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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 19, 2009 12:32:29 GMT -5
I've been checking out the main forum page and there are SO many forums that its a pain to scroll all the way down the page. This got me thinking. Do we really NEED some of the forums on the board? Could some of the forums be replaced with just a stickied thread? Personally I think all the forums below can go, but I want to hear what YOU the members think (after all this is YOUR forum). What do you think? I'd really like to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions (especially Heather's, the HF Mentors, and the Moderators) even if you are a brand new member I'd still like to hear your thoughts!
Here are the forums I was considering deleting:
The Entire Find-A-Ferret Category:
1. Shelter Ferrets---I originally created this forum because I figured if we had shelter moms and dads join the forum they could post about their shelters and furkids here, but there has been a suprising lack of shelter parents on the forum. I feel that this area of the forum could be integrated with the general ferret discussion.
2. Craigslist Ads---There are so many craigslist adds out ther for homeless ferrets across the country. I thought having a forum dedicated to this would be a good idea, but honestly I feel like this too could be integrated in the general ferret discussion forum.
3. Natural Ferret Breeders----This could easily be a sticky in the general ferret discussion forum. There really is NO discussion in this forum which makes me feel like having a whole forum for this topic is probably a bit of a waste.
The HF Forum Book Club and WOW subforums in the "Odds and Ends" section. I just don't see there being enough traffic in these forums to warrent keeping them.
I was also debating getting rid of the whole "Shopping" Category:
1. Ferret Stuff 2. Raw and Whole Prey Foods
HF has been around for over a year now and both these forums haven't gotten over 2 pages in length. Do we really need these forums? Could we make due with a sticky or something? Do you guys like these forums? Would you miss them if they were gone? I was thinking of compiling all the info from the posts in these forums and making up a directory or something and stickying it in general ferret discussion.
What is YOUR opinion on all this?
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squishy506
Going Natural
It's time to kiss a ferret
Posts: 138
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Post by squishy506 on Oct 19, 2009 12:49:22 GMT -5
The shopping category is one reason I am here. If we were allowed to post information on ferret products we have for sale in a different category, like chit chat or general ferret discussion, that would be fine with me. I just made a sale because of my most recent post in Shopping, so I do appreciate being able to help my business grow through this site.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Oct 19, 2009 12:51:10 GMT -5
I certainly would have no problem with members posting about products they have for sale even if we delete the shopping forum. We would just have members post in general ferret chat. In fact we could just move your already stickied thread in "shopping" to the general ferret chat section (where it will get more exposure anyway ). What do you think?
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Post by cristina on Oct 19, 2009 13:01:10 GMT -5
I can honestly say I have never gone into the book club thread ( i just dont have the time for reading books I like that arent just for school ) The only thing I like about the craigslist thread is that I actually do look in case theres anyone in my area that has a ferret in need.... and I actually like the shopping forum, but I mean if you want to downsize it thats ok, but I do like it so if it stays somewhere on the forum that would be great! The rest of the forums I really dont have an opinion on personally, so do your magic...I trust you! haha.....you have made a great website!
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Post by ferretdroogies on Oct 19, 2009 13:56:35 GMT -5
I think natural ferret breeders can be stickied. For the raw/whole prey providers section, we could compile a list of providers like we did with commercial brands of raw. We can ask where people buy their food online if they do. I like the ferret stuff section, but not enough people look at it. I buy from people on the forum, so I like knowing when they have deals and new products added, etc. I'm ok with this being posted in general chat though. Shelter ferrets and craiglist adds can be posted in general imo. It's not used enough, and most people look at craiglist on their own. It would be nice if there were more shelters posting on here, especially ones that agree with natural care. I play WoW unfortunately although I don't need a section dedicated to it. The book club section I can do without since when I read, I don't usually share my thoughts on it Although, as far as books on ferrets, natural care for animals, or any other books related to ferrets and /or natural care/feeding, I think we should compile a list of recommended ones to read. I think you already have this somewhere in another post, but a separate sticky for this would be nice, especially for new people.
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Post by murphysmom on Oct 19, 2009 15:42:26 GMT -5
I think that all thread area's you mentioned can go. I don't even think I have even looked at some of them!
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Post by tss on Oct 19, 2009 16:30:35 GMT -5
I think you could condence the "Find-a-ferret" section into one forum. As well as the shopping section.
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tako
Cageless and Roamin' Free
"Future Ferrent"
Is overworked and not paid at all...
Posts: 268
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Post by tako on Oct 19, 2009 16:43:37 GMT -5
I think all your ideas are good area to cut, as long as they are absorbed and worked into other areas of the forum (like general discussion) well. As long as they are all still easily accessible and easy to find, I see no problem with it
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Post by sherrylynne on Oct 19, 2009 19:41:34 GMT -5
I've actually used the Raw and Whole prey food section, but no reason it can't just be a sticky in the nutrition section. As for the rest? Sticky what we need(or use somewhat), scrap the rest.
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Post by spiritualtramp on Oct 19, 2009 20:29:31 GMT -5
I agree that raw and whole prey shopping can be meshed into Nutrition somewhere, that would make more sense anyway, and as for the Shelter, Breeder and Craigslist forums, why not condense them into one catch-all?
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Post by lnsybean44 on Oct 19, 2009 22:33:41 GMT -5
I agree that the book section can go, people with book opinions could always just post them in the general chat section, maybe you could sticky a thread with some good reads to the top of both ferret related and non.
Everything else I think would be fine to sticky. I certainly browsed the shopping section, finding food section and and natural breeders sectionn when I first came to see what my options were but I think that stickys would accomplish the same goal for other newbies.
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Post by Heather on Oct 19, 2009 23:57:05 GMT -5
The shelters have their own list which may be why you don't get too much input from them here. Perhaps creating a sticky as a way of posting the various shelters and their contacts rather than having a discussion area set aside for them. If anyone knows of a shelter that's not posted perhaps they can approach them (email or phone) and ask them if it's ok to post their shelter, so that if anyone has need of their services or if someone is looking for a ferret in that area they can be contacted. It might also be a place to set up a list of services, pet sitting, in house or in their house, suppliers of various ferret accessories and such might also be placed in this section. As people find them it could then be posted by one of the moddies into that section. The same for the breeders, especially those that lean toward a more natural method of rearing. I know that some of our ferrets here have benefited from being posted here to find new forever homes, so to loose this ability would be a loss, but perhaps if it was placed in the general ferret information, it might still be more beneficial (more people actually see it) or if it was made known that people could post in this manner. I think that the prey and raw suppliers should indeed be moved into the raw feeding section as a sticky. One of the problems is that some of us use local suppliers or aren't in the US and cannot make use of many of the suppliers that are listed, perhaps some listings set up by region might prove useful. There could or should be a reference library listing for books relating to ferrets and perhaps some key reference addys (though these require constant updating : might also prove beneficial Just some thoughts ciao
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Post by gnarlysalamander on Oct 20, 2009 0:49:53 GMT -5
I think the Craigslist topic should stay the way it is. the books category I've honestly never looked at. The shopping could be stickied and the shelter ferret discussions can probably be lumped with something else.
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Post by jojodancer on Oct 20, 2009 8:03:46 GMT -5
I obviously am biased toward the shopping section and would like that to stay. I was thinking of asking if a "product reviews" section in shopping would be worthwhile, where people could say "I bought bedding from so-n-so and it was great." Or "I tried the such-n-such a toy and my ferrets hated it." The WoW and Books could be removed.
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Post by wmella85 on Oct 20, 2009 20:32:12 GMT -5
do as you listed! sounds good
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