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FaunaClassifieds Site HELP & Feedback Forum Anything of a nature concerning this website, moderators, admin, or anything having to do with how it is being run, should go here. Criticism is welcome, but abusive antagonism is not. THIS IS NOT THE FORUM FOR FEEDBACK CONCERNING BUYERS AND SELLERS! Such posts are ONLY allowed as replies to classified ads posted by the specific member involved in a specific issue with you.

View Poll Results: What should I do about the discussion forums on this site?
Remove them now. They are not needed nor wanted here. 5 5.43%
Remove any after 30 days of no activity. 16 17.39%
Remove any after 90 days of no activity. 12 13.04%
Leave them. What's the harm? 52 56.52%
What discussion forums?? I didn't know you had any! 7 7.61%
Voters: 92. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-28-2003, 12:33 AM   #1
WebSlave
The Discussion Forums future

OK, I know this isn't appropriate in this forum, but this is bugging me and I need to get your attention.

I have cut out the complexity of most of the discussion forums by removing the subforums, thinking maybe that was inhibiting people from using them. But so far, there has been no change at all in traffic.

So are they even wanted on this site? Granted, they weren't the original focus of FaunaClassifieds, but I had enough people requesting discussion forums that I felt they were wanted.

So I think a poll is in order.

So you all have any desire at all to utilize the discussion forums or should I just help unclutter this site by going ahead and removing them? Should I just analyze usage of each forum and delete those that are just not being used, leaving the others?

I am going to set this up as a poll, but would also welcome some discussion. After a reasonable amount of time, this thread will be moved to the FaunaClassifieds feedback forum (unless it is determined that this one should be deleted as well).

So let me know what I am doing wrong, please.
 
Old 08-28-2003, 04:58 AM   #2
robin d.
Rich,
i think that most of the people visiting this site use it for either a) the boi or b) the classifieds. now both of those links are at the top of the page. now i would be willing to bet alot of people (not the regulars) do not even know the discussion forums exist. how about posting the forums up towards the top, in essence making them see you do have forums. see what happens and if your usage increases then maybe you solved you problem. if not then maybe you might want to re think them. maybe, another thing is that the moderators can come up with some interesting discussions to get things moving or maybe some of the regulars and see if they are being used by the newer users. just some thoghts. or maybe you can post what the top forum discussion of the day is, just to get people interested
be good
excuse all my spelling and punctuation errors its like 3:30 and just woke up because i couldnt sleep
i am the queen of lower case and run on sentances plus my spelling sucks too
 
Old 08-28-2003, 06:06 AM   #3
jenn_jeffery
I tend to "view new posts" several times daily, and if I see a post in one of the discussion forums that interests me, I read it, and if (not usually though) I can help the person, then I answer it. If I didn't see all of the new posts, I don't know that I would check them daily though, since they don't get much traffic....I don't see any harm in leaving them though, since you've gone to all the trouble to set them up, when ppl get sick of KS, they may pick up more in time....
 
Old 08-28-2003, 07:34 AM   #4
herpcondo
I also use the "view new posts" link on the front page everytime i come here,,( 2-3 Times a day) and i always read anything that is of intrest to me,, I hate to say it, but what i have found,, is that some people just don't know the forums and Fauna Classifieds exist... I have directed everyone i meet either online, through auction sites, and through face to face meeting here to enjoy what i feel is the best place to "really connect" with other herpers who share my passion for the animals we enjoy. also it is nice to come here, and read experiences others have had with for example Shipping. As a matter of fact after reading the very post Rich made about UPS and a Reptile Shipping Account, I got one myself and have been very happy with the results.. In turn i posted my experiences with a step by step "how to" get a reptile shiping account,,, I have been contacted by at least 8-10 people privately just to find out all the info. etc.. so i really do think it is a great forum site, and for one would hate to see it go..! The results may not be what you are expecting in the time you expect, but I think it is a great site, and would hate to see it change,,, I am directing everyone i can find here to boost the people who use and hpefully support this site.
I would also like to ask a question,,,
I would proudly display an ad for a direct link on my website to the Fauna Classifieds,,, Is there anyway, you (Rich) can make a small to Medium "click through" link we ( website owners) can cut and paste so we can proudly ad your site to our site. It would help to get the word out about the Fauna Classifieds , and I think Most members here would be glad to add it to there site, I know i would! (My little site is getting 8000-9000 hits a month)

Rich , I think this is by far the best Forum site in the herpers world, give it some time, and let it grow,,, KS and the others are pissing people off left and right on a daily basis, you are providing a site that does not ban or punish people on a whim,, you treat us all very fairly, you have made updates to the site to keep it fresh looking, and most of all you ask for our input, and actually take our input into account. leave the forums alone, and let us ( THE USERS) See if we can help to boost the memberships and traffic through this site. if we can, it will be good or all involved,,,
I mean isn't word of mouth still the best advertising anyone can get...?
And i will be happy to keep telling everyone i meet to come here, and experience the "best forum site on the net!"
 
Old 08-28-2003, 07:35 AM   #5
HerpVenue
The discussion forums (At least in Reptiles and amphibians) are way low on the list. You can't see them
 
Old 08-28-2003, 08:40 AM   #6
ScottsReptiles
I voted to remove them after 30 days of no activity. I don't see them really being used... and.. I know how much work it is to run and moderate forums... if they are not being used... why work so hard by keeping them running? Be like George Foreman "knock out the fat"
 
Old 08-28-2003, 09:20 AM   #7
Sasheena
When I got tired of all the [Bleeps] you-know-where, I found Faunaclassifieds (anything that needed to be [bleep]'ed MUST be interesting, no?)

Since I've been here I've been reading the BOI like a soap opera (and NO, I don't watch the ones on TV)... AND I've been learning a lot of the do's and don'ts about my future plans to breed and sell snakes. Just today I received an offer of a trade, I went to the BOI, and lo and behold, this person is a perpetual scammer. So, the BOI has saved me again.

As far as the other forums, I rarely go there, mostly because there is no traffic. If there were high traffic I would go there. BUT whenever I have a question that I post to any of the discussion forums, it gets answered by someone within 24 hours, which tells me a lot of the regulars here ARE watching the forums (view new posts) and participating when questions are asked.

One suggestion I would make is to have more general discussion forums... perhaps five or six for snakes and a similar amount for other herps... let the traffic build in fewer forums, and when the Boa people (for example) start clamoring for there to be a "boas only" forum, then you can let the traffic dictate if you re-create that sort of forum.
 
Old 08-28-2003, 10:18 AM   #8
Dennis Gulla
I would have to agree with the rest. I don't believe that the forums are visible enough. I check them daily, but there is such limited activity. If you are new to this site, it takes a little time to find everything. I would like to see them stay if possible.
 
Old 08-28-2003, 10:41 AM   #9
Dianne Johnson
I haven't been online much of late, but I do check the forums when I drop by here. If there's something of interest I'd like to comment on or something I think I can help with, I post...otherwise I just read. I'd personally like to see the forums stay. I still visit the KS forums, but lets face it they've gone downhill from what they used to be. I try to spread the word to come here...eventually, IMO, if enough of us do that we'll see more traffic. There's a lot of serious herpers out there that would like a serious place to discuss, and leard about, the animals we keep.

Just my .02
Dianne
 
Old 08-29-2003, 02:11 AM   #10
Seamus Haley
Quote:
There's a lot of serious herpers out there that would like a serious place to discuss, and leard about, the animals we keep.
I agree with that but...

I think that may be part of the problem.

The majority of this sites regular users/posters are fairly experienced when it comes to the animals, the individual degrees differ of course but Fauna is not a site that, as a whole, seems to attract or encourage neophyte keepers to post here. Not that there's anything specific to deter them...

Consider for a moment the average new herp owner, probably picked the animal up at Petco or petsmart or their local Mom and Pop place; the real reptile specialty stores are fairly few and far between. When they look for forums to talk about their animals on, they likely don't care about the validity of this breeder's hets or the possibility of sperm retention or the morals involved with venomoids and hybrids. They want to know if their corn snake will like reptibark and why their ball python isn't eating.

If they arrive at a site where the majority of the discussion includes some certain basic premises are assumed rather than stated, they might be intimidated *just* enough to deter them from posting their more basic husbandry/biology questions.

I love to talk herp specifics with people who really know what they're doing; both talking about my own experiences and knowledge and getting better information about the species and groups that other people have focused on but there's a tendency for conversations to drift when the majority of the participants already know most of or all of what's being discussed.

I can't speak for anyone else but... I deal with enough "What do I feed..." "Why does my lizard..." "How hot should..." sorts of questions that I'll often ignore them unless I'm either bored and in a really pleasant mood, think that there might be some interesting debate or if the question is clearly of a more advanced caliber and likely to spark some discussion rather than simply the repetition of the answers to commonly asked questions. The first response to any of those more basic queries is usually going to be 100% accurate which leaves me (and others) with nothing to add. All of this makes for short threads that dissapear from the "View New Posts" option that many of the more frequent users will be utilizing.

I liked the idea that was broached a few times about some of the "regulars" posting generalized care sheets/informational mini-lectures that might answer those basic questions and introduce some of the slightly more complicated nuances of herp keeping at the same time, it just never seemed to really pan out with people following through too well. I have a few care sheets I've knocked up for herp society newsletters or in response to other message board posts that I intended to placew in the appropriate forums here, I'm sure many MANY others have the same intentions; we all just need to follow through.
 

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