Guidelines for Forum posting

Excellent, now if members would stick to those simple guidelines we might be getting somewhere.

Over the last couple / three weeks the quality of posts has dropped dramatically, the post volumes have increased yet the fish related discussions have almost disappeared, someone posts an interesting or relevant topic and it is turned into a comedy show in five minutes (not even funny comdedy at that!)

Keep sport and music and other non fish related stuff to PM's or the Social and Rubbish section - that could be another point to the guidelines above.

I would rather a forum with 5 interesting posts a day than 50 crap one liners (or half liners).


Daragh

my ears are burning

5] Before entering any item in the 'For Sale' section please read and abide by the Guidelines/Rules there, some members are very incensed by people who join up merely to try to sell their Aquatic items, making no other contribution to the Forum than that.

i'm a member on the irish parrot forum and they have a rule that may come in handy here

You must have a minimum of 50 posts before you are allowed sell something,

maybe this is the answer to people just joining up to sell things

just an idea:)

Good idea Stephen but do you ever find that people join up and post 50 nuggets of tripe just to be allowed sell something?

Fair play John, we all need to be reminded of the rules after the last couple of weeks.

donno if thats fair man, i've been a member a while now, i dont post that much, but i'm steady logged on. and i know of members who joined quite a while after me who have way more posts! but i would like to think i would have the oppertunity to sell something if i wanted..

well thats the only downside but as in the rules above if someone is just posting pointless comments then maybe they could be deleted by admins to bring there posts back down?

thats fair enough rolly but there are a vast majority joining to sell then never posting again a bit unfair on you i agree but if it solves a problem it'd be worth it no?

well if it makes the forum better for the people who use it the most, its all good. i use it almost exclusively for the information anyways, havent bought or sold anything yet, so im sure i wouldnt be too far off the 50 mark by the time i might want too.. and sure if we keep the conversation going i could be selling tomorrow!

well its just an idea anyways it'd be worth a shot IMO

i joined ages ago but only really became active a week ago, i was selling my tank but as i stated in a pm to my good oul pal that i'd rather my tank go to a good home wit reponsable owners who would enjoy it and prehaps post pics of how they set it up rather than sell it to someone who'd get a 10 gallon one week and decide they want a 100gallon without known jack about water or fish. i dont see a problem wit it, if they want to sell and you want to buy why not, maybe a better approach would be delete them if they dont show an interest after the sale for breech of guide lines. but then wat would i know im only a fry in this big ol'pond

In my opinion I think this forum is a bit behind. If you want to sell something you got to be ether a member for 4 months or have a min of 40-50 posts not inc the social and rubbish which I think should be called the lounge (social chat). It stops people signing up and selling things and also stops them from starting silly threads to get there post counts up..... if they do mods will intervene. It will also allow people who have signed up but dont have any input as they are new to the hobby have the privledge of selling items after 4 months. After all 40-50 posts is allot of effort and people who would like to post here would not go thru the hole effort of trying to post 40-50 times and would rather post on other websites than go through the whole hassle of posting 40-50 times.

lads just my 2 cents, but for god sake, if someone is selling something and hasnt posted before . so what, if it sells it sells, if it dosnt, so what, at the end of the day as a fish keeper for 20 years i like the choice of getting something cheap, with all these guide lines that are now being intraduced and suggested in my oppinion is a bigger waste of time and money for darragh than the selfish posters in question cause. obviously most of you guys dont agree, but the new rules and regulations are only going to cause a downfall in members because i dont know about anyone else but im getting tiered of all the new rules, if i had of seen this many moons ago , i prob would not have bothered regestering and i probably wud of been afraid to ask what i though was a stupid question, incase i was wasting someones time and money. when i joined this forum there was a lot more understanding and it was a lot more friendly than it is to date, this was once a seriously friendly forum, i dont see the old faces as much as i used to. get a life boys, stop complaing, we are all fish keepers who have the same intrest and if someone is selling as a first time poster dosnt meen they wont become addicted as i did although i would like to state i must of had a couple of hundred posts before i ever had the need to advertise anything for sale.
so if someone is a newbee intraducing them selves, is it a waste of time, money and space to welcome them????????????i would hope not, but if someone comes on offering power heads for a good price, they should be shuned because they havnt posted before even though the power heads would have more intrest to me than a newbie, im not trying to be smart, but its the truth. i will aLways try to help someone with advice if no one is able to assist them. im sure a few of our members will back me up on this. i seem to be always stiring shite these days and i appoligise for that but i have to say how i feel and speak for some members of the forum who dont want to rock any boats.
as always kindest regards,
paddy

agreed, ive been lifted out of it a few times (hence my new tag line) but most annoyingly for adding a post that contained info i forgot to mention in the previous post, that rule is a complete kill joy

I totally agree with you lads there has been many a thread I have not commented on for fear of the thread been locked or a dreaded pm saying I was out of line.I think this is stopping allot of members from posting in threads now as its so strict. But I do think there should be a lock on the for sale thread seriously you may get something on the cheap but id rather someone introduce them selfs ask a question and then maybe sell something after all we are not the buy and sell. We are here to expand the hobby and share experience and knowledge of fish not to sell things and if we can have a bit of crack in between so be it.

I have to disagree with the last few posts, rules are straight forward and simple to follow, people just don't take notice otherwise they wouldn't dread the PM as they know they're acting within the rules.

I had a PM once from admin, and argued my case without any grief really, ended 1-1, getting & answering a PM, ooh c'mon people a bit sensitive maybe?. The time wastersjokers & 1 post sellers may not be a big hinderence now, but given time you can see interesting fishy posts just disappear into a sea of pleco waste and it will hang the g d forum, the biggest pain in the rear.

If we all chip in our miniscule piece it will make a big difference over all.

It is because of us the users that the rules have to be changed and enforced.


Keep the fishy faith.

Mark

I gotta agree with Paddy on this guys. Seriously John, wheres all this coming from? The forums here are not the friendly place they used to be. This "walking on eggshells" feeling when typing up a post sometimes, shouldnt be part of the forum experience. I understand you have a busy role here as is obvious from the amount of hours you put in here but I just dont see the problems you do. Granted, thats probably why your an admin and Im not but if someone has something of a fish related nature for sale, going for a decent price, doent that qualify as contributing to the community here? I mean, these days, dont we all want the best bang for buck, no matter who sells it? It wouldnt bother me how many posts a guy had before selling an item, lets face it, if it turns out to be a bogus seller or timewaster, its gonna be known fairly quickly and the person in question will be shunned.

Jay

Hi Folks,


Mods, admin or whatever have a Job to do, I wouldn't like it but should the Forum be allowed to free fall? I work in an environment where every expletive is dotted with English and sexual references or innuendo, fine in a working environment, you can walk away whenever it gets too much.

I like the Forum because of it's informative nature and friendly banter AND because of the opportunities to pick up a bargain.

The no. 1 rule that should be kept in mind before posting is that Kids DO access this forum, it's a simple fact so bad language or sexual ref regardless of their origin ie. TV programmes etc should be a no no.

Re posting to just sell, no probs with me at all, but surely you'd hit a bigger Audience using Gumtree, buy and sell etc. This Forum as do most Fora, only hits a very small percentage of the Fish-keeping fraternity.

Regarding a post turning into a farce, it should be allowed to continue as lack of interest will cause it to die naturally, if it doesn't the Mod could move it to rubbish and let it stay there.

The Mods/Admin Hover between Fishkeeper and Police, not a position I'd like to have.

Kev.

enjoyed this thread
interesting reading the pros and cons
where i stand on this doesnt realy matter as im only a culchie from kilkenny where as every one knows we know nothing about anything only hurling:laugh:
i do love my fish and getting other fishkeepers opinions and advice
i also aquired some fish from members down through time at bargin prices which can only be a good thing
the banter is fantastic but there is some dirty double meanings from time to time which is ok as long as it doesnt get out of hand:ohmy:

rgds

I can only echo those who have said that it shouldn't matter if someone signs up only to sell something.So what?We get a chance to get a bargain,and as someone said,the item goes to a(potentially)good home.I hear a lot of complaints about how this country is a 'rip-off',and it's cheaper elsewhere,and then folk complain when they get a chance of a bargain,makes me wonder.
I think it was Kev(stretnik)who said fora only attract a percentage of keepers,this is true,you hear talk of "the only one in the country',or 'not bred in captivity',I always take these comments with a pinch of salt,not everyone sings in public about what they have achieved in their hobby.I have friends who keep fish in this country,and have never even looked on a forum,never mind signed up.
Theres hints in this thread about the forum being boring,a bit flat,well,you and I are the ones responsible for that,get typing,put up your experiences,photos,videos,etc,and make it how you'd like to see it.
It is a hard jod being a forum moderator/admin,theres a lot of work behind the scenes,often thankless and heartbreaking.I for one appreciate the hard work that is put in to keep this comunity together.

have to say i agrre totally with these rules some posts lately have been of poor taste. these days i have David on my knee when i visit he love the photos and videos (even at 11months) but i am already wondering will i be able to do this in a few years! or instead of incouraging him to log in will i have to supervise his visits. i hoped both the forum and the hobby would be something we could share but it seems it will only be the hobby

i wonder would these posters but these comments on their wall on face book???????

I luv me fish and me fish talk, put me with a stranger that likes to talk about fish and were good to go. Thats the way it is on the forum and as mossy said u might get to know a few people over a while within the forum and exchange advise, buy and sell with each other and generally have the banter. This what makes the forum so savage, most of it can be done from sittin on the couch with the laptop while she is watchin some soaps on the television in the background. I have loved my experiences on this forum and will continue to learn and partake within as much as i can just as acara said. I have three kids of me own and as mickey said they way we should be thinkin is after u write a comment down on a post would u let yer 6 year old son see it or yer nephew/niece or any young person. Simple as keep the talk clean, the banter can still be had without havin to take it too far and i will hold me hand and say yeah im sure i have thrown out a few rude banterish remarks but thanks for starting this thread as it has opened my eyes to how i would like the forum to go. Keep it Carlow.......

Fairplay to John H and all the crew for keepin us in check baecause u all know what its like when men/women get the banter goin it can all go a bit too far unless we are kept in check and as Ice Cube said "u better check yoself before u wreck yoself"......

All good points pro and cos yes.


Bottom line is what each individual expects to get from this site.

I log on for fish or fish related info\discussion and may also see something interesting in s n r, or post to try help someone.

It's not a social network
It's not a chat program like msn where every thought is put up there.


This site has an amazing content to cr@p ratio, but given the current trend this forum will be little use in the informative sense with way way too much rubbish to filter through to get what you need.

This forum comes up a lot on google fish searches so in the interest of the forum and its actual existence we should keep it primarily as an information resource, we have to remember what we have gained from joining the forum, me, I have learned and gained a lot to my fishy's n hobby's benefit.

Again, it aint facebook, if people want a lot of banter sign into g d gmail and use its chat or something.

I dont understand why anyone feels odd about this in any way, maybe they'd like to manage and run the forum and can therefor appreciate what is involved. Rules change and evolve to meet the problems faced, if we just give 0.001% notice to the rules as we do our fish I can't for the life of me see what the complaints are?

Admin, what about some web based chat service being merged into the forum? Get some user donations maybe?


Mark

Mark. wrote:

This site has an amazing content to cr@p ratio, but given the current trend this forum will be little use in the informative sense with way way too much rubbish to filter through to get what you need.

Mark

Im pretty sure many of the folks here who regularly post to be helpful and offer their advice would disagree with you on that, and I doubt the admins would let it get to that stage. I stand by my previous statement, in that I believe the boards to be a little less warm than they have been in the past, but for general information, and first hand experience from folks in the hobby for decades this forum is and will be the first port of call for many a hobbyist for many a year.

Jay

ok that sexual reference to a tv show was me, i mearly stated wat i was watching instead of the wild life program and after wen some one got angry i stated that i didn't mean to offend anyone about their sexuality, (i have an uncle who's gay, a cousin and i know and am friends wit a few people of that sexuality so i consider myself open minded and i respect people on how they live their lives) but i got lifted out of it for it, am i sorry for saying it? no, because if mentioning homosexuality is a taboo it should be stated in the rules and this site should be ashamed, ive yet to see bad language on here and i'd never use it as im aware that children are able to log on, some of these rules are to benefit a minority not the society