Organization Of Betta Area?

[Miss Wiggle]

while i don't post in the betta forum much i do browse it a bit and i agree.

generaly the mods will only make a sub-forum if there's enough traffic to justify it, this is a fairly busy section of the board so i think it stand a chance.

I'd suggest it would work if there was just a sub-forum for pictures/tank journals so this would include people's breeding logs and such like as well as people just posting up pics, then the rest of the chat about care etc would be in the main betta forum.

they've done something similar to this in the planted tank section which seems to be working.

best bet is to put a post in the board announcements and suggestions page asking about it, one of the mods will pick it up from there.

 

[Hawkins]

Am i the only one who disagrees?

If it was in sub categories it would get seen less, it would make it longer to get to the pages..

Leaving it like this, if your topic isnt popular then it goes, or if it gets old it gets pushed back to make room for the new topics. its good how it is

 

[metromyers]

Good idea! I enjoy the photos and the other personal posts,but when you have a sick fish and need help wading through the non-emergency post is frustrating. My suggestion is if the powers that be won't divide the forum, can we use an icon to show the contents of the post. It wouldn't be a great solution, but it would flag the post you want to look at. Plus if you are posting for help it would let the people with the knowledge find you.

 

[ReMz]

Am i the only one who disagrees?

If it was in sub categories it would get seen less, it would make it longer to get to the pages..

Leaving it like this, if your topic isnt popular then it goes, or if it gets old it gets pushed back to make room for the new topics. its good how it is

I'll argue this one. I've been an active member and moderator of several forums (even being the admin of my own). I'm not speaking from theory... but what works better for the active members. Active members drive a forum community, not random posters.

I'm not saying divide the betta forum. Do not interpret it that way. I'm saying add sub-divisions to the main forum. A topic drowned in a "general" section would see much less traffic.

The counter to your opinion:
Sub topics get recognized much more quickly by new forums members and veteran members alike. Sub topics result in FASTER response and more accurate responses. It is less likely that an ill-informed member is going to respond to a topic under "Breeding" or "Emergency Betta Care". Still happens, but less likely due to the expected standard of the subforum.

Additionally, members in need of help (or conversely wanting to help other people in their expertise) can directly click to a section that is specific to the answer they are looking for or the question they are trying to answer. A quick click to a specific section does not take longer to get to pages. It organizes pages in a manner that is actually much more efficient. Explore a general topic for 2 hours for a solution, or narrow it down with one click. What takes longer? Keep in mind you can still search and entire section OR sub-forum.

Example 1: Member posts up emergency thread without clear explanation at a low traffic time. Photo threads and more specific advice threads overshadow the topic before anyone can spot it. I've seen "HELP!" threads go to page 2 without a response here fairly constantly. In a specific sub-topic, members would be much more inclined to help out.

Example 2: A new member comes to the site looking for answers to general betta care. They could post a repeat topic in a general section that may or may not get a response. OR they could click "General betta care" once referred to the betta section and see pinned topics regarding the issue. If still confused, they could post either in the basic forum or a more specific forum for their problem. I'm not condoning getting rid of what is already here. Just maximizing efficiency.

And from your words now:
"Leaving it like this, if your topic isnt popular then it goes"

.... EXACTLY. Topics should all be recognized and categorized. A popular topic should over-shadow a topic without populartiy? I think not. This forum is not a popularity contest.

That is the one of the MAIN problems i'm trying to address here. Popular babbling topics take over. Yes we love them and they are fun...... but they should remain in the main betta forum.

"its good how it is"
dont get caught up in it. it works. could be better.

 

[liz2]

I can see the points here. I am on a just bettas forum and browse for ages. But, I just click on "view new posts" a couple of times a day and go to any betta bits. Failing that if I have replied to someone and cant rememeber where I just go to "my assistant"

 

[ReMz]

I can see the points here. I am on a just bettas forum and browse for ages. But, I just click on "view new posts" a couple of times a day and go to any betta bits. Failing that if I have replied to someone and cant rememeber where I just go to "my assistant"

from my sense of it.... that is what i HAVE to do. things get burried too quickly. it's just common sense to organize.

granted i love it when i'm checking the betta forum 24/7.... but gone a couple days.... i already feel detached

i dunno. nobody is really jumping on this and the moderators shut it down for reasons beyond me. i'll let it go.

.... hopefully someone else feels like helpin me out. i've contacted moderators in the past when i was new here and was shut down w/ this idea.

 

[ReMz]

Still feel this isn't a bad idea. I'm sure it will never happen now, but would like to hear some active posters' opinions.

The moderating staff must love me for "offering my advice" as of lately

*cough* signature rules *cough cough*.

 

[Joshy]

I am not after a debate, but i disagree.
I know how it is when you get loads of sub forums.
Some of the sub forums get neglected and forgotten.

While the sense of community is lost in the over-organised layout.
I like how everyone meets in one forum, and talks in one forum.

It becomes less of a community when everything is more formal and split up.

Just my two pence, i guess it is the majorities vote that counts.

 

[Syphoniera]

I am not after a debate, but i disagree.
I know how it is when you get loads of sub forums.
Some of the sub forums get neglected and forgotten.

While the sense of community is lost in the over-organised layout.
I like how everyone meets in one forum, and talks in one forum.

It becomes less of a community when everything is more formal and split up.

Just my two pence, i guess it is the majorities vote that counts.

I must say I agree with Joshy and the rest of the minority.
This is a friendly community right now; once rules and divisions occur, the whole feeling changes.
It goes from a 'family' sort of place to a series of restricted areas, with admonitions rather than help offered to those 'trespassing' in the wrong areas.
The whole attitude shifts to one where restriction becomes a priority...

People wade through one separate sub-forum or another, and miss items of interest elsewhere or their input is never given in threads where it might have been useful because it's no longer all laid out where they can select everything relevant to their interests.

And I think most of us more casual betta people tend to be interested in everything to do with bettas generally.
Wading through the same topics repeatedly in separate segments isn't half as much fun as enjoying the variety of betta keeping in its entirety, all of its aspects, including the human ones.

I hope it doesn't change, because I think a lot of the fun would go out with the casual atmosphere - our lives are progressively becoming more regulated in more and more ways, and it'd be a pity to see one of the last bastions of individuality readily available to us all affected by this.

(Edit: boobed on punctuation as a change from spelling words backward. Vive le individualiste creative spelling!)