+- Zoo Community & Writer's Guild (https://zoowg.org)
+-- Forum: Zoophilia discussions (https://zoowg.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=6)
+--- Forum: General Zoo discourse (https://zoowg.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=42)
+--- Thread: How useful is this forum to you? (/showthread.php?tid=415)
How useful is this forum to you? - DingoJay - 07-18-2018
I suppose that my being a member of the old school crowd has a lot to do with it, but I prefer the forum environment. They tend to be as permanent as anything is online, and sometimes it's nice to go back and look at something that was posted a few weeks/months/years ago. A chat environment does not offer that capability; things tend to scroll off and are gone within minutes to hours.
As a knowledge base, this forum is one of a precious few that remain. I would like to see that stay in place. I suspect that aspect is under-utilized due to the fact that we're pretty much flying below the radar here. I'm not sure how we would fix that without attracting unwanted attention, though. That might apply to the Guild section as well.
How useful is this forum to you? - threelegs - 07-19-2018
I'd like to see more active writing (or writing activities) here, with critique and commentaries. Really, if this is a forum for zoo writers, shouldn't we be helping each other to learn to write better? Maybe a monthly call for submissions of poetry or flash fiction, perhaps in response to a posted story prompt.
Also, maybe a list of writers' resources, the kind applicable to any genre. I think we'd need a sticky topic for that somewhere.
How useful is this forum to you? - battlecrops - 07-19-2018
I think a semi-publicly accessible forum/community is very important, especially since the subreddit went under. Now on tumblr we're seeing very strongly anti-contact zoophiles, because the only other paraphilia community visible on tumblr is the pedophilia one, which is (rightfully) anti-contact. So zoophiles are seeing that community since the zoo one is no longer visible, and basing their own ethics on that one. I don't care if someone is personally anti-contact but these people are saying any sexual contact with animals is wrong full stop. The information about consent and zoo communities are no longer really easy to find, and now newly-discovered zoophiles are ending up with false ideas. There are definitely downsides to public forums and communities but imo the benefit to new or questioning zoos outweighs them, especially when people are feeling isolated and in need of a support system. Lots of people ended up with nowhere to go after reddit shut us down.
How useful is this forum to you? - Lateoss - 07-19-2018
Quote:
17 hours ago, silverwolf1 said:
I envision this forum as much a repository of "zoo" knowledge as a board of discussion, and would love to see those aspects more heavily used. Would folks see that as a worthwhile part of the forum or should it be axed?
The Guild part of the forum has dwindled in use. Any ideas how to spark new life into it?
How would you advertise the forum better?
I definitely think that the site's use as a repository for zoo knowledge is worthwhile, as is the Guild. Getting content in both the Guild and the Animal Health sections is difficult though, as the individuals posting in these categories must obviously have certain prerequisites (being a good writer or an experienced zoo), and additionally have a desire to share the information with others. Short of reminding users to post in these sections, I don't see any real way to encourage content in these categories, other than simply increasing the number of members and thus increasing the odds that individuals will contribute in these categories.
Advertising is a big job, and in our case, would also be somewhat risky if we decided to do anything.
Advertising the forum is entirely a task of figuring out how to spread the word, that's what advertising is. First we must find places to advertise the site to, if we wanted to do something like this, it should start in locations where a zoo community has already been established, this way we minimize risk of getting undesired attention and help to rally straggling zoos who may be looking for a place to talk already. Places such as Tumblr, IRC channels (if there are even any still around), other small zoo forums, and messaging platforms (telegram being the primary one). Even doing this would come with a risk though, as we could potentially get attention from individuals masquerading as zoos that would probably fit the title of "animal sex enthusiast" better. Of course we could be selective about where and when we advertise, minimizing risk. All we would have to do is get a stickied post, and from there its history.
Quote:
2 hours ago, battlecrops said:
The information about consent and zoo communities are no longer really easy to find, and now newly-discovered zoophiles are ending up with false ideas. There are definitely downsides to public forums and communities but imo the benefit to new or questioning zoos outweighs them, especially when people are feeling isolated and in need of a support system. Lots of people ended up with nowhere to go after reddit shut us down.
I seriously feel this. When I joined the community I found my way in through the subreddit, which by itself was a way to converse with other zoos, but additionally it had a link in the info section to knotty.me (a since-deceased zoo forum). The subreddit appeared pretty close to the top (if not the very top) of a google search for "zoophilia". Because of this, I as an incoming new zoo had any easy time finding my way into the community. This isn't the case for new zoos now, there is no easy way for new zoos to find their way into the community. This can be a serious issue for the welfare of some new zoos who may require support for their sexual orientation. I'm sure its much harder to come to terms with your sexuality if you don't even know if there is anyone else out there who shares that sexuality with you. I'm not saying that's the case for everyone, but its still a worthy point for consideration.
Is there a fix for this? Well, there is really only one other source of information on zoophilia that appears near the top of a google search for it: wikipedia. As it turns out, there is a section on the wikipedia page for the current "zoophile community". Its VERY old and outdated, check it out for yourself. So I pose a question, what if we got this forum in that part of the wikipedia page? It may attract some of the wrong attention, but ill tell you what, if any new zoos are looking for a way to get in touch with the community, I'm sure most of them will read through that wikipedia article at some point.
How useful is this forum to you? - Resident Hyaena - 07-21-2018
When I first came online, there was a rich assortment of Zoo resources available. As with the products of all other fields & human interests, most of it was junk. But even winnowed down to just the gems, there was a lot to explore, a lot that was useful, and a good heaping handful that made a real difference.
Most of that is gone now; nearly all of the forums, the Zoo Ring, the story libraries, historical archives, active link sites, like Ian's Zoo Links, and, as far as I can tell, every last "classic" personal Zoo page ("Ren's Kennel" by Ren Houk and "The Ultimate Zoo Page" by Canine Cassanova being among the very last to disappear).
And gone are many Zoos that are no longer alive.
Most of the sites left are porn sites, a very few blogs, and the more "real-time" venues, such as talkers & chats.
And as for that treacherous & toxic "social media" like Farcebook, I don't go there for anything!
I could never get into the chats or talkers; their immediate nature, having to be there right when things happened, having to type at rates that are impossible for me to maintain, not having time to properly compose your thoughts or to research & fact-check things through, to not be able to dodge the flame equivalent of an "Al Capp rumble-ball" until it was way too late (I'm REALLY dating myself there!)
And after all that, with most everything everyone puts out there having about the same useful life as a three-day-old bus transfer.
This site is very important to me. It is the only one I know of where I can enter into a sane and rational discourse without automatic refutation and knee-jerk reactions. It, and its sibling site, are the only ones where I can post my story without censorship or risk of banning.
Indeed, if I were left with only that "other big site", nobody but two or three select e-mail recipients would be seeing or reading it now, except in a bowdlerized form, which would have immediately ruined it, or stalled it to where I would have never continued it.
In fact, the story was well on its way to dying on the vine, until I discovered this site, quite by accident.
And as for non-zoos examining our online presence, this site is the best example I know of for us presenting our best face to them.
Maybe there are some other good or even great Zoo sites out there for those not into real-time-only venues, or as an example of our better side. But if so, I have not found them, despite redoubled searching since finding out how "inadequate" that other big site is, and redoubled again since the demise of Herpy.
Unless or until I do, this is the Zoo site that is by far the most important to me. AND the sibling site, with its other members, the ability to make my own spelling corrections to my story after posting, and with each site as a communications back-up to the other in case one goes down, which has happened.
(Indeed, as I was preparing to post this, the site went down. A reminder once again of just how important this site really is!)
For any Zoo that values sane, sound, rational, and understanding interactions with other Zoos, as a creative outlet, as a library of information & resources, and as an example of our best foot forward to outside observers, this site has to be of great value indeed.
And with the kind of people that we have here, this site ought to keep and grow that value for as long as it lasts. Which hopefully will be a very long time.
Resident Hyaena ^..^
How useful is this forum to you? - heavyhorse - 07-21-2018
Quote:
3 hours ago, Resident Hyaena said:
I could never get into the chats or talkers; their immediate nature, having to be there right when things happened, having to type at rates that are impossible for me to maintain, not having time to properly compose your thoughts or to research & fact-check things through, to not be able to dodge the flame equivalent of an "Al Capp rumble-ball" until it was way too late (I'm REALLY dating myself there!)
Thank you for this excellent summary of why chats are dysfunctional. Add that leaving your device on all the time to participate is a privacy risk in most RL situations.
How useful is this forum to you? - battlecrops - 08-20-2018
A couple of studies have come out recently about "zoophiles" based on posts from BF, very sad and frustrating to see when that website is not representative of actual zoophilia much at all. I wish such studies had been done with the content on the subreddit, or here, instead of that vile place. Posts from there are being presented as data about legitimate zoophilia.
How useful is this forum to you? - 30-30 - 08-22-2018
Battlecrops, is this really a "misrepresentation" of "zoophilia" when BF is quoted in studies? Just look at the user numbers, zoowg has about 300 members, BF roughly 1.6 million...and even when you know that BF never deletes accounts to keep the numbers high for the sake of maintaining/increasing market relevance/revenue, those BF style "zoophiles" are the majority and we, those who strive to "commit" zoophilia in the most ethical ways possible, are the fuckin´ minority. And allow me to repeat myself, we and our inexplicable tendency to "tolerate" the shit out of every other "zoo" are what is to blame for recoining the z-word into a bland synonym for bestiality. Originally, the z-word was introduced to separate the "real zoophiles" from those BF style "zoos"...by bending and widening each and every rule, the opposite of what this word was inteded to achieve has become reality and now, zoophilia basically means the same as bestiality. In this context it´s not exactly wrong to use BF as a cornucopious source for "quotes from zoophiles"...in fact I am pretty convinced the BF style "zoos" are much more representative of what has become of the original idea behind the z-word than any user in here. Misunderstood "tolerance" (read: indifference) is what led to this situation in which quoting from BF to show "zoophilia" thoughts and mindsets is absolutely justified. You all have been fooled by the "sex lib" folks and have rejected Kassandras like me, calling them "intolerant haters" ...now the effects of not listening to us are here and in my humble opinion hard to reverse. Just think about it: a little less sheepish "tolerance" and we could have avoided this by establishing the z-word the way it was meant to be.
How useful is this forum to you? - Jedidiah - 08-22-2018
Quote:
20 minutes ago, 30-30 said:
Battlecrops, is this really a "misrepresentation" of "zoophilia" when BF is quoted in studies? Just look at the user numbers, zoowg has about 300 members, BF roughly 1.6 million...and even when you know that BF never deletes accounts to keep the numbers high for the sake of maintaining/increasing market relevance/revenue, those BF style "zoophiles" are the majority and we, those who strive to "commit" zoophilia in the most ethical ways possible, are the fuckin´ minority. And allow me to repeat myself, we and our inexplicable tendency to "tolerate" the shit out of every other "zoo" are what is to blame for recoining the z-word into a bland synonym for bestiality. Originally, the z-word was introduced to separate the "real zoophiles" from those BF style "zoos"...by bending and widening each and every rule, the opposite of what this word was inteded to achieve has become reality and now, zoophilia basically means the same as bestiality. In this context it´s not exactly wrong to use BF as a cornucopious source for "quotes from zoophiles"...in fact I am pretty convinced the BF style "zoos" are much more representative of what has become of the original idea behind the z-word than any user in here. Misunderstood "tolerance" (read: indifference) is what led to this situation in which quoting from BF to show "zoophilia" thoughts and mindsets is absolutely justified. You all have been fooled by the "sex lib" folks and have rejected Kassandras like me, calling them "intolerant haters" ...now the effects of not listening to us are here and in my humble opinion hard to reverse. Just think about it: a little less sheepish "tolerance" and we could have avoided this by establishing the z-word the way it was meant to be.
How is this relavent to the forum being useful or suggestions on how to make it better? Maybe we can stay on topic? I need to read through to see if there are relevant suggestions that I actually could incorporate. But when there are random posts that derail the topic for the sake of disagreement or debate, it makes things very difficult for me for quickly glance at and get to work.
To those of you that actually gave your two cents worth: thank you! I am more inclined to make this place a priority if I know that I’m not wasting my time. It seems like I am not and I appreciate the feedback. Hopefully, once I do have time to read through, I’ll be able to work on whatever suggestions might be here for the betterment of all.
Thanks again,
—Jed
How useful is this forum to you? - silverwolf1 - 08-22-2018
Three suggestions about appearance from the past that have reached me again:
1: A banner- Acteons last submission (
![[Image: Actaeon_ZCF-ZWG_banner_full.png.692d562f...225910.png]](https://zoowg.org/uploads/monthly_2017_08/Actaeon_ZCF-ZWG_banner_full.png.692d562fbcabc45074dd038c4d225910.png)
)would be the preferred one to use.
2: A shout box something like the old ZF had.
3: A skin. I would prefer a simple color change to silver and black, but did see a pawprint one I kinda liked. I'll have to look for it again.
In my mind, advertising the forum is still a priority. The more members we draw in the more we enlighten and the more we learn from each other, be it in prose or debate.
sw