What is wrong with Chaz?

[jordanr]

Hi:

Things have been slow on Chaz for awhile. In the hopes of changing that, I am asking for help. I think some of the best ideas might come from members who are not as active as they once were. What has made you visit less often? What could be done to make Chaz a place you visit again daily? There are many reasons why I speculate people are less active here, but I doubt it is because we have less interest in dogs. No doubt Facebook has had an effect, but I think there is still is a place to only interact with dog lovers. Of course maybe I am wrong. You tell me.

So don't hold back and let me know. What can we do here to make Chaz the best it can be?

R

 

[jane+lilly]

I dont remember my password, so cannot post on the forum. Let me think about how to go about this,,,,,,,,,,,,, I created a new account, with my other email address.

But here is why Ive left some forums behind:

And even tho I really DONT like Facebook, its what Im using now. Seems like we are somewhat forced to use it, as it gets results quickly.
Tho its certainly not as much fun as a private forum, as there is a lot of wasted time sorting thru posts which are not relevant.

I got started with a Yellow Lab FB page, which is awesome. And a local village FB page which we all use, and I just placed 2 black lab brothers who needed a home with a neighbour who's chocolate lab had just passed away.
We also have a dog rescue FB page which is very active.

And a really valuable FB page is one for local lost dogs within 30 miles of us, and that gets instantaneous results!
Dogs have been found within a half hour of a posting where and when they were lost with pictures.

So I guess that Mark Zuckerberg hit on a great idea when he started it, tho we have to go into the settings and sort out what you want to keep private, so the advertising for FB cant see everything that we post.

Jane

 

[Whisper]

I've been perusing the forum on and off and one issue I've noticed is the search feature. At first it was missing altogether and now it's incomplete.
When I search, the oldest I can ask a post to be "newer than" is from 2008, which doesn't encompass years before that. The biggest problem though is despite that, it only shows search results from the year 2004.
I find this important because the one big advantage a forum has over Facebook is that it's more conducive of discussion and is an archive of sorts for information.

The url has also changed. Not the chazhound part, but a thread's url used to be chazhound.com/forums/xxxxx. Now it's chazhound.com/threads/xxxxx. I find this important because when reading old threads, often members have posted links to other threads that further the context and meaning in the discussion. With the URLs having changed, it gives a 404 error. This makes it difficult to understand what past posts are referring to and lowers its value as an information archive.

Totally personal but I don't like the emojis at all, I prefer the originals. The change also means that old posts have text such as "opcorn:" which doesn't make sense, it's just a random word since that emoji no longer exists.

Honestly, I feel like the forum is trying too hard to mimic FB with the like button and gallery. JMO.
The old, real Chaz was content-driven. Hardly anyone used the gallery or blog. Photo sharing was done in individual threads, so the importance of a user friendly photo uploading option is key. I have heard others mention that too.

Other than that, I'm not sure. Chaz was a tight knit community for the most part. When some left, others left too because the community wasn't the same anymore. Some of that was due to random drama, some I don't really know. Drawing in a new group to band together is key to get it going again and I wish you all the best of luck. Absolutely forums can still thrive and many people are passionate about dogs.

 

[Whisper]

One more thing - I went to edit my post and can't. That's a change I'd also make.

 

[jordanr]

I've been perusing the forum on and off and one issue I've noticed is the search feature. At first it was missing altogether and now it's incomplete.
When I search, the oldest I can ask a post to be "newer than" is from 2008, which doesn't encompass years before that. The biggest problem though is despite that, it only shows search results from the year 2004.
I find this important because the one big advantage a forum has over Facebook is that it's more conducive of discussion and is an archive of sorts for information.

The url has also changed. Not the chazhound part, but a thread's url used to be chazhound.com/forums/xxxxx. Now it's chazhound.com/threads/xxxxx. I find this important because when reading old threads, often members have posted links to other threads that further the context and meaning in the discussion. With the URLs having changed, it gives a 404 error. This makes it difficult to understand what past posts are referring to and lowers its value as an information archive.

Totally personal but I don't like the emojis at all, I prefer the originals. The change also means that old posts have text such as "opcorn:" which doesn't make sense, it's just a random word since that emoji no longer exists.

Honestly, I feel like the forum is trying too hard to mimic FB with the like button and gallery. JMO.
The old, real Chaz was content-driven. Hardly anyone used the gallery or blog. Photo sharing was done in individual threads, so the importance of a user friendly photo uploading option is key. I have heard others mention that too.

Other than that, I'm not sure. Chaz was a tight knit community for the most part. When some left, others left too because the community wasn't the same anymore. Some of that was due to random drama, some I don't really know. Drawing in a new group to band together is key to get it going again and I wish you all the best of luck. Absolutely forums can still thrive and many people are passionate about dogs.

I rebuilt the search index, so that should fix the search issues. I also made it so you should have an hour to edit your own post after you post it. The other issues I am still working on.

How do you think we could attract old members back or new members?

 

[jordanr]

I also fixed the 404 error redirect issue now.

 

[EdithFortune]

Hi:

Things have been slow on Chaz for awhile. In the hopes of changing that, I am asking for help. I think some of the best ideas might come from members who are not as active as they once were. What has made you visit less often? What could be done to make Chaz a place you visit again daily? There are many reasons why I speculate people are less active here, but I doubt it is because we have less interest in dogs. No doubt Facebook has had an effect, but I think there is still is a place to only interact with dog lovers. Of course maybe I am wrong. You tell me.

So don't hold back and let me know. What can we do here to make Chaz the best it can be?

R

Some general suggestions on how to increase community engagement and attract more users to the platform.

1. Simplify the user interface: Make it easy for users to navigate the site and find the information they need. A clean, intuitive design can help users feel more comfortable and engaged on the site.
2. Encourage user-generated content: One way to increase engagement is to create opportunities for members to share their knowledge and experience. Consider adding forums or discussion boards where users can ask questions, share tips, and engage in conversation.
3. Create a sense of community: Encourage members to interact with each other, and recognize and reward active members. Creating a sense of community can help build engagement and loyalty.
4. Provide valuable content: Offering quality content, such as articles, videos, and other resources related to dog care, training, and behavior, can help attract users and keep them engaged.
5. Embrace social media: Use social media channels to promote Chaz and engage with users. Consider using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms to share content, interact with users, and grow the community.

These are just a few ideas, but there are many other ways to increase engagement and build a thriving community. It's important to listen to user feedback and make changes that address their concerns and needs. Good luck!