TASA Members Participation and Retention

That's a great idea Vis!

Maybe, and this is a BIG maybe, Rory could create a thread for guests. You know for those one post wonders who just register to ask a question then leave? The only bad thing that would come with this are spammers though. Then again, nothing stops a spammer from spamming. Bah, just one of my random idea's LOL

Also a great idea!
We could use the photo's from the monthly photo comp :bigsmile:

EDIT: I just noticed that TASA automatically merges posts... Rory, how is this done? It's brilliant and we could sure do with it on the ps3za forum.

 

Vis, I know that other forums work like that, we (mods) can talk about it - point taken !
Yes, any form of advertising could help -perhaps we can make a business card, that members could print out and give to other fish- keepers/hobiest's.

 

Most LFS wont do that because they get slammed on forums (in general).

Anyway, forcing people to go an do an intro and deleting other threads post etc is a big no-no. How many posts have been deleted since the new mods came into "power" ? Most topic on any forum goes slightly of topic sooner or later and this helps to keep the forum ticking over. I think being this strict on this and that and deleting posts left right and center will be the down fall...

Lets just remember that this is for our relaxation and entertainment, both fish keeping and TASA, and i think it is getting spoiled by people taking it too seriously (and of course fish keeping is serious because you have the life of you fish in your hands, so dont take it out of context).

In the end, will a couple of off topic post be the end of the world ?

 

Its like having a coffee shop. If the people don't go in you will never sell them coffee

 

Very important point.... I'm currently reading a thread, since yesterday, on www.zeovit.com which has 88 pages!

 

How is the facebook site working out. I haven't been on there since I joined. You can't have growth without change and so I'm gonna rack my brain, trying to get this site growing cause despite the bads there's been a lot more good, and i'm gonna refer a few friends on facebook for a starter.

 

Thats alot of pagers, but you see TASA will never get far due deleting posts because its so call 'off-topic'

I have seen posts saying "Sorry for going off topic...." and deleted.
But its alright for the MODS to do it?

Its like our Police service, do crime you get arrested, we (police) do crime we get rewarded.


Oh and P.S Sorry for going off topic!



Now back to topic. I have read through this thread and see some valid points
and think that we should really be focusing on the important stuff such as losing members! Whats the point in gaining members if a few days later they gone. Rather focus on keeping members than gaining them.

Lack of interest. Some people will open a new thread asking a simple question.
Most responses will be "Use the search option"
Eg. You phone 1023 and you ask for the number for X petshop and you get
this response"Look in you telephone book" Unprofessional! Unfriendly!

I more than likely have something else to say but would rather just leave it at this!

 

How about a fish database?,I know other fishkeeping forums have this but they don't always have all the information on a particular fish.

Would really solve alot of problems and can keep the forum clean since some members make threads on particular fish that have already been discussed on the forum.

 

I am a member of at least 4 fish forums, 3 of which are South African and all of which have similar member counts to TASA. The difference being that they usually have only 5 -10 users online at any given time!

So I think TASA is doing a great job of keeping members!

My main concern, is the number of 'newbies' who have joined, and then just give rediculous advice, when they can barely keep their fish correctly. I am all for newbies coming with questions, and I was one once myself, but the way to make this forum grow is to avoid conflicting advice and also completely incorrect advice! If you don't know the answer, don't try and give the answer!

There are some members who have been given the advice they asked for, from several members, usually at great expense from the senior members, and then went ahead and did the complete opposite! Then they come back again and ask how they can rectify their mistakes, only to ignore this advice too!!

As for us Mods, now that we have done a fair ammount of pruning, we are going to be maintaining a standard. We are not against a little deviation of topic, and sometimes some good points have been raised by this, but we have had to take a hard stance initially because of the greater number of topic hijacks that have occured! Mosst of these have been WAY off the topic.

I have been a member here for a good few years now, and it was always a nice forum to be on, other than the occasional heated discussion, but of late there have been a number of posts/threads that have created a lot of tension! This is partly why Gert, Zoom and Myself have been asked to step in, so we can minimise the negative effects!

As always, things will settle down, and this forum will continue to expand, but only if you good folk contribute, and respect each other?

Regards
G!

 

TASA would not have been the same if it wasnt for its members, I feel part of a family. What attracted me most to TASA was the information on the forum was always on the subject with minimal derailing of threads...made it alot easier to navigate and find information that I needed.

We should have more DIY threads though, I'm kinda addicted in seeing what other people can come up with.

Regards
Wimps

 

Great idea but not sure if this would be possible to implement in TASA as this is a pre-built forum engine that can only be customized to a certain extent...

 

Yes, of course Mods can mess up, especially since we are new to this (or at least I am), so we are finding our feet, so there will be errors or disagreements!

But as Linxie says, take this up via PM with either the person directly, or contact ALL the mods as a group, and keep the threads clean and free from arguements.

We are here to try and make the forum work and run smoothly, not destroy it and make peoples lives difficult!

Regards
G!

 

Yes, we are Human, and can make a lot of mistakes, like anyone.
We just get the m@er in, if people are not saying anything constructive, be disrespectful, and try to antagonize the mods.
For F(rench) sake! We do this because we have a love for the hobby! (not in love with people)

And then, some still don't get it!....

Gert.

Edit: The above is not pointing to anyone in particular,
but if you do feel offended by this, then the shoe fits!

 

I'm sure there are few addons out there for a vBulletin forum to have a database,i think the only concern would be the extra bandwith cost.

 

i'm sure nobody here sets out to purposefully step on anyones toes.we are all here for the love of fishkeeping and yes we may ask a question thats been dealt with before,post something in the wrong thread,mention something illegal or use incorrect grammar but if the moderators are going to antogonise members by zealously upholding said rules people are going to be scared to post anything less it rains down a torrent of censorship from on high.as anyone can see by the amount of posts on the off topic thread compared to the rest people are'nt commenting as they use to do.

 

If someone posts in the wrong forum, we will move to the correct forum, not delete or antagonise!

If someone mentions something illegal, we don't just delete it, only if it refers to and encourages the keeping or trading of such fish will we act.

Yes there are times when we will redirect someone to use the search function for questions already answered, but is this such a crime? Usually these topics have been discussed in great depth already! A lot of the time it is other members and not the mods that get irate with people not searching the forum for info first!

As for your comment about respect, partly why we were chosen as mods is because we did have respect on here, but more importantly we respected others, particularly the older more knowledable members.

I think maybe you should PM us as a group of mods with all your gripes, since you seem to have a few, and we can sort it out offline.

Regards
G!

 

Don't you think people take this far too serious?

I enjoy everything about the hobby, even by browsing through TASA on a daily basis but my life doesnt revolve around personal issues on forums. Just ignore it and do your bit.

 

I love this forum! I really appreciate the work that the mods do - I would not do it! So thanks guys for your time and effort!
I cannot tell you how this forum has helped me and how it has increased my love for fishkeeping - 8 tanks later (sister groaning!)
It's just such a pity that there are some people on the forum that always seem to take offense or become irritated by other people. I guess forums will always have such people and the mods need wisdom on how to deal with them.

You will never get everyone to agree on everything - that's life! We are all different.

Rules are necessary to keep control so we need them. If you feel that they are too strict, then take it up with the mods!

Time is precious and I feel that we spend too much time critising, complaining and taking offence. Lets move on and spend the time on what we enjoy - fishkeeping!!

Advertise by word of mouth. I do!
Some LFS might allow business cards. I will definitely ask the ones that I go to if they will allow me to place some there.
Everyone is needed to make this forum a sucess so please everyone, let's move forward!!

 

Guy we are all adults here so there is no need to through your toys out the cot.
I also had a few problems with he Mods but I PMed them and I got a proper answer to what I had a problem with and I except it as that. there are still a few thing that bug me by we were not chosen by the admin to do the job that the mods do so there must be reason for that. If the admin think that these 3 guys are the ones for the Job who are we to disagree. If you have a proble take it up with the mods in a pm and if you don't like the answer then take it up with admin that is the only way we will get stuff sorted out here. I have said it before this forum is a Privilege not a right, admin does not have to keep the forum running they chose to keep it running so let keep it clean and respect the admin rules and decisions.