Why Are The 'clubs' Being Closed?

[Bignose]

If they are intended to be a serious collection of experiences they require structure. I'm not sure how this could be achieved here. Certainly having one thread per 'problem' provides a structure of sorts but if the administrators drop old topics (which I am sure is partly about site performance) this gain will be inevitably lost.

There haven't been any old topics dropped for well over 5 years now, and only then because of a few rogue co-admins who set out to attempt to destroy the forum. Since then, not a single thread has ever been removed and all still able to be found using the forum search function or Google.

 

[Sofia]

Ha!.... Thanks Sofia.... you've just touched on another important point here....When topics gets to around 5 to (53) pages...... all what is said inbetween gets lost...... Everybody goes to the last page to see what is current on the topic.....

Now, if these 53 pages (quoting Oscars again) were all broken up in separate threads,..... a lot more of it will be replied to and a lot more of it will be seen..... You all have to agree.

Er......always happy to help?

My point is that all these 'clubs' seem to be pointless within the actual forum which is a collection of people who are interested in the same hobby and that talk about it in a very organised and structured forum.

I can just see the livebearer section being reduced to this one post of about 1 billion pages eventually talking about the same things over and over again! I mean it's annoying enough that people ask the same questions over and over and dont use the bloomin' search option or dont bother reading pinned topics about the most basic of things before asking a question that is answered in said pinned topic.... but I digress......

The clubs are becoming 'mini forums' for fanatics of a particular species which this forum doesnt seem to be about. There are other forums on the web which are soley dedicated to livebearers or Oscars so I see no reason why particular species should have these little clubs within a larger forum that IMHO serves a higher purpose.

And yes I agree the clubs do seem to be started by younger members of the site and does have a feeling of 'treehouse club' attached to it.

I'm sorry if I seem to have rambled or not made complete sense i've had a few rum and cokes and am a bit 'happy'

feel free to tear my post to shreds I'll be back to reply in the morning. goodnight.

 

[backtotropical]

Ok TFF, let me tell you where I am......(10 points to the first person to name the person / programme)

When the first clubs started, they were a bit of fun for some, a source of information on a particular fish for others, and a sense of belonging for the rest. No harm done.

Recently, lots of clubs have cropped up in various sections, and some have even been appointing managers, secretaries and bosses. This could be easily misunderstood as a club backed by the forum, with officially appointed management, which it is not.

The mods do understand the sense of belonging afforded by the clubs, and also the effort some members have put into their posts in these threads, however where do we draw the line? Can we allow clubs to pop up for all eventualities? No, we would then be TFC rather than TFF. Can we allow some clubs to remain but not others, or would that be asking for another mod-bashing thread? If we do allow some to remain, how do we decide which are suitable and which aren't?

There is then the issue of do the clubs afford any benefit to either TFF or its members? Can the same thing be achieved by making threads or posts in the relevant sections as usual. Probably yes.

I personally have nothing against the clubs and would be happy for them to remain in principle. However, when they start to attract large signatures, detract from the other forum traffic, present themselves as TFF backed (even unintentionally) with a self-appointed management heirarchy, and become more and more numerous, the mods need to take stock of the situation and where it is going. That is what we are trying to do now.

I'm not sure I understand why some members think that the clubs give other members direction towards who to ask about a particular fish? Anyone can start or join the club. It doesn't mean you necessarily have the experience or knowledge to guide others any better than non-club members can.

The way I see it, TFF is a club and we all wear the badge of membership, each forum within TFF is a club and we all wear our chosen membership badges. Do we need further sub-clubs? I'm not sure that we do.

All that said, and I re-iterate what I said above, I have no objection to them in principle, especially the ones which seem popular with the members. What we need to address are the problems and potential problems which come with them.

BTT

 

[Spishkey]

ok ive not read between pages 5 and 7 cause i just know its full of arguong 'for and againsts'

would it be so hard to propose something like this?

unpin all 'clubs'
take away numbers/bosses/secretarys/whatever
leave the 'clubs' open as a normal thread, even remove the word club as it seems to offend so many
then the ones that dont get used will just drift off into the sea of old posts
the popular useful ones will be lifted to the top as people use them, it will weed out the used/not used ones
if someone wants to post they will find their club page!
no oversized sigs containing club member numbers etc...

it would just be like any other thread then...but somewhere us club members can chill and chat about our fish, and help any newbies who wonder in im not arrissed about it being a so called club, it was somewhere where i could show off my oscars, to other fellow oscar lovers, without annoying the many people who dont like oscars! they wouldnt come on the oscar thread if they didnt wanna see or hear about oscars would they (im using the oscars one as an example by the way but the principle goes for all the clubs)

 

[bae1994]

my betta club wasnt even pinned and it got closed

 

[Spishkey]

didnt matter if they were pinned or not..they all got closed

 

[bae1994]

oh fair enough

 

[cheesy feet]

I would like to refer to my earlier post RE: What is the point in them? (see post for full details).

I do however have to wonder how many people in this thread are 'genuine' and how many are fully paid up members of the 'lets all jump on the Suggestions bandwagon and agree with whatever is at hand no matter how stupid it is' club... Perhaps they should make a thread...

As I have been debating, there is no real point.Yet for no actual reason others still think there is.
Talked about this to another member via pm a couple of months ago as well.

so because you`re debating it.. it`s pointless??, who died and left you in charge?
cheesy feet your not a mod nor a club member so far as im aware, but i can indeed see how hard you are working to get to being one..... this thread is about the clubs.. not "all hail cheesyfeet"
i support the mods and totally . but, if they cant support us or find a place for clubs/ suggested subsection then i`ll have to maybe rethink my membership,
the word cliques is coming up a lot in this thread, i hate that word it means nothing to me... maybe its just there way of saying "im on the outside looking in" well err if you dont own a sev or an oscar then im afraid thats how it is, but its called a club not a clique....all a bit childish... reminds me of those silly mums you see at the school gates, looking down there noses at the others! and i think the most of the members of both clubs are way too down to earth for that crap.... when have we never offered advice because " someone wasnt good enough.. didnt use the "right" washing powder etc!! complete rubbish.. all sounds a bit lke jelousy tome.. tho goodness knows why


some of the people posting in here have openly said they have no interest in the clubs.. so i take it are lusting after the satisfaction of winding up co members or hovering likes scavengers over the clubs if they should be closed for good , only wanting to be a part o f the latest forum gossip.

Lol well coming from a 'co founder' or whatever, it's no surprise I would get a reply like this.You must be having a laugh if you think by arguing with literally everyone I'm trying to become a mod or the high title of 'club founder'
Just backing up the theory that they are to do with 'popularity'.
I will narrow it down to this- the clubs are pointless.
But the idea of a thread just about 1 fish, I have no problem with.As spishkey has said.

 

[holidayinn]

Ok TFF, let me tell you where I am......(10 points to the first person to name the person / programme)
BTT

Programme - Dragon's Den!!! Person -Well, they're all using that phrase now....

My feeling is, don't make the clubs sticky's, if the members of the club love it so much they'll add to the thread and keep it active. They will always come up in searches, and the first page of each sub-forum won't be littered with x amount of sticky's.

 

[JohnRossDele]

to be honest, why would such a good forum be closing down their clubs when they attract new comers to the forum and I'm not a member of the oscar club but i can asure you the most valueable info is on their!

I'm a boss of friday fryday club and I've seen a comment on their by Inch Worm herself that stated, that it was a brillant idea and will help fry owners on the forum aswell as attract breeders too

so why would you want to close the down then Inchworm and the rest of the mods

 

[Spishkey]

in my personal opinion, i think, someone-somewhere has been offended by the clubs? i dont know how or why but thats what i think, there must have been a complaint of sorts for the mods to make such a sudden desicion to close them..and to be discussing the future of them?

 

[Curiosity101]

I don't think anyone complained.

I think it's more likely (as has been explained), that they started seeing things going out of control.
Ie. New clubs being created so people can be 'Number 1' or 'The Boss' and they had to nip it in the bud now and decide on a way of keeping it under control, or closing them full stop.

 

[mixmaster jay]

to be honest, why would such a good forum be closing down their clubs when they attract new comers to the forum and I'm not a member of the oscar club but i can asure you the most valueable info is on their!

I'm a boss of friday fryday club and I've seen a comment on their by Inch Worm herself that stated, that it was a brillant idea and will help fry owners on the forum aswell as attract breeders too

so why would you want to close the down then Inchworm and the rest of the mods

also big c is a part of this club in a way too with his killi fry but nevermind ay

this is the only bit of input i am putting in
jay

 

[OohFeeshy]

To steal somebody else's comment on the matter, frankly the clubs are only a vehicle for people to feel like they have some kind of status- 'ooh, look at me, I'm a member of a club'. Even worse, people are actually trying to create postitions of authority for themselves- I speak of being the 'boss' or 'secretary'. It's a thread! Not an actual organisation! You have no authority, your so-called position is meaningless, unless of course you count making whoever it is feel a bit better about being one member amongst 45415, at the time of posting.

 

[Spishkey]

either way i hope they come to some sort of desicion soon