New forum layout!

[jeremyh81]

Yeah, the more I get into the hobby, the more I want to just go fishing. ;D After watching and learning the feeding habits/requirements of different tropicals, I've figured out what I've been doing wrong on the lake!

[jeremyh81]

I just added a "DIY" section under TECHNICAL. I'm currently working on a homemade hood for my 55g and thought we should have a section for people to record and share their "home-brewed" equipment.

[jeremyh81]

Seems like we have a general concensus, even though there weren't many votes. I'll work on reorganizing the forum today and see if we get anymore feedback.

BTW, my hood is complete minus some finishing touches: another coat of white on the inside, the stain and poly the outside!

[angel]

WTG Jeremy! You're moving right along on the new project. Fish'll do that to ya

[jgentry]

Sorry, I didn't notice this earlier. We need a Hybrids section.

[jeremyh81]

Not a problem... done!

[angel]

BTW Jeremy, your betta is very active and eating like a little piggy this morning. I brought him upstairs for more socializing before he goes home with you. He looks great.

[jeremyh81]

Lol! Thanks Tina!

Turns out that I'll back home Sunday. Please email your phone number and I call that afternoon when I've caught the barbs.

[daveoftn]

Well, not to come along 6 months later and go against the consensus (especially since I'm not a member yet), but I figured I would give my opinion of the forum. I actually think there are too many boards. Numerous boards would make sense if this club was huge, but it only looks like 15-20 people are actively posting. I think having fewer topics would encourage more participation and make people look into interests outside their own out of curiousity.

For example, there is a Pond/Koi category. I will never visit that board. If someone were to post that their koi have fuzzy white stuff on them and their fish are dropping dead one by one, I would never see their post. However, if their post was in a general freshwater thread, I would see the subject of the post, and even if I was not into koi, give my thoughts that it might be columnaris, etc etc.

It just really splits up the club and you will see less participation I think than if you had a general freshwater fish and a general saltwater fish category. For example, can you imagine being Sirknight and being the only poster in the invertebrates topic? If I were him, I would assume I was the only person interested in invertebrates, and as a result, possibly see no point in joining this club.

My suggestion for topics:

General
Events
EMERGENCY
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
Plants
Fish-related Classifieds
Non-fish Stuff Classifieds

Fewer topics= people seeing more posts outside their interest which will result in more reading out of curiousity which leads to more interest diversification, more replies, more participation, and more of a feeling of being in a group.

[mruble]

I think the forum is perfectly fine the way it is. If I saw a post in the Pond/Koi category I would visit it to see who is posting and what they are talking about. It would also give me an idea of other members interest/experience, and definitely make it easier for me to relocate a posting at a later date. I have done searches for specific information and I will pull up some forum that has my topic posted somewhere in amongst 30 pages of postings. Just my opinion!

[angel]

I'll second that! There's a ton of info here and the reason for separating it out a while back is it was getting tough to sift through everything in each category to get to what you're looking for.

[bunnie1978]

I think a couple of the catagories could be simplified in the freshwater fish section, but it's probably not really worth it. And you never know, we might have many more members over the next months or years.

Plus, there are world-wide forums dedicated to every specific type of fish (or plants) already where there is a wealth of information far beyond what we are going to see in a small local forum, and the best of the best experts to be consulted.

I get around. I'm not ashamed!

[jgentry]

Nothing wrong with learning from as many places as you can. Don't sell our little forum short though . Several of those people that you speak of that are experts in certain fields are signed up on our forum. We also have a few local members that are very much experts in certain areas. People that have bred fish that have never been spawned before in an aquarium, successful raising the toughest fish to keep, etc.

There are many highly advanced aquariumist right here within 60 miles of Nashville. I have certainly learned a ton from a few of our members .

[ree123]

Thank you daveoftn for your input. That is what this forum is all about. Folks sharing ideas with other folks. --- But I must admit, being a member of many fish forums, that it is nice to have many categories to choose from, so one can search out the topic in a more specified thread, as Mark eluded to above. And if you follow any given forum on a regular basis, there are ways to check what all has been written over the last few days or so with pretty good ease.
Each forum is laid out a little differently, but most are easy enough to follow, once you learn the format.

We continue to welcome your ideas and do hope you plan to join us at the next swap/meet and become another active member !

And,.....there is a diverse population of aquarist's here with a broad spectrum of interests, but I dare say as this club grows, there will be more and more folks join us to fill all of these categories to an overwhelming capacity. Shute, maybe even to much. :-)

Hope to hear more from you daveoftn.

[bunnie1978]

JD - Of course, I didn't mean to sell our little forum short.