PTO forum - 2022 and beyond.....

[WLLady]

Hi everyone!

Tis the end of 2021, and soon to be the beginning of 2022. We have been watching the forum in the last couple of years. Growth has slowed tremendously, and interest in things like the games, calendar, photo contest and, well, posting in general has also slowed down. The people posting are mainly the same small group of people. The same with the entries to the photo contest, in fact sometimes there are so few photos entered that we have to ask, post, cajole, run around with our own cameras to fill the contest.

So...now is the time for discussion on a couple of points.
1) Do you still want to continue the photo contest?
2) Do we still want/need the forum? Or would a FB page work just as well/better?

Please let us know your thoughts here in this topic. We have a great group here, and moderating isn't the issue. There are virtually no problems whatsoever, only a few spammers attempt to break in and we manage to get them pretty well. So this is literally from the point of view that the few that contribute are the few that contribute consistently to the forum, and maybe there's a better way forward to maintain what we have, without the things people aren't using.

Let us know!
I'll keep this topic here and open until the end of december - likely next weekend.
Thanks

[ross]

Keep this forum going .
Photo No

[TomK]

hi...thanks for this Kathy
i have noticed over the last year the lack of any real discussion on poultry..its become more of a social hub for a small group...and when poultry interested people come here and all they read are social interaction it presents as not what they want...I, personally, want to interact actively with people about birds...i am not looking for a resource page where i can read and read and read...that is available everywhere...I don't mind the photo contest, but until we have a.larger activity I will side with @ross
please, lets not let FB kick us to the curb, although I am mightily curious as to why such a.large registration never posts anything here.
...just my thoughts

[labradors]

I'm happy with this friendly forum just the way that it is, even though I don't contribute very much.

I'm a member of Facebook for various subjects, but can never ever find anything (previously discussed) on the various groups there, so I don't find it at all useful as a resource. Here, it is easy to look things up and learn what others have been through.

Linda

[lolotsung]

I'm not a fan of Facebook. I like the forum. I also like reading all the older posts which I may have gotten about 25% through. The way everything is organized is better than Facebook. For example I wanted so read up on breeds but only certain types and this was easy to do. My nephew said all the best info is on forums. He's correct. There isn't a problem no matter how rare that can't be solved here. Based on what you said about the photo contest it seems like a chore. So ok to stop.

[Happy]

Well tonight may not be the best time for me to respond to this. I've had a shitty Facebook day. I am on Facebook and have a page that I manage. Most people are decent or silent (like they are here). But some are just argumentative and determined to fight over stupid stuff. It really does seem to be a Facebook phenomenon.
I think that the reason why some prefer the forum format may be the very reason that many others have left the forum. The forum contains tons of information but you need to dig for it. Facebook is more immediate. It "feeds" you the next morsel to view. Or you ask and get 1000 answers (attention) even if 999 of those answers are crap.
I can't say I really have a vote one way or the other. It has to be disheartening that it's the same small group of people chatting here. And the forum must take some work on your part. I guess I feel like it's your decision Kathy and Martin.

[Killerbunny]

Don't get me wrong I don't mind putting up the Photo Contest at all but it's disheartening to have to roust up photos for it!
@Happy I hear you. I am Kate Bunn on FB and the amount of incorrect info is staggering. Apparently people are psychic vets and can tell folks exactly what is wrong with a bird when only testing can tell. Between that and unpleasantly saying "Soup Pot" to somone who may have a much loved bird. Not sure why anyone would eat a sick bird anyway even if it does have to be culled.

[Farrier1987]

Photo contest yes, I like it, even if there are doofusses (Doofi?) that dont vote for my pictures, even though they are the best ones.

I don't do facebook, so if we end the forum, I will just go eat meal worms with the chickens.

As for informative poultry stuff, we have covered a lot here, and though not everything that can go wrong, there is not a lot that is not already here, so cuts down on posts of happenings.

[Kbr42]

I like this forum, I'm on Facebook I answer some questions mostly...what is my silkie a pullet or cockeral...lol

This forum offers great information and often it's the only place I can find a decent answer. Way too much wrong information on Facebook.

I joined this because I didn't want to be on Facebook asking questions and getting answers like put it in a soup pot....

As for the photo contest, I think they are a bit of fun......it gives me some place to post my pictures...lol other than sending them to family who don't want to see my chicken pictures again

I totally understand if it's too much to keep the forum running for a small number of contributors. I'll miss reading about everyone's adventures.

[WLLady]

Hi all, so after looking through the comments we'll continue as usual. I have to agree, FB is not what I want in place of the forum because it's impossible to search, trying to keep everything civil is impossible (i am an admin on 2 groups there too) and it's way way harder to keep things going well on FB than it is here. And with the membership changes by FB it really is a total crap shoot on the spammers/haters. So. We have the space on the server and it's no problem for me or @poultry_admin to keep on top of it....hopefully there won't be too many more software updates this coming year!

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE PHOTO CONTEST: We will NOT be reminding people to enter for the photo contest on a regular basis. We will continue to run it, but if there are no entries, then no contest that month. With that said, february contest is open.