Is the Site dead?

[KalonjiBP]

Whats with the site, before they changed around things there was usaully new thread after new thread in the forums. Now there are only about 2-5 per day if that much.Whats going on?

[elevatethis]

I think one of two things have happened:

1) Traffic decreased after the site went down. The way the new page is up, you have to do some tweaking to make it visually appealing from where it is defaults at. Most people just dont mess with that stuff when browsing.

2) People are doing more reading than posting. I think almost every problem that can happen, has happened and there is a thread to read about it. Honestly, I totally despise redundant posts like "are my temps good?? they are 75 and 32 below zero? what can I do to fix them?" Stuff like that. I remember one time on the old site there were 3 active threads in a row all asking the same question.

I think we've got a good thing going so far. More people are reading caresheets and those will answer about 90% of all the questions on here. I think the site has shifted from a beginners forum to a more intermediate level of discussion. I like the slowdown, personally.

[mlededee]

the site is also generally a little slower on the weekends because everyone is busy and out and about instead of stuck at work (where a lot of people have computer access and will post) and whatnot. the site may have slowed down a little but i do believe it has become better since the transition. it is definitely not dead.

[frankykeno]

Well I'm fairly new here and to snake keeping as a whole but so far I love this forum. It's been a huge help to our family with our new baby BP. I do use the search function a lot to look up a topic or read older threads about issues that come up with this type of snake that we haven't faced yet.

I do like though when I start a thread I'm not getting just links to other threads and nothing else. Perhaps my question might be one asked before but it is very comforting for a new owner to know there are far more experienced people on here every day that have the patience to answer yet another temp, humidity, shed, feed problem from a worried newbie. This is the first place I go when any question has come up in the time we've owned our snake. So far, anything we've needed to know right now or wondered about in the future, I've found here either in a thread I've started or in one I found through a fast search of past posts.

Keep up the great work Ball-Pythons.net!


~~Joanna~~

P.S. One last thought, having checked out other forums (not naming names) but this one seems on the whole to be a respectful place where if owners do disagree on a topic or feel someone has made a mistake in their husbandry, they treat each other well and do not let it go to a place where personal insults become the focus.

[Brandon.O]

Ive been a member for a pretty long time now.

I think everyone remembers me posting away like crazy on almost every thread possible.After youve been around for awhile sometimes like elevatethis said, people sometimes do more reading then posting.

We also havent had an enormous amount of new members (people who do most of the posting) so i think that could be a reason too.

[BallPythonBabe448]

I too think it has slowed down alot.

I think that when it went down, people just assumed it was still down and forgot to come. THen they forgot to come, then forgot about the site. Or they found another site while it was down, and yet again forgot about this site. I know that happened with me and the reptile rooms. I used to go there, but now I found other sites and I go to them. I doubt that has happened, since the people here are really nice and informative, but you never know.

I like it still, it just is a bit frustrating sometimes if you really need something answered. Also I think I like it more since it is more intermediate-advanced herpers posting here, rather than (as stated above) the simple questions that could be answered by reading a caresheet. I mean it's ok to have a few posts like that, but before it was like every post could be figured out by reading a simple carsheet.

I like this site alot, though.

Whatever happened to Led4urhead? I have not seen him since the site changed...Where's Carson?

BPbabe448

[QuenteK25]

2) People are doing more reading than posting. I think almost every problem that can happen, has happened and there is a thread to read about it. Honestly, I totally despise redundant posts like "are my temps good?? they are 75 and 32 below zero? what can I do to fix them?" Stuff like that. I remember one time on the old site there were 3 active threads in a row all asking the same question.

I agree with the first thing you listed, as for #2. That's not a good sign. Redundant posts means an influx of new members. If you want the site to grow those posts are a good sign that growth is happening. New members almost always post before looking for an answer to their problems in a previous thread.

[Marla]

Whatever happened to Led4urhead? I have not seen him since the site changed...Where's Carson?

BPbabe448

He has posted here since the move, but not much because his life is very busy right now. He's doing good things for himself though, and I'm sure he'd be glad to know he's been missed.

[Ginevive]

I noticed a slowdown too. I know that personally, I do not have the Internet at home (we live out in the boonies so it would be too expensive to get satellite, and I despise aol.) I go to my mom's roughly 4 times a week after work, and that's when I can get on. I really wish I had a comp at home, but my BF might be getting a job where he would get free internet, so cross your fingers; I would be one of those people who'd be online all night instead of sleeping, like I used to when I lived back home!

[Smynx]

QuenteK: I think what elevatethis was trying to say is that now that the caresheets and other information is much easier to see and access, it has cut down on the number of typical "newbie" questions. Smulkin and Marla put A LOT of work into making the site as user-friendly as possible, and I hope that is a sign that it has worked.

As for myself, I haven't been around much in the last couple of weeks. Between end-of-schoolyear stuff with the kids and a boss that has returned to the office after a two-months absence, I have been SWAMPED. But I'm making a new resolution to spend at least an hour a day here. I've missed it!