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This is the only forum that I am a member of too. I'm starting to panic just thinking it may not be around.
But I too have not been posting as much lately as work has been so busy so that will change from now. I will also donate as well.
 
I don't currently have any rats, and I am prohibited from having pets where I currently live.

Times are tough, Jo, and many can't financially handle adopting any fur faces to post about.... at least that is the case with me. :(

I won't have anywhere to go if the Rat Shack shuts down. I place too much value on quality which is why you won't see me joining any other rat lover website. I'm kind of stupid that way.

I don't create threads right now because I don't have any fuzzy face to write about. :(
 
We've been seeing a lot of good ideas lately to perk up the postage amount(like with the three or four different games that popped up overnight!!!).

I'm going to ask a good friend of mine if he could make a banner for the ratshack, and people could put that into their signatures on other forums/websites. Maybe that would help perk up the interest? Some free advertisement...
(Does one exist yet? Would anyone have an issue with this?)

And I don't think shutting down the facebook one will help. I dislike facebook, too, I don't use it either. But we have to admit- facebook is THE place to spread word about your community or organization these days, and I think a lot of our members learned about the forum from there. I trust you, jorats, to do what you think's best with all of this! I hope the decision to shut down can be changed if we all try to work together and post more/get more members.
 
Aida said:
W
And I don't think shutting down the facebook one will help. I dislike facebook, too, I don't use it either. But we have to admit- facebook is THE place to spread word about your community or organization these days, and I think a lot of our members learned about the forum from there. I trust you, jorats, to do what you think's best with all of this! I hope the decision to shut down can be changed if we all try to work together and post more/get more members.
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I've not been on the forum as much, but I have definitely noticed that since the Facebook group was started, it has seemed quite busy and the forum has been quieter. Maybe just me but I don't see the point to having a group when you have a really good forum with loads of information on it.

You could still have a page / profile to "advertise" the forum but not an open group that is used for discussions if that makes sense.
 
Originally, the group was made to let the members know when the shack went down for maintenance.
So, really, to make things easier on my and the mods, I will close that group but I have made a page and I think it's a much better way to communicate with the members outside the forum without letting it go out of hand.

There are hundreds of FB groups for rats and most are filled with misinformation. Sadly, I've seen it on the FB RS as well and that scares me. So best to shut that one down and concentrate on this one.
I love how active it's become. That's the forum I remember!
 
I only saw this thread now (I always miss the sticky ones!) and I would be heart broken to see this forum close. :(

I can't imagine what kind of a rat mom I would be without it. I value the Rat Shack so much and I trust the experienced people here more than my current vet. I would be lost without it.
I also am on the Shack a lot. I actually keep the tab open at all times... so when I'm bored, I come on the Rat Shack and look for new posts with cute pictures (which there aren't many anymore, sadly). I am a bit of a lurker rather than a poster, but that can change!

I hope closing the FB Rat Shack will help. I'm dying to see this forum active again!
 
i think that's a great idea, instead of abandoning everyone on facebook, because some people maybe not want to join a forum, to make a page where people can LIKE it so the admin/creator posts the information, the RIGHT information. because in the end we want what's best for the rats. and if those people would like to discus more about what you post or what's happening with their rat whether it be illness or just pictures, they are directed to come here. and if they choose not to.... well they're just missing out :nod:
this is how i view it, atleast. and i hope it helps in replenishing the shack! (that is, if that's what is decided that's going to happen with the facebook groups)
 
victoria said:
Some people (I am not among them) are unhappy about the change and are starting a new group. If anyone wants to join, the info is here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32888
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I feel like that one will soon turn into one fo the many groups we routinely bang our heads against the wall over.. I think I will redirect my rat postings back to the forum instead of joining more facebook groups. I will keep the few I have now but thats all. This is the kick in the butt I needed to be more active on here :D
 
jorats said:
I'm seriously thinking of shutting down the FB Rat Shack. It bothers me so much that there is a lot of misinformation going on there. It was suggested to me that I make a Rat Shack page instead of group on FB. This way I can control what goes on there and I can post accurate rat information. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.
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Newer user here (longtime lurker, though :)) but I think that is an excellent idea. I work with some political candidates and maintained the Facebook page for one of them who just didn't have the time or know-how. I detest Facebook but even I found it quite easy to control content and keep the opposition from posting crud. For dispensing information or even comments relating to links and articles, it can be a great solution.

That said, I am all for abolishing it completely. Forums are SO much more useful than Facebook, and much more of a community rather than a clique. There's plenty of younger folks like me (okay, I'm 26 but still fairly young!) who refuse to even have Facebook profiles, but still spend plenty of time online exchanging ideas and learning.

One question - is the issue the cost of running the forum on a server, or interest? I ask because if it is the server side of things I may have a solution to propose (my husband owning many a domain and two servers). I was getting the impression it wasn't that the modding was too much, but the technical back end?
 
PeachPeach said:
jorats said:
One question - is the issue the cost of running the forum on a server, or interest? I ask because if it is the server side of things I may have a solution to propose (my husband owning many a domain and two servers). I was getting the impression it wasn't that the modding was too much, but the technical back end?
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It's a bit of everything. It had become so slow here, it kind of felt like we were working towards nothing. So that's why we really wanted to perk things up and get the community alive again within the forum.
I must say, it's been great meeting new members and having our friends come back to us and making this a real family again. :grouphug2:
 
I've been monitoring the active users on the board index page since I first read this post and it has been slowing increasing, 79 users, 80 users, 82 and now 86 users over the past 24 hours. :joy:
I've also been comparing it to the most users ever online which was 179. Do you think we can beat that!!??
 
I sure hope we can I'm more addicted to this site then Facebook :) all the cute pictures, all the helpful advice, seeing other people's problems and issues you can relate to and I'm becoming a better rat owner because of it :D
 
We could try to pick a date to "beat" that record. For example, I don't know, on March 19th(just an example}, we can let our users know that we'll be trying to beat that record, and have some sort of raffles or something for everyone that logged in/posted that day. I know a lot of websites do that, just an idea. :}

I'd be willing to crochet some sets as prizes, etc.
 
Aida said:
We could try to pick a date to "beat" that record.
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What a great idea! :joy:

I've no idea how many users or members there currently are but I think we should try to aim for some sort of record to show our commitment to The Shack.

What do you all think?
 
I'm glad you guys would be into that.

What do you think, Jorats?
It might perk up the interest, if we have stuff going on that day, too.
 

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