Advanced Discussion Forum

[tiliqua]

I'd like to contribute to several threads in the Advanced Discussion Forum, however I'm unable to post there, as there doesn't seem to be an option to post there or start a new topic. Can someone please explain why this seems to be the case?

[Richard.C]

Origionally we wanted to keep certain aspects of it out,eg people with a sick lizaed askkng what to do in that forum instead of using the advanced section which alot will do thknking they will get a better answer because its more advanced ic that makes sense,will talk with admins and see if we can fix that up though as that forums been very lacking.buf probablu because not many can actually post there

I will get on to that asap,i hadnt really thought about it much of late and we never really did open it up

[Dakota]

It is made now that you have to have stars in order to post in it.

[lucasrusinak]

I've never ventured into the advanced section really, but that makes me curious; how do you earn stars on here?

[Dakota]

"Valued, regular contributors. Typically awarded after one year of active membership, with quality of advice and posting taken into account."

Oh, and staying on the good side of the admins and moderators.

tiliqua, I have sent you an email.

[tiliqua]

Thanks for explaining why I can't post in that section guys. I can understand why it's a restricted section, however would it be possible for at least some members like myself who don't post much to be given access?
I'm an Australian bushman and field herpetologist with a fair bit of first hand experience of bluetongues in the wild. I've also kept bluetongues for many years and I've got over a decades experience in reptile rescue and rehabilitation.

[Richard.C]

Yeah stars or earning of them isnt the criteria,it was trying to figure it out so we could keep it strictly to more advanced topics on tiliqua,with out needing to constantly have to move topics back to general discussion forum

At one stage we were thinking of posting it in gdf but if we felt it was advanced we could move it accross but it is hard to have advanced discussions if most of the members are prohibited from posting topics,let alone contributing

Will try and get it sorted out

[tiliqua]

Cheers mate, I agree. Hopefully I'll be given access, as there's some interesting topics of discussion in there that failed to really get off the ground through lack of input.

[Susann]

We have now opened up the Advanced Discussion forum so all members are able to post in there.
PLEASE follow the rules for that forum as they are different from all other forums here; do not abuse the rights to post in there or we WILL set them back to individual, experienced users only!

RULES for the Advanced Discussion forum:

This forum was created for more advanced scientific, medical, pathological, breeding, and environmental type discussions. This forum is NOT to show us photos of your skinks, NOT for new owner questions, nor for general banter; those belong in the General Discussion forum. We want to ensure that there is a place for both on BTS.org.
Everyone can read and contribute to this forum, although our aim is for this to be a more advanced forum... so please, if you don't have anything meaningful to contribute, just read, learn and enjoy.
This forum will be monitored carefully, and off topic, pointless or unnecessary comments and posts will be removed. All debates and discussions MUST be conducted in a mature, respectful manner.

We do not allow comments that aren't contributing to the discussions - please keep the comments and compliments to the General Discussion Forum if they do not contribute to the discussion. Comments like "Good job" and "Nice skink" etc, just for the sake of voicing approval, do not need to be made in this forum and will be removed!
For the most part, threads involving a sick skink and wondering what's wrong, or wanting to know what kind of skink you have, do NOT belong in this forum!

As on ALL the forums of BTS.org, we strive to make the ADF a place of learning for all members, free of criticism or know-it-all attitudes. If you do not know the background of the person you wish to respond to, please take the time to learn it before you criticize. Questioning is encouraged, but please realize that experience is very important and cannot necessarily be learned from reading or research. Please try to only post information from first hand experience and not what you have read or heard. You must respect the members with many years of experience and those who have been working with many animals and multiple species.
If you make claims, please back them up. If someone asks a question, please take the time to answer. You are allowed to voice disagreement, but it MUST be done respectfully and without negative criticism, and before voicing a disagreement make sure it adds to the discussion with additional information.

Please note that the general site rule of not reviving threads that are older than 3 months does NOT apply to this forum. You can add to a topic at anytime, regardless of how old the thread is.

If you are unsure if your post belongs in the Advanced Discussion forum, post it in the General Discussion Forum, and a moderator can then move it if they see fit.

[Jbolar]

Honestly had never seen an issue with the Method being used. it is a great method for filtering out a lot of nonsense threads and creates a special environment where the more experienced keepers can post.

you look at time on the forum, post count, they honestly don't mean much. the Stars is a great method for showing who has "earned" a spot in the community. they could make it a secret group i guess that is based upon invite only.

[Susann]

But nobody ever posted. The way it was set up, the few people that posted once in a blue moon never got feedback, so they figured it was pointless to post.

[Dakota]

I remember one post about ovulation got moved over to the ADF, and the OP deleted the thread. I guess because no one (could) contribute. It had a neat video; I wish he didn't delete it. However, it is still on YouTube, though.

Can't say I didn't contribute to some of the mess on the ADF, but I think leaving it closed would be a better idea. Just like before, no one is going to read through the guidelines before posting, especially for medical advice, since that was a common post there.

I personally feel that someone who wants to contribute to the forum should PM a moderator for them to grant permission. Though this will be time consuming, I think if the post it worth contributing, it can wait a few hours or so before it is posted. This will weed out all the non-advanced or pseudoscience discussions out, and bona fide ones in. However, with this in place, it will require more active moderators. I feel this way because first hand knowledge is very rare to come by. A lot of people are basing their information off what they are told; the so-called "parrots."

I think a sticky such as "Want to Contribute? Read here." would be eye-catching and would encourage more people to seek and follow rules.

[Jbolar]

Perhaps it should be a section to use if it's going to be that useful where only members who financially contribute should be allowed to use it.

[Susann]

Well, that would have to wait in that case until we do an update as we don't have a way for members to contribute at this point, and I'd hate for it to become a place where money rather than experience lets you post...

[Jbolar]

no different if your sharing published info in some cases, and info has some important value. those funds could go towards site upgrades, or a new web designer to come in and spruce up the ol girl and her code etc etc. it's not an awful idea.

[Dakota]

Well, that would have to wait in that case until we do an update as we don't have a way for members to contribute at this point, and I'd hate for it to become a place where money rather than experience lets you post...

I agree. It will be another imaginary superiority factor that will face the community. Not that I wouldn't try to donate as much as I could, but it wouldn't be fair to me knowing I was granted certain wishes because I donate, rather than proving intelligence and experience.

[Jbolar]

Hey, it's an idea to help the site, the idea that paying to benefit from others knowledge. The world isn't free and neither is knowledge. let's not be penny pinchers either and act like the site doesn't need help. or would you prefer ads?

I think you have a misunderstanding on paid services.. what's better, TV or Cable a lot of other things could be included. yeah perhaps it's not the best idea for the advanced discussion area. But the ADF area should be for members who have vetted and reliable info and information that has been verified as correct.

[Richard.C]

If in doubt one could post in the general discussion section and if warranted said topic could also be moved to the advanced forum

So if unsure if a topic is for advanced section,make it in the general discussion section and perhaps ask a mod or if mods see it as type of thread for the advanced section we could move it across


Post counts,years keeping,or numbers of animals doesnt matter,quality of post is very important though,open to everyone gives everyone a go

[TPceebee]

To add to what Richard said, perhaps a function which only allows members to comment on threads in the ADF section might be beneficial. The original threads could all be posted in the GDF and then moved across by a mod as they see fit, though that would give the mods more work.

I guess it is about weighing up the potential workload for the mods. They already do enough and the last thing anyone wants is a return to the times of constant sick skink threads in the ADF.

[Susann]

So far so good. I think we can try it like this for a while and see what happens. Any way we go to increase posting in there is going to increase the work-load, but for now, that's OK.