What's missing from the forum??

[LongCrow]

I think people are put off by the way forums keep track of likes and number of posts. Also the different names given to this. Somehow it gives the perception that a person who rarely makes a comment has less important knowledge than the person who talks at the water cooler daily.
The newby may be someone starting with chickens but could also be a retiree that now has more time and has 50+ years of knowledge but appears like a beginner. Insulting with little ability to gain respect without rambling on in posts of little importance.
Just a thought.

[Skinny rooster]

I wonder as well if we are in a down cycle of keeping chickens. When I started back in to chickens, especially in my area nobody around had them, five years ago there were a lot of really good poultry flocks around, I was even thinking of creating a small local club associated with one of the bigger clubs. Now it's pretty much just me again around this area and I don't even have breeding stock, just mutts. I wonder about other areas.

I can see others points as well, most of us have "been there, done that" so we are less likely to talk about how to get hens laying or when to feed oyster shells etc, etc. The list of solutions sounds like a good idea. It could be that these type of sites have run their course, like ten years ago everyone and their dog was writing a blog, no one reads blogs now, it's all Facebook, Twitter and instagram. I like this simple forum, I have no interest in using those other sites but I am the minority.

[labradors]

You are right Skinny. It seems that ALL my friends (and they are older ladies) are on Facebook?!?!?!? They wanted me to join and I am trying it - and hating it. I much prefer dedicated forums like this one. Perhaps these people are incapable of writing more than a few words at a time and they like a lot of variety.

Could it be that forums attract people who are passionate about the subject? People come and go, but the nucleus of keen folk stay and form a community, and that's what is so great.

IMHO the secret of a great forum or email list is to have keen, fun people who write often, get topics rolling, and help newbies.

I really like the daily "good morning" topic where people write what they are doing. It is a great way to stay in touch and to hear about other peoples' lives with their chickens and other critters.

One addition that I would like to see is a "general" topic where you can write about anything chicken-related. I often have difficulty, when starting a new topic to know quite where to put it. There aren't a lot of topics to choose from.

I think this forum is pretty good :).

Thanks to those who contribute and make it fun :).

Linda

[labradors]

Feed stores would be a great place to leave flyers :)

Linda

[muffin57]

I like having the info on the side with # of posts, location, date joined and the likes. I agree with Skinny rooster that I like this simple forum. I find it easy to use and is a great source of information and knowledge. I'm not into any other sites such as Backyard Chickens, Facebook etc.

[poultry_admin]

Stats? I have more stats than I know what to do with it...

This graph is user sign up vs. time. The steeper the curve, the more people register in a shorter period of time.
The obvious beginning steep slope when a lot of PSO people switched over to PTO. The second bump at around 800 members is from about April to June last year. So there is a very clear seasonal effect.
Interesting to me is the difference between the signup graph and the page view graph. I would have expected to see an increase in pageviews when we have people register more. I don't see it.

I really like @windwalkingwolf s idea of the questionnaire in combination with @Happy s suggestion of sending emails to non active members. I'll investigate that further to see if there is something we can glean from it.
I also think Jan is onto the right idea with her comment of people wanting to find information quickly.
Search Engine Optimization is a whole another topic. Keywords are not really used anymore. Google and the like are too smart for that now. They have algorithms and computers analyze the content of pages now. The key for them is to have content with the keywords and to have links to and from other webpages. The more links and mentions the better. So you won't find us looking for crossing silkies with ??? because even if we talk about it, we don't have links to other webpages in it.

[baronrenfrew]

This is the only forum/social media thing I do. i have a facebook page I check on rare occasions but thats it. Facebook and other sites are meant to hook you and waste your time so they can throw advertising at you. (running a site is work and there's nothing wrong with making a few bucks, God Bless the volunteers that run this site)

by definition: we're already a bit weird to start with: 1. how many people keep chickens as a percentage of the population
2. how many raise their own from a bator instead of buying chicks or ready to lay birds every year or two (maybe 10 or 20% of bird keepers)
3. how many of those want to talk/forum about birds outside of an initial search for things
4. everyone is busy: in our daily budget of time for media/tv/internet how many want to spend THAT time on a chicken website: any chicken website (my first three years on the old site was relegated to a few spring/fall visits, as it seems many folk do here)
5. how many folk get into birds then get out due to lack of success/disasters (disease, predator attack, gov't crap etc)

I think we're doing fine, and I will be putting up flyers at bulletin boards and at sales I go to in the near future.

What could be useful is a "teen" or kids page on this site to encourage them.

this site is 20mins of my day to check in with my chickenkeeper "friends". I like that we're a motley crew of very different yet likeminded folks.

fact sheet: top ten biggest mistakes new bird folk make

[KimChick]

All in all, I think this forum is fantastic. There are people local to me, and then there is everyone else in Ontario. The fact that it is an Ontario based forum is significant. This is my go-to place for help.
I can look up info on the Web, but it's not always as reliable as getting it from someone who lives in the same climate and region.
I have Facebook and am on a few of the groups, one being the Eastern Ontario Poultry Buy Sell Trade. We are retirees and new hobby farmers. Since we are on the learning curve with farm animals, the Facebook groups offer incite into what's happening out there. On these groups are a lot of people who, I think, are in it for the love of birds, and to make a bit of a business out of it.
I joined those groups to learn about the many breeds of poultry, and where to get them, if and when I decide to do so.
We are into this hobby farming mainly for the homegrown food it provides (with our veggie garden, too).

So, even if there is a new person in the group who has a wealth of experience, that's great. If they are willing to share their wealth of knowledge, that's even better.

And.... it's also great to read those funny banters, jests, jokes, etc.! It's good to have a sense of humour about a lot of stuff.

[baronrenfrew]

any version of this site will attract some folks and not others. there's no perfect answer

[BobG]

I stop in everyday to check whats new on this forum and the ACE forum in Alberta . They are the only poultry related forums I use at the present time . I have to admit I use Facecrack more for posting then in the past . The main reason for using FB is my friends list is made of like minded breeders so when I need feedback I get it from fellow breeders of show poultry. I do not think the forum has anything wrong with its current set up, all forums seem to be suffering from a general lack of use . That's my 2 cents worth !