dvds2000
Gone But Not Forgotten
So Cheltenham's almost here and as such its the time of year I start playing with things on the forum, and usually breaking something along the way (hello tapatalk users a couple of weeks ago 
). I'm going to list the changes then explain them further underneath.
So whats changed:
1. People, either non members or not logged in, now see adverts in the second post of every thread. To get rid of them, log in or join and log in. Simple
2. Tapatalk has been updated and is working properly now.
3. The odds comparison widget is now live and seems to be working properly at the bottom of the page, like oddschecker it allows you to check the odds on racing from any page on the forum.
4. A small change to the terms and conditions of membership.
5. A page has been added with links to various bookmakers with free bets.
6. Social media button updated so it works again.
7. Extra Facebook like button added under top banner, this likes the facebook page rather than individual threads.
8. Created Facebook page.
In this new age of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, every single forum I use has gone downhill, some extremely popular forums from 10 years ago have either ceased to exist or are so quiet it won't be long until they have gone. I'm sure most people have noticed the same thing. We seem to be the exception to the decline of forums. Visitor numbers are now over three times what they were in 2008/2009, and judging by the small set of figures from this year so far that trend seems to be ongoing. This is obviously good for everyone, as posts are up (over half a million posts now) and the more posts, the more interesting the forum is, obviously generating more interest.
However as the use goes up, so do the costs. I have always paid for the upkeep of the forum and I'm not about to stop. The forums are my 'baby', I set them up 15 years ago from nothing and now we are one of the biggest independent horse racing forums in the UK. Having said that, as the costs increase I wouldn't mind a little income from them to help pay for the costs. The forums are free, they will always be free, and the banner advert at the top of the page generates a very small income that goes into paying for the domain and hosting. We aren't littered with adverts like some forums or websites and never will be and I don't think having an advert and an email or two a year is too much to ask to be able to use the forums.
The reason for the changes is quite simply I know a lot of people don't see the adverts, let alone click on them. The use of ad blockers is one reason, the use of Tapatalk is another. Tapatalk, for those who haven't used it, is a forum app, and it's very good. However it bypasses the first page of the forum (where the results etc are) and also strips all adverts out of the forum pages. Some of you have probably noticed the 'spammy' posts over the past couple of weeks. This was really a test to see what difference it made to create a post with an advert rather than relying on the banners. In the 6 months previously I had 3 sign ups to Betbutler, in 2 days of putting a post up I had 46 (who I think all won so I didn't get anything lol, but thats beside the point ). I don't want to be spamming the forum with posts for bookies etc, but would appreciate it if people who do strip the ads out at least use our links from a separate page if they are going to join a bookmaker's site, it doesn't cost you a penny, and in some cases the sign up bonuses are better than going direct. I don't see user names, I don't see what you are backing or how much you spend.
So, onto addressing the changes, point 1 should be pretty obvious. If you are using the forum to read then I don't think joining is too much to ask, if you join it takes 2 minutes, and you can take part in discussions, and contribute to helping the forums grow. We don't spam you with emails and you get rid of the adverts within posts. Currently there are usually two or three times as many guests online as there are members.
2. Tapatalk wasn't working properly, its been updated to the latest version and I managed to switch the Tapatalk adverts off so you shouldn't see them now.
3. I added a widget to the forum that allows anyone to check the odds of any horse running today at a number of bookmakers. It also does some ante post prices. Clicking on them to go to the bookmaker is an affiliate link, half the time its ours, half the time it is the providers. We also set up a page with the full version on, that allows you to check odds of most sports.
Odds comparison full service - Click here
4. No one likes spam, however as we have 500 people accessing the forums through Tapatalk and more using ad blockers I am going to send a couple of newsletters out every year. I have changed the terms and conditions of membership to reflect this. Although they state four a year max, usually its one or two. By continuing to use the forums you agree to this change, if you don't agree to it, then please contact us and we will delete your account. Your control panel settings will not stop newsletters. The change is below.
5. Rather than litter the forum with links and spam, I have knocked together a page with various bookmaker's sign up offers. I'm sure some of you will be opening new accounts for Cheltenham, and I'm sure there's a couple of bookmakers on there most people won't have used before. Hopefully you will use our links
Click here to get over £1500 in free bets!
6. At the top of every thread there is an orange 'share' button where you can share the post link with almost every social media site out there. It rarely gets used but then it wasn't working properly which is probably why. It's working fine now, feel free to share threads with your friends, the more members, the more interesting the forum will be.
7. There is now a 'like' button positioned under the banner at the top of the forum, this likes our new facebook page.
8. I have finally decided to create a facebook page, feel free to add, follow, share and like our page. Not sure how this is going to go or if it will get used but we can give it a go for a few weeks
Quick guide to how to use the social media buttons.
The button circled in BLACK likes our facebook page. It doesn't like this site or anything else, just the facebook page.
The button circled in RED likes the thread you are on.
The button circled in GREEN shares the thread with your friends. It also has the option to do the same for other social media sites.
The tweet button should be obvious, but as I don't use Twitter I haven't tested it.
Our Facebook page is available by clicking here. Obviously there is no content yet as its only just been set up but feel free to post on there. I can see it being useful for certain short term things if nothing else, like meeting up at Cheltenham, if you are at a certain bar at the course feel free to post 'in xx bar for next 30 mins if anyone wants to meet up'. I am aware there is slight loading problem with the facebook like button just under the banner which is affecting the pages loading properly first time. I'll get that sorted out over the next couple of days.
There has also been stuff going on behind the scenes on a technical level to improve the speed of the forum, and other stuff that I won't bore you with as it won't affect the members, except, hopefully, speed the forum up a bit and help it run smoother.
If anyone has seen a feature on another forum that they like and it gets used, feel free to let me know and if it's possible to install on here I will give it a go. I might add a 'thanks' button at some point, with allows you to thank people for a post, just like the facebook 'like' button.
The newsletter is going to be sent out over the next 24 hours, if anyone wants a sneak peek, then click here.
Just to show how much we have grown I have put some screenshots of visitor numbers below.
As you can see, total visitors in 2009 was 46k, total in Jan and Feb this year was 25k. Judging from this months figures we are going to break all records, averaging almost 700 visitors a day so far in March.
I know this post is heavily advert related, and no doubt some of you have skimmed over most of it or are thinking, 'shut up I don't like adverts, this is boring, I'll not use the forum if I have to look at adverts'. No one likes adverts, but the simple fact is the forums are free to use. Almost all forums have adverts. You don't stop watching ITV because there are adverts every 15 minutes, youtube have adverts yet millions of people use it every day. Facebook is littered with adverts. Some forums have adverts and charge a small membership fee every month or year (which I strongly disagree with, a forum doesn't exist without members, why charge someone to make your forum busier?), and send emails out every week or month. I don't think having an advert at the top of the page and a couple of emails every year is a big price to pay for using the forum. As a general rule, the spammy bookmaker posts will be stopping now, they were just as an experiment to see how many were actually viewing adverts, the exception being if there is a short term, short notice offer that I find out about like the Betbutler £100 free one last week, I was given a few hours notice and had to knock something together quickly. The same would apply for big meetings where offers are often made on the morning, such as Cheltenham.
I hope people understand why this post has been made and why the small changes have been made. I think we are doing extremely well in the current climate where almost every forum is in decline. Thank you all for being members and making the forum the success it is today. I hope you all enjoy Cheltenham next week and for those who have a bet, hope it is profitable
. Thank you for reading this long ramble, it's appreciated.
). I'm going to list the changes then explain them further underneath.So whats changed:
1. People, either non members or not logged in, now see adverts in the second post of every thread. To get rid of them, log in or join and log in. Simple
2. Tapatalk has been updated and is working properly now.
3. The odds comparison widget is now live and seems to be working properly at the bottom of the page, like oddschecker it allows you to check the odds on racing from any page on the forum.
4. A small change to the terms and conditions of membership.
5. A page has been added with links to various bookmakers with free bets.
6. Social media button updated so it works again.
7. Extra Facebook like button added under top banner, this likes the facebook page rather than individual threads.
8. Created Facebook page.
In this new age of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, every single forum I use has gone downhill, some extremely popular forums from 10 years ago have either ceased to exist or are so quiet it won't be long until they have gone. I'm sure most people have noticed the same thing. We seem to be the exception to the decline of forums. Visitor numbers are now over three times what they were in 2008/2009, and judging by the small set of figures from this year so far that trend seems to be ongoing. This is obviously good for everyone, as posts are up (over half a million posts now) and the more posts, the more interesting the forum is, obviously generating more interest.
However as the use goes up, so do the costs. I have always paid for the upkeep of the forum and I'm not about to stop. The forums are my 'baby', I set them up 15 years ago from nothing and now we are one of the biggest independent horse racing forums in the UK. Having said that, as the costs increase I wouldn't mind a little income from them to help pay for the costs. The forums are free, they will always be free, and the banner advert at the top of the page generates a very small income that goes into paying for the domain and hosting. We aren't littered with adverts like some forums or websites and never will be and I don't think having an advert and an email or two a year is too much to ask to be able to use the forums.
The reason for the changes is quite simply I know a lot of people don't see the adverts, let alone click on them. The use of ad blockers is one reason, the use of Tapatalk is another. Tapatalk, for those who haven't used it, is a forum app, and it's very good. However it bypasses the first page of the forum (where the results etc are) and also strips all adverts out of the forum pages. Some of you have probably noticed the 'spammy' posts over the past couple of weeks. This was really a test to see what difference it made to create a post with an advert rather than relying on the banners. In the 6 months previously I had 3 sign ups to Betbutler, in 2 days of putting a post up I had 46 (who I think all won so I didn't get anything lol, but thats beside the point
). I don't want to be spamming the forum with posts for bookies etc, but would appreciate it if people who do strip the ads out at least use our links from a separate page if they are going to join a bookmaker's site, it doesn't cost you a penny, and in some cases the sign up bonuses are better than going direct. I don't see user names, I don't see what you are backing or how much you spend. So, onto addressing the changes, point 1 should be pretty obvious. If you are using the forum to read then I don't think joining is too much to ask, if you join it takes 2 minutes, and you can take part in discussions, and contribute to helping the forums grow. We don't spam you with emails and you get rid of the adverts within posts. Currently there are usually two or three times as many guests online as there are members.
2. Tapatalk wasn't working properly, its been updated to the latest version and I managed to switch the Tapatalk adverts off so you shouldn't see them now.
3. I added a widget to the forum that allows anyone to check the odds of any horse running today at a number of bookmakers. It also does some ante post prices. Clicking on them to go to the bookmaker is an affiliate link, half the time its ours, half the time it is the providers. We also set up a page with the full version on, that allows you to check odds of most sports.
Odds comparison full service - Click here
4. No one likes spam, however as we have 500 people accessing the forums through Tapatalk and more using ad blockers I am going to send a couple of newsletters out every year. I have changed the terms and conditions of membership to reflect this. Although they state four a year max, usually its one or two. By continuing to use the forums you agree to this change, if you don't agree to it, then please contact us and we will delete your account. Your control panel settings will not stop newsletters. The change is below.
One more thing on the subject of emails. I get quite a few bounced emails when people are sending pm's or subscribed to threads. You must keep your email address up to date. The newsletter is being sent out shortly, if I get bounced emails I am going to suspend your account until it is changed. Quite simply, this increases my yearly costs, and its a pain deleting them all!
5. Rather than litter the forum with links and spam, I have knocked together a page with various bookmaker's sign up offers. I'm sure some of you will be opening new accounts for Cheltenham, and I'm sure there's a couple of bookmakers on there most people won't have used before. Hopefully you will use our links
Click here to get over £1500 in free bets!
6. At the top of every thread there is an orange 'share' button where you can share the post link with almost every social media site out there. It rarely gets used but then it wasn't working properly which is probably why. It's working fine now, feel free to share threads with your friends, the more members, the more interesting the forum will be.
7. There is now a 'like' button positioned under the banner at the top of the forum, this likes our new facebook page.
8. I have finally decided to create a facebook page, feel free to add, follow, share and like our page. Not sure how this is going to go or if it will get used but we can give it a go for a few weeks
Quick guide to how to use the social media buttons.
The button circled in BLACK likes our facebook page. It doesn't like this site or anything else, just the facebook page.
The button circled in RED likes the thread you are on.
The button circled in GREEN shares the thread with your friends. It also has the option to do the same for other social media sites.
The tweet button should be obvious, but as I don't use Twitter I haven't tested it.
Our Facebook page is available by clicking here. Obviously there is no content yet as its only just been set up but feel free to post on there. I can see it being useful for certain short term things if nothing else, like meeting up at Cheltenham, if you are at a certain bar at the course feel free to post 'in xx bar for next 30 mins if anyone wants to meet up'. I am aware there is slight loading problem with the facebook like button just under the banner which is affecting the pages loading properly first time. I'll get that sorted out over the next couple of days.
There has also been stuff going on behind the scenes on a technical level to improve the speed of the forum, and other stuff that I won't bore you with as it won't affect the members, except, hopefully, speed the forum up a bit and help it run smoother.
If anyone has seen a feature on another forum that they like and it gets used, feel free to let me know and if it's possible to install on here I will give it a go. I might add a 'thanks' button at some point, with allows you to thank people for a post, just like the facebook 'like' button.
The newsletter is going to be sent out over the next 24 hours, if anyone wants a sneak peek, then click here.
Just to show how much we have grown I have put some screenshots of visitor numbers below.
As you can see, total visitors in 2009 was 46k, total in Jan and Feb this year was 25k. Judging from this months figures we are going to break all records, averaging almost 700 visitors a day so far in March.
I know this post is heavily advert related, and no doubt some of you have skimmed over most of it or are thinking, 'shut up I don't like adverts, this is boring, I'll not use the forum if I have to look at adverts'. No one likes adverts, but the simple fact is the forums are free to use. Almost all forums have adverts. You don't stop watching ITV because there are adverts every 15 minutes, youtube have adverts yet millions of people use it every day. Facebook is littered with adverts. Some forums have adverts and charge a small membership fee every month or year (which I strongly disagree with, a forum doesn't exist without members, why charge someone to make your forum busier?), and send emails out every week or month. I don't think having an advert at the top of the page and a couple of emails every year is a big price to pay for using the forum. As a general rule, the spammy bookmaker posts will be stopping now, they were just as an experiment to see how many were actually viewing adverts, the exception being if there is a short term, short notice offer that I find out about like the Betbutler £100 free one last week, I was given a few hours notice and had to knock something together quickly. The same would apply for big meetings where offers are often made on the morning, such as Cheltenham.
I hope people understand why this post has been made and why the small changes have been made. I think we are doing extremely well in the current climate where almost every forum is in decline. Thank you all for being members and making the forum the success it is today. I hope you all enjoy Cheltenham next week and for those who have a bet, hope it is profitable
. Thank you for reading this long ramble, it's appreciated.
