to clean forum. When I clean I just now re name, delete and lock some treads. I decided later to put links to lock topics because the search from specific area as General disscussion won't search from every page same named tread, just near by. So I clean first the ssssh away from there and then start to see what valuable info I safe and what not. Example there was almost 10 topics started this and last year about Brixton, so I deleted many of them and I keep finding them as I move further to clean more. Patience please. I takes long me to clean general dission by myself and then go clean to other section to clean it.

In general discussion was so much useless topics that I started with 72 pages and now theres about 24pages. Slowly I'm getting there to clean whole section and I can then clean something else.

Exactly. I'm cleaning purely illness and disease at the moment.
I'm getting there and doing everything like locking, deleting off topic posts, removing pointless threads, linking to parts of the forum and website, renaming, and tagging threads so they can be found when being searched for.