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Kaz, thank you for your input and taking time to try posting in the other forum. I have made the Genetics forum visible to all again but, guests can not read posts.

Thanks to a suggestion from KazJaps I have made the Genetics forum visible to all again. They can see the topics list but when they click on a topic it requests that they log in.

All members should be able to post to this thread now. Sorry for the confusion that kept some from posting here.

Great, well done, Moderator2!

And - I can post in this Thread again.

I agree with Kazjaps.

This forum is the best information source worldwide, and it took a huge blow when it lost most of the pics. Now we are doing the excact same, because all links to it, be it from google or other forums, are now rendered useless too. People now run into a login area instead of information, and will go away.

Some of the most appreciated inputs on this forums stem from scientist, and a scientists aproach is that information should be shared. It saddens me to see that some people here want to leave the forums scientific approach to knowledge and make it exclusive... to whom?

I am browsing thru the control panel to see the possibilities for the forums. Noticed I can add an iframe to the bottom like the one for Mercy Corps.
Is there anything worth showing down there?

What is Your suggestion, how this forum shall survive?
If everyone can leach scientific information, without contribution to survive this forum, this forum will be dead in a few months.
Just look at the participation rate of the last months.

My suggestion is that only members who pay can have access to the genetics area (in analogy to Poultry Chat).
With this money we could have an own server for pictures, videos, PDF files - to save them longterm ("eternal").

I would be ready to pay for the access to all these information and timeless saving of pictures, videos or PDF files (with pleasure!), even I have contributed many things the last Years for myself.

I did a test with some custom ubbcode.
For instance to print a punnett square or a pedigree.
Can not do that on facebook

12 Points for UBBCode ... or does this work with other Board Softwares aswell?
Would You like to test it with IP.Board - Henk?
https://invisioncommunity.com/demo

I can't tell you the reasons, why people quit to post, but it is a normal process in any forum. The loss of pictures was a huge downer for sure, but many valued users quit posting here long before. A forum can only keep alive, when it has a steady flow of new people. New people don't join a forum when they can't see why they should.

I often link or advertise this forum, when I talk to poultry people, so that they not just read here, but hopefully join the discussion. But even if people are interested, they often don't feel they have the expertise to contribute. It might need a year or two in such a high level forum. But setting this forum to 'not public' I can just quit doing this now.

Building 'clubs' with limited access is what you have everywhere in poultry breeding. No communication between groups or to outsiders, because some people want to keep all knowledge to themselves, to the group... this forum was refreshing different, and I alway had the impression that this was the intent of this forum and the people contributing here.

I agree that the picture part is a problem. To get server space and host the photos would be best, but you need money or you have to allow advertising. After what happened with photobucket people fear that just using any other hoster could soon end in the same way.

When you use the term 'leach', do you have any insight, that information from this forum is used to gain money with it? I guess you would not adress normal poultry breeders as leachers, when they just want to get information about poultry genetics?

I can tell You why they prefer to post on BYC or on FB.
There is an bigger audience.
I did my decision in the past - against huge forums with many DAU Users, who believed they were all-knowing.
At least I hate Threads with hundreds of senseless comments like on BYC.
I want read postings with learning potential - or productive discussions. And this is normally possible on this Board
I think it is no fair play to collect here the informations and play the "wise guy" on another Board with this knowledge.
Even worse is to link to a posting ... And while doing so - This forum shall die?
If the poultry addicts wants to get "smart" in chicken genetics, they shall take part here.

Again, I think PoultryChat.com is the best Example how we could get enough money, for the Preservation of the content of this Forum - no matter, if text, picture or other files.
http://www.poultrychat.com/showthread.php?tid=16752

Personally I would spend 300 Euros as initial investment for a new (safer) Forum Board with a better search machine and other comforts.
My favorite Board software is since Years IP.Board, but maybe there is a better solution in the meanwhile?!

Furthermore I would try to transfer the content of the Old Forum to this (future) New Forum Board. Maybe Kazjaps would be ready to help (e.g. with deleted pictures which she has possibly saved)?