Changes to this Forum are Coming!

[fourseasons]

Hi, all

A heads up that Forum changes are in the works: updates, modifications and a general "refresh' of this Forum.

Plans include that some of the subforums which haven't been active in ages but are still relevant will be folded in to other subforums, other subforums will be removed, there will be some new and interesting subforums added, clean up and/or archiving of very old data to take place, setting up a "Best of GDF" with possibility for adding a "like" ("thank you") button for topics, rotating GDF banner with gun dog images, and more. We all know the adage "The best laid plans..." so no timeframe set in stone, yet some changes should be happening very soon.

This Forum is here to help our members (and their gun dogs) communicate with like-minded people and gain knowledge and support - your ideas are welcome. Since day-to-day management of the Forum is by kind-hearted volunteers (thanks SHARON and SLISTOE), and limited by software and system configurations (and $$), not every suggestion can be accommodated but ya never know what might appear here in the future! Feel free to drop your - polite - ideas and suggestions into this topic.

As always, thanks for being a member and for your interest in this site which has been online for over two decades now - good information never gets old!

[NEhomer]

Great news and thanks for all you do as well. Looking forward to the changes~

[Max2]

Nice - It will be nice to see some folks interested in posting up ! Possibly make posting photos easier . Really looking forward to the new look ! Not that there was anything wrong with the old look but perhaps it will motivate to participate a little more .

[Steve007]

Interesting. Speaking broadly, I am against all change (this is a joke), but A) I am not in charge and B) some people know better than I what changes are indicated. We will see what happens. It is a reasonable statement to say that there is room for improvement.

[NC Quailhunter]

This sounds like a good thing. I am looking forward to seeing the new GDF.

[fourseasons]

Here are some of the changes that will be implemented sooner rather than later:

These sections will go away, other than Forum News & Announcements will stay and be moved up to the General Information section:

GDFSubforums-Remove2025.jpg

[fourseasons]

The Trading Post section will consolidate these subforums: Dogs for Sale, Rescues, Hunting/Dog Related Stuff For Sale, Horses & Horse Equipment. We'll keep Submit Your GUN DOG site as separate and it will move to the General Information section. Birds & Bird Supplies will be combed through and cleaned up, and the ''birds" section will move up to General Information, with any birds or equipment for sale to go in the Trading Post section. The TRADING POST "Archive" will remain so that there will be an additional period of time that users can search and reference old/past ads, stored there generally for around 6 months before permanently deleted.

GDFSubforums-Consolidate2025.jpg

[fourseasons]

Other moves/consolidations/deletes:

Reviewing the General Information section, there hasn't been much activity in the Legislation and Hunting Rights section (last post 2020), so considering moving those posts to the Guns and Ammo section, retitling Guns, Ammo, Hunting Rights. This change not set in stone so if anyone has any strong desire to keep them separate, feel free to speak up now.

The Horses section will be removed. Any questions or thoughts on horses as relate to hunting and/or trialing could be discussed in General Chat?

And someone has suggested a section on Falconry (which can also include horses and often involves gun dogs as well)... any thoughts on whether that would draw interest in order to be a section of its own? Note that Wild Game Recipes only has 78 topics, but it's a great resource so even though not "active" it's worthwhile to keep it.

[fourseasons]

Possible new sections:

A member has suggested having separate sections specific for chats around Pointers, Setters, Retrievers and Spaniels. Anyone have thoughts yay or nay about that?

Another suggestion is for a section on Funniest Photos/Stories With Gundogs - thoughts? Seems everyone these days could use some more smiles.

The goal for recommending changes to this Forum is to help stimulate discussion and interest, and hopefully a 'refresh' will help in that regard. Your feedback is welcome.