How can we rebuild the petsnails community...

[teresa]

we may be pushing are luck abit lol

[Paul]

At the moment, the amount of complaints we had about it far outweighs the people who seem to want it back. I'm bothered that if we bring it back we'll have old threads being resurrected because we don't know if the threads are still active or not. It also seemed to cause people to be swamped with "gimme" requests which was the chief complaint. I mean, we could delete threads regularly, but I'm bothered that it'll end up annoying more people than it will suit and will take up loads of time moderating it.

[teresa]

can it not be done so members putting the ads on put a start date and a end date and after the end date is finished one of the mods delete it, if there is a edit on there the person who put up the ad can have the same access as there got now on classifieds to write in when they have sold them all

[pigpog]

I really don't know if I have any points to make that have not already been touched upon. I am a relative newby to this site which I have found to be an invaluable source of information since I started keeping my GALS a year ago.

It has been a complete reassurance to know I can read up about things and speak to people with experience on how to look after these creatures and I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to reply to my newbie questions which have no doubt been asked 100 times.

I have often paused before clicking the "post" button as I never know if my post has been put in the right folder or perhaps I should have been able to search and find my answer before hand. It scares me a little that I might unintentionally be breaking board rules.

Being a moderator on 2 other websites, I am fully aware that some guidelines need to be in place with regards to posting and that a complete free-for-all isn't perhaps the way to go, but I do like the idea of splitting the board into a more formal section and a more casual section.

Perhaps I should stop lurking so much and become apart of the snail family and help build this community. I just don't feel I have the knowledge to advise others on snail keeping but I am sure there are other ways I can contribute.

I might only have 6 fulicas and I suppose I fall more into the "keeping them as fascinating creatures" rather than getting close to them as pets but if it wasn't for the site I would have fallen at the first hurdle of snail keeping for sure.

PigPog

[Leah]

I miss the old community. I used to come on here every night, but now I'm lucky if it's once a week and then its only a quick glance. The problem is that everyone I knew on here simply disapeared. We used to have long, if really daft, conversations on msn. Now I don't recognise hardly any of the names on here. It's all got a bit formal and boring. I can see why the changes to the way the forum runs have been made but the users seem to have taken it the wrong way and stopped posting at all. They're are no jokes anymore. I know it's supposed to be an informative site but that doesn't mean it has be like reading a dictionary.

[christyjade]

Just read through this thread took me a while! But I just wanted to say, and i dont want to sound too nasty or negative!! but i didnt feel overly welcome when coming on here the first few times...posts i made had very little response, even though i had previously serched for any threads that would answer my questions. Im sure you're all lovely people, and the people i bought snails from were very helpful,
and kind even with my constant questions over PM. When recieving them, i wondred why i hadnt recieved the same reaction within the actual forum!

One thing I have thought is that there are too many sub forums, so when checking back, it takes quite some time to look over all the individual forums...can some of the sub forums not be merged? this way the amount of posting may not seem to little aswell...because people may be posting abit, but because its over so many sub forums, it doesnt seem like much is going on. Just a thought....you can dismiss it if i am talking rubbish!

Christy x

[xyz]

I have the classifieds bookmarked and that means I don't come onto the forum to see them ( shame on me ) putting them onto the forum would mean people having to come on, and maybe take a look at whats being posted.

[gastropodgirl]

You may not have had many responses to questions as I think people thought if they posted it would be deleted so they were apprehensive to answer.

I'd also like to add that I have made some wonderful friends on this forum.

[Deleted]

eric said:

I miss the old community. I used to come on here every night, but now I'm lucky if it's once a week and then its only a quick glance. The problem is that everyone I knew on here simply disapeared. We used to have long, if really daft, conversations on msn. Now I don't recognise hardly any of the names on here. It's all got a bit formal and boring. I can see why the changes to the way the forum runs have been made but the users seem to have taken it the wrong way and stopped posting at all. They're are no jokes anymore. I know it's supposed to be an informative site but that doesn't mean it has be like reading a dictionary.

Yeh I agree. I just dont really know anyone on here anymore. And the people I do know (the ones who havent left) dont post very much. This shouldn't just be a forum about snails it should be a place where people get to know each other and make friends. It should be fun and lively.

Maybe there should be an 'about me' thread where people can talk about themselves so we can all get to know each other. It could be a really long thread that people continually add to when they join. The forum feels a bit empty for me because it seems full of strangers. If we all got to know each other, felt comfortable around each other, the forum would be more warm and lively and informal.

kind regards

Mike

[Buse]

Have you just lost interest in the hobby?

Nope .


Does the community not feel close enough?

Its Not As Close



How could things be improved for you?

More Friendliness And Happiness And ..... Fun !



What would you like to see?

Happy Smilies Like This ;D This And This



How could the community feeling be improved?

Im Not Sure I Want The Classifieds ( If Thats Spelt Right ) Back Pretty Please With A Cherry On Top ! And Just I Guess Its The People Like You And Moi , Just Like More Happiness And Jokes And Fun .. I Dont Know Its Confusing Toi Explain But Like Yeh More Fun !

[Deleted]

buse said:

What would you like to see?

Happy Smilies Like This ;D This And This

YAY ;D

[gastropodgirl]

Well then we need to come up with a plan so we can all get to know one another,put your thinking caps on. ;D

[spook]

Hi all!
I know I'm dragging up an old thread here but tough!Ha ha
I just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying this forum since i joined!
I've only been a member on here just under a month but I'm just beginning to settle in and find out who's who
I think this place is great for both the avid pet snail fan and also the fascinated species researcher! I myself have had my fulicas for nearly 3 years but this last month I've learnt so much more than ever before! I've browsed through old posts to find out lots of info but I've also not been scared of posting my own questions and i must say everyone has been so helpful! I've had a good read through this thread and it's pretty clear alot of your old members have disappeared but things do change, as long as they're are new members joining up and we all make them feel welcome and make them feel they can ask anything they like, then eventually these newbies will turn into long standing members!I know for a fact I've been turned into a complete snail obsessive and I'll be on here for a long time!(if you'll have me
We can all learn so much from each other and what an excellent place to make friends where we all have one definite thing in common!! ;D ;D ;D

[Cornelius]

I'd rather be here than anywhere else. Love the place!

[mickysnail]

I think it was a minor hiccup. Other forums have had little problems also. Everything seem to be bact to how it used to be when I first joined, Friendly and informative

[spook]

I'm loving it here!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Leah]

lotsofsnails said:

eric said:

I miss the old community. I used to come on here every night, but now I'm lucky if it's once a week and then its only a quick glance. The problem is that everyone I knew on here simply disapeared. We used to have long, if really daft, conversations on msn. Now I don't recognise hardly any of the names on here. It's all got a bit formal and boring. I can see why the changes to the way the forum runs have been made but the users seem to have taken it the wrong way and stopped posting at all. They're are no jokes anymore. I know it's supposed to be an informative site but that doesn't mean it has be like reading a dictionary.

Yeh I agree. I just dont really know anyone on here anymore. And the people I do know (the ones who havent left) dont post very much. This shouldn't just be a forum about snails it should be a place where people get to know each other and make friends. It should be fun and lively.

Maybe there should be an 'about me' thread where people can talk about themselves so we can all get to know each other. It could be a really long thread that people continually add to when they join. The forum feels a bit empty for me because it seems full of strangers. If we all got to know each other, felt comfortable around each other, the forum would be more warm and lively and informal.

kind regards

Mike

Someone on my wavelength! Where did they all go Mikey? Come to think of it I've had some rather interesting convo's with you in the past. Seems so long ago. I remember the first time I was on this forum and we used to have a thread called the smoking room. It was the funniest thing I have ever read. And a thread for jokes, books, music etc. And I don't think it stopped the serious research either, infact I think it encouraged it because it was well balanced. It's easier to work with people you get on well with. A few jokes now and then won't hurt...I remember flirting with Arno!

[lippy]

I think the forum has to have more of a comical aspect rather than a majourly serious one. I say that we should include a few, more, umm... Interesting competitions rather than just photography ones. Like the best tank etc.

[Leah]

And another thing....(here she goes).....I can post a message here and have to wait a week for a reply now. Back in the day we used to get in a right muddle because people were posting at the same time. It was a real, flowing converstion.

[lippy]

I'll try and bring some activity to the forum, i'm sure i know some people that would be interested.

[jmurphy]

totally agree with you guys.. and that was only last week (mind you we did have a nut nut job on-line last week)...

wheres everybody gone...?

xxx

[Leah]

That's more like it, two answers at once! lol. Even so, back then we only had about 10 active members, could probably list 'em.

[lippy]

I think we should all try and contribute as much as possible, i've attempted to help quite alot for my short stay here, so far, so i'll try and do some more!

[spook]

ha ha maybe we should ask the nut job to come back! At least it got us all posting!! ;D ;D

[lippy]

Don't even joke about that.