Opinions of BCA?

[BCAquaria]

Hey guys and gals of BCA.

Regardless of how new or how few posts you've made on BCA. Please feel free to leave some feedback in this thread.

I'm basically looking for some opinions from YOU as a member. We're going through some changes in BCA and we're trying to see what we can do to make your time on BCA better? Or maybe convince lurkers to become active. Any cool add-ons you've seen on other forums that you think we could use? Or maybe what we're doing right that you really enjoy on this website.

Often as mods and admins we can't catch it all (we have our own lives to live too), so I want to take a moment to reach out to you guys and see if there's things bugging you. Please don't make it a rant or throw specific members into the fire. I'm just looking for suggestions, comments or praises on how you feel BCA is being run and what we could do better.


Things we're going to be cracking down on.

-Profanity/Coarse language (We want this site family friendly, profanity is not needed to get your point accross.)

-E-Bullying (People won't always agree with everyone, be respectful of others even if you don't agree with them. Bullying other members is not tolerated. I've noticed an increase in overly aggressive self proclaimed know it all's. We will ban these people without warning so please be respectful to other members.)

-Slander (If you have an issue with a sponsor or member please PM them or post in their section. Publicly slandering them does not help anyone resolve the matter in any way. This is not a matter of us trying to restrict your freedom or covering up for sponsors but more to protect ourselves from possible legalities. )

-Non-sponsor Breeders/Commercial selling (We have sponsors and breeders that keep this site running for everyone. We also have FREE giveaways and host events to endorse the hobby. All which cost money. Why should non-sponsoring breeders/stores be able use BCA to profit for themselves only and not the BCA community. The more money we get, the more money we sink back into this site. Offenders will have their ads removed and/or accounts banned without warning. If you're unsure if you're considered a breeder please PM an admin or mod)

Thanks for reading this thread.

[Ursus sapien]

First off, I do appreciate this forum. I've met amazing hobbyists here, and made friends. Leaned some things, too. So please don't take this as general a BCA bash.

I think BCA has totally missed the mark with hobbyist breeders, and over-estimated how much we earn from our efforts. For many of us, breeding is a significant part of the challenge and fascination of fish keeping. If we're lucky, we make back enough money to pay for some of our hobby.

When I suggested a breeder section for BCA over a year ago, I was thinking something like $30 to $50 a year. Think about it; in each of 2010 and 2011, I've sold about $200 worth of plants and animals on BCA. That's it. That's an average of less than $20 a month.

Lumping hobbyist breeders into the same category as professional importers and large scale breeders is grossly unfair, and being asked to pay $15 a month (or over $160 a year, even with the discount) for the privilege is absurd, especially given the amount of things I give away for free, and the amount of time I spend in email, private message and telephone conversations helping members with their projects and answering questions. Remember too, that kijiji, craigslist, CAC Auction and Aquabid are all free.

This statement "Why should non-sponsoring breeders/stores be able use BCA to profit for themselves only and not the BCA community." says it all about the attitude directed at small-scale hobbyist breeders. It completely dismisses everything I've tried to bring to this community, and why so many people have quietly left the site.

In almost any other setting, hobbyist breeders are seen as welcome and valued contributors to the hobbyist community. Here, we're pariahs.

[budahrox]

First off, I do appreciate this forum. I've met amazing hobbyists here, and made friends. Leaned some things, too. So please don't take this as general a BCA bash.

I think BCA has totally missed the mark with hobbyist breeders, and over-estimated how much we earn from our efforts. For many of us, breeding is a significant part of the challenge and fascination of fish keeping. If we're lucky, we make back enough money to pay for some of our hobby.

When I suggested a breeder section for BCA over a year ago, I was thinking something like $30 to $50 a year. Think about it; in each of 2010 and 2011, I've sold about $200 worth of plants and animals on BCA. That's it. That's an average of less than $20 a month.

Lumping hobbyist breeders into the same category as professional importers and large scale breeders is grossly unfair, and being asked to pay $15 a month (or over $160 a year, even with the discount) for the privilege is absurd, especially given the amount of things I give away for free, and the amount of time I spend in email, private message and telephone conversations helping members with their projects and answering questions. Remember too, that kijiji, craigslist, CAC Auction and Aquabid are all free.

This statement "Why should non-sponsoring breeders/stores be able use BCA to profit for themselves only and not the BCA community." says it all about the attitude directed at small-scale hobbyist breeders. It completely dismisses everything I've tried to bring to this community, and why so many people have quietly left the site.

In almost any other setting, hobbyist breeders are seen as welcome and valued contributors to the hobbyist community. Here, we're pariahs.

Without Malice;
Couldn't have said it better myself Storm.
IMHO BCA has transformed from a hobbyist driven site to a LFS driven for profit site & it's really discouraging. I have been told that I should consider myself a breeder. What a joke. I welcome any Mod or Admin to my home to see my set ups & tell me how I'm a breeder???? I've probably sold less than $200 worth of fish in the 4 or 5 yrs I've been here & given away far more in $ than that. I wouldn't even want to add up how much I've bought over that time, my sales wouldn't even scratch the surface. The double standard on bashing really bothers me as well. If you're a sponsor seems it's OK to bash but otherwise don't try it. Sadly the attitude & flavor of the BCA board has definitely gone 180 degrees in the wrong direction.
Cheers!!
Don

[jiang604]

There's too much grey area in the breeder section... that's all I have to say.

[davefrombc]

I don't know of any hobbyists on here that could be considered a "breeder" in any commercial sense. Some members are able to raise a considerable number of fish they may specialize in ; be it Africans , Angels , guppies. plecos or whatever . . Their costs far outweigh anything they make in selling the results of their success in breeding their favourite species. I too have seen far more emphasis in the site making money for the owners than in furthering the hobby for the members.
The only way I would consider anyone a breeder for business purposes is if that individual makes all or even a good portion of his or her income from propagating fish or plants for the hobby. The commercial sponsors of BCA make far more off members and the present so called "breeders" on the site than they lose to them selling the results of a successful spawning or plant propagation effort .
If you really feel the need to limit people offering their excess stock , then set a limit to the number of " for sale" items they can list per week or month.
I fully agree with not tolerating any form of e-bullying, but, except for banning certain words or racial slurs, I have reservations on your choice of censorship of "profanity" on the site. There is no argument about banning some of the most vulgar anglo-saxon expressions, but I have seen some , to me , ridiculous complaints about words or phrases used on the site that really are innocuous except to the very straight laced religious members.
I very much appreciate the efforts Shawn has made to improve the site, and to listen to suggestions from members regarding additions to features on it. It is a very long way removed from what the original BCA was; and that has been a vast improvement . Mods must be commended also for their efforts policing the site and for their help to members having site access issues.
I haven't felt the desire to knot the knickers of any of the mods for what I would consider over zealous policing for a long time.
I have no argument with the site owners making some profit for their efforts, or with corporate sponsors wanting to see a return on their investment sponsoring the site; but I do think that the fees asked of those hobbyists who are successful breeding their favourite species are excessive. If you are importing stock, or buying and reselling for profit, then you should be sponsoring; but if you are successful raising your fish's spawns, or growing your plants, then you should be able to offer them to fellow hobbyists here without being pushed into paying "sponsor" fees. Limit the number of times an individual can offer fish or plants in a month if you wish ; but rethink your policy on charging for the privilege.

[monkE]

I don't really see a whole lot about this site that I can complain about, with the sole exception of the "mark forums read" button being directly below the "Today's Posts" button in that quick links drop down menu causing me to hit it accidentally all the time.

I consider this sight a huge resource to gather information when i need it, and a great place to buy and sell equipment.

[Jasonator]

Firstly, Thanks to the admin for this 'sharing of opinion' thread

I was recommended to BCA in June-ish of this year. Not once have I had a problem or complaint. And I hit this forum daily!! In fact, I know I'm hooked!!

It's so great that the hobby has such a good friend in this forum. I have visited many other sites since delving back into the hobby this year, and - for my own small hobby purposes - BCA by far out-does any other site or forum.

I have not witnessed any bullying of any kind And I support a ZERO tolerance of such behaviour!

Slander is a grey area, as one's fair opinion or criticism could be considered as unnecessarily negative, so it's up to individual members to remember that everything we do and say has consequences - good or bad. - Just be responsible.

I hope to see fair treatment of those who do like to sell equipment/livestock. = I surely do, and I did 25 yrs ago - when I was 14 years old, too - If only to meet other hobbyists and maybe contribute some funds back into my hobby. Storm addressed this point rather well.

All-in-all, I give BCA a 9


and that's all I have to say about that...




.

[Grete_J]

If you really feel the need to limit people offering their excess stock , then set a limit to the number of " for sale" items they can list per week or month.

Oddly enough, there is a limit of 2 ads. I wasn't even aware of this until the other day.

7)No Multiple Ads : if you are selling multiple items please list everything in 1 thread, do not create a new thread for every item. No more than two ads per member active at a time.

I think there needs to be more definition when describing a breeder, whether it be a hobbyist breeder or commercial. Buttt...part of the problem with categorizing someone as a breeder to post in the appropriate section is that fish like kribs will produce ALOT, but aren't in high demand, bringing the price down to $1/ea or free. Compared to a discus or axolotl breeder, where stock generally sells for $40+, is when I've noticed people voicing concern.

I don't have many concerns with regards to profanity or bullying via posts as the mods have been doing a great job watching threads I do have concerns about some of the "regular" users who do manage to eke by with comments that can be taken as bullying. I've seen a few times where threads get out of hand & a few members watching their friends' back via throwing less than positive comments at newer members, while the mods jump on the bandwagon in agreement with the more seasoned members. Regardless of how you look at it, that is bullying, hazing, whatev and doesn't really pull a hobbyist community together. Lets start the kumbaya's

[AndrewL]

The forum has been beneficial in several ways for my re-introduction into this hobby.

a) Information
- very good information provided by members and sponsors. To become better, the site should include all parts of the community. I would love to see manufacturers (like Seachem, Hagen), breeders and others participate.

b) Classifieds
- Over the past few months, most of my fish and equipment have been purchased from members, club and sponsors. I was astonished at the size of the hobby business in BC when I was exploring the site. I realize not everyone will join but it would be great to welcome all.

[Claudia]

I am with Ursus Sapien, Budahrox and Davefrombc. I am not a breeder and i am not a Sponsor but i think the prices they have to pay are way to much for what they make out of their sells....thats if they make anything. Most of the people here does more for the members as free then what they sell.
This has been a great forum but things have change a lot