What Do You Want Added To The BYC Forum & Site?

Okay Everyone, the dust has settled (more or less) from the re-launch of www.BackyardChickens.com and the creation of the new Forum. While not everyone has migrated fully to the new board, I'm hoping that we can add features and tools that will continue to make this the best site and forum for everyone!

Below are some of the ideas, tools, features, suggestions, requests that have come in via members for the forum and for the main BYC site. I can't promise if, how, or when stuff will be added, but I do want to make sure that things are added based on the following:

1) Popularity
2) Ease of adding / changing
3) Effect on performance
4) Cost
5) Effect on server (related to performance and cost)


Here are the suggestions & ideas I've already got on my list (in no particular order).

• Additional Smilies
• Private Messaging
• Chat
• Spell Check
• Personal Pages: The ability to add pages to www.BackyardChickens.com (either informational, personal, about me, journal, blog, image gallery, etc.)

Please reply with any additional requests and/or changes for the forum AND BYC.com. Also, it would be great if you posted a prioritized list of what items you would like to see first!

1) well ...I thought CC was working on getting the same "BYC" emotes that we are all so used to working with over here...??? (It does seem to make a big difference!)

2) Chat...well that is a must...

3)Not everyone is comfortable giving out their private email address so it would seem that pm/messaging thru the board would also be a great item.

4) As for the "personal pages" ...well that is where ez seems to have irritated a lot of people ... trying to imitate the "my space" stuff. I think most here have personal pages or a website or myspace so as far as I am concerned that option would simply take up unnecessary valuable server space that can be put to better use elsewhere JMHO

As to the new ideas...well I do have one...a recent post made me aware that it might be a good idea to have a basic page for kids with very basic simple info on what you need to take care of a chicken.

DLH, great comments / suggestions, thanks!

1) CC is waiting on me for the smilies. I need to do some program modifications to the forum to make it easy for her to create / submit new smilies.

2) Chat: If we installed a chat program right now, would people use it, or would it be a problem having two chats going (ezboard and here)?

4) Personal Pages: Totally get what you are saying. If this is something I added it would be totally optional and VERY clean / easy to use. I really really dislike the Yuku / myspace model & format, so whatever was created would be FAR from that. I only offer this up because I think people would love to add helpful content to BYC.com and some people may be interested in posting their chicken information on a chicken based site.

Quote:
This is a super idea! In fact, I would REALLY appreciate it if some members of the forum got together to create this page. When finished I'll post it prominently on the BYC site. (I think this is something all brand new or want-to-be chicken owners could use). I tried to get the ball rolling here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=39 but unfortunately there didn't seem to be too much interest.

General idea for a Kid Friendly page...


Basic needs of a chicken

Whether you have them in a coop, a rabbit hutch or a box, they need to have a full layer of pine shavings on their floor. DO NOT use cedar – it can kill the birds! When the shavings get too dirty or wet you need to put new clean shavings down.

They need to have protection from wind.

They need to have an area outside where they can get fresh air and scratch around in the dirt. This will help them be healthy. The pebbles they eat from the ground helps them chew their food. (They don’t have teeth, so the rocks in their tummy break up the food!)

They need fresh water every day.

They need food available to them at ALL times.

Depending on their age, chickens have special needs for their food. It is VERY important that they are given the type of food created especially for them. You can give them special treats like leftover veggies, some bread and cooked rice or pasta.

If you ignore any of these needs your chickens can get very sick and even die. That’s why it is so important to follow these instructions. If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact anyone here at BackyardChickens.com!

Tricia, this looks like a great start!

I know a lot of people come to BYC.com who don't know a thing about raising chickens. I want to show them that it can be easy and what to expect, but also that there is some responsibility required.

You gave me a great idea: A really basic "How to care for chickens" page but with links that expand on each section! What do you think?

Um, thing is I use cedar shavings and never had a chicken sick or die from it.....

Cedar shavings mixed in will prevent mites and lice, discourages rodents and smells great. Used 100% fresh they can be irritating but used properly they will help your chickens health lots. I don't use them with chicks as they don't know better than to eat lots of bedding yet.

re cedar...there are different kinds (with different levels of toxicity) and of course the general environment is often the crux...key word here is

WHOA! I just discovered the user list---- AWESOME! Being a sociable person, I think it helps to know who's on here. That is a great asset.

How can we get more people to migrate over to here?

To start... Chat: I would begin using it immediately I like chatting and it is a way for people who are isolated on farms to communicate.

Suggestion: I feel there are a lot of talented people out there in the art department. I feel that some have made or can make art images of birds. I for one can make many images. I would like to suggest that some of the more presentable artworks be allowed for pictures of the week instead of just photos. It can show the level of dedication to the birds we all seem to love. It can be decided as a contest weekly or something, to make it more fun. The contest can run for a few weeks many people lose interest but to start as grand opening sort of thing it can be fun.

I feel that many of the scientific papers given to many members should be in a read-if-you-want-to science section. Because many of us out there simply cannot understand a complicated scientific paper. What your average joe and kids need is a down to earth and paraphrased version of what to do for said illness, disease, or problem.

Many of the forums are fine and if I think of any other ideas, I will let you know.

Thanks for having this.

Arklady