Final Website Suggestions
- Thread starter glaspie69
- Start date
jbrunken
New member
First off, I (personally) do appreciate the input on this type of thing. I'm not sure why people are getting so worked up about this, but in the immortal words of Rodney King: "Can't we all just get along?"
Seriously though, how active/useful do you think that ANY forums are going to be after only being open to a small set of people for less than 1 day? It's going to take time for people to discover them and get accustomed to using them.
As for the number of forums, I would agree that their are too few, but by the same token it's just as bad to have too many. I think over the next few days/weeks the BOD will add/remove forums until there is a good balance.
-JB
SLC-REEF
first right off the bat my oppinion(take it as you see fit) is that if you want to BASH members/officers/or the club please do not comment in ANY forum about members/officers/or the club.
second I don't see glaspie69 as being "Hostile"
third if you want to be part of or want to contribute to the club I see no problem as long as you are civil and not trying to be sneaky and slither out of the shadows like a snake to harm the club in any way here or on any forum. if you DO try to hinder or hurt the club I WILL contact the MOD's on that forum to have action taken.
As for reefcenteral even with us having our own forum on our site we will all still also be here on RC. now SLC-Reef if you are mad because we are not on your site I am sorry.
glaspie69
Premium Member
Well since we are a non-profit organization we can't "sell" our space. We can offer the space to vendors members have dealt with and enjoyed or vendors that have donated things to the club. It's kind of a win win situation, they donate things to us and we advertise for almost nothing.
musty baby
New member
As a non-profit, could businesses that wanted to offer discounts to GIRS members as a trade for advertising?
Tank Razed
New member
I think all of slc-reef's comments in this thread have been constructive suggestions, appropriate in a thread entitled "Final Website Suggestions". He has praised the site in almost every post and did not seem to me to be trying to direct anyone to any other site.
The antagonism directed toward him by board members from an "organization dedicated to promoting the reef aquarium hobby in the state of Iowa, through the exchange of ideas and knowledge..." is a little surprising.
Just a thought from a long-time reefer. I know I am not a club member, so my opinions probably aren't welcomed either.
The antagonism directed toward him by board members from an "organization dedicated to promoting the reef aquarium hobby in the state of Iowa, through the exchange of ideas and knowledge..." is a little surprising.
Just a thought from a long-time reefer. I know I am not a club member, so my opinions probably aren't welcomed either.
glaspie69
Premium Member
yeah, but usually they offer us the discounts without anything in return. Thats the next time I'm going to work on "sponser list" which will have sections like which vendors have donated, vendor experiences, vendor discounts and such. Hopfully I can get it done in the next few days. LOL you have to bare with me I had no website experience before this, so I'm slow but persistant. Later Jason
glaspie69
Premium Member
This was the second or third time he has posted something reguarding how "good" the other website is. It was not the intention of myself or any of the other board members to unwelcoming, most clubs or organizations find it offensive when the competitor plants a sign for there organization in the front yard.
Wheither a club member or not your opinions are always valued and welcomed, I'm not sure why you felt this was an issue but if something was said or done please feel free to contact me via PM so it can be worked out. Thanks Jason
got2lb
New member
Okay whether or not slc-reef was trying to "push" his site or not doesn't really matter to me. He did make some suggestions that we should def. look at and I'm sure we will over the course of getting this site where it needs to be. I did happen to look at your site (not bashing but man that server is slow) and noticed that prob. 75% of your forums that are listed don't even have a post in them.
After observing this I think we would be fine if we setup maybe 5-6 dif. forums. Maybe Lounge for general BS, DIY, PICS in general, Actual reefing stuff,
For sale/trade, then maybe another one to update upcoming events and such, maybe also one for local vendors or online supporters to post sales and stuff to get them showing a little support to the club.
slc-reef - in no way are we trying to discourage you from voicing your opinion or anyone else for that matter. Hopefully we'll see you at a future meeting so you can get more involved as well.
I'm sure we all want what's best for the club and would love to see it move up and up in the future! Maybe someday we'll be like the Dallas fort worth reefers. They have HUNDREDS of members! http://www.dfwmas.org/ I def. think this is attainable within the state we just need to get our names out there and make it easy for everyone to find us.
After observing this I think we would be fine if we setup maybe 5-6 dif. forums. Maybe Lounge for general BS, DIY, PICS in general, Actual reefing stuff,
For sale/trade, then maybe another one to update upcoming events and such, maybe also one for local vendors or online supporters to post sales and stuff to get them showing a little support to the club.slc-reef - in no way are we trying to discourage you from voicing your opinion or anyone else for that matter. Hopefully we'll see you at a future meeting so you can get more involved as well.
I'm sure we all want what's best for the club and would love to see it move up and up in the future! Maybe someday we'll be like the Dallas fort worth reefers. They have HUNDREDS of members! http://www.dfwmas.org/ I def. think this is attainable within the state we just need to get our names out there and make it easy for everyone to find us.
Tank Razed
New member
I guess I didn't see this thread as "a competitor planting a sign in your front yard".
I agree that the first thread he made describing the site could be seen that way, but I didn't get that feeling with this thread.
In any event, I don't think that site could even be described as a competitor. Have you been there? No offense to the people who put it together, but I don't see that site ever having much of a draw.
The only reason for my comment was, that if I were slc-reef, and I came across this forum, and my interactions with the club members were like this thread, I wouldn't join the club.
I just thought his comments were recieved in an "outsider stepping on our toes" kind of way, when I thought he was just trying to be helpful.
slc-reef should contribute to the discussion here without comparing this site to the other site... I think that is fair if he is genuinely interested in the iowa reef club. But, I don't think the fact that he may be affiliated with another group is any reason to be suspicious of him. We should want to reach out to all the iowa reefkeepers.
I didn't mean to imply that I had ever been made to feel unwelcome, that certainly hasn't been the case. Each and every interaction I have had with a reefkeeper in Iowa has been positive, without exception. I just though slc-reef was being treated unfairly.
I agree that the first thread he made describing the site could be seen that way, but I didn't get that feeling with this thread.
In any event, I don't think that site could even be described as a competitor. Have you been there? No offense to the people who put it together, but I don't see that site ever having much of a draw.
The only reason for my comment was, that if I were slc-reef, and I came across this forum, and my interactions with the club members were like this thread, I wouldn't join the club.
I just thought his comments were recieved in an "outsider stepping on our toes" kind of way, when I thought he was just trying to be helpful.
slc-reef should contribute to the discussion here without comparing this site to the other site... I think that is fair if he is genuinely interested in the iowa reef club. But, I don't think the fact that he may be affiliated with another group is any reason to be suspicious of him. We should want to reach out to all the iowa reefkeepers.
I didn't mean to imply that I had ever been made to feel unwelcome, that certainly hasn't been the case. Each and every interaction I have had with a reefkeeper in Iowa has been positive, without exception. I just though slc-reef was being treated unfairly.
jbrunken
New member
One thing that really annoys me about Reef Central is that they don't allow XML syndication (RSS) of their forums.
I would love to add a list of the 10 recent RC threads to the GIRS site, but strangely they don't allow that.
Most major forums allow (if not promote) the use of XML syndication as it's a great way to promote your site.
-JB
I would love to add a list of the 10 recent RC threads to the GIRS site, but strangely they don't allow that.
Most major forums allow (if not promote) the use of XML syndication as it's a great way to promote your site.
-JB
Tank Razed
New member
As for site suggestions, I think it would be helpful if there was some "about us", or "who we are", or the GIRS mission statement or something... (or is it there somewhere and I am missing it?)
If I came across the website I wouldn't really be sure what GIRS is. If I just stumbled upon the site (say if I was googling "reefs in iowa" or something) I don't think I could tell that this wasn't a commerical venture, and may be less likely to examine it further. Where if I knew it was a non-profit collection of hobbiests I would be more interested.
Just my 2 cents
If I came across the website I wouldn't really be sure what GIRS is. If I just stumbled upon the site (say if I was googling "reefs in iowa" or something) I don't think I could tell that this wasn't a commerical venture, and may be less likely to examine it further. Where if I knew it was a non-profit collection of hobbiests I would be more interested.
Just my 2 cents
overanalyzer
New member
A couple of things .....
1. Which site will get more hits reef central's iowa forum our the GIRS home page?? if we leave RC and this forum dries up we lose out on some free advertising. I think more folks learn about GIRS after stumbling on this forum group than they do by stumbling on a member out in the public. Heck I window-shopped daily when my wife was still in KC and no one once mentioned GIRS (Adams, Iowa Pet Food, PetCo). it was not until I searched forums on RC that I found GIRS. We need a sticky and to make sure things get double posted here on a regular basis (upcoming events, etc.)
2. as a not for profit we sure as heck can charge for advertising space. You can't charge to make a profit or build a long term financial base that falls outside of our mission. Last I checked web hosting space is not free. SO - I think we should offer up a really cheap banner space to help defray the costs!
3. The link to the Dallas Ft.W site is nice but not a very apt comparison. You need to check out www.fishheads.org which is the KC area group. They are not formalized and they have mini-forums for different areas. they even have (or used to have) a Des Moines forum. I have not posted or surfed there in a while. I think it is a valid comparison of what we could do with our forums....
4. How many times are we going to re do this.... I've lived here for three years and this seems like a twice yearly task. we get it very genericized then someone pimps it out then we have to struggle to get it back. Can we just add a note/tag somewhere that says we spend all of our time trying to make our tanks beautiful - not the fricking website!
1. Which site will get more hits reef central's iowa forum our the GIRS home page?? if we leave RC and this forum dries up we lose out on some free advertising. I think more folks learn about GIRS after stumbling on this forum group than they do by stumbling on a member out in the public. Heck I window-shopped daily when my wife was still in KC and no one once mentioned GIRS (Adams, Iowa Pet Food, PetCo). it was not until I searched forums on RC that I found GIRS. We need a sticky and to make sure things get double posted here on a regular basis (upcoming events, etc.)
2. as a not for profit we sure as heck can charge for advertising space. You can't charge to make a profit or build a long term financial base that falls outside of our mission. Last I checked web hosting space is not free. SO - I think we should offer up a really cheap banner space to help defray the costs!
3. The link to the Dallas Ft.W site is nice but not a very apt comparison. You need to check out www.fishheads.org which is the KC area group. They are not formalized and they have mini-forums for different areas. they even have (or used to have) a Des Moines forum. I have not posted or surfed there in a while. I think it is a valid comparison of what we could do with our forums....
4. How many times are we going to re do this.... I've lived here for three years and this seems like a twice yearly task. we get it very genericized then someone pimps it out then we have to struggle to get it back. Can we just add a note/tag somewhere that says we spend all of our time trying to make our tanks beautiful - not the fricking website!
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