[steve wright]

Valued 3Reef Members:

It has come to our attention that the Show Off Your Fish Tanks forum is not always being utilized for the purpose for which it was set up.

The idea for this forum was for members to show people their tank builds, and then update as the set up develops.

Some of these threads have deteriorated into chat type threads which influences the number of people who will view them, as many members do not have the time or the desire required to read through multiple chat posts in order to get tank information that they may be looking for.

Additionally, some of the threads are developing into question and answer sessions with the tank thread starter asking questions about equipment, livestock selections, etc. on those threads. This is not ideal for the following reasons

1. It means that you may only receive the opinions of a select group of members who are following your thread, thus depriving you of a much greater potential source of knowledge that you may have accumulated had you posted those enquiries in the relevant sections of the site.

2. The knowledge or information that you gain on your fish tank thread may also be unavailable for individuals who are not following your build. These individuals are not able to take advantage of the information in your thread because it will most likely not come up during a search for a particular topic because it is hidden away in a tank build thread.

As a result of these concerns, build threads will now be routinely monitored and the following actions may occur for future:

1. Threads that seem to have deteriorated into a series of off topic chat type posts will result in that thread being closed (should a tidy up be considered too ambitious a project by the moderator concerned).

2. Threads which contain numerous general hobby type questions may have posts removed and/or relocated to relevant forums, in order that they then be available for more opinions/more rounded advice.

Thus, we would appreciate your support in minimizing the work load of moderators by using the Show Off Your Fish Tanks forum for the purpose for which it was designed, and make sure that off topic chatter is not conducted in build threads (sure if someone offers a comment, please respond to that, as that is the polite thing to do but do not let the threads drift off topic and into chats about unrelated subjects).

Thank you for your cooperation.

3Reef

[sticksmith23]

Steve,

Is the Social Group option the best way for people who have become friends so to say to carry on a conversation? A lot of times, members use cell phone apps to get on 3reef, and the Social Group apps may not be compatible with some of these apps. Also, not all members are paying members, so the chat bar option isn't available to everyone.

[steve wright]

Originally Posted by sticksmith23

Steve,

Is the Social Group option the best way for people who have become friends so to say to carry on a conversation? A lot of times, members use cell phone apps to get on 3reef, and the Social Group apps may not be compatible with some of these apps. Also, not all members are paying members, so the chat bar option isn't available to everyone.

good question sticksmith and unfortunately I do not have all the answers
but
The social groups sound like they would be a good option
a discussion about non reef related subjects may also be appropriate in the bucket forum
and if people have become friends then exchanging PMs is also an option that does not interefere with the quality of the threads
if they have cell phones they could try calling each other for a chat ? that does seem a novel way to use a cell phone these days LOL

Steve

[Gboy66]

Originally Posted by sticksmith23

Steve,

Is the Social Group option the best way for people who have become friends so to say to carry on a conversation? A lot of times, members use cell phone apps to get on 3reef, and the Social Group apps may not be compatible with some of these apps. Also, not all members are paying members, so the chat bar option isn't available to everyone.

+1 i can only access the social group by the internet. This is really a pain to do, because it wont let you refresh there either. I have to re-log in every time. Thus, i am too chatty on my build threads.

Also, it is quite the hassle for somebody, especially a new reefer, to post a new thread for every single question. My impression of a build thread is a place for you to ask all your questions in one place. If i wanted to post a new thread for each question, i'd be posting several a day. I guess thats beneficial for those searching for specific answers, but i would really clutter up the forums with my continuous thread making, not to mention it would get old for me.

I understand about tge chatting on builds though! I will do my best!

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by steve wright

a discussion about non reef related subjects may also be appropriate in the bucket forum

That being said, chit chat type threads will not be permitted in The Bucket either so keep that in mind.

Don't worry about "cluttering up" the forums by starting new threads with your questions. That's what forums are for after all.

[steve wright]

Originally Posted by Gboy66

+1 i can only access the social group by the internet. This is really a pain to do, because it wont let you refresh there either. I have to re-log in every time. Thus, i am too chatty on my build threads.

Also, it is quite the hassle for somebody, especially a new reefer, to post a new thread for every single question. My impression of a build thread is a place for you to ask all your questions in one place. If i wanted to post a new thread for each question, i'd be posting several a day. I guess thats beneficial for those searching for specific answers, but i would really clutter up the forums with my continuous thread making, not to mention it would get old for me.

I understand about tge chatting on builds though! I will do my best!

a build thread is to show off your build
if you seek information, then asking question in the relevant section is the best way of getting that information, you may deprive yourself of input from very experienced people simply because they are not following your thread
if you want to ask 100 questions a day, then I would be happy for you to do that
I would also be happy if you asked them in the correct forums as that way they benefit you the most and they benefit the membership in general the most
thank you for your support on the chat situation I do appreciate it.

[chumslickjon]

Thanks guys. I do enjoy build threads, but not when they're 300 pages and you find out the build has gone no where.

[Gboy66]

Originally Posted by steve wright

a build thread is to show off your build
if you seek information, then asking question in the relevant section is the best way of getting that information, you may deprive yourself of input from very experienced people simply because they are not following your thread
if you want to ask 100 questions a day, then I would be happy for you to do that
I would also be happy if you asked them in the correct forums as that way they benefit you the most and they benefit the membership in general the most
thank you for your support on the chat situation I do appreciate it.

Well i guess ill be posting many more threads! Thanks for the clarification guys!

Ps, its awesome that members get to actually talk to mods here about problems and concerns. Lots of other forums make the mods out as ghosts who you cant talk too. It really helps guys

[SwimsWithFish]

Will do! I had my thread closed here a couple days ago, I asked too many questions.:p I had no idea. I was in the same state of mind as gboy. But now I know! I'll definitely start new threads for my questions and leave the build for tank updates.

Thanks guys!

[exactlyobp]

Thanks for all the moderators to keep this forum organized! Kudos to all of you.

Originally Posted by amcarrig

That being said, chit chat type threads will not be permitted in The Bucket either so keep that in mind.

Don't worry about "cluttering up" the forums by starting new threads with your questions. That's what forums are for after all.

This doesnt mean you can start all kinds of reef related yet random questions. DO A LOT OF RESEARCH FIRST.