How to get a new category added?

[Gidget]

Hello,

I’ve been trying to figure out how to ask COTH for a new forum category called “Sidesaddle,” but I keep coming up against dead ends.

Can anyone tell me the proper way to go about submitting a request like this? If it doesn’t get approved that’s fine, but I can’t even seem to make contact with the right person or department.

Thanks!

G.

[Moderator_1]

Hi Gidget ~

Let me start off with an apology, because I remember someone contacting me through some channel (PM or Contact Us) about a sidesaddle forum…I was going to write back later and it obviously never happened!

Thanks for bringing it up again here.

At this point, I’d have to say that we don’t have plans to offer a sidesaddle forum, as it doesn’t appear that the traffic would merit it, though I will run the idea past the main office for input. (Members of the community, feel free to weigh in here too.) Generally, people tend to prefer not having a forums site divided up into too many categories – it was quite the debate to even add a Western forum to cover all the Western disciplines out there!

If there isn’t already one, you could create a “Sidesaddle Discussion” thread (name it whatever you’d like!) in Off Course – to which interested parties could subscribe and maintain as an ongoing resource for questions and information. Users can even perform a “search thread” function from the menu at the top of any thread, to look for subtopics within a thread.

Hope this helps and, like I said, others feel free to weigh in if I’m making incorrect assumptions about the demand for a sidesaddle forum.

Thanks again for reaching out to us (twice!) ~
Mod 1

[Gidget]

[QUOTE=Moderator 1;7590481]
Hi Gidget ~

Let me start off with an apology, because I remember someone contacting me through some channel (PM or Contact Us) about a sidesaddle forum…I was going to write back later and it obviously never happened!

Thanks for bringing it up again here.

At this point, I’d have to say that we don’t have plans to offer a sidesaddle forum, as it doesn’t appear that the traffic would merit it, though I will run the idea past the main office for input. (Members of the community, feel free to weigh in here too.) Generally, people tend to prefer not having a forums site divided up into too many categories – it was quite the debate to even add a Western forum to cover all the Western disciplines out there!

If there isn’t already one, you could create a “Sidesaddle Discussion” thread (name it whatever you’d like!) in Off Course – to which interested parties could subscribe and maintain as an ongoing resource for questions and information. Users can even perform a “search thread” function from the menu at the top of any thread, to look for subtopics within a thread.

Hope this helps and, like I said, others feel free to weigh in if I’m making incorrect assumptions about the demand for a sidesaddle forum.

Thanks again for reaching out to us (twice!) ~
Mod 1[/QUOTE]

Thank you SO much for responding! (Yes, that was me who “PM’d” you originally. :))

Let me ask you this:

If enough members chime in on this thread and express an interest, do you think COTH would consider it? How many people would it take?

[Beau_Soleil]

I would be very interested in a ss forum. It is something I have been dying to try with my mare and the more information I can find to get started the better.
Thank you!

[MyGiantPony]

If we can’t get a forum, can the thread be a sticky? At least then it won’t dissappear, and it may be a way to track interest.

[Gidget]

[QUOTE=MyGiantPony;7591168]
If we can’t get a forum, can the thread be a sticky? At least then it won’t dissappear, and it may be a way to track interest.[/QUOTE]

I think that’s a GREAT suggestion! Threads get buried ALL the time, so how do we track people’s interest if they can’t even see it?

I’m telling you, no one thought “Western” would be a big draw either, but just look at it now!

[Louise]

I think we have enough forums. It’s hard enough to scroll through them all to reach the forum you want. Same goes for stickies. You just have to scroll past them all to find the new threads.

I think it’s a good idea to start a thread, but, it’s not that hard to search for it if it gets buried. And, if it gets that buried, I guess there wasn’t that much interest in it anyways.

That sounds kind of grumpy. Not meant that way, just tired.

[MyssMyst]

We really don’t have that many forums. I’m all for a side saddle forum, and I’d also REALLY dig a saddleseat forum (I think we’re gaining more and more interest there as we go).

[Tiffani_B]

I would really love a Saddle Seat forum.

[DMK]

I’m with Louise - Compared to Ye Olde COTH, there are a lot of forums now and I find the interesting development from that change is that before I might learn a few things about other disciplines/interests by the more general/aggregated forums, now I find I barely have time to hit one or two “highly specialized” forums.

It’s much less informative and interesting from my perspective, if anything we should have less forums, not more. Or if that isn’t the case, I feel a need for a Young chestnut TB who dabbles in hunters and trail riding, but whose owner is deeply conflicted about ever showing again forum.

[CVPeg]

Louise and DMK express my thoughts as well. I just find it more tedious to scroll through more subjects. I’d think sidesaddle could either go under H/J, or Off Course. Look at the “Adult Re-rider” thread under H/J. Very popular, and kept up very well. Yet no separate forum is needed.

As for Saddle Seat, I feel the same way. Start a thread in Off Course if you must. But aren’t there other relevant periodicals and/or forums geared towards that discipline? Although not really a supporter, I can see the branching off of Western, as previously traditional H/J horses are ridden Western or used on trail rides.

If you look at the history and purpose of COTH, it is not as diluted as the forums are becoming.

[Everythingbutwings]

Ditto. Too much drek on here already. Same for the increasing number of Off Meds days.

[Coreene]

[QUOTE=DMK;7595167]
I’m with Louise - Compared to Ye Olde COTH, there are a lot of forums now and I find the interesting development from that change is that before I might learn a few things about other disciplines/interests by the more general/aggregated forums, now I find I barely have time to hit one or two “highly specialized” forums.

It’s much less informative and interesting from my perspective, if anything we should have less forums, not more. Or if that isn’t the case, I feel a need for a Young chestnut TB who dabbles in hunters and trail riding, but whose owner is deeply conflicted about ever showing again forum. ;)[/QUOTE]Agree 100%.

[Loopy]

Sidesaddle rider here. Would use a sticky or dedicated forum.

[maunder]

I think a sticky would be great for sidesaddle because sidesaddle is not just hunter/jumper. There are western sidesaddle riders and saddle seat sidesaddle riders.

If a sticky isn’t available, if enough folks post on a thread it will stay bumped towards the top.

[MyGiantPony]

[QUOTE=Everythingbutwings;7595276]
Ditto. Too much drek on here already. Same for the increasing number of Off Meds days.[/QUOTE]

I really hope I misread, and you didn’t call sidesaddle or the discussion thereof “drek”.

[Gidget]

Hi folks,

Wouldn’t having a designated Sidesaddle category make it EASIER to find what you’re looking for? I mean, if it’s not your “thing” (and believe me, I can see how it might not be) you can just skip over it and go directly to what you DO want.

Honestly, I think it would “unclutter” some of the other threads, for lack of a better word.

Anybody agree with me?

[Tiffani_B]

I totally agree… I would think that being able to zoom right to the section you want to, and ignore the rest, would make it EASIER to navigate COTH. I have no idea where the difficulty lies. You’re a Dressage rider, go to the Dressage area and ignore the rest.

And Sidesaddle is cross-discipline. A sticky in one of the sections would get missed by people who only view the other sections.

[Gidget]

Well, have we fallen flat? What’s the verdict, Mod1?

[californianinkansas]

FWIW, I would love to have both a Saddleseat category and a Sidesaddle category. In the breed show world, it’s quite common for the same horse/rider pair to compete in multiple disciplines at the same show.