Reinvigorate the forums

[dougall]

If you look at the posts, there's a lot of the same sort of thing.. and it's the sort of thing that would likely be considered basic to a lot of the more experienced aquarists, but there's little that goes above that. There's little that would be considered intermediate, or advanced, or specialized.

Look at what there used to be, there were a handful of folks primarily posting here, answering questions, providing content. Folks like Mojo or Plantbrain spring to mind personally... But there were others.

Something should be done to increase the number 9f active staff members, find folks who will do something other than answer questions,

Then maybe a bit of spring cleaning or general upkeep.. see if there's a need for something that hasn't been updated in a decade, see what the status is currently on an app to access the site, bring articles and indexes up to date.

The majority of this cannot be done by the average user.

Then I think something to attract folks to the site

Otherwise, I struggle to see why AC hasn't become a part of MFK like that photography site some time ago.

 

[FreshyFresh]

There are lots of beginner questions here and the same stuff being asked over and over. People must do a search that ultimately leads them to AC, so we are still a blip on the radar as opposed to all the dead sites.

Leaving the posts unanswered or being a Richard Cranium to the poster isn't going to do much for the site. My basic knowledge and approach to the hobby probably bores the more advanced. I'm sure it does, but there's no stopping the advanced active members from chiming in!

Any one of us can post content to attract new members. It's not entirely about the staff, format or old content. To me it's more about what's being posted and who's doing the posting. Just because a site is busy (MFK) doesn't make it more interesting- to me anyway.. Crap load of the same old same old there too and very few members who keep a setup for more than a few months at best.

 

[dougall]

the big problem that cannot be addressed by the regular user are all of the articles, or old posts that may be searched on here.

Unless they are correct, you need to be a moderator or such to be able to edit them. If they are not of value, why are they there?

And, yes, there's nothing to stop someone experienced from posting or starting something, but assuming that they want to interact with others, get feedback, or just reach a wider audience, there's nothing to stop them going elsewhere also.

You wanted ideas... Assuming nothing will change with the infrastructure of the site.

• Find experienced folks that potentially have something to post and ask them to do so regularly.
• If that fails, find similar folks and give them an incentive to post

There's a metric buttload of banners and advertising on each page, so one assumes that it at least has to be profitable, perhaps someone should invest a little to see what happens.

 

[Rbishop]

"Value" is subjective. An experienced fish keeper may see no value but an inexperienced one may see value. Some members, think an article isn't what they would write, but chose not to submit any. Or get in a huff and pull ones previously submitted. I find it humorous, but sad, when some folks take some childish actions to that extreme.

In addition, there are folks here that still frequent, only to play out old grudges over things most have long dropped. Or, to use other forum options, such as "chat" for their personal communication needs.

Joel is correct. Just because MFK meets some "busy" criteria, doesn't mean it's a place everyone wants to routinely visit. I am a member there, but listening to folks who want to compare size gets a bit old. And, most of the posting there is of fish I have no desire to learn about.

Most sites all have those few that like to complain about what is wrong and what could be done better. Kind of like Monday morning quarterbacking.

 

[dougall]

^^^ Which in a nutshell is why the forums will not get more life than they currently have.

 

[Rbishop]

^^^Which in a nutshell is Monday morning quarterbacking....

 

[kingthedog]

it is hard to notice but even mfk has slowed down slightly

 

[the loach]

The hobby has been declining for over a decade and it is now being on the way up again. Millennials and Gen Z prefer social media over forums, and their smart phones/ipads/ipods over aquaria. And how are you going to compete with big tech social media giants? I think the forum will get more activity this year as people realize the dangers of Big tech and the hobby is getting more popular again.

About the more experienced users, I have been keeping fish for well over 4 decades, I doubt more experienced users or users with more experience would help the forum. There are enough folks here to help those new in the hobby and that is my primary goal. I have no interest in quarreling with other oldtimers about trivial stuff. Either they believe me or they don't. IMHO, the younger folks are far more likely to see their mistakes and correct them. I think helping those new in the hobby is the most important thing, I am past "scientific" discussions between advanced hobbyists, it doesn't help or interest beginning aquarists to get on this forum either. It's perfectly fine if all the new users are new in the hobby as well.

 

[the loach]

^^^ Which in a nutshell is why the forums will not get more life than they currently have.

Apparently the answer to this topic was wait until a moderator on some other forum turns on their members, and they'll come over here ?