Crested Gecko Classified sub-forum

Okay, thank you for explaining this. ��
I knew I was missing something.

Maybe arboreal boas and pythons can be used as an example of why he doesn't want to separate the crested geckos?

It's a bit different leaving that section than creating a new one only to have the same fate..

Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by MeadCountyRats

Maybe arboreal boas and pythons can be used as an example of why he doesn't want to separate the crested geckos?

It's a bit different leaving that section than creating a new one only to have the same fate..

Just my two cents.

Oh, I understand that. But why bother keeping it around if it isn't meeting the standards (which are reasonable enough standards) that he wants forums to meet? I suppose you can have it both ways when you own the forum, but from our pov it just looks not so great.

Originally Posted by Inret

Then in that case can you tell me why there's so many forums that are, by your standards, completely unnecessary and unsponsored and all that jazz? Like, why not delete some if you're concerned about unnecessary and unsponsored forums?

I'm trying to understand your point of view. I really am, and I am trying so hard to be polite and nice and even friendly. But none of it seems to add up and I know ultimately it's your forum. That's fine. But you want justification from us, and when given it, just shrug and ignore it and sometimes even treat us poorly. What's your justification for not throwing arboreal pythons and boas back into pythons and boas? It still wouldn't be two full pages of ads a day for either of them. Go look at the posts. Compare.

Like, I understand wanting to be hesitant about it. But you're telling us apples are apples and we have literal linkable proof (that I already posted) that they're oranges. And you are just determined that they are apples and I have no idea why.

Doubtlessly you're just going to ignore me or give me an infraction or repost "I'm ignoring you" like you did earlier, but I don't understand how you can say this is a business for you and then act like this to your customers as a whole.

OK, I'll just give you hints and see if you can take it from there.

For the suggestion of separating out the crested gecko ads from the general geckos classified section, I would have to do what? I think I have already detailed this, so it should be hard to look back to find that information. So this is the easy one.

For the existing forums that are experiencing low traffic, do I just discard the existing threads in them or move them into a general discussion forum? Probably the later, don't you think?

In both of the above cases, who has to do that exercise?

The forums that are suffering from lack of traffic are already there, and I don't really have to DO anything about them if I don't see the pressing need. Actually concerning the discussion forums, lack of traffic and participation has been a problem on this site from the very beginning. What you see now is actually AFTER some changes have been made over the years.

And just a fyi, no, you did NOT give me enough justification to create that new forum and siphon off the traffic from an existing one. I thought I spelled that out pretty well. Sorry if you may have missed that.

In any event, in both cases, sometimes the best course is to do nothing, especially if the results will BE nothing substantial. Since retiring I have seen the beauty of taking that stance when it seems prudent.

I believe I have already stated that I might consider just rolling all the snake related discussion forums into one General Snake Discussions forum, and in like kind do the same for the lizard discussion forums. Truth be known, I could probably just get rid of the discussion forums completely and the impact would be negligible here. But that is a decision that I just don't need to make now, and will address when I feel that the time is right for addressing it. I am sorry that you seem to feel that I must do that right now to break the appearance of being inconsistent to you.

Seriously, I get the feeling that some people feel that when they make a discussion that I MUST do as they say, otherwise I am just some sort of "pooty head" for not immediately agreeing that their suggestion is the best thing in the written word since the Bible. Sorry, but I believe it behooves me to consider any and all requests based on my experience running this site as well as the consideration of whether or not said changes would actually benefit this site AS A WHOLE. Trust me (or not, I don't care) I have run MANY suggested modifications through my programmer and had them shot down when he explained to me what exactly they would entail as well as the negative impacts likely in implementing them. I know this may come as a surprise, but I have actually learned a thing of two over the years by doing this stuff.

And if you are intent on just arguing this point, believing that I don't understand your view rather than simply my disagreeing with it, and by saying it just one more time, maybe more forcefully or from a different angle will change my opinion, then if you were in my shoes, how would you handle it? How long would you keep repeating yourself before deciding that you are just wasting your time on someone who apparently believes they know a LOT more about how to run this site and is obviously getting angry and irritated that I won't just jump at their command because they just want me to?

Perhaps I just need to change my approach. Perhaps in the future when such suggestions are made, I should just give a simple "YES", or "NO" and be done with it. Would that be better? Sure would save me a lot of time and effort typing out explanations that some people seem to be unable or unwilling to comprehend. Seems like what I am trying to do now just isn't working very well.

Originally Posted by Inret

Oh, I understand that. But why bother keeping it around if it isn't meeting the standards (which are reasonable enough standards) that he wants forums to meet? I suppose you can have it both ways when you own the forum, but from our pov it just looks not so great.

Believe me, I have had more than my share of people who apparently believe they know how to run a site of this nature better than I do. And my suggestion to them has always been to go ahead and create your own forum site and after running it for a decade or so, get back to me about how you fared in comparison. You want the perfect forum for every one? Sorry, but this isn't it. Never has been, never will be. You want the perfect forum for YOU? Well, my opinion is that you are going to have to create your own then. And then when you do you will find out how many other people will tell you that it isn't quite so perfect for them, so would you please change it to make it so? Then you can either drive yourself crazy trying to make concessions to please them (that will in turn not please other people) or just run the site as you please and settle for that. Do I need to point out the path I have chosen?

People have made suggestions in the past that I felt were worthwhile, and have implemented them. A lot of what you see now of this site is the result of many of those same suggestions as implemented. Not perfect for you, though? Sorry about that. Does that make it my problem or your problem?

Perhaps the loss of traffic here is my fault because of those sorts of choices. Were changes I made instrumental in changing this site to something many people no longer like? Or was it a case of some changes needing to be implemented that I decided were not feasible or practical? If so, then that's just the way the cookie crumbles. I gave it my best shot, and that's the best I can do. I have no intention whatsoever of trying (again) to please everyone. I eventually discovered that it's like trying to find the end of the rainbow for that pot of gold. So if the way I run this site pleases enough people to keep it running and financially viable, then that is just fine. If not, well, that will be just fine as well. I'll certainly find something else to do with the time I spend here. Going COMPLETELY retired will likely not be an unpleasant thing for me to do.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Going COMPLETELY retired will likely not be an unpleasant thing for me to do.

I think this is your best option. You certainly deserve the lack of headaches and relaxation. I'm not going to address the rest of that because we just aren't going to agree on it, and that's cool. I'd be interested to see who you'd sell fauna to, though. I'm sure it's worth a good bit.