Things That Irritate You on the Forum

The problem is the speculation and immaturity has been increasingly spilling out into the rest of the forum. This leads to confusion and frustration.

Yes, but the immaturity leads to frustration that many of us are feeling towards younger members. I will also point out that the fantasy zoo subforum is not an important part of the site. The purpose of the site is to discuss zoos and wildlife, to keep up with news and post relevant media. It's sometimes nice to have a place to post fantasy-based zoo ideas, but its actual usefulness is arguably nil.

Probably not nearly so much as you think, I've noticed a distinct trend of younger members being attracted by that forum in particular. Now it is a public forum, but there are also rules and expectations that are not being followed.

It is not the implication. Not everyone who uses it is immature, but it has trended that direction lately. That was part of the reason Zoobinh and I decided to just leave Zoo Community and not attempt reviving it again. We realized it just wasn't meeting the interest of the subforum like it originally had. The quality of the threads is generally much lower than it used to be. There are exceptions, but I typically don't even bother with that subforum anymore.

 

Simply put from my perspective as a young member-Tried the Fantasy zoo for a while, was fun a times, other times it wasn't and was generally more demanding than the General Zoo Discussion so I haven't really been on there in a while.

 

As much as I really don't want to admit, the resentments of and arguments against the fantasy zoos subforum in this thread are undeniably strong and correct.

I am afraid there's an inevitable conclusion that I can no longer participate in the fantasy zoo forum while feeling that I'm doing something that is good and right for ZooChat.

Therefore I have decided the submission that I am currently working on will be my final fantasy zoo project ever. All ideas, notes and concept drawings for future project will be destroyed soon.

As much as I enjoy fantasy zoo work and as much as I don't want to do this, there is no other option at this point but to step away from these things, forever. It doesn't feel right for me, but it is the right thing to do for the ZooChat community as a whole, and therefore a sacrifice I morally have to make.

I will thus be going back to gallery postings and sporadic posts, and during the periods where I don't do those, just reading posts and watching images.

 

That seems highly unnecessary, I suggest continuing if you are having fun. There is a balance, I do fantasy zoo stuff, and am also active on other forums, same with you. There isn’t a problem at all as far as I’m concerned. Frankly, this conversation has derailed, and I think it would be best to pretend it never happened.

 

Parts of the conversation in regards to immaturity and to a lesser extent the fantasy forum are still quite relevant, and should not be brushed off so easily.

 

I know, I just don’t think it is worth people getting upset over.

 

Sometimes disagreements, heated discussions, and strong emotions happen on this site. It is a normal part of meaningful discourse and is not something to be avoided, since it often reveals issues and perspectives that may not have been known otherwise. If problems were never discussed, they would never be solved. The key to making it productive is remaining respectful and focused on the content itself so that it doesn't become petty or personal. If you aren't comfortable with those kinds of discussions, you don't have to participate in them - but they will happen.

 

Just to add on to this, as someone who partaked in the debate, I have come out of it with more respect for @TeaLovingDave and @Great Argus for respecting my view and constructively disagreeing with me, and I hope they have the same attitude coming out of this as well.

I'm pretty sure this will just make the problem worse for the forum. The removal of quality, mature projects from yourself in that section helps to move away from the immaturity of it. If people like you leave, soon the only ones that will be left will be the ones who are immature, basically making it sectioned off from the rest of the forum due to it.

@KevinB, I don't mean to sound condescending here but I think you and I both know that these punishments you give to yourself aren't working, for this and other matters. I'm pretty sure nobody in this forum will view you less highly if you want to do your fantasy zoo projects, as you clearly have a passion for them. Don't punish yourself for a problem that is outside of your control.

 

As one of the admittedly younger (and newer, at that) zoochaters, I understand in a way how other youths in the website could become irritating and tiresome. I myself do my best to try not be one of those people (I also try to participate in other threads but seldom have much to contribute). I had never heard about this side of the zoochat community, and hearing this sort of input is helpful and gives a view of both demographics of the website, young and old.

 

I feel like I should comment on this.
As someone who has spent a lot of time on the fantasy zoo threads and has created a lot of threads on that part of the site, I can tell you when I was first starting out on ZooChat I really did enjoy those things. The challenges and stuff, especially through the quarantine era, really helped relax and gave me something enjoyable to do, and the comments and criticism I got from more experienced members of that side helps me to learn a lot about zoo design and realism. That is my defense for being on that side of the forum.
I do have to say though, I do take some blame on for ruining that part of the forum. I feel like some of my threads I have created were nothing but unrealistic and silly. I know I made a thread that had the challenge of creating an exhibit for a fantasy creature, which was unprofessional and awfully foolish for a site like this. There are most likely other challenges that I have created which were unnecessary. I apologize.

 

As I read through this thread I remain astonished that it has become such an issue. Forum members who are not interested in the Fantasy posts never see them. Posts elsewhere that read as immature can be ignored. Members whose posts irritate one can be ignored.
I am in favor of zoo fans trying out roles and scenarios to discover where their ignorance and romantic notions of what a zoo is clash with reality. (I admit that when a post asserts that there is a straightforward and simple response to any issue with a zoo, or that some zoo ought to redevelop large areas of exhibits because they are dated I do feel a reaction of "You need a reality check!" But it is not only the younger Zoochatters who do this.)
Perhaps the problem has seemed most acute to the Mods because they have to read every single post on the site and, as they are not enthusiasts of the Fantasy posts themselves, they are more bothered by them.
I will always advocate for more freedom of expression and greater inclusion except when posts are hateful or intentionally creating discord without a constructive reason, If the real issue lies with the Mods that's fine but I'd prefer that it be stated. "We don't have time to moderate your nonsense." That, too, is a reasonable position IMO

 

Surely saying thanks is just being polite? I get that I can like the post but if it’s a direct answer to a question that I have specifically asked then I feel that saying thanks to show my gratitude to the other member is merited.

 

Yes, that makes sense. I do that too but oftentimes I try to add more than just thanks and elaborate a little if that makes sense. Anyways, I would say thanks is an exception, but something like “ok” or “oh” is what gets a little annoying.

 

Yes I agree with “oh and “ok” they can get quite irritating

 

Thank you both for your explanations. Obviously there was a lot going on I knew nothing about (which I suppose means that in some ways the system worked)

 

Well said! I agree.