Site Improvements

[SanDiegoReefs]

So far I have on our plate or have received feedback on:

1> Stickers. PM'd a member, waiting for a response.

2> Trades & Services Section. Area where Premium Members can post about their current services, example: Electricians, etc.

3> Fix the Language Filters. Working on that in the meantime will be putting reasonable moderation in place and a new hands on approach. Want to maybe consider keeping the Lounge loose, but still wondering what that is.

4> Bring the Site to a Higher Standard. I remember going to pick up a fish one time and a man my age answered the door. He said hello, then shouted, "Johnny, the guy is here for the fish...". Then, a 12 year old kid came down the stairs. I went upstairs with him to his room where his little friends were playing Nintendo to get the fish. That was not only a hilarious situation, wierd in some way, but an eye opener that we have junior members and need to all remind ourselves of that with our posts.

5> More features for Premium Members. I am looking at stabilizing the hosting area and then looking at upgrades from the current version of forum software. Need to plan it out to avoid any unplanned outages. Have to look at trends and insure the bandwidth is never compromised along with storage, etc.

6> Lower the Annual Subscription Price. Just dropped the annual stakeholder investment to become a Premium member to $25 from $33. Thats around $2 a month or $.07 cents a day. Will be looking at lower rates if you sign up longer. Note whenever we make an adjustment, we will go through the subscriptions and make adjustments to prorate out accordingly.

7> Update the FAQs. Add "How to add a Signature", "using the CP Panel", "How to upgrade", etc


More? Positive ones please. Send me the negative ones via PM.

[ensiferum321]

Sounds great so far, keep up the good work

How about Seller limits (such as must have "20" post/and or a user for atleast 60 days before selling?)

Get the arcade back!

[BajaReefs]

interactive games within members....like poker

on #2 some people dont do favors or work for cash, some barter and maybe free. I can help out giving free diesel advise, where would I post free help? thanks

[sushibug]

Sounds great so far, keep up the good work

How about Seller limits (such as must have "20" post/and or a user for atleast 60 days before selling?)

Get the arcade back!

i second the seller limit idea.. we all know we had issues with duplicate seller accounts.

also, don't know if it was said somewhere else... but can the avatars be more appropriate (higher standard?) so i don't get in trouble at work?

[afitzwater]

nice work mike! keep it up and thank you

[JohnnyAirtime]

Pet peeeeeves;
Ability to only post "WTB" in the 'wanted to buy' section. Not in the "For sale" section where it's mostly seen, or viewed. Basically, limit the sub-topic ability in each forum AND moderate it once limited. I see many that may not know of the other sections, but if they do... they are posting where it'll get the most attention.

Moderate "bumping";
Some do it multiple times in a day or even in an hour... some only once in a while. Put the rules out... either no bumping allowed (like most sites) and moderate it, or bumping a thread only allowed once a day (maximum!)... and moderate that rule. It's selfish to bump. People need to use the 'search' feature!

Just a thought;
Allow the sponsors of the site to post "for sale" items in a sponsor section "for sale" only, and not in the general for sale section. All too often I see a sponsor soliciting the for sale section with a new product they started to stock... and at times, most Reefers aren't looking for that. They know where to go buy "phyto" or pumps, or your local fish store "stuff". Keep the general for-sale section for NON-Sponsors... like a swap meet. And give the sponsors a place to post ads, and pimp their stores.
(one store owner already agreed that they should have their own place to post when I brought this up... they don't happen to pollute the general section too often)

[ensiferum321]

Agree! I've seen a couple people bump threads within hours!

Pet peeeeeves;

Moderate "bumping";
Some do it multiple times in a day or even in an hour... some only once in a while. Put the rules out... either no bumping allowed (like most sites) and moderate it, or bumping a thread only allowed once a day (maximum!)... and moderate that rule. It's selfish to bump. People need to use the 'search' feature!

[jrod11]

Trading system built INTO our profiles! Lets make feedback with trades and sales the real deal!!

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=102965

[Acefspds]

Wat about the little guys that want to sell some corals? Are you gonna start hounding us for sponsorship fees like every other forum I quit going to since they all became about money and not the hobby.....gets kinda annoying when you post some stuff for sale and you get classes as a retail establishment even tho you have 2 tanks in your house and no business.

I also agree that the proper businesses post in their own section. So our for sale section isn't business owned.

And let's not forget about the drama! Lave it at the login screen!!! This is sdreefs... not sdcheaps, sdflakes, etc... I have heard a lot of bad comments about this site and it is one of my fav sites. I woud love to see this site come back to its glory days.

[AFUreef]

I like the way this is gonna be going! Awesome keep up the good ideas and work! Thanks mike!!!

[jrod11]

Also, can we change when a user exceeds their PMs that they can't recieve messages? I just had to create a thread to notify them. Seems a bit insane to have to jump through hoops like that. Maybe they cant send them, but they can receive them.

[Waves in Glass]

Just a thought;
Allow the sponsors of the site to post "for sale" items in a sponsor section "for sale" only, and not in the general for sale section. All too often I see a sponsor soliciting the for sale section with a new product they started to stock... and at times, most Reefers aren't looking for that. They know where to go buy "phyto" or pumps, or your local fish store "stuff". Keep the general for-sale section for NON-Sponsors... like a swap meet. And give the sponsors a place to post ads, and pimp their stores.
(one store owner already agreed that they should have their own place to post when I brought this up... they don't happen to pollute the general section too often)

I dont want to start a debate on this only express that I disagree with this. Sponsors should be able to place items they have for sale in any for sale area that is appropriate. The sponsor area is for information that the sponsors want to pass out about their business.
I have placed some info of sale items in my personal area only to be told by many that they never saw the sale.
The reason is that they only go to the individual for sale livestock/equipment forums.
with that revelation sponsors would be restricted to their area and nobody would see what they have for sale. why sponsor in that case?
As long as the sale threads are reasonably managed their should not be an issue. That is for both sponsors and regular members.

[bbandu]

I had some more ideas but most have been stated above, The only other thing I can suggest is that it be manditory that you properly fill out the location in your proflie, and not put something else.

I have seen alot of things that are posted and the first response post is "location". If this was listed in everyones profile then there would be no question as to the location of the item.

[omrdloreyes]

As a user and a coustomer of LFS, I find it convinient to have lfs sale items along with everyone else's. I dont want to miss out on a sale of a lfs only because i forgot to check other forums. Thread's just need to be properly labeled, so one can easily filter out.

I dont want to start a debate on this only express that I disagree with this. Sponsors should be able to place items they have for sale in any for sale area that is appropriate. The sponsor area is for information that the sponsors want to pass out about their business.
I have placed some info of sale items in my personal area only to be told by many that they never saw the sale.
The reason is that they only go to the individual for sale livestock/equipment forums.
with that revelation sponsors would be restricted to their area and nobody would see what they have for sale. why sponsor in that case?
As long as the sale threads are reasonably managed their should not be an issue. That is for both sponsors and regular members.

[bpro32]

I dont want to start a debate on this only express that I disagree with this. Sponsors should be able to place items they have for sale in any for sale area that is appropriate. The sponsor area is for information that the sponsors want to pass out about their business.
I have placed some info of sale items in my personal area only to be told by many that they never saw the sale.
The reason is that they only go to the individual for sale livestock/equipment forums.
with that revelation sponsors would be restricted to their area and nobody would see what they have for sale. why sponsor in that case?
As long as the sale threads are reasonably managed their should not be an issue. That is for both sponsors and regular members.

I have held the same opinion as johnnyairtime but this is a compelling argument and I have to agree with you Larry.