Onychorhynchus coronatus
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Best nocturnal house ?
Best UK enclosure threads
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Andrew Swales
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I have been waiting for the UKs best Dormouse enclosure
When I asked why the previous 'saturation' subject (the interesting 'closed zoos' one, which has actually slowed down drastically now) which was swamping the zoo news in the UK thread, was moved to its own thread, and this one has not been? This is quite inconsistent.
The only answer was, that I could delete them if I wanted to.
Apart from a limited number of people interested in these type of 'competitions' and prepared to scroll down to find the real news, the site is losing its effectiveness and this approach will lead to even fewer people in the zoo world bothering to use it. This is mirrored by the up-loading of poor repetitive pictures into the galleries which immediately swamp the good stuff. Surely we are not going to have to put up with best Dormouse cage and best Budgie aviary...
I do feel that this is a missed opportunity as this site does contain much useful reference material, IF you have the patience and luck to find it.
In the meantime I guess we must be patient, as with a viral infection, this will probably burn itself out given time.
Whilst they may not be interesting to you, a significant number of people have been taking part in these polls and are enjoying them. They have provided a valuable topic of conversation in a time when there has been a lull in zoo news; think of it as a learning opportunity for people. I've enjoyed taking the time to go away look at exhibits that I've not seen in person before, but also those zoos as a whole. Had it not been for the polls, it's likely that I wouldn't have taken the time to do that... So please don't dismiss the value that these polls have, just because they don't offer anything to you.
Building on from my previous point, whilst individuals may predominantly use the site for the most recent "zoo news" (myself included), it is called "ZooChat" after all... People chatting about zoos, especially when there's a lack of news, shouldn't be a problem.
Maybe the recent increase of persistent unnecessary sarcasm and negativity from members might also be contributing to this, just a thought?
I do understand the sentiment of your comments Andrew, I just thought it would be fair to highlight the value of these threads, rather than just the negative side that you have explained above.
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I agree @ThomasNotTom, in the current climate there is certainly a place for these threads. As you say and I have said before, it is not as if there is much else being posted at the moment, so very little to read or discuss and plenty are reading them and getting involved.
Whilst I understand the views of @Andrew Swales and others, it should be noted that most of them have actually contributed to the discussions!
Whilst I understand the views of @Andrew Swales and others, it should be noted that most of them have actually contributed to the discussions!
I'm slightly disappointed that these enclosure threads have slowed down, but then when regarded in an optimistic light, I think I look forward to them more! A good few members have tuned into these threads, and not just British members for that matter. In fact, I think it is a really good thread idea, it's just it was bound to run into friction.
I am 'one of those people' who likes to rank things. It's all subjective, and of course I accept that, but I like to do things similar to, say @aardvark250's Asian zoo rankings thread, or, more pertinently, like to have a look at the threads currently in question. However, many people, my parents included, do not enjoy ranking things - as a result, the current friction was almost inevitable.
However, I think that those who do not necessarily take part in these threads have been quite tolerant of them, and though I do not personally experience swamping of forums (although as Andrew mentions I am getting slightly tired of the occasional posting of photos like https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/big-cat-enclosure) . In fact, I think, to his credit, Andrew has tried to get involved with these threads
I really don't know anything about sub-forums and forums and the difference it would make to the swamping forum, but I hope either a solution is found to allow both parties to continue as before or the compromise made upthread is finetuned to be as good as it gets. As I said, I really enjoy dipping into these threads and discovering new zoos I had never even heard of before, but I guess if others are finding it hard to enjoy Zoochat in their own way, we should move aside and try and find a compromise.
I am 'one of those people' who likes to rank things. It's all subjective, and of course I accept that, but I like to do things similar to, say @aardvark250's Asian zoo rankings thread, or, more pertinently, like to have a look at the threads currently in question. However, many people, my parents included, do not enjoy ranking things - as a result, the current friction was almost inevitable.
However, I think that those who do not necessarily take part in these threads have been quite tolerant of them, and though I do not personally experience swamping of forums (although as Andrew mentions I am getting slightly tired of the occasional posting of photos like https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/big-cat-enclosure) . In fact, I think, to his credit, Andrew has tried to get involved with these threads
I really don't know anything about sub-forums and forums and the difference it would make to the swamping forum, but I hope either a solution is found to allow both parties to continue as before or the compromise made upthread is finetuned to be as good as it gets. As I said, I really enjoy dipping into these threads and discovering new zoos I had never even heard of before, but I guess if others are finding it hard to enjoy Zoochat in their own way, we should move aside and try and find a compromise.
Yes, it is to these that he is particularly referring I believe - the moderators have cleaned up many more recent uploads to that gallery than are currently visible.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Of course I hold my hands up - I am personally so much more interested in zoo news and zoo history, than these comparisons, and yes I concede there must be a place for both (probably)..
But it would be SO much simpler if they were separated/indexed, so that it was quick for everyone to find the data they wanted. The current system is clumsy and cluttered.
The pictures are a constant irritation for much the same reason. The best on here are truly wonderful, and a fantastic resource, which I am sure is under-used, because so often they are buried quickly. I know that this discourages some photographers who do not bother to up-load as often as they might. AL's example of the concrete floor would be amusing if it were not so silly, and I am afraid it is rather more than 'occasional' - both in quality and volume.
Something worth noting, incidentally, is that the issue is not merely one of large quantities of lower-quality images being uploaded and swamping more unusual, noteworthy or high-quality images (which is something the moderators try to stay on top of as much as possible) but also the fact that when the forum software was updated several years ago we lost quite a lot of the ability to search, filter and categorise photographs which the site had previously enjoyed - including a better gallery comment system which allowed for (often very in-depth) discussions to take place.
Fortunately, we've been told that the next version of the forum software should hopefully resolve a lot of these issues - so hopefully that factor at least will be a thing of the past soon.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Animal news cannot have stopped - there must be plenty of news being reported on web-sites and social media.
If nothing is being posted, then presumably use of ZooChat itself is reduced...?
Maybe, but a lot of news gets posted from visits and so with all zoos shut none of this happens! So if nothing is being posted on news threads then the best enclosure threads have use to some and are not really causing a problem for those looking for news surely?!
I would doubt that usage has reduced given the circumstances - the number of people bored by lockdown should easily cancel out the number of people getting bored by the lack of news!
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
If there are just as many (bored) users, why are they not reporting on the animal news from the UK - when the reports (of sometimes of quite 'ordinary'news) from foreign zoos do not seem reduced?I would doubt that usage has reduced given the circumstances - the number of people bored by lockdown should easily cancel out the number of people getting bored by the lack of news!
Perhaps because there isn't really any momentous news right now except everyone is bracing themselves for the economic backlash of the crisis? People can't make it up if there isn't any...
There are 60 members online right now - I reckon that is about the same, if not a bit more than usual. Of course, it does seem strange that there is so little news but correlation does not imply causation
I reckon a good portion of the members visiting the site nowadays are more trying to find something to do than anything else. I certainly am when I'm not in school
I would also add the fact there are so few posts at the moment is perhaps making the volume of the Best UK threads stand out more than they would usually. For that reason and all those mentioned above I think having the threads more regularly (1 every 2 days) would be a better soloution.
At present, including this one you have four threads in the top nineteen (just over 20%). If you had your wishes (say 3.5 a week instead of 2) this might extrapolate to a third of threads -surely that's getting too much?
I'm not really sure why you can't accept the mods decision on this (most of us do, it's part of the "entrance fee") and keep coming back to it. You might be better focusing on making the threads truly indispensable and seeing where matters lead. To be honest I think the mods are doing you a favour and reducing the risk of burnout/over-exposure.
I'm not really sure why you can't accept the mods decision on this (most of us do, it's part of the "entrance fee") and keep coming back to it. You might be better focusing on making the threads truly indispensable and seeing where matters lead. To be honest I think the mods are doing you a favour and reducing the risk of burnout/over-exposure.
Sorry, I still don't understand the problem, I even liked your 'anti' hwp post which I agreed with, I think it is boring when an hwp or Chester exhibit walk it sometimes for no obvious reason! Both you and Andrew and others have contributed to the 'best enclosure threads' but continue to try and limit them! Literally nothing else is being posted in UK news threads, so no one has to search for news anyway !! This is not personal, I have respect for the opinion of both you and Andrew but I think you are wrong on this
You are making it out as if I'm the only one questioning the mods decision on this which is clearly not the case as many people have expressed the opinion they would like the polls to be created more regularly.
You bring up the issue of burn out, well my counter would be this is the perfect time to produce lots of these threads when the UK and most of the world is in strict lockdown and there is little zoo news.
Finally, I think it is highly unlikely creating 3.5 a week is likely to lead to 6 threads in the most recent posts first page.
Thanks, it's not personal either -while I know we have a lot of opinions in common, I think we'll just have to agree to differ on this one.
I don't think it's a contradiction to post on the threads and still want them limited (I love curry but wouldn't want to eat it several times a week).
Thanks, but using that principle, if all there was available to eat was curry, would you eat curry every day? Or starve.....Thanks, it's not personal either -while I know we have a lot of opinions in common, I think we'll just have to agree to differ on this one.
I don't think it's a contradiction to post on the threads and still want them limited (I love curry but wouldn't want to eat it several times a week).
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