A suggestion to help the site....

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botiaboy
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A suggestion to help the site....

Post by botiaboy » Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:52 am

When I first came here,looking for an I.D. of my S. longiventralis, I got a bit scared at all the different loaches id have to search through.I'm sure I'm not the only one. While loachaholics and such might find it fun, the casual aquarist trying to find out what kind of loach he just got,like me(before I got hooked on loaches),might get frustrated searching through all those loaches.Therfore,I suggest we have a loach dictomus key, so that casual aquarists who need an I.D. of their loach can do it quickly and acurately.The dictomus key would lead to different loaches and depending on all the features of the fish, would find the closest match on the profile, then bring them to the page to read up on their fish.
My loaches:
5 kubotai
5 almorhae
5 kuhli
5 zebra
1 aborichthys

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YellowFinned
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Post by YellowFinned » Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:07 am


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Martin Thoene
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Post by Martin Thoene » Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:15 am

I think you meant "dichotomous" key.

As YellowFinned has pointed out it's an idea we've always had with the new site, but not as yet got around to. It's actually a lot of work to develop. We needed the basic species list in place first before it could be contemplated, but it is something that I would like to get into fairly soon.

I think a LOL version might not be truly dichotomous, but give a few more choices at some stages and finally give links to a few species for visual matching. Unlike matching plant species for instance, it is very hard to look at details such as scale counts and suchlike in live fish specimens, so definitive species ID is more difficult for the hobbyist. We can certainly get people into the right ball-park area though.

Martin.
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helen nightingale
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Post by helen nightingale » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:16 am

sorry this is not quite on topic!

i saw the other day a thread had been edited by a mod and there was a name and a reason for the edit in a different colour.

i thought that was very good. thanks for listening and sifting through our rantings and taking this on board :D

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Martin Thoene
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Post by Martin Thoene » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:35 am

Helen, we have almost finalized a new set of Membership Rules which will be up soon. This makes it very clear what conditions of conduct are the responsibility of a member.

In parrallel with that, we have a set of Moderator Guidelines which is how we will hopefully create greater consistency of operation from moderator to moderator. The editing, with clear identification of the moderator making the edit and the reason, is just one of those guidelines already in operation.

Jeff has created an E-office for us and all moderator actions are now recorded there for other moderator information. Also, this provides a time-order record of actions. One beef over the recent ban was the difficulty of providing "evidence" to substantiate the ban. I believe that if there is concern over an action that we should be able to provide some back-up confirmation of its validity. While warning PM's to an offender should in my mind remain private (and will), the actual reason for actions ought to be available as a right to other members. This satisfies the wish for "transparency".

We will also be appointing an additional Moderator very soon.

Martin.
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YellowFinned
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Post by YellowFinned » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:44 am

On the subject of not quite being on the topic:

On this forum, on every thread, there are cheesy adverts at the top and bottom. Are these really necessary, or could they be dispensed with? If these ads are earning the proprietors countless millions, I understand, but I get the feeling ...

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helen nightingale
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Post by helen nightingale » Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:08 am

Martin, that sounds good, and that person must be brave!

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Martin Thoene
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Post by Martin Thoene » Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:08 am

YellowFinned, Jeff has discussed this. None of us like the ads, but I have found that I largely ignore them now anyway. He does need to offset the cost of running the site. It does not come for free and unless members want to support the site with cash donations then the site has to be financed somehow. It's sure better than pop-ups :wink:

I have looked at ads because once in a while something of interest appears. Others have found interesting stuff too.

Martin.
Image Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

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YellowFinned
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Post by YellowFinned » Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:43 am

helen nightingale wrote: and that person must be brave!
Thank you, Helen.
Martin Thoene wrote:None of us like the ads, but I have found that I largely ignore them
Largely, but not totally.
It does not come for free
I am aware of that.
need to offset the cost of running the site
Does it really generate anything?

It is your site - or Jeff’s site - and the combination of the loaches.com web site and this forum is fun, informative and getting better. I understand why you have not yet compiled a picture index, but I have no idea why you are satisfied with redundant cheese?

Am I getting contentious? Am I going to be banished to the OT forum? How come moderators can post their pictures on loachtank, and I cannot?

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Martin Thoene
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Post by Martin Thoene » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:08 am

It is your site - or Jeff’s site - and the combination of the loaches.com web site and this forum is fun, informative and getting better.


It is Jeff's site. I have been a guest here since 1998 and the other moderators also have for various other lengths of time. We volunteer out time here to help run the site because we care about people getting the right information.
Thanks for the positive comments on the combination of the forum and the new site. The new site is vastly more user-friendly and informative. It has completely revamped images which eclipse the old site in quality. This is totally due to all the talented photographers who have contributed pictures.
The moderators worked long and hard on the new species profiles and working out how we wanted the site to work. I will take the credit for it working how it does because after Jeff's initial setup I was the one who moved probably 90% of the content over and worked in all the links and cross-referencing. I did it because I've been off work with an industriial injury so I had the time available. But for that, it might not be as complete right now as it is. My misfortune actually put us way ahead of the projected schedule.
Its updatable software design means we can continuously tweak and tune and that is an on-going thing. Improvements will be gradual, but constant.
There's a BIG article on certain disease treatment protocols in the wings right now for instance. Any member is welcome and encouraged to submit articles for inclusion. It is your site and can get better and better if everyone does a little bit.
I have no idea why you are satisfied with redundant cheese?
You will have to explain that statement. I do not understand what you mean.
Am I getting contentious? Am I going to be banished to the OT forum?


Nobody gets "banned" to the OT Forum. They go there of their own free will if they wish to rant in a way which is unnaceptable on this or the Freshwater Forum.
How come moderators can post their pictures on loachtank, and I cannot?
Being a moderator has zero relevance on whether one can post on the loachtank Coppermine site or not. Have you registered? Have you ctreated an Album for yourself? If there is a problem we may be able to help you, but the site is totally independant of the LOL site and administered by somebody else. If it's a case of you not having done a required action, maybe we can talk you through it and get your pictures up. Right now as I write, I know that the server there is down so we can't do anything. Any pictures hosted there and linked in posts are not visible at present.

Martin.
Image Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

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hemi
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Post by hemi » Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:07 am

to get back to the original topic

wouldnt it be easier to have the fishes pictures visable in the ID section
kinda like an ebay auction
like when you look at the list theres a pict then the names ?
im lucky i can remeber "botia"
so much weed and acid when i was younger
now i suffer from CRS cant remember shit

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:07 pm

We've also talked about having representative pics of the general groups of loaches as thumbnails to make it easier to tell if the fish you have may belong in that group. It would make searching for your particular fish a less laborious process if you could see a similar type fish.

That is yet another project. 8) One step at a time we will continue improvements. All of the ideas the members are suggesting are taken into consideration. Some of them are easier to do than others. Some we simply can't do based on software limitations, others we will figure out a way to accomplish. But it doesn't happen overnight.

For now, please realize that we have accomplished a lot. It was a HUGE and time consuming job to get as far as we have. WE like to take some time to be here on the forums too!
books. gotta love em!
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helen nightingale
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Post by helen nightingale » Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:58 am

i remeber the old old LOL, before the threads were like they are now, and i was so confused by it all i didnt bother with it. now the threads are like this is so much better. and on the old LOL when i wanted detailed info on certain fish sometimes i just couldnt find anything. now after all the mods hard work, it is so easy to find specific, accurate species information, general information and all sorts of interesting stuff. i reckon that is a huge achievement. and i have noticed things being changed that members have suggested on threads


THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!

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Ken
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Post by Ken » Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:02 pm

helen nightingale wrote: THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!

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More OT comments.
Can I propose a ban on blue or red text in the forums? It hurts!

edited by shari 8)
that any better Ken?

...and thanks Hellen
“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”

James Beard

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Martin Thoene
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Post by Martin Thoene » Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:24 pm

I think Hel's bold l'orange is ok, but that red is mind-boggling and the blue unreadable. Cyan is a very viable alternative for emphasis or just annoying others :lol:

Martin.
Image Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

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