[USA]

Hi Dr Mike

This is addressed to you because you are the one who sets the guidelines. There are many topics in the Editors Choice forum that have nothing to do with the editors choice foods. If this is okay with you then so be it.

My thoughts are that it severely limits the responses that a topic can receive and it pushes people to join the Editors Choice section for reasons other than the Editors Choice selections.

So I thought I’d see what you have to say about it.

[Mike Sagman]

I can understand your frustration with some of the topics that have been created by other members.

However, these forums were never intended to limit any discussion to “the Editor’s Choice foods” as you suggest. The only restriction here is that one must be a member to participate.

And although ideally it would be nice if members would stick to subjects related to which dog foods they consider to be the best, we also recognize the need for many pet owners to introduce additional topics that are important to them and their pets.

So, these discussions frequently include topics like cancer, allergies, kidney problems, cost savings and (yes) even dog treats. The only time we feel compelled to delete threads is when they have nothing to do with dogs.

And of course, as a member, it’s always your choice to select which ones you choose to read or reply to.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Mike-
I don’t think he is expressing frustration with the types of topics being started. I think that he is frustrated that they are being introduced in the editors choice section, not allowing non-members to participate. For example a topic on cancer might be introduced in the editor’s choice section not allowing others to participate when they might benefit from it, but it has nothing to do with the Editor’s choice foods. Is this correct USA? I know when I’m in the forum, since I am a member, I never know which one I’m in for sure. I hadn’t really thought about his point. But, I do understand his concern.

[Mike Sagman]

I understand his concern. However, knowing which forum you are in when you post your comment is your responsibility — not the responsibility of the moderator.

As in any forum, where a participant chooses to post a comment is entirely up to the person who posts it. The individual who posts a question in a members-only area is only limiting the number of responses he will receive.

[crazy4cats]

I do understand that. But I’m glad he brought it up so members might be more aware when starting a new subject that does not involve the choice foods to start it in the regular forum so more may participate. Thanks for your help.

[Mike Sagman]

I agree. I hope others will read this thread for the very same reason.

[USA]

Hi Mike,

I would imagine that the people who are really frustrated are the non-paying members of the forums who cannot participate in topics that have nothing to do with the Editors Choice section. I on the other hand can participate in any topic because I am a paying member. My concern is with the fairness of it.

In the FAQ’s for the Editors Choice Section you put the following restrictions on Editors Choice content:

“Is it OK for me to share the content of my Editor’s Choice membership with others?
The information published in our Editor’s Choice section has taken hundreds of hours of research and hard work and is provided for the exclusive use of our paid subscribers only.
So, please do not share your login details or private Editor’s Choice content with others.”

My thoughts were that if you could place restrictions on sharing the content of the Editors Choice section with non-paying members then if you so desired you could also ask that the topics in the Editors Choice section be related to the Editors Choice content.

[USA]

Hi c4c,

You are right about my concerns!

[Mike Sagman]

Hi USA Dog Treats,

You’ve made a valid suggestion. So, I’ve now added the following text to our Editor’s Choice Forum description:

“This forum is for Editor’s Choice members only. Participants are asked to limit all discussions to topics related to Editor’s Choice only.”

Not sure how effective this guideline will prove to be. However, at least now you and others can point to this description to help encourage members to post unrelated content to one of our other forums.

Hope this helps.

[USA]

Thank you Dr Mike!

[Mike Sagman]

USA Dog Treats,

Have you noticed any improvement in the number of members posting in error to this forum? It looks a little better to me. However, I’m not sure.

[USA]

Hi Mike,

I just clicked around on the latest replies list on the left and there is a smaller % of Editors Choice replies that could go in the regular forum then there was 4 days ago!

[Mike Sagman]

Looks like your suggestion is paying off. Please let me know if you think of any other ways to improve these results. Thanks again for taking the time to point out this problem.

[Case]

I’m guilty of posting non-editor’s choice topics in the editor’s choice forum, but I just noticed this suggestion and it makes sense to me, so I will use the other forums in the future. Thanks USA Dog Treats!

[Case]

After posting topics in the other forums, I have concluded that I get more input on this forum.

[USA]

Hi Case,

I’m sorry to hear that but thanks for trying!

When Dr Mike added the quote below to the Editor’s Choice Forum description I thought it was a good idea. But in reality it can only be enforced by the staff of the Dog Food Advisor.

“This forum is for Editor’s Choice members only. Participants are asked to limit all discussions to topics related to Editor’s Choice only.”

[Tina]

What is the big deal if someone who has paid to be a member of Editor’s Choice starts a topic that isn’t part of Editor’s Choice? They’ve paid to be a member and may need advice from a different group of people.

[Tina]

People that this bothers shouldn’t read those topics or be on this website then.

[InkedMarie]

Tina: I’m pretty sure the same group who posts here posts to the rest of the forum as well.

[Mike Sagman]

This new guideline is proving to be too restrictive to our members. So, I’ve removed that statement from our description of this forum. Please feel free to post anywhere you believe you’ll get the most engagement with others and replies to your topics.

[theBCnut]

I personally don’t check to see if a topic is or is not in EC, but I do think that people will get the most responses if they post in the regular forum, since everyone can see that. Of course, the number of responses you get is always going to reflect whether or not someone has something to say about your post.

[aquariangt]

I don’t really check which forum it’s in either. I do scroll up to see if it’s in the Editor’s Choice forum if I’m posting information I got from the Editor’s Choice section to make sure I’m not doing anything wrong, but that’s about it. I just click on latest articles

[USA]

Hi Mike

The new guideline could have only been “too restrictive” to the Editors Choice members. No one who is not an editor’s choice member could be restricted in any way by the now removed guideline. In fact Non Paid members would have an enhanced experience if the guideline was still in effect and followed.

So it looks like in this case the rights of the Editors Choice members to post wherever they like supersedes the rights of the Non Paid members to be able to participate in any comments that are not directly related to the Editors Choice content.

Tina wrote:

“People that this bothers shouldn’t read those topics or be on this website then.”

Tina’s remark is rude and offensive and presents this forum in a very judgmental and unwelcoming way. That kind of remark will stop people from expressing themselves without fear of being attacked by a rude poster!

[Tina]

What I was saying is the it’s a free country and I believe in the freedom of speech especially if I’ve paid for something.

[Tina]

And besides dog food is a very touchy subject so no matter what there will always be conflict.

[aquariangt]

Tina is always rude, unfortunately USA. Hopefully someday we can report posts

[Tina]

I’m not always rude, I just speak my mind. I try to be nice and even apologize but if no body reads those posts then I can’t help them. I’ve even tried to delete posts but that doesn’t work either. So if you have a problem with me please talk to me and not the world. Only scared people do that!

[Barbara]

I wanted to delete or at least edit a post that I had made today before further research on the matter (which I did after) and I could not edit it!! Why is that? Is there a time limit? It was only a couple of hours later and on an old subject matter in the forums…

[Tina]

Whats wrong with the USA?

[DogFoodie]

Hi Barbara,

Yes, there’s a time limit to edit posts in the forum; it’s brief…, minutes.

[InkedMarie]

Tina, unless it’s new, there is no way for people to chat privately, unless you share emails or real names for Facebook. So, we can only talk publicly.

[Tina]

First of all, I wasn’t trying to be rude. All I was saying is that if someone doesn’t like a certain topic or whats being said in a certain topic that person can create their own or just sign off altogether. They don’t have to stay in that topic, they can change topics.

You people take things the wrong way. DON’T ASSUME THINGS, ask the person directly what they ment by that comment. Maybe you took it the wrong way.

Perhaps it is you who is rude!

[Case]

Tina,

You’ve been rude and downright childish on several occasions.

You’ve used foul language.

You’ve threatened to euthanize your dogs.

You’ve posted in multiples.

You’ve asked loaded questions and argued with replies.

You’ve even went so far as to question Dr Mike’s credibility and accuse his site of making unauthorized charges to your credit card.

It amazes me that this has been allowed.

[InkedMarie]

Tina,
I have to ask. If you question Dr Mikes credibility, why would you pay to come here? The rest of DFA is free; you’ve posted you’re poor, married & living with your parents. It seems you’d have better places to spend money other than a website run by someone you don’t think is credible.

[crazy4cats]

Hey, look a report button has been added. I wonder why??

[DogFoodie]

Yay!! And the like button is back, also. It was there when the forum first started, but it disappeared shortly thereafter. I’m glad to see they’ve returned!

[InkedMarie]

A ” like ” button, too

[InkedMarie]

Betsy, I can’t get the ” like ” button to work, it just goes round & round

[Case]

I don’t see a like button?

[Mike Sagman]

Tina,

In the interest of free speech, I only rarely remove comments from these Forums. However, your abusive behavior and baseless accusations posted here today regarding my personal integrity have compelled me to not only remove your malicious comment but to also permanently revoke your posting privileges on this website. I have issued a full refund for your membership.

[crazy4cats]

It didn’t work for me either and now it’s gone. Do you think the reply button will actually reply to the poster, or will it go to the bottom after the last poster like it does now?

[DogFoodie]

I know I’ve used the reply button before, but it seemed to just throw it at the end of the string of comments. I wonder if that means the comment will be emailed to the person if they’ve checked the box to receive follow up comments by email or something.

Darn, I already miss the like button again.

[Mike Sagman]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for noticing the Like button. However, you’ve probably also noticed this feature has once again failed to do what it’s supposed to do. I had hoped its developer would have finally fixed it. But unfortunately, he didn’t. And I had to uninstall it. Sorry.

In addition, due to recent events on this and other threads, I’ve added a “Report” link. This will now allow you a way to report abusive behavior.

Feel free to use it to flag inappropriate content or behavior whenever you need to. However, please don’t use it to simply report a comment just because you don’t happen to like it.

Unfortunately, this feature does not send me or our moderator an automatic email alert. So, we have to manually remind ourselves to log in periodically and check the “Reports” log. Otherwise, we’ll not be aware of the reported comment. And it could take us many hours (or even a day or two) until we’re aware of it and able to respond.

In any case, now, at least there’s a way to let us know.

By the way, thanks so much for all your kind words of support posted regarding this recent issue. They meant a lot to me.

Mike

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