Thoughts on attracting new people and increasing interaction
Hello! Just wanted to say "
Thanks!" for keeping the forum here at Reef Frontiers going. Having said that ... it does seem a bit sparse at times when it comes to new content.
Positive's I've noted having just come back:
- folks are still friendly & helpful (when they chime in
)
- there are new and returning to the hobby users popping in weekly
- the geography of the forum's user base appears to be pretty diverse now
- there is a ton of information available all over the forums
Not so positive's I've noted:
- some area's of the forum haven't been touched since a Bush was in office
- typical "logged in" user count is in the 20's, but the guests are 1000+ :mmph:
- weekly user interaction appears to be limited to a handful of folks (y'all rock btw)
Having said that, I'd love to see this place pick back up again either on a local community level or back to an world-wide free for all.
I liked Stacey's (
spieszak) suggestion on adding in Facebook integration might be a good start. In order to make that work, though you need quite a bit of social interaction with your posts (likes/shares will throw more of the articles into people feeds, which would help give your feed more "
link credit" in Facebook's system). I have to admit, I'm a sucker for another forum's posts (even the ones with click-bait pictures that don't match the thread topic).
If you're reading this, then there is a good chance that you have an active saltwater tank. One of the most amazing things about a saltwater FOWLR or reef tank is how colorful the livestock is in comparison to freshwater. Not everyone has the time, resources, or drive to setup and maintain one of these beauties, so taking pictures of your tanks and sharing them with everybody is a good way to bring more community interest into the hobby. The process of photographing your tank can also provide a little bit of extra kick to yourself. I know it always reminded me about how much I really enjoyed the hobby.
I'll begrudgingly acknowledge the fact that photography isn't for everyone (I like to look at'm but I'm not the best photographer, nor do I have the latest and greatest equipment). So if you're a bit concerned about your photo-taking skills, I'd like to suggest an alternative method of sharing your experiences. That would be, taking a moment to update or post a "
build" thread about your system. I'm currently in the process of starting up two new "builds" at the moment and have read probably three to four dozen recent builds. This hobby has a lot of available and changing technologies, species, and trends in general. Talking about your build, goals, maintenance schedule, tank parameters, and how your livestock is responding is a
GREAT resource for reefers both new and old.
The last thing I wanted to address/comment on is the first thing I listed in my "
not so positive's" section. That being, some sections of the site haven't had activity for months and in some cases, years. The forum administrators might want to sit down and re-think the layout of the current vBulletin. I'm not saying, "
hey, go prune out all of these forums/threads" but you may want to consider starting a "
Archive" section and moving the threads from dead forums into it (and then removing the old forum sections). This would preserve the threads, still allow people to "
search" for older topics and make the whole forum easier to navigate (I'd evaluate all the forums, moderated and un-moderated as some of the moderated ones have little to no-activity atm). I know that might not sit well with everyone but .. figured I'd throw it out there.
Again, "
Thanks!" for keeping the forum going, it was nice surprise to find it still up (and that my account still worked). Its availability meant I was able to learn of a new local shop and a new hobby-level technology so the time and effort everyone has put into it over the years is really appreciated.
~V
(Hopefully that didn't read as much like a ramble as it seems to me.)
