The Discussion Forums future

That is what I think I am trying to convey (and not so well).
Sean is going over there to post some pics, people like talking about their animals and showing off their animals and knowledge.
Somehow, people need to see that these forums are not the BOI. They can be fun and interactive.
Again, I am not sure I am making myself clear. Unfortunately, it is alluding me as to how to make these forums feel friendly. Or how to make the forums stand out a bit more. UGGGGG!!

Some have suggested that I need to move the Discussion Forums to the top of the page. That, of course, would push the Classifieds section (along with the BOI) down to the bottom of the page, maybe removing some of the emphasis on that aspect of this site.

Would that be a wise move? Would I really want to then run the risk of not increasing traffic to the discussion forums, but as well reducing traffic to the other sections that are now getting the traffic?

If I could think of a decent redesign of the front page of FaunaClassifieds.com, I would do that. But I look at that *other* site and it looks so cluttered that it makes my teeth ache. I don't want to have the same thing here.

In some respects I feel my move from HerpWantAds.com to FaunaClassifieds.com was a mistake. The other animal sections get nowhere near the traffic to warrant my putting up with the headaches of trying to cater to the area that gets the greater majority of the traffic here. Maybe I should strongly consider rolling back to that other domain name.....

What do you all think?

Perhaps if you move the discussion forums just underneath the for sale. People would have to scroll down to the boi and business forums, and would see that some of the discussion forums are highlighted when people have written in there.

Rich, Maybe it would be better if you made the Forum Table of Contents smaller. Instead of showing all the forums in the Classifieds and Business Section, maybe you could just show "Classifieds and Business Section" and let people click on that link if they want to see all the forums in that section. Same goes for the Laws, Legislative Issues & Alerts. Why list all the states on the Forum Table of Contents when people could just click on the link to see all the forums for each state? I think if people went to the Forum Table of Contents and saw just each category of forums, the list would not be so long and the Discussion Forums would be closer to the top as a result. People would probably not get overwhelmed with all the lists of forums too.

My suggested order for "Reptiles and Amphibians"

BOI
General Business Discussions
Consumer Reports
For Sale
Wanted
Trade
Events
General Herp Talk
Photos

Nope sorry Steve, think the BOI should be lower, with it on top that is where people will stop without looking any further.
I think sales should be first, then discussion forums, a little more condensed.
People are going to look for the BOI no matter where it is at, so why not put it low, so when scrolling down to it people are looking at all the other forums as well.
General Business is also a place where people like to go and know it is here, so it as well should be lower.
Photos, well, from what I have seen on other forums, people like photos, that is an eye catcher and also, IMHO be on top.

Steven - I probably don't really understand the structure you are proposing, but are you suggesting dropping ALL of the discussion forums except for those few you list? Basically one large catch-all forum for everything concerning snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and amphibians? Dropping everything else, including Herps in the News, Taxonomy, Field Collecting, etc.?

Is the additional layer of the following suggested that it be dropped?:

• Classifieds and Business Section
• General Discussion Forums
• Snake Discussion Forums
• Lizard Discussion Forums
• Turtle/Tortoise Discussion Forums
• Crocodilian Discussion Forums
• Amphibian Discussion Forums

That would leave one LARGE section with all of the forums (assuming that my interpretation of Steven's suggestion is incorrect) shown together.

I don't know, but my gut feeling is that having just a single general discussion forum for EVERYTHING I now have listed under the Snake, Lizard, Turtle/Tortoise, etc. forum sections would be kind of ridiculous. This site just isn't about talking about those subjects, it is also about someone being able to FIND that information that has already been discussed. I might as well go back to the old subthreaded format and just have three forums:

• Buy, Sell, Trade
• BOI
• General Discussions

Personally, I think this site would then become completely useless. I believe I actually had something similar to this way back in the dark ages when I first started up HerpWantAds.com

Maybe my whole premise of what this site should be is just way off base. I don't want a site where people can just come on and chatter away at any sort of BS that pops into their heads. I want a serious transfer of information from those that have it to those that want it. I want this to be a valuable resource for people looking to find answers to their questions.

But maybe that's not what everyone else wants here. Maybe I just can't fix a design based on a flawed concept. Maybe it just can't be what I want it to be, at least not as fast as I would like it to happen.

Heck, maybe I should just stop worrying about it, leave it as it is, and go do something else with my time and let it either sink or swim. Throw my time and efforts into other areas and leave this one alone. It is growing quite nicely right now, so maybe I should leave well enough alone. I can see too many cooks trying to crowd into the kitchen (at my own invitation, I do realize) and maybe I should just follow my own instincts, right or wrong, and let the ship follow the current.

Rich,

If dissemination of information from those what gots it to those what don't is your aim, I think you've hit the bullseye here. There has not been a question asked that I know of that hasn't been answered in a timely and lively fashion. I think this may be more of a success than you think. It's sometimes hard for a parent to see how good his kid actually is and I think this may be true for you in this particular instance.

As far as the rest, it may well work itself out, but I think the guidence you provide is necessary and needed, afterall it is your kid. Not to say that you need to be here 24/7 but don't go off and ignore it.

I think you're pretty damn successful here.

Wes Pollock

Oh, I'm not saying I am going to abandon the site. What I'm saying is that as the cook, maybe I should just consider this soup as done and stop trying to change ingredients while it is cooking.

Rich, since you're reading this I will post my thoughts quickly.

You've done more for reptiles then anybody else I can think of! Mainly...you've done it unselfishly and I applaud you for that as I doubt I would have been that big of a person.

This site is great! It's forforums cover the issues that need to be covered and people are allowed to speak their mind here and no other site.

What I would ask you to do would be to lay it out better. I think the layout of the site is really bad and there's much I didn't even know was here to be able to post in or about. You have the missing persons forum (GREAT IDEA), the consumer forum, you have so many great ideas laid out so poorly. I don't know how much room you have to work with this format as I know it's a faily often used format ad I have no clue what changes can be made.

Start with the first page you come to. I would put reptiles at the top of that page. Fish hasn't had a post in over a month, delete it! I would also do away with that Misc section as you have so many others I can't see anything even falling into that.

Things like the Flea market should be on that first page so it can be used by all the forum users.. Many I
'm sure don't know it's there. Same with the BOI as it would be nice if other got to take advantage of it.

Basicly I would list the forums on the main page with the sub-topics from there.

I would list the BOI as a stand alone as well.

Heck, it's a mess if you ask me. I would also make less topics like your Amphibian Discussion Forums haven't had a hit in 4 months. Delete the topics that aren't getting used or haven't had posts in say 90 days to allow the others to get more traffic then expand as you see fit. I think you gave us too many options when you changed formats and many have gone over looked.

Whole point is, the site is great! Just sort it a little better and delete everything that hasn't gotten a hit in the past 90 days, at least for the time being.

Hell if I know anything though, that's one thing this site has proven