New CHANGES for BP.net!!

[JLC]

Hey Everybody!! Sorry you haven't seen me around much lately. I've been here, just doing a lot of work behind the scenes with the rest of the staff. We're working on some exciting new changes for the site that we believe will enhance your overall experience and bring added benefits to all our members.

Some of the smaller things I will get started on right away...getting them set up today. Some bigger things will come very soon, but may take a few days to fully set up and implement. And the very biggest things will be discussed last.....

SO...TODAY!!

1. Reorganizing and streamlining the forum list.

Mostly relatively small changes here, as we are fortunate enough that MOST of our forums and sub-forums are very active. But there are a few that are slow enough to justify collapsing into sub-forums or merging into main forums and deleting. (No threads will be deleted....just moved to the parent forum)

I also plan to move the whole Business Section up a little higher on the list so it gains a little more prominence. It will still fall below the herp forums, as they are our primary focus as always...but it will be up above all the other misc forums we offer.

2. Adding Rep points to the Thank You button!

For whatever reason, our rep system is very under-utilized. And it's a little sad, because when people spend their time and energy participating on a site like this, they like to be recognized for their efforts and be able to make some sort of visible progress in the community.

So, we've decided to attach one rep point to every Thank You that you are given. In all other aspects, the Thank You key will still work as always. At this time, there will not be any limits set on how often you can use it....but if we see people just going crazy and abusing the privilege so badly that it ruins the fun for everyone else, then we can set hard limits on how it is used. But I really don't think we'll need to do anything like that.

In addition to this, I still want to keep our original Rep System alive and active. So I will be upping the overall rep-power of everyone a little bit. It will be worth your while to let a member know how much you appreciated a particularly good post they have made.

Because of the changes in how rep is gained, though, we will be removing the early promotion to Veteran status by reaching 75 rep points. Those currently at that point today have been promoted. So congrats to our last three members to receive an early promotion to Veteran status! Foschi Exotic Serpents, j_h_smith, and Vypyrz.

COMING VERY SOON!!

1. Updated Stickies

We'll be going through all the stickies in all the forums. Old, outdated ones will be removed, as will redundancies. We'll make sure all images in the stickies are current and active. All links will be checked as well. Hopefully we can clean out some old, little-used stuff and make room for fresh, new ultra-helpful threads!

2. Updated FAQs

All the FAQ pages also are in sore need of updates. This will probably take a little longer than the stickies. We'll be looking at reformatting them for more efficient use, as well as updating all the info we wish to give out. I also plan to create a FAQ forum where a copy of ALL the FAQ pages can be found in one simple location, in an order that will be easily searched.

3. New Contests with BIG prizes!

We're still working out the overall details on this feature, but already have a great idea for our first effort. This will be a Quarterly event...so every three months we'll announce a new special contest that will net the winner a significant prize. These are NOT photo contests. My goal is to get the details of the first contest ironed out and ready to announce by the 1st of November...so keep your eyes out for it!

4. New Ranks for members to achieve!!

As I mentioned earlier regarding rep points...it's important for most people to feel like they are making some progress in a community. For many years now, the only "progress" a member can earn is a single promotion from "Registered User" to "BP.net Veteran." And that promotion takes two years to achieve, with a minimum post count of 200. And then that person will progress no further. (Paid-for subscriptions are an entirely different beast and not at all what I'm talking about here. )

SO....TWO NEW RANKS will be created to show our members how much we appreciate all they give to BP.net with their time and energy.

The first will be a mid-range goal between Registered User and Veteran. It will be achieved at one year of membership with a minimum of 100 posts. With it, you will gain more space in your PM box, more gallery space, and a nifty little title to wear. (Details are still being ironed out.)

The second new rank will be one earned AFTER Veteran. It will be given to those members that have proven to be die-hard members who have given a lot of themselves to the site. It will be earned at four years of membership with a minimum of 2000 posts. Still working on all the perks, but suffice it to say your PM box will be a lot bigger! And, of course, you'll have a special title that other members will want to hopefully strive for.

AND WHAT'S AHEAD IN THE NEAR FUTURE???

Big things! Things that we will need your input and guidance for! We have some very exciting ideas on the table. We're still hashing out the big chunky details, and when we get the basic shape of them settled, we'll be polling/quizzing the membership to help us refine and define what YOU guys want most. So keep an eye out on the Site Info forum for a chance to have your voice heard!

A bit long-winded, I know....sorry to make you read so much...and my deepest appreciation for everyone who stuck through it with me this far! Now, I've got work to do....

[dembonez]

wow Sounds Awesome!! im really looking forward to see all of these!

[Courtney281]

Im excited too! I know Im still pretty new here, but I love the site already and can't wait to see some new things come to it.

[joepythons]

Sounds good

[steveboos]

Awesome!!! This website has always been very active. Some forums are slow with replies, but here you can have 5 to 10 replies in minutes!! Shows how much the forum has helped out the community, so people tell their friends, and it grows and grows!

[Action Reptiles]

Very nice can't wait to see everything in action...

[BMorrison]

Can't wait!

[Lesserbee]

Sounds Awesome!