New Forum Feature - Bookmark & Share

[chowadmin]

Hello all Chow Chows forum members,

I added a new feature to the ChowChow.org forums. It's a Bookmark & Share tool. You'll notice there is a new + Share image at the top right hand side of the forum, next to the -/+ font size option. When you hover over this, it gives you have several options including Email, Print, Add to Favorite/Bookmark, and share a page with popular sites such as Digg, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Google, Live and StumbleUpon. When you click on More..., you get access to a vast library of blog sites, bookmark sites, and social networking sites. This allows you share any page of the ChowChow.org forum so that other people can find helpful information about Chow Chows, but they might not know about ChowChow.org. I hope that you find this useful and that it helps spread good knowledge of Chow Chows to the world.

If you have any questions, comments, experience any problems, or notice some new issues that might be caused by this new tool, please post here and send me a PM so that I can look into it. Thanks!

[kiwani]

... This allows you share any page of the ChowChow.org forum so that other people can find helpful information about Chow Chows, but they might not know about ChowChow.org. I hope that you find this useful and that it helps spread good knowledge of Chow Chows to the world.

I personally dislike this facet of the feature, and probably will be posting less from now on. I have always appreciated the fact that this forum felt like having a membership in a close community of like-minded friends, and not broadcasting thoughts to a world audience. When the site expanded problems in the community increased. I realize that threads from this site are now showing up in google searches. The new feature just seems like more loss of privacy.

[chowadmin]

kiwani,

I am sorry that you feel that way. While this might be true about the increase in growth, I think the real benefit of this is to help our site reach out to those who do not know about it and find the information they need to benefit the Chow Chow breed. I feel that this benefit out weighs the few problematic posters that can't behave themselves that usually come with an increase in visitors.

If it does cause more problems after a while, then I'll consider removing it. Who knows, it may not even get that much usage. We'll see.

[Auddymay]

That we can be found by searches and links is a good thing. After all, our goal is educational sharing, isn't it? How many times do we see people come in with a specific Chow problem? And Kiwani- you have been a big part of helping many of them. Most go away, but some stay to learn more, and share. I agree, opening our doors wider will inevitably invite a few from the lunatic fringe. I would like to think that our recent stand on zero tolerance for behaviors that are inappropriate will keep things just as they are now- a safe place to share stories and cures. Also, the new site with the 'speak your mind' policy will be more attractive to people who are just looking for a little debating. And of course, it will depend on how much the membership uses it, as Terry said. I hope you do continue to post, kiwani. It is nice to see you back.

[kiwani]

I am sorry that you feel that way.

The primary mission of those sites is behavioral marketing and driving traffic. I mostly object to having work that I've created here, plus some of my own research, being farmed out to sites I really dislike, and having no choice in the matter. That's taken away my enthusiasm for posting here.

[chowadmin]

The primary mission of those sites is behavioral marketing and driving traffic. I mostly object to having work that I've created here, plus some of my own research, being farmed out to sites I really dislike, and having no choice in the matter. That's taken away my enthusiasm for posting here.

I can understand that, but again the site is here for the betterment of the Chow Chow breed and the easier it is for people to share that knowledge the better. Honestly I don't think it will get used too much on this site, but I wanted to add it as an option for people that do want to share.

[kingalls]

I appreciate Kiwani's very informative posts and while I do think that the intent is to share on a site that Kiwani wants to contribute to, we do know that information posted here is replicated on the other site(s) with or without giving credit to the source of the information...not only that one member of 2 Chow sites (this and another) has pointedly taken "pot-shots" at Kiwani in one of the posts both on this site and boasted about making fun of it on another site.
We have the ability to bookmark posts - which I do so that I can refer to them and post them on threads where appropriate.
Anyone can access this site and cross post onto another site whether we like it or not. What I think is special is that Kiwani has shown the preference to post here. I have personally appreciated the fact that Kiwani has been more active in the past month or so - we have been missing that for quite a while and I hope that those posts will continue.

[Loha'sDad]

I appreciate Kiwani's very informative posts and while I do think that the intent is to share on a site that Kiwani wants to contribute to, we do know that information posted here is replicated on the other site(s) with or without giving credit to the source of the information...not only that one member of 2 Chow sites (this and another) has pointedly taken "pot-shots" at Kiwani in one of the posts both on this site and boasted about making fun of it on another site.
We have the ability to bookmark posts - which I do so that I can refer to them and post them on threads where appropriate.
Anyone can access this site and cross post onto another site whether we like it or not. What I think is special is that Kiwani has shown the preference to post here. I have personally appreciated the fact that Kiwani has been more active in the past month or so - we have been missing that for quite a while and I hope that those posts will continue.

I vote that the pot-shotter, whoever it is, be permanently banned from this site. We shouldn't have to put up with such childish nonsense.

Loha's Dad

[Zhuyos mom]

As a user you agree to any information you have entered to being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, neither “ChowChow.org” nor phpBB shall be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to the data being compromised. Think of these rules as a forewarning and, if you break them, you’re taking your account status into your own hands.

Terry, how does the new feature factor in with the above portion of rules located in the TERMS OF USE? I do know of a handful of members whose material is copyrighted as they have book deals and have publishers for which their contracts will be compromised. As a member they shared their information with the community at large, with trust that fellow members will respect them and ask them if they could share or post their material on other sites and the such. While cc.org and the board's host are held harmless if that is done, the member with the copyrighted material is basically cheated.

I have copyrighted photos on the site, such as the one on my signature which I put up a day before the new forum feature was put in place. They are owned by the animal pharmaceutical company my chows did the work for and are a part of a worldwide campaign. I signed the model release giving the pharma company exclusive rights. So in a sense, this new feature compromises my desire to post the photos on our insular chow community since the doors have widened now allowing any materials we post to the discretion of third parties. With respect to Kiwani's point of view, I do understand her trepidation to post in the future.

[Sirchow]

Being fairly new here I don't know all of what went before and don't want to. I just care about chows, helping them and helping their owners to do as good a job as they can I have only been a dog owner for two years and a chow owner for nearly five months and have learnt so much from this site. In particular I would like to say a big thanks to Kiwanni for all the advice and research to help Bramble much of which was in PM form and has been a huge support to me and her. For this reason I am asking you Kiwani to consider continuing your help it is invalauble to owners and chows. At this moment there is a post from someone in the Nutrition, Diets and Food section who has been waiting days for some help and I feel bad because I don't have the knowledge of medical matters to offer.

Information has been shared by people off site before anyway. It is not possible to stop this happening. I read excerpts from a post from this website back in December and that was how I came to join.

[kiwani]

Information has been shared by people off site before anyway. It is not possible to stop this happening.

The new take-away banner basically communicates 'please, just help yourselves, take whatever you want, as much as you want, and do anything you want with it... really, this site *expects* you to, it's *perfectly* fine with all of us here. It's so easy, just take it'

[nean007]

"Go right a book and sell it...Good bye..Have a wonderful closed minded day!"

Jonathan, honestly, how old are you? Can you post your thoughts without sounding like a p***k? For a while there I thought perhaps you had grown up a bit but I see you are off your meds again. It IS possible for people to disagree about a topic and remain perfectly civil about it but that seems to be beyond your capacities.

I would find it a great loss if Kiwani no longer posted here. Melanie is around again as well and both she and Kiwani provide invaluable guidance for chow owners. If certain knowledgable chow experts no longer post due to this particular feature, we will have lost much more than we've gained. Many new chow parents have unique questions that have been directly answered by a person on this site, not a book. And some people can't afford to run to the bookstore or the vet or a behavior expert everytime a problem comes up so they come here. And who will suffer if our most knowledgable people leave? The chow.

Jeannean

[Loha'sDad]

Jonathan, honestly, how old are you? Can you post your thoughts without sounding like a p***k? For a while there I thought perhaps you had grown up a bit but I see you are off your meds again. It IS possible for people to disagree about a topic and remain perfectly civil about it but that seems to be beyond your capacities.

IJeannean

Is that guy dangerous? He has been sending me some unwelcome private messages. Should I be seriously concerned?

Loha's Dad