Dear Pet Talk people, old and new

[Litterati]

I'll chime in again, this time re Facebook. I'm not going near it. My BFF has mentioned to me that it can be problematic. Plus if I have to create one more password ... well let's just leave it at that. No Facebook, Twitter or major social networking for this one.

[DJFyrewolf36]

I'm stuck on Farkbook mostly because of DJ promotion and keeping up with friends. If pet talk stayed away from there, I'd be happy. The only reason why I don't hang around here more is due to lack of active threads (I should just make a few .) People griping and such kind of turned me away as well, although all that drama happened at a point in my life where I wasn't doing much online and I missed most of it (thankfully.)

I'll try to post more, and use my social media influence to encourage others to join. PT isn't really a bad place, but people tend to have ADD when it comes to anything on the internet. If it can't happen in 144 characters, it doesn't exist. *sigh*

[Karen]

I'm stuck on Farkbook mostly because of DJ promotion and keeping up with friends. If pet talk stayed away from there, I'd be happy. The only reason why I don't hang around here more is due to lack of active threads (I should just make a few .) People griping and such kind of turned me away as well, although all that drama happened at a point in my life where I wasn't doing much online and I missed most of it (thankfully.)

I'll try to post more, and use my social media influence to encourage others to join. PT isn't really a bad place, but people tend to have ADD when it comes to anything on the internet. If it can't happen in 144 characters, it doesn't exist. *sigh*

Aww, thanks! We would love you to be more active here - and we do not demand anyone post more than 144 characters to start a thread!

[SWHouston]

Karen,

PT is one of the first forums I got on. I visit sometimes twice a day, and totally enjoy the congeniality, intelligence and experiences I see posted by the Users here. It's one of the most "easy going" forums around ! I don't do Facebook or other social sites, and as far as changing something...don't.

This site is better than most, just like it is.

[astrid]

Hi dear Karen!
I felt so guilty when I read your email and the main reason is because PT has been very special to me, unfortunately I haven't posted in a while because of my job, since I was promoted I have more things to do and sometimes I just visit COTD but fail on posting a comment...

I don't think you have to change anything, maybe it's us, the PT people, who have to get more involved, the way we used to some time ago; maybe we should promote activities on the forum like discussing every day topics related to our fur kids or sharing articles, pictures, etc.

I can't think of anything else...

BTW, thank you for your email it made me stop and think.

Love to you all!
Astrid

[Freckles]

No Google+, Twitter or Pintrest for me.

[Karen]

Hi dear Karen!
I felt so guilty when I read your email ....

BTW, thank you for your email it made me stop and think.

Love to you all!
Astrid

So good to hear from you! We were worried about you, and missed you and Sophie!

[Lobodeb]

Talk about a blast from the past!! Wow! It feels like forever since I've been here.

Thanks so much for the email, Karen! I sent you a friend request on fb.

But to answer your question, the reason I stopped coming around, besides facebook is that I felt everything was getting very cliquey. When I came back to share pics of my Boxer, Sheila and I received very few responses and saw little interest in what I shared. It was pretty discouraging. I hope I don't offend, but I really felt that way in the cat forum and had stopped posting in there long before I stopped coming to PT.

I too miss the old days.

Looking at my signature, it's been a long time since I've been here since 2 of my dogs went to the RB and Hugito is now 8!

I'm not sure if my response helps as I don't have any suggestions as to how PT could be better (it's already so wonderful). It was so great to hear from you again.

[mon]

I am not on FB and don't wanna be. I would sure miss PT and really appreciate it so I will be more active in the future. I have just been busy. Cannot think of much to improve. Think all the bases are pretty much covered and am very satisfied with all of the content. Love this web site a lot.Thank-you.

[Karen]

Thanks, Mon, and thanks everyone for your input! We do so value this community, and do not want it to fade away!

[Karen]

Talk about a blast from the past!! Wow! It feels like forever since I've been here.

Thanks so much for the email, Karen! I sent you a friend request on fb.

But to answer your question, the reason I stopped coming around, besides facebook is that I felt everything was getting very cliquey. When I came back to share pics of my Boxer, Sheila and I received very few responses and saw little interest in what I shared. It was pretty discouraging. I hope I don't offend, but I really felt that way in the cat forum and had stopped posting in there long before I stopped coming to PT.

I too miss the old days.

Looking at my signature, it's been a long time since I've been here since 2 of my dogs went to the RB and Hugito is now 8!

I'm not sure if my response helps as I don't have any suggestions as to how PT could be better (it's already so wonderful). It was so great to hear from you again.

Hard to believe Hugito is 8! We still think of him as the pudgy little baby in your signature image! So glad you posted, do come back, and folks will get to know you again and vice versa! Things have changed - I have a new doggie niece at Lady's Human's house, and Angel keeps us amused!

[MoonandBean]

Hi Karen,

I also responded to your email but said that I would post here as well.


PT was the first forum I joined when I only had Moon and Bean. A few months into it, TATS (Sandra) sent me a message saying "when are you going to get that rescue puppy you've talked about?" I went on petfinder that day and found my Sunny. I have always considered Sandra to be Sunny's aunt since she is the direct reason we found her. You will all always have a special place in my heart for that and of course, the help I got when Sunny was just a puppy. Then...Bean went missing. Don't know how I would have gotten through that without my PT and dogster friends. And you all rejoiced with me when he came home

I will try to get back to posting on here daily as I really do love this crazy, animal loving community



I think all websites have taken a big hit since Facebook
and Twitter; dogster has been all but dissolved. But...your site is still
active and well loved by your loyal followers. I will try to brainstorm for
some new ideas...

[Karen]

Hi Karen,

I will try to get back to posting on here daily as I really do love this crazy, animal loving community

I think all websites have taken a big hit since Facebook
and Twitter; dogster has been all but dissolved. But...your site is still
active and well loved by your loyal followers. I will try to brainstorm for
some new ideas...

And we love you!!!! And your crew!

[TopCat3]

Hi Karen and Paul and all POTD folks,

Thank you for your email Karen. I think it is easier and less "isolated" in feel and more friendly to reply on this post rather than privately in an email.
I cannot remember when I was last on here. Even when I stopped posting I used to dash in and check the POTD DOTD and COTD pics for a while until life sort of took over.
Life has been busy for me and I have been through many changes. I turned 60 (aaarrghh!) two years ago and as a 60th birthday present to myself I moved out of my apartment in the city (Sydney) to the lower Blue Mountains (right where all the bushfires were last year) bought and renovated a house with a garden all of my own ! and am sort of semi-retired and planning a retirement and have reconnected with a gentleman from my past (found him on FB lol) and ... who knows... so life has certainly been busy.

I first found this site through a book I got out of my local library on how to use the internet and what sites to go to for particular interests, it was in there. That was waaayyy back in 2005 when I got my first laptop and got connected to the internet.
In 2008 my blue point Siamese became paralysed and I did post on here about it and a long fight with a petfood company and Australian Quarantine ensued which took up a lot of my time and it was then that one of the other cat owners whose cat also became paralysed suggested we set up a group about it on Facebook to raise awareness about the issue and I looked after the FB page. That's how I got on to Facebook and got lured away from here. As someone else said previously on this thread, it is quicker to check into FB, scroll thru quickly and 'Like" or comment briefly on posts. This I think must have killed a lot of chat forums as people just set up group pages on FB now and it's a convenient one-stop-shop to stay in touch with friends and family far and wide, My sister and niece for example, in UK. Chat forums now, after FB, feel "clunky" and unwieldy and (sorry!) old-fashioned.

The other thing is that since I got an iPad mini about 18months ago, I use the Facebook App and my Email App and my iMessenger App and that's about all. I find it much more convenient than the laptop and Apps are great. If Pet of the Day had an App I would definitely make it something else to check into each day on my iPad and if it was the kind of App that was able to be posted on as easily as Facebook is I would definitely use it. I too am getting annoyed with a lot of things FB does and its advertising and pushing stuff onto your pages (suggested friends, posts you may like, repeating posts out of order just because someone comments on them etc etc and the privacy issues that keep being eroded) I only stay on there to stay in touch with my sister and niece and a few political activist type pages/alternative news, and there is a really lovely small closed secret group for Siamese cat lovers who post pics and anecdotes which is where I spend most of my time. However now I know there is a POTD FB page I will hit LIKE so it comes up on my newsfeed.

I hope that helps. In no way am I critical of the POTD website I think it is a lovely warm fuzzy, it is just that one cannot keep up with everything and as I say, FB as a one-stop-shop seems to be where everyone is these days whether they like it or not. I have no interest whatsoever in Twitter I hate it.

Looking at todays bunny rabbit POTD and the cat and dog reminds me how much I used to look forward to checking in each night and having that warm fuzzy (lots of pricklies on FB sometimes). It all just seems such a long time ago now. Nine years!

Best wishes to everyone on here and their pets.

TopCat3
xxx

[Catty1]

Hi Karen.

I love it here and have no ideas of my own to share. One idea that someone else mentioned - here or on FB - was to make the forums less "cluttered" or something like that.

To that end - perhaps "Health and Behaviour" could be one heading, as often the two are connected; in Cat, "Cat Games" could be mentioned under General, maybe; Breeds, not sure on that one.

These are just off the top of my head - maybe PT Forum needs no simplifying. Facebook may have spoiled some people with their 'one-click-instant-info' system.

I ain't going anywhere!