First off - I want to say how surprised I am (and how appreciative) at how busy we are here in the forums. I seriously expected it would be Garth, Dan, Paul and myself, for the first few months. That being said, we can always use more. I would truly like this to be a mainstay of the Arizona sites. I do think "quiet and discreet" recruiting is how we'd like to bring in new folks. I think making posts like "Hey - come to our site" on other message boards is a little tacky. Also, I consider the AZOD, CW, and AZSJ people to be friends, and I would rather try to offer something different to the public, than to "compete" per se, with the other sites. The other sites all have different personalities and moods for sure, and I intend to continue visiting and using them. Already, I have had several comments from other users, that these (our) sites (main site, forums, blog) "feel different", and that they see the potential in them - I'd love to build on that! Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions? Stay the course - slow and steady wins the race?
I think this site has a lot of potential and plan on being around to try to help, if you want me to. But, I have no where to post turkey and javelina pics.......(hint, hint) I have been telling cetain friends to check the site out, hope thats ok. One thing I noticed about other sites is, if there is politics involved, they seem to go downhill fast....dont know why that is though.
WOW - Freaky.. First thing this morning, I sent Steve a PM asking for a javelina forum! I can ask for a turkey one as well
ok, my mistake, there is a javelina column...............was itt here earlier, or is it my blonde hair?
Desert Rat, I have an idea for both sites and will run it by everyone here. How about we create a new sub-thread called - "Happy Trails"? This will be a place where we encourage folks to explore their writing skills (with you editing) and tell a story about a most memorable hunting, fishing or other Arizona outdoor-related experience. We could limit the submissions to, say, -- 1,000 words or less? Once submitted and edited by you, our stories could then be posted in the Hunting section of the blog side and also in a "sticky" thread on the Hunting Lounge side in the chat forum? You could set the deadline date for submissions (allowing you editing time) and then post the stories on both sites. How's that for ceativity?
Great idea, Dan! I think Steven is lurking - if he doesn't see this, I'll talk to him about it. Keep em coming guys!
Here's a technical suggestion. How about having Steven add the "Happy Trails" as a stand alone Forum under the Sport banner? Steve could make this forum restrictive by allowing only you (and perhaps the moderators) access to make posts in this forum? This will prevent unedited topics from being posted until you've had a chance to do any necessary editing? I've seen other forums set-up where only the admins and moderators can make posts in a specific forum. On another note, and perhaps it's already been posted and I've missed it, but how can others make contributions on the blog side? Could we send them to you for consideration? If so, could you post an announcement on the blog side explaining how this would be handled?
I was confused a little by the blog thing in the beginning. What I have learned is that, typically, only the blog owner makes posts on a blog - everyone else can only post responses. I guess that is what makes them so personal. Occasionally, a blog owner can post a "Guest Comment" - for example you would e-mail your editorial to me, and I would copy, paste, and attribute it to Dan - today's guest commentator. Rarely (but technically feasible) one can authorize other authors on a blog, but that usually doesn't happen. All of these stories can be posted on the main site, however. They can also be announced, linked, reviewed, etc., via the blog. Hope that is clear as mud.
How about a story and/or photo contest and give away something of significance, not just a hat............a dozen arrows would be nice....... :lol: