random forum thoughts

[peterb]

I am a dedicated CactiGuide junkie, as many of you know. I check in several times a day. It's like having an endless Cactus and Succulent Journal to read.

today's stats:

Our users have posted a total of 104981 articles
We have 1992 registered users

So CG approaches 2000 members. nearly 105,000 articles. awesome!

I heard from a commercial grower a few weeks ago that cactus sales are up as a direct result of referrals by members here. This is good for the hobby, good for plants and generally just great news.

Daiv, I wonder if you've given thought to some way to archive existing content and make it more streamlined and more available? I bet you have. It seems with 105,000 articles there must be a vast wealth of C and S wisdom on here already. Getting members to access this info is another matter! I notice, for example, that despite the "10 most common ID requests" feature the exact same plants are posted repeatedly for ID.

I've also noticed that some members, both new and who have been on here longer, use the "search" function more than others. This is not a flawless search engine but it does often work to access sometimes very detailed advice on seed growing techniques, lighting arrangements, specific genera, etc. Internet forums often have a "FAQ heavy" nature, especially related to a given hobby or topic. Again, an awful lot of work could go into archiving and streamlining topic threads here that would probably be wasted because people wouldn't use it, but it's an interesting thought.

Maybe an increase in articles is another streamlining feature?

CG is often very high up in Google search results. This makes it imperative that we all double check our info and the accuracy of our posts and so on before we click "submit" in order to maintain the integrity of the site. Anyone who has investigated the wider web for info about cacti and succulents knows how very, very inconsistent, unreliable and sometimes laughable the results can be. CG is the exact opposite, for the most part.

anyway, what a great resource this forum is and many thanks to Daiv for creating and maintaining it.

peterb

[daiv]

Good thoughts Peterb! I'll add some thoughts of my own:

Forum design, etc:
As far as further organizing the forum, in the past there has been some concern over having too many categories to choose from so another level in thread hierarchy would be helpful for that. PHPBB2 doesn't have this, but PHPBB3 is out and I looked into making the change. This would add some other features, but is a daunting task and would require some down time on the forum while the switch is made. My number one concern is making sure the anti-spam function will work on the new version. We've not had a single spam bot post here since the "humanized" question was added to the registration, while the "funny shaped" letters are easy for bots to crack.

Content:
I really do want to enhance the articles section and rework the "cacti places" section. I've already got a couple volunteers send info on other places like "Big Bend NP". I'd also like to change the "My Garden" to "Private Collections" and let people add shots of their personal collections. I think this would be a fun page and want to add a user managed content feature for that so I don't have to copy all the info.

Commercial Growers:
From the onset, I decided that this site should be free of advertising and it not sales-driven. I felt this was especially important as it eliminates any conflict of interest with people who are in the business/hobby to make money. This way, when people donate articles, images, etc. it isn't about lining my pocket with cash. If the grower you talked about is seeing a boost in sales from the forum here, I'd love to see them "kick back" a little to the forum. And not money necessarily, but resources. Growing info for example. Maybe send some seed to the seed deopot. Even an article about themselves and how they got started and adventures they've had would be fun to read.

CSSA and other Societies
I shamelessly plug the C&S societies because I really believe they are worth supporting and being involved in. Here too, I think we could connect more via articles, plant trading, event promotion, etc. While CactiGuide is a sort of "on-line" society, it does not and could not ever replace these other organizations, nor would I ever want that to be an idea.

Conservation
I would like to use CactiGuide as a means to promote conservation of cacti plants and habitats. Through education, fund raisers, or who knows what. One thought I had was getting E-bay's attention somehow. (I tried e-mailing them to no avail.) Perhaps with the help of the CSSA or the media. But it would be cool to have a group of volunteers that verify the legality of cactus sold on e-bay. If we could somehow work with them to police the listings it could go a long way. They won't do that because it will cost money and so if the heat gets put on them for allowing illegal plants, I'm certain they'd probably ban all plant sales outright, which none of us want. This is a good time to do something as pro-environmental things are en vogue right now. It could be a good publicity stunt for ebay too.

[John C]

Great ideas Daiv! I especially like the private collection idea, that would be a great way to see other peoples collections.

[Saguaro123]

Yes indeed. It sounds like a brilliant idea.

[daiv]

Yeah, if only I didn't have to work for a living! Just think how much more could be accomplished!