Removing Excessive Stickies in Discussions

[EulersK]

The Discussion subforum has become plagued with stickies. When viewing on a mobile device, I have to scroll significantly before I get past the stickies. In fact, even on a computer, the list of stickies actually fills the screen. There’s an old saying that goes something like this: Highlighting everything on the page means nothing is highlighted. This is arguably the most important subforum on this site, and it’s bogged down with irrelevant threads that are perpetually at the top of the list.

I truly believe that Arachnoboards is one of the leaders when it comes to tarantula husbandry on the internet, and this is not something that should be taken lightly. With that responsibility comes the obligation to stay relevant, and to portray that, I feel that some threads should be removed from the top of the forum. I’d like to get a discussion going on this, and perhaps have others throw in suggestions of their own.

The threads that I’d like to see removed (or consolidated) from this important section are:

Iridopelma, Pachistopelma, Typhochlaena Revision
The last relevant post was three years ago, and this thread is regarding the revision of three genera. While I admit that this is important, it would be much more beneficial to have a thread about all revisions and not articles posted over four years ago.

Dyskinetic syndrome (dks)
There is another stickie already that discusses DKS, and this thread was abandoned way back in 2012. The thread is full of nothing but speculation, guesswork, or uncited claims. It has no place at the top of a page dedicated to the scientific study of tarantulas.

List of scientific articles about tarantulas published in 2012 [updated 15 March 2012]
Now, this thread actually isn’t bad. But I don’t understand the point of having articles for only 2012 – why not have a thread for all scientific articles? I have seen several great articles this year alone get buried in this very forum.

 

[saturnthegrey]

I totally agree, theres way too many unnecessary threads obscuring the useful information. They should have the option to hide them so you would have to click something so they would show up. I

 

[EulersK]

I totally agree, theres way too many unnecessary threads obscuring the useful information. They should have the option to hide them so you would have to click something so they would show up. I

Unfortunately, that's not an option with this forum platform. That's entirely out of the scope for mods to control - but they can control how many stickies there are.

 

[saturnthegrey]

I wouldnt know anything about that. im not tech savy so I would have no idea what they can or cant do haha. Just throwing my agreement out there for you to stand on.

 

[KezyGLA]

There is 3 or 4 that could be done away with to be fair. Revisions of iridopelma and such should go I think. As there are revisions of many genera regularly.

 

[bryverine]

I certainly think they can at least be consolidated.

 

[cold blood]

@EulersK , when I first read the title I admit I thought it was awfully nitpicky....but your explanation and reasoning were a good ones, and I think you do have a very valid argument.

 

[EulersK]

@EulersK , when I first read the title I admit I thought it was awfully nitpicky....but your explanation and reasoning were a good ones, and I think you do have a very valid argument.

And I might be nitpicking, which is why I'm opening it to discussion without immediately summoning mods. I'm a bit of a neat freak, so maybe I am out of line. The discussion forum isn't quite like the chat forum. I made a similar thread in there, but some stickies there are literally nothing but dead links. Not the case here.

 

[bryverine]

So I've broken it down into groups. I think several of these could be merged (especially in the beginner info).

Site Use:

• Hacking searches / Permanent search links (Feb 29, 2012)

Outdated (?) Stuff

• List of scientific articles about tarantulas published in 2012 [updated 15 March 2012] (Feb 21, 2012)
• Iridopelma, Pachistopelma, Typhochlaena Revision (Feb 10, 2013)
• ATTN: Poecilotheria owner, breeder or dealer. (Aug 25, 2016)

Tarantula Ailments:

• Cysts/Cancers in tarantulas. Survey/Fact gathering thread. (May 27, 2016)
• DKS (Dyskinetic Syndrome) (Sep 13, 2016)
  
• Dyskinetic syndrome (dks) (Sep 25, 2012)

New Tarantula Owners:

• Quick Reference guide to answer common questions (Sep 13, 2016)
• Chilean rose owners please read: how to really take care of your G. rosea. (Feb 27, 2012)
• Beginner Info - READ before posting (May 15, 2009)
• Basic Tarantula Anatomy (Jan 26, 2013)
• Tarantula venom, and anaphylaxis (Sep 27, 2016)
• Tarantula Societies (Nov 13, 2016)

 

[YagerManJennsen]

This should be a sticky.......Couldn't help it you guys.

 

[Walker253]

I'd like to second @EulersK 's motion with the possible amendment to work in @bryverine 's material. Well laid out, both of you.

Now if somebody could work on the For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy Section. What a clogged hot mess. Hasn't been updated in years, a lot could easily be merged into a single thread.

 

[EulersK]

Now if somebody could work on the For Sale/Trade/Want to Buy Section. What a clogged hot mess. Hasn't been updated in years, a lot could easily be merged into a single thread.

Wow, I didn't realize how bad that was. I'd say that the worst out of anything. Good catch.

 

[Angel Minkov]

I disagree about the DKS thread. At the moment, guesswork is all we've got regarding this issue. Its good where it is.

 

[EulersK]

I disagree about the DKS thread. At the moment, guesswork is all we've got regarding this issue. Its good where it is.

The issue isn't about a DKS thread, it's having two of them.

 

[Andrea82]

So I've broken it down into groups. I think several of these could be merged (especially in the beginner info).

Site Use:

• Hacking searches / Permanent search links (Feb 29, 2012)

Outdated (?) Stuff

• List of scientific articles about tarantulas published in 2012 [updated 15 March 2012] (Feb 21, 2012)
• Iridopelma, Pachistopelma, Typhochlaena Revision (Feb 10, 2013)
• ATTN: Poecilotheria owner, breeder or dealer. (Aug 25, 2016)

Tarantula Ailments:

• Cysts/Cancers in tarantulas. Survey/Fact gathering thread. (May 27, 2016)
• DKS (Dyskinetic Syndrome) (Sep 13, 2016)
  
• Dyskinetic syndrome (dks) (Sep 25, 2012)

New Tarantula Owners:

• Quick Reference guide to answer common questions (Sep 13, 2016)
• Chilean rose owners please read: how to really take care of your G. rosea. (Feb 27, 2012)
• Beginner Info - READ before posting (May 15, 2009)
• Basic Tarantula Anatomy (Jan 26, 2013)
• Tarantula venom, and anaphylaxis (Sep 27, 2016)
• Tarantula Societies (Nov 13, 2016)

Very nice!
But i would leave beginner info read before posting a sticky onto itself, and place it above all others in all capslock. There are so many beginners still asking the same questions, so i guess it doesn't work very well where and how it is now...

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

This should be a sticky.......Couldn't help it you guys.

Curses! That was precisely what I came in here to post!

 

[bryverine]

Very nice!
But i would leave beginner info read before posting a sticky onto itself, and place it above all others in all capslock. There are so many beginners still asking the same questions, so i guess it doesn't work very well where and how it is now...

Slightly off topic, but I still think there should be a quiz you have to pass in order to post - just a simple thing like this:

1. Tarantulas do not need exact humidity so hygrometers are not needed in this hobby.
2. Tarantulas do not need sponges or cricket gel in their water bowl.
3. Handling tarantulas is generally not advised for the safety of the tarantula as falls can rupture abdomens.
4. Stickys (now reduced to a small concise list ) have many great solutions to common questions.

 

[Andrea82]

Slightly off topic, but I still think there should be a quiz you have to pass in order to post - just a simple thing like this:

1. Tarantulas do not need exact humidity so hygrometers are not needed in this hobby.
2. Tarantulas do not need sponges or cricket gel in their water bowl.
3. Handling tarantulas is generally not advised for the safety of the tarantula as falls can rupture abdomens.
4. Stickys (now reduced to a small concise list ) have many great solutions to common questions.

View attachment 226602

Although funny, i think a quiz like that wouldn't work, since most beginners get advice from either caresheets or LPS-personel.
But sometimes i think restricting new members to certain sections would be nice, to make sure they've actually read the beginner info. But there's no way to enforce that since not all new members are also new keepers. It would take a dozen or more mods to sort that out.

 

[bryverine]

Although funny, i think a quiz like that wouldn't work, since most beginners get advice from either caresheets or LPS-personel.
But sometimes i think restricting new members to certain sections would be nice, to make sure they've actually read the beginner info. But there's no way to enforce that since not all new members are also new keepers. It would take a dozen or more mods to sort that out.

At least it'd let them know what they're going to get themselves into by posting here.

I suppose I should add:

5. In general, care sheets are terrible way to learn and give false information. Also, pet store employees are almost always wrong.

 

[EulersK]

Definitely starting to sound like an indoctrination...

Honestly, that wasn't really the point of this. It was more about making things easier to find and removing clutter, not forcing a specific way of thinking.