Changes coming to the site!

The time has come to institute some fairly major changes to the site.

First, all sponsors of the site and the classified section of the site will be made 100% public, no registration needed. All sponsors will have 100% power to edit their own threads as they see fit.

Second, no vendors should cross post in other vendors sub-forums.

Third, a new members-only section of the site will be set up; initial membership will be made up of senior members from across the country who buy, sell, import, and trade fish on a regular or semi-regular basis. This could include sponsors. These members will have the ability to second new members to this section of the forum; upon being seconded, all such recommended members will be put to a moderator vote.

Fourth, most sections of the site will continue as per usual. However, any time any thread becomes controversial, it will be moved to the members-restricted section of the site.

It is hoped this will allow for the continued exchange of information amongst the more experienced/active hobbyists on the site (especially those who buy/sell/trade fish a lot) while preventing controversy and misunderstanding amongst the newer members and/or casual hobbyists.

This is going to take some time to attend to, so please be patient.

So al senior members will be allowed? Or u have to get recommended?

Call me crazy but I don't really understand what you are saying in the third part, could you please elaborate on that a bit as it is rather confusing.

The goal is to form an actual club within the forum, with membership rules and restrctions. There are golf clubs, social clubs, fitness clubs, why not an internet based exotic fish keepers club? The details need to be worked out, but it is doable.

I really like it, Theo. Can't wait to hear more details.

Sorry - this is an odd move in my opinion. I frankly don't care what you guys do or don't do. But trying to make something online more "exclusive" just cuts down on the future growth potential. All you guys will have in the end is the same bunch of guys you already know and talk to on other websites. You guys probably already have each other's personal emails.

If you want something to grow (especially online), you should keep it as open as possible. If you guys just want to filter out people who you don't think are "experienced" enough to enter your discussions...well, c'mon. We are not building rocket ships here. Its a hobby.

If in some small way any of my previous (controversial?) comments triggered the new private forums then I sincerely apologize to the members here.

Not that my so called new/casual hobbyist opinion probably matters but I agree 100% with Yam.

We are incredibly spread out in this country and rarely meet members from cities other than our own. Reputation and trust are all we have to go on when it comes to doing business with one another. Once the club member list for each city is set, that will enable newer members to make contact with the club members in their cities if they are interested.

The purpose of this site is not to just grow to be a big forum with more anonymous members; there are already plenty of quality fish sites around that provide that function. The purpose of this site is to form a club, an arowanaclub for Canadian exotic fish hobbyists. We can devise a system that allows for new members to join the club on an ongoing basis.

The changes being instituted were decided upon many months ago, have nothing to do with anything recent.