New Ownership for Apistogramma.com

[tjudy]

Hello Everyone,

It is time t announce that the forum will very shortly have a new owner.

Josh Barraza (username Josh) is taking over, but he is not looking to change the forum from what it basically is... an international community of specialist aquarium hobbyists dedicated to the enjoyment of dwarf cichlids. There are no plans to remove any of the moderators, and I will continue to stay active in the forum as well. There are no plans to remove the Sell/Want section, or to cease allowing sponsors like Aquatic Clarity from continuing to advertise.

What will likely change:
* a revamp of the forum looks by a web developer (Josh) who is a LOT better at vBulletin than I will ever be
* a rebuilding of the content side of apistogramma.com, including a wiki that we can use to build a species data base
* better hosting with unlimited bandwidth so we can permit attachments and direct uploading of photos
* universal language translator... please? please? please?
* some advertising, but nothing more than what I have not done before
* the addition of a good mobile app and integration with social media (Facebook, etc....)

I am very excited about this shift in management and know that our forum is going to improve. I am actually very re-energized, and look forward to helping Josh turn Apistogramma.com into a more dynamic and interesting place to hang out. Please give Josh your support too.

Ted

 

[jaafaman]

Oh my! This is a good thing.

A very good thing indeed...

 

[Josh]

Thanks for the introduction, Ted.

Hi Everyone!

I'm Josh. As Ted said I will be taking over as the Apistogramma.com Admin from here on out. I am really looking forward to getting to know and becoming involved in the community here! It looks like this is a great group and I'm excited to show you all what I can bring to the table. Please don't hesitate to let me know about any issues you have using the site; especially issues that may have been around for a while but were never addressed. You can always reach me at [email protected]
In the coming months I'll ask for the community's feedback regarding future upgrades, apps, and plugins. I hope to add many of the items Ted listed above - including a foreign language translator and a FREE mobile apps that would allow us to post from Android and Apple mobile devices. Together we can continue to provide the best Apistogramma resource on the internet!
Thanks for reading and it's a pleasure to meet you all.

Best,

Josh

EDIT: Ooops. I forgot to mention that there may be some very limited downtime in the coming days while I transfer the site to a faster server. The site shouldn't be down any more than a couple hours in total. Thanks for your understanding!

 

[sasikan]

thanks for taking care of this site Ted, and good luck Josh .(please try to make it a little easier to post pictures thanks )

 

[ste12000]

To say this is a good thing is a bit disrespectful to Ted who has done a amazing job with this forum! Ted id like to send my very large congratulations for the hard work and dedication you have put into this site.

Josh, im not the most prolific poster on the site but this has been a 'home' to me for years and will continue to be so, theres a huge archive of information here so its great to know that this will be safe for years to come. You can count on the support of both myself and the British cichlid association of which im a committee member.

Great news and i wish you all the best..

 

[gerald]

Welcome Josh ... and now please tell us a bit about your FISH interests!

 

[jaafaman]

To say this is a good thing is a bit disrespectful to Ted who has done a amazing job with this forum!...

Don't make the mistake of reading too much into the simplest of statements. We're not all cast members on a reality show.

My own comments were directed towards the planned improvements to the site, especially since I haven't been here long enough to know who's been running it or how they performed...

 

[tjudy]

My own comments were directed towards the planned improvements to the site, especially since I haven't been here long enough to know who's been running it or how they performed...

no worries...

 

[Josh]

Thank you for the kind words and well-wishing, everyone!
As for my FISH interests, in the past I've kept various cichlids, both S. American and African. I had a pair of A. nijsseni for a while but have not had the pleasure of keeping other Apistogramma species. I currently am tank-less as they are not allowed in my current apartment building but I'm also shopping for a home that will inevitably have a tropical fresh water tank. I am an aquaria hobbyist - not an expert by any means. I'm hoping my love for the hobby combined with my interest in programming and web design make for a good one-two combo to help Apistogramma.com continue to grow and thrive.

 

[ste12000]

Don't make the mistake of reading too much into the simplest of statements. We're not all cast members on a reality show.

My own comments were directed towards the planned improvements to the site, especially since I haven't been here long enough to know who's been running it or how they performed...

I was not out to upset you in any way!! dont panic i wasnt trying to start a arguement..

 

[Josh]

Testing testing new server settings...

 

[Josh]

Everything seems to have transferred over to the new server successfully and appears to be working correctly on my end. Please let me know if any of you experience technical issues whatsoever.

Thank you!

 

[beachcichlid]

I would suggest a section for breeding; it's something every fish person attempts eventually. Also, maybe a homesteaders section (I've seen this on the forum for SimplyDiscus.com) where a member is the subject matter. I'm thinking of Slimbolen99 who has started an ambitious project with 10 tanks of different Apistos. It would be great to go to his section and see what he has going on. Lastly, maybe a visual dictionary with descriptions of the different dwarf chiclids. I know you can find this elsewhere with Dave's site, Tom C's site, and various online fish encyclopedias, but it might be nice to have it here. Thank you to the previous ownership and good luck Josh. This is a great site!

 

[Josh]

There are some really great ideas in this thread. Thank you all for the feedback - I'll use this as a starting point and create priorities (like translation) from there. Feel free to keep the suggestions coming.

As a general good practice, since we just changed servers, it'd be a good idea for everyone to clear their browser history and cache - especially if you experience any technical issues using Apistogramma.com

 

[tjudy]

Hey!!! My avatar finally works! Woo Hoo!!!!!

 

[Josh]

hahaha
Ted - was it not working previously? I hadn't noticed...