TASA Members Participation and Retention

yes its best to move forward i just hope we can all learn from this

 

To try and get this thread back onto topic......

Perhaps have a referral competition each month whereby those who refer the most people in the month are acknowledged. In order to be counted as a referral the new member would be required to post in the new member section.

To keep people coming back - that's easy, this is TASA it's addictive

 

Loving the quality of posts in this thread guys Great feedback!

As for the database thingy... Hmmm I did start programming one, with a PHP framework, then the guys maintaining that framework decided to have a disagreement and after comparing the 2 "forks" I decided to go with "option B" and was under the impression converting the code would be a lot easier. I still have a lot of work to do. It is "in the works" just currently at a very slow pace. If anyone would like to contribute information to it you can PM me and I can add you as a user.

 

Ok so how do we keep people coming back?how about a competetion that u can actually win a prize?

 

To be very honest I doubt there is much that we can do to keep people here as this is simply a forum, people come and go which is expected. Best is to be active and keep the topics flowing which will keep people interested in reading.

 

A lot of people have made some very valid points, and to the moderators, I implore that we take these points to heart, and spend some time thinking about it. I was going to quote ehat everyone had said, and then comment on each post, but that would take up another 30 pages. So I'm going to try recall th important points and comment.

Going "Off Topic" means that the post you post is completely off topic. That is why it's called "off topic." However, if your post is something in relation to what has been posted, and could be interpretted as off topic, we would all consult together (the mods) and make a decision. Generally speaking we only delete posts that are very off topic.

Rules and regulations need to be interpretted in the light of being boundaries or confines to which you work. If you have a cat locked up in a house all it's life, the walls of the house are it's boundaries (i.e rules). If you suddenly throw that cat into the veld, he had lost his boundaries (walls) and is suddenly is insecure and not knowing what to do. The same is valid for children. Some of the best behaved, and the highest achieving children are children that come from stable homes that have good boundaries set in place.

So the moment you stop thinking of the rules and regulations as stict rules, but rather as boundaries, or the walls which create the confines of a healthy cheerful area to TASA in.

Henk stated that a forum is only as good as the knowledge base of it's combined members... which I agree with 100%. HOWEVER... when a new member joins, the format of a forum might be quite daunting to the new members, and yes, we need to accept that new members are going to make mistakes, post things in the wrong place, and we need to accept that generally speaking, members know very little if anything about fishkeeping.

A lot of the new members are being chased away by the older guys, (I know I use to be VERY harsh on the new guys myself). If they post in the wrong forum... who gives a brick? Yes, Keith admitted he placed a comment in the wrong forum... however, the moderators should have at the time moved the thread to the correct forum, and just left it at that.

By the same token, new members are going to ask us some of the trivial questions. And if we just tell them... SEARCH, or THIS TOPIC HAS BEEN DISCUSSED TO DEATH... it's no wonder we landed up where we did. It's up to the older members to keep this thing alive. So what if you have to explain the nitrogen cycle again. If you are too lazy to continue to contribute to the forum.. then at least direct the member to where the topic is discussed.

There needs to be a bit of give and take here on the forum. The older members need to realise that we were all there at one stage... and we will only grow the knowledge base of our forum by encouraging the new memebrs. I would never in my wildest dream WANT to read an article about lighting. However... based on the interest on lighting, I took it upon myself to research. I feel TASA encouraged me silently to do this... and I have therefor increased the knowledge base of this forum.

Can I be as bold as to say something that will get me into a lot of trouble.. heck, I'm going to say it anyway...

This forum went the way it was going because of 2 things:
(1) New members posting too much (k@k) and reading less.
(2) Old member not giving the advice when asked for it!

If the older members would suck in their pride, and answer the trivial question, actually be nice to the new members, and show some courtesy and manners, we wouldn't be in this predicatment.

So... the moderators have made there presence known (liked or disliked). We may have been a little over zealous... just like a new teacher would be in a new class... but we have set a standard now... and it's up to you guys to carry it.

Regards

Zoom

 

:congrats:I couldn't have said it better myself Zoom

 

so what about my idea of a competition that pays it can be a small prize nothing fancy mind you being country wide the logistics might be difficult.

 

It might work, but would require a sponsor or another forum member to put up the prizes?

I think it may have been tried before? Am I right on this?

Keep the ideas coming?

Cheers
G!

 

Well we had some sponsors offering something small previously.

 

also how far did we get on a fish pic data base here?it would be very helpful to people(namely me) who dont know all the scientific names thrown around on the site.

ja it could be plant bulb or a maybe a pack of frozen bloodworms or something.

 

I can sponsor a bag of filter sand lol

 

We will be exploring this option, although it will take some time to implement!

I think maybe at least getting the most popular blacklisted fish is a good start. Leave it with us?

Cheers
G!

 

i'l be here for another 30 years lol i got time

 

Shall we move the idea of a prize for competition to a new thread, or is this a way to entice new members / keep old members?

 

its an idea maybe we can have a vote?

people love winning prizes(namely me)lol.yup maybe a new thread then we toss around ideas of what the competition could entail

 

Can someone please explain how winning a prize is going to retain forum members?
Honestly now a prize is the last thing on my mind when being part of the forum, we need more articles such as the PFP + Chemicult which boosted the interest in the forum as everyone wanted to try it out.

 

Hi guys i just thought i would give my 2c. I joined this forum in feb after starting up my tank again and i posted lots of questions as i felt that the lfs were not always that knowledgable and they couldnt answer everything, not once did you guys lose your cool with me and you made me feel right at home. Im finally at the stage wer i have gained enough knowlegde to share the little i know and help others out who were like me. And give a few of my own DIYs to help others out with a little let cash flow. I believe that this forum is 2 sided if i come here seeking answers i must listen as you guys are the ones with the knowledge. So once again thanks to all of you for all your help im be helping out in the future bringing my part as fish now have a special place in my heart, and the fact that kelly loves fish now is a bonus

With regards to the prize i feel that its a good idea but this could lead to many disputes amogst the members especially if its something of value even a little value. What i would suggest is something like i have seen on other forums a prize that appears in ur signature or profile, that way no one fights. If a prize of value is chosen at the end of the day there must be a poll rather to avoid mods and admins from only voting so its up to the members(this could be the case already i just havent been keeping an eye on the photo comp)

 

only a pleasure snyper