Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

exactly, if everyone who doesn't like banter doesn't write any, then it will go a long way to easing the mega post problem.

That said, some cleaning up is underway, we are just working out the best way to do it without stepping on anyone's toes.

I joined this forum only a few days after it started and the info gained and swapped then was priceless, and I will forever be grateful to Joel, Steve, Aquaaddict, Aquamad, Stu, VB, GD and others for the knowledge gained, but now, I am sorry to say it is mostly rubbish.
Yes we have all put up a few poor quality posts from time to time, but some on the forum have turned it into an art form.
The numbering of posts one does should be stopped.
And the ridiculous rankings, delete them as well.
Unfortunately there are some who think that there is some kind of prize for the most posts, which was evident some weeks ago when someone reached 1000 posts. There was I reckon up to a 100 posts of stupid remarks re the reaching of 1000 posts.
If this forum can’t be cleaned up then I think it might be time for another forum, sorry folks, but this one has reached a very sad state, and it is very sad indeed that such a wonderful resource has been wrecked by a few.
But it can be saved
I hope it can.
Muzza

lol...seriously....what do we need rankings for anyway???????????cant we just have the admin/mods and "member"??????????????????????

Has been difficult to look at all the posts and honestly I can't, so I try to check up on the familiar systems running and on occasion look at the others. I hope the sharing of info does not stop and feel the banter is just part of the community. Do what ever you feel is needed Mods it don't matter to me. Love the place.

I don't have too much problem with the volume of banter here, as long as it is in the general banter section what's the real harm? Member's system threads - as long as the thread owner doesn't mind then what's the harm? Fish, hardware, general systems should all be kept on topic rigorously because that is where we're supposed to look for hard facts.

I think one of the reasons it has been hard to keep up lately is that there are a lot of new folks with new systems starting up and so the members system thread are pretty heavy ATM. It is also warm weather there in Aus which has increased the volume a lot. Here it is cold and not much can be done so I'm enjoying the increased activity.

Personally I don't have much of a problem with it, but if we are experiencing problems in this area and people are getting upset, there have been a number of good ideas already to solve this.
I don't think as a group we would like to lose Murry (for example) or anyone who has good knowledge that we can all benefit from.
On another point of view we all like to have a laugh/joke and have fun(humans are a social animal).
This topic is a hard call and I have faith in our Mods/Admin to deal with it
(no they didn't pay me)

P.S. My answer is a thread under general banter called This months rubbish,
We can all use this for jokes,weather,what time is it there etc and it gets wiped at the beginning of every month.

OH and if the mods decide to clean up any of my threads, go forth with gusto,
(not that i have to give permission, as i don't own BAP but if it helps, you have it)

Yep, every now and then we have to remind ourselves there is a "general banter" section.. We did it once before when things were getting very "fluffy" in the serious threads, people clamped down and kept the general banter for that section only. We just have to all try and control ourselves, save all the light banter for that section only.

I don't think that deleting of posts is necessary, that was the idea behind having the stream lined "completed systems" section.. That will be up and running properly when we figure out how to do it...

My 20cents worth as a backyard AP MEMBER....................

lately i've been working 8am to 8pm + paper work after that. Tonight i got to log on at 11pm with 259 posts to read..............yet i'm getting through them. Some i'll lightly skim, others i'll read in depth.........i quite enjoy the giggles i get from some posts.

This "problem" was looked at quite some time ago. I personally looked at some threads in an attempt to "clean" them up. It won't work, chatter is mixed in with the same post as good stuff. The posts look ridiculous after being cleaned up

Its what keeps this place to friendly and a sort of social group as well.

Please not that the next comment is my own opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of other moderators or admins. If you want a repository of knowledge that is clean, concise and informative with little commentary then buy one of the (now) many AP books.

I like it just the way it is.

As previously mentioned efforts are being made to have a "completed systems" thread, where a copy of a members system can be placed and "steralized" (which is ok), while leaving the original shadow.

All I ask is that if someone is in a specifically technical thread like fish specifications or the like that they keep it strictly technical.

I personally had fun playing "wheres wally" with the toes.

Oh, if anyone want to make a funny comment about wheres wally, please start up a new thread under general banter and then place a link here so i know where to go to read a reply...................see what i mean?

Steve

EB, I am sure that you spent a good number of hours getting the chat function to work... We should all start using it a bit more... I check it every now and then but no one is on. I think that will be a great place to chat about general stuff. If anything important is mentioned there then by all means post it.

I have had my share of randomness, I am trying to make it better. I too find it hard to keep up with all the posts. Jokes and funny things are great but they are only funny once... that is why gnash's idea was good. Have a thread which is cleared every month. But still don't make it an excuse to go crazy.

What do we class as non technical/BAP related? Can we can make a kind of repository for contacts, suppliers, brands, fittings, fish, plants and theories then we can delete some non essential posts.

I'm kind of with Tim on this one...

When I first joined one of the first things I did was check out the chat function.... kept checking it for a week or so then just figured that nobody used it.

I do understand Muzzas point and agree it can be frustrating sometimes finding the information you might need within the general banter...

But I figure if I need a specific answer to something I can always PM an expert directly.

Don't want to loose someone like Muzza from the forum and hope you stay mate....

Perhaps those that lead the way in the early days are but that sheer fact more likely to be much more focussed and to the point...

When everything is new and self relevant it tends to seem more focussed and directly relevant....

As ideas and concepts attract "newbies" like myself in ever increasing numbers it probably does seem to the old hands to be maybe a bit cheapened, degraded...

Bit like living in a really nice place for years and seeing it slowly grow until it seems it's no longer the place you knew and has lost its charm and attraction.

Old hands like Murray are still valuable and needed in a forum like this, becaause you guys are the ones with "mature" systems that run balanced and harmoniously... you're the people that the rest of us turn to when outside of our joviality and light hearted banter we need help to overcome problems which we haven't encountered.... the voices of reason and experience

If the forum needs to be a little tighter then fine by me

These are some highly recommended standards from other forums I have been involved with. This falls under self control rather than moderator enforcement:

Rule 1) Don’t bump your own system thread unless you are making a real update or inquiring from the forum for help.

Rule 2) Don’t bump someone else’s system thread to carry on off topic banter (I have been guilty of that). Conduct kudos, great job, and how did you do that questions through Private Messages. That is what the utility is there for. If the system owner feels your PM might be valuable to the forum, he/she can post it at their discretion, otherwise let the thread originator moderate their system thread!

Rule 3) Monitor your own system thread with reasonable diligence. Don’t allow the thread to diverge off topic. The consequence is members stop surfing your system thread for real data, and more frequently for friendly banter; which starts to congest your thread your call. PM’ing helps cut down the pages and pages of “good job” “looks good”, “what’s that in the corner” etc. and all the newbie questions.

Rule 3) Encourage PM messages more. A large percentage of thread banter can easily be conducted PM and spare thread lurkers from sifting through your lengthy threads.

Rule 4) Link other thread topics more. Don’t answer a question in your own thread that you know has been discussed at length elsewhere. Simply assist the newbie to the link if possible or politely encourage them to use the search engine to find the relevant discussion and PM if you have any questions.

My Two Cents:

….you’ll notice that my system does not get bumped often. Maybe nobody is interested, but I tend to think that I am responsible for moderating my own system thread, setting the tone, and therefore bringing it back on topic if it drifts. Even though I am still learning, I tend to shy away from the newbie systems unless they are flagging for help. Not being a snob, I just don’t need to relive fish mortality, new system cycling, and timer/pump issues over and over. I like to help where and when I can, but if I come to the forum for a specific research or project, I know who’s system yields good data, and whose are filled with much banter. I believe the owners of those systems have different personalities and therefore it is reflected in how they set the tone and moderate their system thread/s.

Please do not lock member’s systems. My system is on its second year as of March ’07 and continues to grow and yield valuable data that is worth sharing. I would consider my system complete; much like a baby is complete, but still growing and developing.

I resist moderator control and appreciate how this forum is allowed to breathe.

Perhaps some added categories are needed, such as New Systems up to 1 Year, Systems Going On 2 years…Systems Going on 3 Years, etc. OR a Newbie’s Corner.

Michael,

I agree with everything you've said on this matter.

How 'bout posting Michael's ideas on the front page of the portal so that newcomers understand what's needed right from the start.

If we establish sensible ground rules, everybody's needs can be met.....and these suggestions are the way forward....and they don't require any increase in the moderator's workload.

Thank you Michael.

Gary

I agree with encouraging PM for banter.

While I agree with not putting too much off-topic banter in threads, I do want people to post their feedback and questions on the thread. Chances are good that if someone has a question, others do too. They just might not be brave enough/willing to ask the question. In my line of work, the un-asked questions can be deadly.

The problem with Rule #3 is that you can't remove someone else's banter from your own thread. (Like series of one-word posts designed to up peoples' ratings.) The best you can do is PM them and ask them not to do it, and notify the moderator that you want the post(s) removed. Is that acceptable to people?

Rule #3 addendum) If your thread goes OT, refer to Rules 1) and 2)

Self control, not moderator intervention.

Hey Guys and gals, I am not "abandoning ship" For the most part a bit of humor is very good, but some folks (I hope they realise who they are) just continuously post short one liners that is designed to get their ratings up
I come to the forum daily to see what is going on in the world of "Aquaponics" but it is difficult to spend the time to wade through the rubbish.

A case in point, I had two small fish die about three weeks ago, and I posted a pix of one of them (on my system thread) hoping to get some info from someone who knows a bag load more about fish that I do, but my post was burried in one and a half pages of stupid comments, on my thread following the pix I posted, most if not all the nonsense was totally unrelated to the fish pix. I did not get much in the way of info re the fish because I guess the question was lost buried under all the rubbish, anyone who may have been able to help me would not have seen my particular post. I believe this is happening a lot, there are possible newbies coming here asking genuine questions and it gets lost below people trying to get their number of posts up by making silly unrelated remarks.
If you do not have anything sensible to say relating to the question asked, then don't say anything - please - Go and have a good old joke-around in the Banter section.

Anyway I have had a good vent now....

Sorry if I have offended, but sometimes something has to be said to keep a family operating.

Lets get back to growing Fish and Vegies and having fun with this wonderful thing called Aquaponics.

Muzza.