Some ideas - feedback needed

[koiguy1969]

private conversations can already be had..using the private messaging feature.

 

[ComputerGuy]

I love the idea of the blogs and the articles.

 

[digginponds]

Since the forum software upgrade, we've been thinking about other things that can be done to make Garden Pond Forums an even better resource for pond and fish enthusiasts. We've come up with a shortlist, and it would be really useful for us to hear what you think.

• Articles - This would hopefully include a wide range of topics, including things like a beginners guide to their first pond, how to fix common problems, etc. We would be looking for people to write high-quality articles, so if you have some ideas and are interested in getting involved please let us know.
• Database - The forums are a fantastic resource, but there is so much there that we thought it would be a good idea to introduce a separate database of useful information related to garden ponds. The categories could include different types of fish and plants, together with care advice, illness prevention & cures etc. We will be looking for experts to make ongoing contributions to this, so if there is something you know a lot about we would love to hear from you.
• Project blogs - Currently members are able to start their own 'Pond showcase', which is a topic which only that member can contribute to. We thought it would perhaps be a better idea to introduce a Blog section - this would allow all members to start their own blog, which could include anything pond related. If members wanted to have their own 'pond showcase' blog or project story, other members would be able to make comments on the entries without ruining the 'flow' of the story.

Are these things that you would be interested in seeing? Is there anything that you want to get involved in?

After we have some content, we would then introduce a new front page which will feature the latest articles, forum topics, news and photos.

We have also added a 'Photo of the Month' section. I see so many excellent photos on here, we thought it would be a great idea to have a regular competition to showcase them! Anyone can contribute a photo (no more than one photo per member each month), and a winner will be selected from the submissions, as decided by the other members. In the long run we may suggest a theme for the photos, but currently you can submit a photo of whatever you like.

Here is how it will work for the October Photo of the Month: The deadline for submissions will be 20th September. After that there will be a poll in the forums so that members can pick their favourites. On the October 1st the winner will be announced, and the photo will be on the forum main page for the whole month. On 1st October members will be allowed to make submissions for the November Photo of the Month, and so on. In each case the deadline for submissions will be the 20th.

The topic for October's Photo of the Month will be posted shortly.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on any of the above!

some new idea's from across the pond...........sweet

 

[johnnyi]

Hi,

Among other things, I do business analysis, database design and database administration in real life. I can help on the technical end if you need it.

John

 

[27goldfish]

The website I run makes you join and be approved before you can post in the forums. I did, however put a guest page on it. I understand approving members on this site would be a bear. Mine is set up to where a current member of the gaming community has to invite you to join, which I confirm. The guest book and forced join site to post in forums would cut down on anonomous posters!

 

[postmandug]

Becky, even though I'm a new member here I have another suggestion. I'm also a subscriber to www.davesgarden.com. One of the features they have is what attracted me to their site in the first place. The Garden Watchdog is a member inspired listing of mail/internet gardening suppliers with the ability to post bad/good experiences with these companies. We could start a Pond Watchdog here and have members post their shopping, customer service, shipping experiences so that other members can decide if they want to utilize these companies themselves. I think it would be a natural fit with what you have going on here on this WONDERFUL site! Here's a link to the Garden Watchdog. See what you think.
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

Doug

 

[fishin4cars]

Wonder if there is a way to set up one of those links that shows where everyone is from. I know I have seen some sites that showed the different states in the US that everyone os from. was thinking it would be neat to see how many different location this site covers. it's pretty much world wide.

 

[don't ask]

Since the forum software upgrade, we've been thinking about other things that can be done to make Garden Pond Forums an even better resource for pond and fish enthusiasts. We've come up with a shortlist, and it would be really useful for us to hear what you think.

• Articles - This would hopefully include a wide range of topics, including things like a beginners guide to their first pond, how to fix common problems, etc. We would be looking for people to write high-quality articles, so if you have some ideas and are interested in getting involved please let us know.
• Database - The forums are a fantastic resource, but there is so much there that we thought it would be a good idea to introduce a separate database of useful information related to garden ponds. The categories could include different types of fish and plants, together with care advice, illness prevention & cures etc. We will be looking for experts to make ongoing contributions to this, so if there is something you know a lot about we would love to hear from you.
• Project blogs - Currently members are able to start their own 'Pond showcase', which is a topic which only that member can contribute to. We thought it would perhaps be a better idea to introduce a Blog section - this would allow all members to start their own blog, which could include anything pond related. If members wanted to have their own 'pond showcase' blog or project story, other members would be able to make comments on the entries without ruining the 'flow' of the story.

Are these things that you would be interested in seeing? Is there anything that you want to get involved in?

After we have some content, we would then introduce a new front page which will feature the latest articles, forum topics, news and photos.

We have also added a 'Photo of the Month' section. I see so many excellent photos on here, we thought it would be a great idea to have a regular competition to showcase them! Anyone can contribute a photo (no more than one photo per member each month), and a winner will be selected from the submissions, as decided by the other members. In the long run we may suggest a theme for the photos, but currently you can submit a photo of whatever you like.

Here is how it will work for the October Photo of the Month: The deadline for submissions will be 20th September. After that there will be a poll in the forums so that members can pick their favourites. On the October 1st the winner will be announced, and the photo will be on the forum main page for the whole month. On 1st October members will be allowed to make submissions for the November Photo of the Month, and so on. In each case the deadline for submissions will be the 20th.

The topic for October's Photo of the Month will be posted shortly.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on any of the above!

Becky, I had posted in the feedback section earlier today but will c and p here as well...

hello all, it just occurred to me that most new people and even some not so new people often ask what a particular term or terminology means. was wondering if it's possible to create a new category under forums called something like pond terminology? that way everything is listed in one place and a person doesn't have to go from forum to forum to find their answer as it will be pinned there. also don't know how easy it would be to modify or add to an existing topic instead of creating another thread under the same classification. you could also recommend everyone to browse through that before posting a question, not that that will eliminate the same topic being brought up multiple times on threads but it might help.

Andre
i looked through the topics but i didn't think this concept was mentioned

 

[Becky]

[quote name='postmandug' timestamp='1342101510' post='130308']
Becky, even though I'm a new member here I have another suggestion. I'm also a subscriber to www.davesgarden.com. One of the features they have is what attracted me to their site in the first place. The Garden Watchdog is a member inspired listing of mail/internet gardening suppliers with the ability to post bad/good experiences with these companies. We could start a Pond Watchdog here and have members post their shopping, customer service, shipping experiences so that other members can decide if they want to utilize these companies themselves. I think it would be a natural fit with what you have going on here on this WONDERFUL site! Here's a link to the Garden Watchdog. See what you think.
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

Doug
[/quote]

Great idea Doug! I'll try and get it added this week

[quote name='fishin4cars' timestamp='1342138110' post='130398']
Wonder if there is a way to set up one of those links that shows where everyone is from. I know I have seen some sites that showed the different states in the US that everyone os from. was thinking it would be neat to see how many different location this site covers. it's pretty much world wide.
[/quote]

There is a way to do this, but it's a bit tricky. I'll ask Ian to take a look into it, and I should hopefully be able to report back soon.

[quote name='don't ask' timestamp='1342393062' post='130870']
Becky, I had posted in the feedback section earlier today but will c and p here as well...
[/quote]

I've replied to your suggestion in the other topic

 

[j.w]

I'd like to know if you can change the search so that you can use 3 letter words in the search box. Tried to put in air pump the other day and it wouldn't let me search for it cuz air had only 3 letters.

 

[don't ask]

I'd like to know if you can change the search so that you can use 3 letter words in the search box. Tried to put in air pump the other day and it wouldn't let me search for it cuz air had only 3 letters.

j.w. i may be wrong on this but they probably could.. the issue would be that it would pull anything with those letters which would make your search more frustrating

 

[j.w]

So it would pull up everything w/ air in it. I finally put in aeration pump and it took me where I needed to go. Just had remembered we were talking on the subject of air pumps in a thread and figured that's what I needed to search for as those were the words used.

 

[Becky]

Unfortunately j.w this is one thing that we cannot change It's a technical limitation of the database... but if there is something specific you are looking for then you could always use Google. To search for items specifically on GPF, type site:https://www.gardenpondforum.com/ into the search box followed by whatever you want to search for.

For example if you type site:https://www.gardenpondforum.com/ air pump into the search box then it brings up all pages on GPF which contain 'air pump'.

It's not an ideal solution I know! I wish we could change how the search works!

 

[j.w]

Thanks Becky good idea!

 

[Waterbug]

I didn't know Google did that. Great tip, thanks. The search feature on most every site isn't normally very helpful so this will come in handy.