New look Volume 28 number 1 hits the doormats

[Peter Lacey]

wow! Craig, there's some very good points there, and some have been made before. I'd like to see lots of that implemented, superb ideas.

The only one I'd add is get Facebook integrated into the forum, much better than any chat box and provides a visible link for people to enjoy live chat.

[Mark Pennell]

Hi yes

A lot of cosmetic changes. And lot noted and I will have a good spring clean.

I will chase up Richard to update the gallery. I asked him last meeting.

A log of the separate forums are now really out of date and are inherited from the previous incarnation of the forum. The cms system now is now also going out of date as vb5 will use a complete new system.

As for the classifieds the have limited layout options.

Articles like rays get posted when I'm asked to. That one was so ray could share it with someone.

Ill print out your list and work through.

As for Facebook integration it already exists I've just turned it off. Not a to much of an issue to get it running. I know ray hale is not particularly happy with the Facebook group it does not seem to be inhabited by actual BTS members.

We have a fine line to what we give a away free. It's always been a contentious issue.

The BTS as with all societies are struggling for funds and of course members. You would be surprised just how many emails I get from people asking advice and wanting me to sort their problems out. Which I do happily then when I ask perhaps it may bd worth you joining. Only to get an email back saying

"no why should I pay information is free on the Internet and I don't need to be society member. "

Yet there happy to ask me.

Anyway taking those suggestions on board and will work through them ASAP

Mark

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[Arron Hooks]

I am not yet a member of the BTS (waiting for some cash) and very much a newbie to keeping tarantula but I hope I can add my thoughts. I apologise in advance if my assumptions are wrong and I put my foot in my mouth.

The journal is a big grab for me personally, nothing beats a hard copy of something to read. That is something that a computer can't replicate. Rather than putting up whole issues of the journal maybe just abstracts or a paragraph or two of some articles. Show people what the journal is and tease them into wanting more. Apart from the one free journal that is offered I don't know what goes into it usually.

On the classifieds, maybe encourage members to offer what they are selling to other members before non-members, or at a small discount to fellow members. For example lets say I manage to successfully get an A. Versicolor sack and the slings are ready for new homes I could a) Allow only other BTS members to buy them for the first 2 weeks, giving them first dibs or b) BTS member price: £10 and non-member price £12. This is something someone can't just google and allows the community to help each other, and not at the expense of the BTS.

I will continue lurking and I look forward to getting my hands on the journal once I can sort my membership out.

[Mark Pennell]

Forum layout

The forum has a nice look but it is cluttered up with (IMO anyway) with too many seperate forums which can be quite off putting and in need of a good tidy. For example -

Announcements, Notices & BTS forum rules

General and Journal News Information on forthcoming BTS Journals and general news -Basically consists of announcements of new journals which gets posted in the BTS Discussion forum anyway as well as any other news. So is it worth keeping?

Free BTS Journal - Why not put this in downloads or even the home page rather than be another forum header? FIXED! However worth noting this is in the download section always has been. I will add link in the home perhaps later

Chat room - Put the rules in the Rules and Regulations forum. Any planned chat nights get posted in the BTS discussion forum.FIXED!

E-store - There is already a button at the top of the page for this.FIXED!


B.T.S Tarantula Community Board

BTS Downloads - Already a button at the top of the page.FIXED!

Donate to the BTS here - E-store again. Perhaps have a button at the top of the page if need be?FIXED! Also where is my blue user title? FIXED! Thanks for the donation very much appreciated!

BTS Annual General Meeting - 1 post almost 3 years ago says it all really. Any AGM news gets posted in the BTS Discussions forum. Of course this could be quite a useful place to post the minutes of the AGM so that members don't have to keep chasing the committee for a copy. MOVED To sub forum

BTS Theraphosid News - Seems to get used but perhaps just needs to be a sub-forum in BTS Discussion forum. Is being used so for now it stays

BTS Exhibition May 2013 - A sticky on the BTS Discussion forum would do. Ray wants left as is

BTS Lectures & Dinner 2nd March 2013 - As above. FIXED! made into a direct link and threads moved to discussion forum


Photographs - Could really just be broken down to the following unless of course there was something particularly special about 2006 & 2007 -

B.T.S Theraphosidae Gallery

BTS Tarantula pix & videos

BTS Exhibition & lectures (really this could just be a post in the BTS Discussion forum for each event) ALL FIXED! Given a good winter dust up!


B.T.S. Classifieds, Trades & Breeding Directory

Fine as it is Thanks!


Forums, societys , and other recommended sites

A good idea but some of the links such as the MISC FIXED new link updated and The Australian Tarantula Association no longer exist or have been moved. FIXED LINK REMOVED Also i'm pretty sure it should be 'societies' rather than 'societys'.CORRECTED


The Theraphosidae Gallery

Showing correctly ID'd specimens of each species as well as undescribed species found in the hobby is a great idea. It is a mammoth task and as you say you have a team for it however, it is still out of date. For example Cyriopagopus sp. blue rather than Lampropelma violaceopes (is this really official?), Selenobrachys philippinus rather than Orphnaecus philippinus, no Augacephalus ezendami, Grammostola aureostriata rather than Grammostola pulchripes etc. Some changes are new, some are years old. Richard Gallon is been given the message to amend this. As far as I know there is a revision on Cyriopagopus, Lamproplema, Phormingochilus in the pipeline look out for P or C or L, pennellhewletti lol

Articles and Downloads

There certainly is a few articles and papers in the downloads section however there are an absolute ton more available online. Why not make as much of it available to forum members as possible? I'm sure the BTS could probably sweet talk a few authors into hosting some papers currently unavailable freely online on the site as well. Why not aim big? Returned the archived articles back up see link on home pages under articles

Classifieds

They're just horrible to use and to look at. Why not just have them the same format as rest of the forums on the site? That way people can tell at a glance of the forum main page if there is any new posts and more importantly it would be a lot easier to use. FIXED should look better now


Forum content

From a discussion with Stuart Longhorn on the BTS facebook group I discovered that the forum didn't even have something as simple as a basic sexing guide. Which then got me to thinking why, given the calibre of the committee and some of the members, is there not really any informative how to type posts on the forum which has been going for quite a few years now. Things ranging from getting your first tarantula, basic care, housing, anatomy (basic through to advanced taxonomic terms), breeding etc. Of course the obvious answer is that you want to save all the good stuff for journal articles. But why not combine the two? Publish these sort of things as an article in the journal then after say a year or so put an internet version on the forum like you have done with Ray's incubator article. Have sorted few issues out here with the archived articles I will repost a few of Richards excellent guides - well the links to them as there are already here just not linked

Anyway just a few ideas to mull over but nothing spectacular that will give you the traffic of these facebook groups that seem to be killing off forums.

*EDIT*

Oh yeah the new format journal looks good with some nice articles too. It's not a proper BTS journal without a Ray Gabriel pokie article. LOL AGREED, However Peter's et al article should have help alleviate your withdrawal symptoms.

[craig mcinnes]

Wow. I am genuinely impressed. I honestly thought I'd just get ignored or told to poke off. I think the site looks much better and is easier to navigate as well and all from a few simple changes. And all done on Christmas day too. Who could ask for more? Thanks Mark.

[Mark Pennell]

Wow. I am genuinely impressed. I honestly thought I'd just get ignored or told to poke off. I think the site looks much better and is easier to navigate as well and all from a few simple changes. And all done on Christmas day too. Who could ask for more? Thanks Mark.

Craig
Thanks. No one intentionally get ignored. Yes spent few hours this morning sorting out my bad back. While Kim cooked everyone's dinner.

I have very little free time as it is so have to sort stuff when I can.

I'm always open to suggestions and input on the site. If anyone had ideas or indeed input then just let's know.

Ok folks enjoy the rest of the day. I'm on the booze now. Singapore slings. Tiger beer and pain killers.

Happy days

Mark

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[Ruan Lambrechts]

New look Volume 28 number 1 hits the doormats

I have just joined as a member too, and what an awesome journal. Just one of those is worth the yearly membership fee.

[Peter Lacey]

Welcome Ruan, good to see you on here

[Peter Lacey]

thanks for the changes Mark, I don't think anyone expected such a quick response, especially not on Christmas day, so big thumbs up for making the effort.

[Mark Pennell]

thanks for the changes Mark, I don't think anyone expected such a quick response, especially not on Christmas day, so big thumbs up for making the effort.

Cheers Peter.

I do work on the site pretty every day so Xmas day no different.

Mark

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[Peter Kirk]

New look Volume 28 number 1 hits the doormats

Ditto from me Mark - thanks for your hard work doing that, especially when you should be sitting at home with your feet up sipping a Tiger! Or maybe you were doing that whilst sorting out the website......

In fact, the hard work that the entire committee carry out throughout the year is greatly appreciated. The fact is that if they didn't do it, there would be no BTS!! So thanks again.

[Mark Pennell]

Ditto from me Mark - thanks for your hard work doing that, especially when you should be sitting at home with your feet up sipping a Tiger! Or maybe you were doing that whilst sorting out the website......

In fact, the hard work that the entire committee carry out throughout the year is greatly appreciated. The fact is that if they didn't do it, there would be no BTS!! So thanks again.

No rest for the wicked Peter!..