• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Controversial Topic #6: Making This Site Better

R

Roy Munson

New member
I'm not looking for suggestions like "add more smilies" here. I would also appreciate it if we could be as positive and constructive as possible. I usually start a topic like this when I feel that opinions on certain subjects are at the "boiling point" around here. It's no secret that there has been some recent discontent here, especially among some of the more veteran members. But what can be done to make the site better and to turn discontent into enthusiasm again?

There are two possible components of this discussion that I'd like to address from the outset. I'm not saying that they're off-limits, but I want to make some points:

1. Google Ads: These are here to stay, and they generate revenue for the site. They're on MANY sites, along with much more annoying forms of advertising ("shoot the duckie and win a PSP!").

2. Chat: Rich has said that he's likely to implement a new chat system that will retain most of the current functionality, but that will be completely separate from Fauna's chat system. Fauna trolls will be a thing of the past on cs.com chat. Any trolls in chat will be our own.

Discuss away!
 
Personally, I think this site is pretty damn good as it is. Some members are more knowledgable, some have lower flashpoints, some are breeders, but all mixed up together gives an excellent cross-section of herpers. We have widely differing personalities, agendas and interests. Together we make up a community of sorts that get along pretty well most of the time. We self-police quite effectively. We support each other and congratuate each other's successes. I know this may not help answer your question, but it's my opinion in a nutshell.
 
I think it is fine as it is, but what do I know Ive been here for what 2 months. But yes I think a seperate chat room would be great, I think thats all.
Good topic for a thread.
 
cornsnakekid92 said:
Really i think the site is pretty good as it is, it could use a few moderators though....
Click to expand...
I agree with your first point, and I could probably be persuaded on your second point. We do a pretty good job of moderating ourselves, but there's room for improvement. I guess I'm a little afraid of some of the heavy-handed modding I see on other forums, but it doesn't HAVE to be that way. I know that I wouldn't want to be a mod here. I need you to buy high-end corn snakes from me soon, Chris, and you're unlikely to do that considering the frequency with which I'd have to mod-slap you. :grin01: ;) But seriously, you can't ignore the fact that effective modding can't be good for the mod from a marketing perspective...
 
diamondlil said:
Personally, I think this site is pretty damn good as it is... I know this may not help answer your question, but it's my opinion in a nutshell.
Click to expand...
And I value your opinion. Thank you for it. :)

And thanks for yours too, Dave123
 
Actually, I don't think being a mod is that tough of a job (other than having to hold my tongue towards some of the SPED members). I mod over on Fauna for the Shows and Events and the King snake Forums. Yeah you'll have someone who gets out of line and won't like being told to get back in line but if the rules are followed a reminder to the occasional blurb should be all that is needed. If Rich decided to add some mods here I would step up and offer to help out like I am doing over on Fauna.
 
DAND said:
Actually, I don't think being a mod is that tough of a job (other than having to hold my tongue towards some of the SPED members). I mod over on Fauna for the Shows and Events and the King snake Forums. Yeah you'll have someone who gets out of line and won't like being told to get back in line but if the rules are followed a reminder to the occasional blurb should be all that is needed. If Rich decided to add some mods here I would step up and offer to help out like I am doing over on Fauna.
Click to expand...
Good points about modding. And until you posted this, I didn't factor in the possibilty that modding might have benefits from a marketing POV (e.g. exposure; respect, if done correctly). But I rule with an iron fist, and sometimes my hands keep typing as my common-sensible side screams for them to stop. I'm not a good candidate. :grin01:
 
Roy Munson said:
Good points about modding. And until you posted this, I didn't factor in the possibilty that modding might have benefits from a marketing POV (e.g. exposure; respect, if done correctly). But I rule with an iron fist, and sometimes my hands keep typing as my common-sensible side screams for them to stop. I'm not a good candidate. :grin01:
Click to expand...

Well you see, listening to the common sense side is what everyone should do and there wouldn't be any need for mods if they did.
 
I tend to agree that I like the site the way it is, however the chat thing being seperated from Fauna is quite nice, I like to sit in the chat sometimes and its obnoxious when some weirdo pop's in asking absolutely ridiculous things, course, there are some of our own that dare I say arent much better :rolleyes:

So no matter if anything is changed or it is stays the same, I enjoy my time here on CS and will for many years to come :cheers:

C'Mon guys, lets watch eachother get old and wrinkley :grin01:
 
DAND said:
Well you see, listening to the common sense side is what everyone should do and there wouldn't be any need for mods if they did.
Click to expand...
True, true. :cheers: But my low post-count on Fauna IS a testament to my ability to "bite my tongue". I could explode there a dozen times daily if my hands were just a little less disciplined. ;)
 
I've not been on here that long and can't pinpoint anything to constructing ask for changing, but I'll look forward to listening to others :)
 
I really like this site the way it is, but then again I don't see the ads due to my awesome ad blocking extension, and I'm rarely in chat as I'm usually in bed by the time the chat room gets busy.
I still want the General Chit Chat split into more convenient subforums because I like to talk about/research/post photos of my other colubrids. I also don't want to wade through lots of search returns, or get advise from the morons found on the other sites, when I can narrow my search/posts to a smaller subforum.
As far as mods, I've checked out a lot of forums and the only one that even comes close to ours is for hybrids. I think if everyone spent an evening on one of the other ones, they would be thankful for the casual atmosphere we enjoy. I've seen members banned, or posts deleted, just for a negative reply, and lets face it, we would all be in trouble by now :grin01:
Another thing that I found on a forum, was a "seven day" rule. New members can't post for seven days from the day they sign up. This really reduced the spammers, and forced new members to read/search/become familiar with the workings of the site, and also reduced a lot of the repetitive questions.... :sidestep:

Well that's all I have ATM.... :shrugs:
 
------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a suggestion. Many established members get bored with seeing the same questions asked ad nauseum. Lamentably, the FAQs seem to be ignored in their present locations. How about a single (locked) FAQ sub-forum, with each thread designated for a different aspect of husbandry and breeding? Or there could be an entire (locked) "section" devoted to FAQs, with each aspect split up into sub-forums. :shrugs:
 
Roy Munson said:
------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a suggestion. Many established members get bored with seeing the same questions asked ad nauseum. Lamentably, the FAQs seem to be ignored in their present locations. How about a single (locked) FAQ sub-forum, with each thread designated for a different aspect of husbandry and breeding? Or there could be an entire (locked) "section" devoted to FAQs, with each aspect split up into sub-forums. :shrugs:
Click to expand...
I like that idea Roy. Maybe that would be more effective than the current FAQs location. Right now, its kind of hidden with the other stickies that no one ever reads. And yes, a seperate chat seems like a good idea.
 
I like both ideas above - a really good place to put the FAQs that just about forces people to read as well as the 7 day rule. I don't know if the 7 day rule is feasible but I think it would help cut back on the spammers - no sense waiting a week for the results when they can go elsewhere and have the results immediately.

~Katie
 
Roy Munson said:
------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a suggestion. Many established members get bored with seeing the same questions asked ad nauseum. Lamentably, the FAQs seem to be ignored in their present locations. How about a single (locked) FAQ sub-forum, with each thread designated for a different aspect of husbandry and breeding? Or there could be an entire (locked) "section" devoted to FAQs, with each aspect split up into sub-forums. :shrugs:
Click to expand...

I agree that the most annoying thing is the redundancy of questions. I realize that some people do search and just don't know what to search for (i.e. the terms that get good hits, etc). But it is annoying as hell when you see three threads on the exact same thing all on the first page.

That being said, it also bothers me the tone that some take when dealing with those redundant threads; I know they're annoying, but there is no need to belittle the people who post them. Just say that they should search for "blah blah blah". Screaming at them or putting them down does nothing to help the site, help new members, or to help the hobby. All it does is put sour tastes in people mouths regarding this site and the community. That by far more worst than seeing the same thread over and over again.

Ok, I'm done ranting. Despite that; this is a great site and one that I am glad and proud to count myself as a member of and don't even hesitate to be a contributer (if I wasn't a poor grad student; I'd prob even try to give a little more or by a sub-forum). The knowledge that I've gotten from this site is invaluable. So I just want to give a HUGE thanks to Rich for keeping and maintaining this site and to those who make it so great to be a part of.
 
I like the site the way it is also. I wouldn't know what to do with myself without it. Heck it's like home!
Don't really want to get into the negative feelings too much, but it seems pretty simple to me. Treat others as you wish to be treated and everything else will fall into place. Bashing a newcomer for asking a redundant question is not what we're all about here, I hope. Oh yeah, and try not to agitate the administrator :grin01:
 
Maybe we could have a section like the FAQ's, but with a title like, "Did you just get your corn?" or something that would really stand out to a newbie looking for help. And THAT could be where all those redundant questions could be asked. I don't know if that would work, just an idea :shrugs:
 
Personally, I've never seen anything wrong with this site. I don't see any spammers, the Google ads aren't a problem, I rarely had a problem with trolls in chat (the ignore button works well), repetitive questions don't bother me (if I don't want to read a thread, I simply don't open it...and I don't use the "new post" function, I recognize a new post by the bold type &/or the date). What has bothered me a bit lately is the "loss" of some of the veteran members, especially in chat. Neither chat room is the same anymore. Maybe with a new chat "exclusively" for CS will rekindle the family feeling about CS, but that's only wishful thinking on my part, I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top