A suggestion for the forums

[ShelbyLu]

Hi there!

I'm not sure where to put this, so if I put this in the wrong place, please forgive me.

I belong to multiple reptile rescue groups on FB and they do something really smart, they compile a list of the members by area they live in so that if a rescue need pops up in a certain state, those people can be pm'd, etc.

I wondered if we could take one person and have anyone on the website who is interested in fostering/rescuing can send in their location information. Then when there is a rescue need, we could specifically PM people to see if they have interest?

I feel like the info would need to be kept by one person so we could just keep one post updated and divided by state. I would be happy to be that person if there is interest here, but of course, an admin may prefer to do that. I think pouring over masses of posts trying to figure out who is in what area is complicated, but one stickied post with the info would be pretty great. Anyway, just a thought.

Please let me know if this is of interest and an appropriate suggestions. I would have PM'd the admins, but I forgot who they are.

Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!

~Shelby

 

[Teage29]

Thats a great idea! Thx for sharing.

 

[beardie]

I actually used to have a feature (still do) where people could enter their zip code, and it would display their "pin points" on a Google map. It seems the Google map part is not working any more. I think if that feature were restored, we could encourage people to add in their zip code again to help both with the fun feature of showing the map. But also, perhaps, to support rescue efforts. Of course, entering of zip codes would be entirely voluntary (as it has always been).

 

[beardie]

It may take me a while to get to this, though. I have a number of other priorities to focus on. I took a quick look at the current Google map APIs and it will take me a bit of time to learn how they work before I can program a new map page with the information.

 

[ShelbyLu]

That's awesome.

Thank you. In the meantime, do you have opposition to me collecting location info for those who are rescuers and would want to be on one easy to view post?

~Shelby

 

[beardie]

If people wish to provide that info, that is fine. Please be sure to exchange the info itself in PM or email, so if people happen to post "too much" info, it's not made public on the site.

 

[ShelbyLu]

Absolutely my plan. Perhaps I could make the original post in the rescue forum and you could lock it so that no one can post to it? That way I can just edit and update the original post? (Unless I can't edit a locked post?)

Either way, I'll specifically request the info via pm or email.

Thanks! The more help we can provide to rescue efforts the better.

~Shelby

 

[beardie]

Sure. We can also make it a sticky for a short period of time. You can ask me, or any of the other moderators to lock it and make it sticky. Just let us know the link to the post.