Adding a Freshwater Forum to R2R?

[rushbattle]

Please fishandplant.com, or whatever. It’s already hard enough to keep everything organized and threads understandable as it is. Imagine troubleshooting and all other threads from the New Posts page. You’d have to have a big tag for fresh vs salt. I think it would greatly decrease my enjoyment viewing R2R.

 

[Hermie]

Honestly, people aren't going to come to R2R for freshwater advice... so I don't see why people are scared of "newbie freshwater aquarists" coming here. And people that say FW and SW are totally different worlds... I have to disagree. FOWLR and FW Tanks are very similar IMO. The difference is when you get into Corals etc.

So, I think there are people that have a bias against FW people and I just wish they would be more open minded, because a lot of SW aquarists also have FW setups.

 

[cvrle1]

So, I think there are people that have a bias against FW people and I just wish they would be more open minded, because a lot of SW aquarists also have FW setups.

There is no bias towards FW people, and we are plenty open minded about things. Issue is that R2R is quickly becoming messy with so many sub forums, information and threads being posted wherever. If mods were better at making sure threads are posted in correct sub forums, I would maybe change my answer from no. Add FW and it will become a bigger gong show. How long before someone posts their FW thread in reef section because there are many more people active in reef? It will happen. We already has quite few FW questions in there for no reason.

Bottom line, I dont think in the end voting or anything else will change peoples minds. If site owners decide they can make more $ from fresh water, they will go that way, even if people say no. It's a business after all.

 

[boacvh]

I am supportive of a freshwater forum, but voted no because I am a noob and it's hard enough to go through all the information in here to determine what works or doesn't and I wouldn't want to have freshwater topics or information popping up on my searches and having to filter that out as well. Ideally they should be completely separate. Just MO

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Well the reason some people may be posting in the reef section Right now is because there is no freshwater section to post in. Instead of it being a sub forum it could be a well I don’t know what to call it but basically picture this.

idea 1:

type in reef2reef. Takes you to a page thatis split into two choices: freshwater and reef
You click which one you want to go to and you go there. No interfering with the other forum at all.
Idea 2:

type in reef2reef. Takes you to the normal home page. Normally, what we do now is click on forums and then it takesyou to a list of sub forums. Instead, next to the word forums there is a separate option for freshwater forums. If it gets too messy I’d volunteer to be a part time mod.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Here’s another idea: only allow people to post in the freshwater section if they have already been a member before it was created. Keep it this way for a month or two to see what it’s like

 

[cvrle1]

Well the reason some people may be posting in the reef section Right now is because there is no freshwater section to post in. Instead of it being a sub forum it could be a well I don’t know what to call it but basically picture this.

idea 1:

type in reef2reef. Takes you to a page thatis split into two choices: freshwater and reef
You click which one you want to go to and you go there. No interfering with the other forum at all.
Idea 2:

type in reef2reef. Takes you to the normal home page. Normally, what we do now is click on forums and then it takesyou to a list of sub forums. Instead, next to the word forums there is a separate option for freshwater forums. If it gets too messy I’d volunteer to be a part time mod.

As I mentioned before, I would have no objection to it as long as they were 2 completely separate entities with no criss crossing at all. If I select reef one and do a search, I would expect only reef results to be returned, and no FW ones. Same if I go to New Posts or Trending for example.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

As I mentioned before, I would have no objection to it as long as they were 2 completely separate entities with no criss crossing at all. If I select reef one and do a search, I would expect only reef results to be returned, and no FW ones. Same if I go to New Posts or Trending for example.

That’s what I’m thinking too

 

[Gareth elliott]

Could the ability to ignore a subforum be added? Like how you can follow one. Dont want to see fw section, tap ignore or invisible. For multiple reasons would make the subforums that can be ignored limited.

But might get the nay sayers on board.

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

Could the ability to ignore a subforum be added? Like how you can follow one. Dont want to see fw section, tap ignore or invisible. For multiple reasons would make the subforums that can be ignored limited.

But might get the nay sayers on board.

That’s a pretty good idea @revhtree @Daniel@R2R what do you guys think

 

[Silver14SS]

As long as it doesn't show up in New Posts, whatever Feature creep isn't always a good thing.

 

[BeejReef]

So, just for the sake of discussion... say there is a freshwater section. Where do the fw peeps go for tank emergency and fish disease? Is this another sub-section of a sub-section, or is a tank emergency a tank emergency?

Not griping, but any time I've tried to get a question answered, have had much better luck going to "new aquarist" or "emergency" thread than posting in the "general lps discussion" subgroup.

So, then you would have to deny a heavily invested freshwater aquarist the ability to post in tank emergency to avoid conflating the two worlds OR review each post and make a judgment call on content. Is it a cracked tank or a power outage? Maybe that's a universal emergency. If it's a bacterial bloom, it's a freshwater issue.

But wait, isn't the potential death of any fish or destruction of anyone's property an "emergency?"

I understand the impulse and wouldn't be put off if the forum goes that way. Branding is a funny thing though. Not sure I'd monkey with it once it has found stability and is exactly where you want it, at the top of the heap with the faces from BRSTV lauding it as the go-to.

Someone is going to GoDaddy "ReefOnly," put it under crazy blues and charge $280 a month.

 

[andrewkw]

Could the ability to ignore a subforum be added? Like how you can follow one. Dont want to see fw section, tap ignore or invisible. For multiple reasons would make the subforums that can be ignored limited.

But might get the nay sayers on board.

The problem with this - and I would be first to click this feature. Who would want to sponsor these freshwater forums that a large group, potentially a majority would ignore? As much as I would not like to see a fw section, this makes no business sense at all.

 

[homer1475]

I voted no for the simple fact this is a REEFING forum. If you want FW advice and like minded people, go to a FW forum.

Yes I realize many that have reefs also have FW, as do I, but if I want advice for my FW tank I go to a FW forum. I think adding another section will confuse the already confusing sections. And as others have posted, you will get FW people posting in any other section because more people view that section then their FW section.

 

[mrpizzaface]

BTW, I think the idea is just to have a single forum, like a FW build section, or small section at most?
Not turning R2R into a Reef AND Fresh forum. R2R will remain a Reef-Focused forum.
Staff please correct me if I'm wrong.

agreed

 

[mrpizzaface]

I voted no for the simple fact this is a REEFING forum. If you want FW advice and like minded people, go to a FW forum.

Yes I realize many that have reefs also have FW, as do I, but if I want advice for my FW tank I go to a FW forum. I think adding another section will confuse the already confusing sections. And as others have posted, you will get FW people posting in any other section because more people view that section then their FW section.

what freshwater forum do use?

 

[Hermie]

What if it's called "Freshwater and Brackish Systems" Instead of just Freshwater?

 

[mrpizzaface]

Even though many aquarists engage in freshwater and saltwater setups, it does seem as though a bias exists on both sides against the other. Not sure why.
In this case I don't think anyone is proposing a freshwater forum that is as comprehensive as R2R is currently, maybe just a subforum for builds and discussion. I don't think it will make the user interface here more confusing. I find the site well organized and easy to use as it is, and I feel confident a small sub forum would do little to change that.

 

[MnFish1]

We could still keep the name...

I have both fresh and saltwater - I voted - keep it like it is. Because - there are lots fo freshwater forums out there - and I dont see a positive to changing - I mean - lots of reef owners own dogs - it seems like there could be a section for them then as well (OK OK - I know its not quite the same - but you get the drift)

 

[MnFish1]

I mean we have posts like drop a word keep a word in offtopic areas ... Freshwater seems a lot more interesting then that nonesense.

People can discuss freshwater things on the forum - they pop up from time to time. One of the benefits of a community - is that experts in 'that' topic come to that forums. For example - the disease forum - will there be a freshwatersquad? etc etc - it could get confusing very quickly.