History of Zoobeat?

History of Zoobeat?
02-04-2007

Who started your Zoobeat Forum?

Its the best 'Zoo' site I've come across, mainly because you've got a lot of enthusiasts with good ideas bouncing off each other. Cheers!

02-04-2007

You can blame me for starting and running the site ... although I can take no credit for making it so good ... it's the members who know far more than I do about zoos and the animals in them ... I'm always astounded by their knowledge and enthusiasm.

Thanks for the comments grantsmb ... and keep up the great work everyone else !

__________________
Sim'

Technical support: please post in the Help and Feedback Forum. Alternatively, use the Contact Form, or email me directly at support@zoochat.com

04-04-2007

It's the best english site i know atm yup. The french, german and dutch allready have the same kind of forum which are all older and thus probably better developed (member-wise). I was amazed to find there wasn't an english one yet till i found this one.

Considering the language i would say this has the most potential, hopefully it lives up to that (sofar it's very well on it's way!). Thanks for setting it up and running it though, to everyone involved

13-04-2007

Thanks for the comments jwer.

I'd appreciate any other comments and suggestions from the membership of the forums.

I was recently made redundant from my job, and am planning on spending the rest of the year working on my other websites (mostly InvestEd) and concentrating on my uni studies (doing a Masters of Education in Adult Education).

As as result, I do have a bit more time on my hands, so would like to do some more work on ZooBeat. First effort will be some software upgrades that are long overdue (things won't change much for the members - it's mostly a back-end change). But I'd be keen to consider other structural changes to the site, or new features and such.

Is everyone familiar with Wiki's like Wikipedia ? I've been thinking about setting up some form of Zoo / Animal reference database using a Wiki - meaning that anyone can contribute to it (like they contribute to Wikipedia).

Thoughts or other suggestions ?

__________________
Sim'

Technical support: please post in the Help and Feedback Forum. Alternatively, use the Contact Form, or email me directly at support@zoochat.com

ideas
13-04-2007

I think the idea of something similar to a ZooWiki would be good , but there will possibly be the issue of inappropriate input ---- how well are you able to manage spam , porn , con artists and the like , if it is open to all and sundry to participate ?

I know that Paul in the UK is working on a website on zoos , particularly on archived guide books , historical facts , and early maps etc . This includes zoos , aquiriams , wildlife parks etc that have now closed . Are you able to assist him with any zoos (and ex zoos) from Australia .

Are there any other forum members that could utilise your knowledge and assistance in zoo websites ?

Some of the threads have the tendency to weave off topic -- is it possible to edit these and make them into other threads ? ( I understand it will not be entirely possible )

and thanks for keeping it fairly user friendly for those of us who are not IT whizz,s......

13-04-2007

Thanks for the suggestions Nigel.

Interestingly, if you visit the site ZooWiki ... you get back to ZooBeat (I've owned the zoowiki.com domain name for a while now ... and just redirect it to here until I decided to set up a separate site for it).

Wiki's do require active moderation to prevent spam and such, and there are ways to manage that. I may make it available to registered users only (similar to the forums - you have to register before you can contribute) ... gives me more control over who can do what.

A wiki would only work though if there were enough people interested to contribute!

__________________
Sim'

Technical support: please post in the Help and Feedback Forum. Alternatively, use the Contact Form, or email me directly at support@zoochat.com

13-04-2007

i wouldn't worry bout that sim.

though i think zooboy's family might miss him....

13-04-2007

Sim
As a 'freak' about animal geneaology, I would love to see a database that we could all access on the studbooks of animals held in ANZ zoos. This could include intersting tidbits about individual animals (ie operations they have had etc)

13-04-2007

If anything I would like to see the 'International' side of Zoobeat extended a little. You have filled a niche for an English speaking Zoo discussion forum and news service, remarkably this seems missing elsewhere e.g. UK/America. There are some similar European sites but not in English....

You've now got people from Europe feeding news to each other about UK/European/elsewhere zoos via your site- odd but true. Obviously the fact that the majority of your contributors are in your own region makes no difference, but the whole thing is enriched by the International connections.

I don't know abut a 'Wiki' approach- I tend to agree with 'zoopro' that you can get accurate info/history from many sites. Its updated news/ discussion I am usually after and that's what I'm increasingly able to get through Zoobeat contacts. Good luck with taking it further.

14-04-2007

Aren't those studbooks already available ? Where do our ZooBeat members get all their information from ?

Even if that information is available, but we can add value to it with our own information or our own way of presenting it, I think it might be worthwhile.

__________________
Sim'

Technical support: please post in the Help and Feedback Forum. Alternatively, use the Contact Form, or email me directly at support@zoochat.com

14-04-2007

Any suggestions about how we "extend the international side" ?

I have always been keen to make this site much more international ... I do travel internationally and like to visit zoos in other countries, so having resources available on a more global level is always useful.

__________________
Sim'

Technical support: please post in the Help and Feedback Forum. Alternatively, use the Contact Form, or email me directly at support@zoochat.com

14-04-2007

i reackon it would be koo, but keep the oz link strong

14-04-2007

I get all my info from newspaper articles and from those like zoo boy and zukipah who have contacts from withn zoos.
This really only works if one - zoos release the information to the media and if the media picks up on it and runs an article - and they sometimes get the info wrong.

Studbook availability
14-04-2007

A few studbooks ARe available on the Internet nowadays, but only if the holder zoo feels like publicising it. Most still aren't though and its very hit and miss whether you can find the ones that are. Of course I'm talking European here rather than Australian region, it may be different with yu..

15-04-2007

I dont have access to a stud book .
I get my information from media sources , emailing zoos directly , talking to keepers on zoo visits , zoobooks , websites etc
I will be the first to admit that I dont always get it right , but that is one of the good things about this forum -- someone can often revise information more correctly .
One of our members , Paul , is slowly building up a website of zoos worldwide . But it may be several years before there is much information available on internet about zoos in many countries , or at least in English/French/German . I can read Korean script , but I am not fluent enough to make much sense of it . And like most of us on this forum , I cant read Thai, Russian , Japanese , Chinese , etc