So, what did happen? (Redirecting of topic)

[rubysoho]

*edit*

Did some more digging, but in obvious areas where I didn't think to look (of course!).

I noticed that one admin, maybe a mod, mentioned that the photo contests were like pulling teeth. Another person mentioned that (to paraphrase) AA seemed to slowly be bleeding to death.

Now, I *KNOW* this is not what I want to happen. I am pretty darn sure there are others out there who also feel the same.

Does anyone have any ideas we can offer up to liven up the site? Maybe a different photo contest? I know there are other sites that offer photo contests of tanks each month. That would be good for the "aquascapers."

Sooooo, what do you think?

[Leader of Men]

Well, I have just come back to this place shortly ago and I know that I sure don't want it to go away.

We could try a bunch of things. I know if there were a lot more articles and maybe presented in a better way we could draw more people. You know, like a one stop place for all the info everyone needs?

And are there prizes to go along with these photo contests? That may help peple be more interested. On this page I'm at right now I don't see any ads, and certainly wouldn't mind there being ads as long as they're not invasive and can help the site.

[Zagz]

All ideas and input to get more interest in contests is great. AA had a bit of a down time due to the trojan issues but things will be back to normal I'm sure very soon. After all AA is the best fish forum on the net and has the best members anywhere. Good members such as yourselves will help bring the site back around again. I will speak with other mods and admins about your suggestions and am sure that all suggestions are welcome.

[Fishyfanatic]

You can definitely submit pics of the entire tank. Just be sure to put it in the appropriate section (SW or FW).

[rubysoho]

well, I know we can already submit pics of entire tanks, I've just seen competitions (friendly of course) on other sites and thought it may be something more people would be willing to submit pictures of. As was stated, it was like pulling teeth to get members to submit pictures.


I think a face lift on the home page ought to be the first step. Dates and info need to be freshened up in order to show the currently less frequent members that AA is still the top place to be!


Also, didn't there used to be a site that ranked the fish forums based on how many people clicked on a link from the forum site? I am heading to bed now so I will dig for this link tomorrow sometime. But I remember AA being #1 many weeks in a row because of our member participation.


Any other ideas? I really want to encourage "shadow" members (I don't like the term "lurkers") to come out and voice opinions. This is your site too! Lets get some more suggestions to help the admin out - and in the end, make this an even more incredible community.

[black hills tj]

AA's sister site Fantasy Reef(mainly SW, but freshwater too!) has a few ads. They have a newsletter, photo contests. It is a bit smaller site than AA, but growing pretty decently I think.

I do agree that AA could use a facelift, the color scheme is rather bland, and some things are outdated like mentioned before.

[Fishyfanatic]

The site you were speaking of is AquaRank. It is based on the number of people that vote for the site each week. A link in my signature goes to the page to vote for AA.

Mike- You can change your color scheme in your profile.

I am moving this post to the Site Feedback forum.

[rubysoho]

Thanks, ff.

[fijiwigi]

I really like the setup of this site compared to the other sites. I hope that does not get changed. More definately needs to be done with photo's. How about an AA allstar photo gallery where members get to vote on each other's tank and the top 20 or so are posted as a link on the main page. Every month the photo's actually get changed. This would be a photo of the entire tank not just a really good photoshopped picture of 1 fish.

[rubysoho]

fiji, great points!

I think it will help the new owner to know what we do like. I agree that the setup is fantastic. And very user friendly in my opinion.

I also really like your idea for the "aa allstar." I wonder if data is kept on the pictures already in the gallery. They have a thumbsup system and it would be a great way to use existing photos.