How do you want the board to be?

[Show Dad]

Dido what Knabe said.

PS - Personally love DL's style. Know that it ruffles most feathers and understand that. But I deal with people all day long that I'm trying to help but they just won't tell like it is. So I find DL to be a breath of fresh air.

Love the fun that goes on here too!

 

[itk]

It says right on the title an online "Community". I have never been in a real world community where they only talk about one thing. That place would get very boring and nobody would want to live there. Like they say variety is the spice of life. With out thinking very hard I can think of 10 members on this sight that I know personally and would consider my friends and I would almost guarantee that I know at least one person in common with every member on the sight. I'm sure that I am not the only person who is this way. When we all have so much in common on a personal level because of a shared love of agriculture it is hard not to form friendships and share everyday trials even if it is just through the computer screen. Personally that is why I love this sight. Is that for everyone? I'm sure it's not but there are a million other forums out there. But I would challenge anyone to post a cattle related question on all of the different forums at the same time and see which one gives the fastest response. I would almost guarantee it will be answered the quickest and in the most mature fashion right here on SP.

 

[loveRedcows]

OK, here's an old lady who loves cattle, doesn't raise club calves, & only shows 2 or 3 shows a year, & lives in a location that is somewhat remote and isolated compared to the majority of board members.  I LOVE THIS BOARD THE WAY IT IS.  I enjoy reading about other folks experiences & sometimes sharing mine.  I too skip the threads that don't interest me & peek at the ones that might.  I really appreciate the technical info on items such as TH/PHA even tho they don't affect my breed (yet) and consider such as education.  I've found that sometimes things can be said that don't really come across the way they were intended.  Perhaps this has been the case where someone took offense at something that wasn't meant to be offensive...if you don't like what someone posted, take a deep breath & read it again.  Anyway, I've met (on line) some really neat folks & appreciate they're sharing ideas & experiences with us all.  KEEP THE BOARD THE WAY IT IS!

 

[kanshow]

I like it just the way it is!  If it doesn't interest me, I don't read it. 

 

[Jill]

DO NOT change a thing.  The most unique thing about this board is we are more like friends than just some people posting on a board.  I think you sometimes forget you are posting on a national board and talk about things that you wouldn't generally talk about to a stranger, but that is what makes this board special.  There is a big variety of people on this board, some own cattle, some don't, we all have different interest, some are nice, some aren't, that's just how life works and that is what makes each of us special.  I have never posted on Name that tune, Word Association  or most of the other fun posts, like some they don't interest me, I didn't post on the 12 year old daughter because I don't have one, can't give advice on that, I just skip those threads and read the ones that do interest me. 
I'm sorry that DL has bad feelings about this board, I have gained an incredible amount of information from her and feel she is just passionate about a cause, no hard feelings towards her, can't say the same for others.  I can guarantee that she isn't going to like Club Calves any better than she liked SS or SP, there are some folks you just can't make happy.

AJ-Shame on you!

 

[shortdawg]

Definitely leave it the way it is.

 

[CATTLENUT]

  (clapping)I LOVE THIS BOARD!  IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME FEEL HUMAN.  IT IS COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE MOMS WHO GO THRU THE SAME WHEEL OF EMOTIONS AS I DO (12 YEAR OLD DAUGTHER).  SOMETIMES I FEEL AS IF ALL I DO IS SCOOP POOP AND FIX SUPPER....HA HA!  NOBODY WOULD HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT UNTIL I STOPPED DOING IT.  PLEASE DON'T CHANGE A THING.  RED - YOU ARE APPRECIATED IN SO MANY WAYS!!! <party>

 

[GONEWEST]

I am in the minority here - and that is fine - I am not interested in being well liked or popular - my original goal was to help inform people about TH and PHA - we did that. I don't think the board always has to talk cattle, but  I find all the personal angst boring - so I won't read it - just way too much information - if you all want to share you maladies, your diseases, your headaches, your personal problems and your issues with your kids with the entire world more power to you, it is of absolutely no interest to me. If I was a kid and my mother was talking about me on a cattle board I would be appalled - but again, JMO so please carry on as you like - it is irrelevant to me

You know what I'm not interested in?? PHA and TH. I know it's there, who has it, how to breed around it, and to test for it.  That's all I need to know. That's it. You can only post that these genetic defects are the scourge of the earth so many times. Anyone not heard of either of these problems or know what it is or how to deal with it, raise your hand? Anyone? Who enjoys being talked down to like you've never seen a cow in your life and just woke up last nite, raise your hand? Anyone? "That other board" could have been called "PHAthedeathofusall.com" at one time.

It is my understanding that this board was read and posted by people. People who, in general, have other parts to their lives than cows. So why WOULDN'T they talk about other things with those who have similar lifestyles?  People have to discern what they feel is allowable in their lives, have to discern the validity of even the best meaning information here.  I have absolutely no interest in some topics, even some cattle topics, like PHA for instance. The proof that I have "absolutely no interest" is that you can't go to another board and find where I have publicly posted that I have absolutely no interest in boring topics. See, if I had posted anything like that, it  would indicate that I indeed have an agenda to propagate, an interest, something to gain or lose from what ever it was that was so boring to me. If I'm not interested in something I don't think about it, talk about it, or post about it. You may find that weird,  but it works for me.

 

[GONEWEST]

I want the board to be a source for pha,th, and defect discussions.

  : What in the world is there left to discuss?????????????????????/

 

[aj]

The only people annoyed about the genetic defect stuff are people who want to sell a pha heifer to a 12 year old kid.Don't read the posts if you are not interested. It takes a big man to take advantage of a 12 year old kid and their newcomer parents. If thats how you choose to do business thats up to you. The pha and th deal are quite the story. Its been 50 years since such a large representation of a genetic defect has occured.I am sorry your life has been destoyed by being forced to read those darn pha posts. Maybe we need a federal program to see over and prevent annoying pha posts on the internet.If it saved the annoyance of one person wouldn't it be worth it.

 

[red]

AJ- I agree, we need to be able to discuss PHA/TH & other defects. But this isn't a one topic board. You liked "name that tune", it certainly isn't cattle related. I just think a good mixture of several topics some of them silly, some serious, some personal & some dealing w/ defects & other topics related to cattle make this board what it is.

I'm sure the advocates of an all cattle board have their supporters. That is not surprising & nor is it wrong. What I don't understand is why they seem to think they'll be run off if they speak their mind. As long as I'm a moderator everyone is entitled to their opinion. I've never prevented Jen or DL from speaking their mind. I might not read Jen's e-mails but that's just because I'm quite frankly tired of threats & being bashed by her.

JMO, Red

 

[dori36]

This was posted on another board by what I guess is a former member. Actually I'm sorry to loose them because they brought a lot to the board.
ps - perhaps you noticed that the planet has gotten pretty boring - all that personal angst, issues with kids, disease and pestilence and not much cow talk....don't visit much anymore 

My question is, have we gotten off track? Should we be more cattle oriented? I'm probably the worst for sharing personal issues but I still believe sharing helps all. I can't say how many people said that by my talking about depression helped them to talk about theirs too. I know Simmimom will agree she feels better in hearing she' not alone in having kid problems. And we've all been there for the timid showers & rooted them on.

However, if the majority feels we need to get back to the basics we will try to. As I've always said, this is a community board made up of all of us. Let us know what you're thinking.

Red  (welcome)

There are probably valid thoughts both ways.  It's sometime pretty hard to separate out "personal" from "cowy" because so many personal issues from ranchers/farmers involve the cattle business they're trying to keep viable.  But, that said, is there a possibility of making a new category on the board that would allow for comments/questions that would be, basically, just personal and not related to cattle industry issues?  Then, if a persona was more comfortable talking strictly cattle industry issues, they could go there.  And if someone had dog, kid, weather, or whatever issues, they could post to and read the personal topics.  For me, as a relative newcomer to this board, I see that lots of you have shown together and pretty well know each other on a personal level.  I usually don't respond or read those posts as I don't feel a "part" of them.  I'd be more apt to read and participate in general cattle industry/handling issues.

 

[red]

I think we're going to ask Jason to have a seperate catagory called something like " the genetic connection" that way those that want to talk only about defects & such can go there & other topics that are still cattle related, personal, corgi, etc.. can be in the main area. I hope this will please everyone but sometimes you can't please everyone.

Thanks dori for you input! I've always valued your opinions because you tell it like it is!

Red

 

[jason]

Great input.

The original reason it started out in the beginning as a "anything goes" board was because there wasn't many members.  We felt if we limited the talk, it would limit the growth.  We have grown a lot, so we are always up to new ideas.

I think we might try to adding a subforum to see how it goes.

Jason

 

[CAB]

MO is don't fix it if it's not broke. You don't have to click on a topic if it's not your thing. I don't want to have to adapt to change. I'm old. It's bad enough out here in the sticks with this dial up.

 

[kimbaljd]

This was posted on another board by what I guess is a former member. Actually I'm sorry to loose them because they brought a lot to the board.
ps - perhaps you noticed that the planet has gotten pretty boring - all that personal angst, issues with kids, disease and pestilence and not much cow talk....don't visit much anymore 

My question is, have we gotten off track? Should we be more cattle oriented? I'm probably the worst for sharing personal issues but I still believe sharing helps all. I can't say how many people said that by my talking about depression helped them to talk about theirs too. I know Simmimom will agree she feels better in hearing she' not alone in having kid problems. And we've all been there for the timid showers & rooted them on.

However, if the majority feels we need to get back to the basics we will try to. As I've always said, this is a community board made up of all of us. Let us know what you're thinking.

Red  (welcome)

I wish there was an area that was just for cattle and topics on that. ie showing, feeding, managing, all things on that line. I would have to agree that it has gotten boring. I used to spend quite a bit of time on here reading the topics. I am just tired of having to sort through all the other stuff to get to what I am really looking for. I am not saying that I have not started any off base topics. I just wish they were in a different area to make it easier for me to find relevant issues to cattle and showing cattle.

 

[red]

trouble w/ that is that so many of the topics get hijacked & what starts out as a cattle topic ends up as something completely different. Plus I have a feeling that those that want something more w/ PHA/TH aren't interested in the show cattle world. We did have an ask the vet section a long time ago & nobody went there so we combined it. I guess personaly for my own time standpoint I'd like just a genetic section & then everything else together. Not sure I'd want to go to 4 or 5 different sections.

My suggestion is just scroll down & read the thread that the topics interest you. Usually they're pretty clear.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[knabe]

what about a link or search mechanism that priortizes or keeps track of number of times read or some ranking that a post was useful for archived topics.  i have a neighbor working on a corporate product of this sort.

i gave him a project to do some pedigree searches, ie what you usually have to call the association for, like how to parse files with one or more criteria and sort them like,

find all offspring of certain bull
find all offspring of certain bull that are heifers
find all offspring of certain bull that had a bull with certain number of calves

another thing i've asked him to do is to be able to priortize specific output that is cattle related.  i'm suprised more people haven't put hidden words on their web pages to help people find them, especially when new animals arrive.

one thing that may be already done is to mark threads you don't want to forget and put them in a folder so you could self save things based on your preferences rather than the natural flow this site has.

 

[kimbaljd]

Well I hate to be like this but I dont really have time to sort through them. I am at a computer for short spurts of time and want to get in and get out quickly. I am about to the point where I think its just not worth my hassle. I guess I am just a grumpy person.

 

[kimbaljd]

what about a link or search mechanism that priortizes or keeps track of number of times read or some ranking that a post was useful for archived topics.  i have a neighbor working on a corporate product of this sort.

i gave him a project to do some pedigree searches, ie what you usually have to call the association for, like how to parse files with one or more criteria and sort them like,

find all offspring of certain bull
find all offspring of certain bull that are heifers
find all offspring of certain bull that had a bull with certain number of calves

another thing i've asked him to do is to be able to priortize specific output that is cattle related.  i'm suprised more people haven't put hidden words on their web pages to help people find them, especially when new animals arrive.

one thing that may be already done is to mark threads you don't want to forget and put them in a folder so you could self save things based on your preferences rather than the natural flow this site has.

I like these ideas Knabe. Make it so!