Hi everyone,

As you would know from Jules' post viewtopic.php?f=76&t=12365 she is now moving on from admin/owner of AYW. She has created and fostered a beautiful community here, but I know from our many discussions on msn etc, that her heart lies with LAPs http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/

Jules will be missed, but I hope that she will still come here to keep us up-to-date with all of her successes and beautiful family moments.

I have offered to take AYW off her hands, so that she can refocus.

As a result, I thought I would ask everyone here if they could give feedback, suggestions, ideas of what they would like to stay the same and what they would like to change on the forum. I am keen to keep it the way it is, as the current setup just seems to work really well for many here. However, some fresh ideas might help the forum grow in a way that allows us to enjoy this space even further.

AYW has a directory of links, has in the past had buddies and secret santas, and even a gift shop. Can everyone give me your feedback on these things, and any other new ideas that you have - regardless of how 'left field' you think that they might be. If you don't want to mention them here, then feel free to PM me.

The only suggestion I want to make and implement soon is some sort of regular donation system. The website hosting and domain is a certain amount each year, and rarely changes in total. I was thinking that if we all contributed to the hosting and domain costs, then this website would be self-sustainable, regardless of who is at the helm so to speak. I was thinking either annually or twice yearly donations so that it does not put too much pressure on members, and is spread out over the year. If as a group you wanted to gather some additional money together to be able to buy as a group flowers for members who are getting married, having babies or just having a hard time, then we could look at this also. I would want it all to be above board. You don't necessarily have to be known for how much you are giving individually, but knowing a 'tally' of some sort of the total amount, would help keep it transparent.

I know a few people here run their own businesses, or hobbies....so maybe there is some way of bringing that into the equation? either through donations for competitions or something.......I am really just talking out loud at the moment, and nothing is set in stone. Just trying to get the ball rolling with comments and suggestions from members.

As you all know, I run two businesses, so I am fairly run off my feet a lot of the time.....so if you do email/PM me or comment in this thread, don't be disheartened if you do not hear from me straight away. I promise to help out as quickly as I can.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far

Louise

First off, thank you for taking this over. I was dreading the day that Julia said "no more" because with two bubs and a huge passion for LAP, I was thinking a few months ago that she just might shut us down So yay to you and Julia for coming up with such a wonderful solution.

Not too many ideas here, I'm afraid. Maybe I am a negative Nelly today as I can only make one slightly pessimistic comment about your thoughts. I think annual donations are a great idea to pay for costs, but would prefer not to set up a presents-to system. I think it has too many potential problems to be cliquey. How long do you have to be a member before you're recognised for say, a baby's birth etc? Can you join, post 50 times in a week and then wait for your flowers? What about if you're a long time member who only drops in once a month or so? Do you get a smaller present than someone who's here every day? What happens to our members overseas? I see lots of hurt feeling and problems from that if it's an official AYW thing. I'd prefer to keep it as a informal thing that we organise ad hoc when things arise.

Very very true Lynn!!!! Nahhhhh, you aren't being a negative nelly lol To be honest, I currently have 36 little sticky notes on my desk, with hugeeeee tasks to get done asap.....so when I throw out ideas, I am not necessarily thinking them through for all that long LOL I totalllllllllly agree with your thoughts. Let's swipe that idea!

No worries re taking up the AYW reigns. I would rather that than see it die. I am just concerned about the money side of it, and it becoming a burden rather than something enjoyable to visit, if you know what I mean?

Back to the sticky notes! That reminds me, I can remove the "write AYW post" sticky note hahahaha
35 notes to go lol

Lou

Good points Lynn. I think perhaps just collecting money for the webhosting is a good idea. Maybe twice a year and extra money could be used to run a competition every now and then like we used to have. But that depends on the number members active. At this stage there is a small core group of people who post most days and then a few more who float in and out.

I was thinking of a couple of things.

1) Maybe a review of the number of boards we have. Some of them don't get used much. Maybe we could merge a few eg 'Home Sweet Home' and 'All Creatures Great and Small' could be merged into a Home, Family and Fur babies discussion board (we could vote on a name). Also 'On the couch' and 'Secret Woman's Business' could be merged as many members seem to use those two for the same things at times. Memories and Milestones could be merged into the Family or Secret Women's business boards.

2) I'm not sure if you would consider having a back up admin person. Maybe someone who could delete spammers IP addresses and help members who accidently lock themselves out when they change email address or passwords. That way if you're not on because you are busy there is someone else they can turn to. At the moment the Mods can only delete spam and move / delete / merge threads and are a bit helpless to help anyone who is locked out.

3) The News and Notices room could also merge with Feedback, as it doesn't get used much at all.

4) Also PM'ing any mods that haven't been on in a while to see if they plan on coming back, otherwise regulating them back to poster only status.

I'll keep thinking but these are some of my thoughts.

Thanks so much for taking over Louise. I love this place so friendly.
Lynn- good point about OS people I will be soon.

Well, you will be making us all jealous with your fantabulous experiences, Sarah Me especially.

I agree with the no-presents bit (never seems to work out at work either: someone's either having a hundred babies, and someone else never has anything happen to them...). Happy to pay up but would prefer just a once a year thing (let's be honest, we're not talking a mint here - and I am truly forgetful, so anything less than $10 is really going to slip my mind).

The suggestions for the merge are good ones too! Nothing creative to add, though...

I have nothing creative to add, I would prefer to pay once or twice a year to help the forum survive and for comps. I agree with Lynn's post re pressies. Merging threads is another way to go I really look at the bottom section any more..

Thank you very much Lousie for taking on this forum I would be lost without it.

I agree with what everyone else has said.

Thanks for taking over Louise!

Definitely happy to pay for the hosting of the site, combining down the boards would be better for the moment, wish I had some more ideas but at the moment completely blank. Thanks Louise for taking over AYW it is a wonderful place.

Well I go away for a month and come back to changes galore.
* I would be happy to pay for hosting etc
* I agree about tiding up up board.

Thank you Louise for taking on this role, like Lynn I have been afraid we would lose this fabulous community and resource.

I am happy to chip in for the forum costs-i don't post a lot but i am a bit of a forum lurker these days!

Like the others I would be happy to chip in for the maintenance of the board in terms of hosting, etc. Im not that fussed on the idea of gifts, etc, re flowers, because like Lynn said, it could cause cliquey groups thing happening, which we dont have at the moment. We currently have a very supportive forum and member base, and whilst new members are always welcome, we dont want to start getting trouble on here. This place has been my sanctuary for the last 4-5 years, and I would like to see it continue to be what it is today.

I've got really bad baby brain at the moment, so I hope that this makes sense. I dont have any other suggestions atm.

I like Anita's ideas, they seem really good and it saves having scroll have a mile down the page to get to wear you want to go.

I don't really have much else to add except that I think a donation towards running costs is a great idea and would happily do so.