Chat is Back! Please VOTE & Suggest Topics

[CavySpirit]

I'm not going to make the link to it more prevalent until we get it tested more and I have some tweaks to add.

The avatars are only pulling in non-custom avatars from the site at the moment. I'm working on that. And I haven't figured out yet how to add my own because they are not images, it's flash.

There are a variety of different things you can do.

Don't ask me about Whiteboard, it will be coming off the menu and is not something I'm going to add.

The link to "Chat" is currently on the smaller menu bar at the top of the forum. It initially goes to a full-screen, but you can resize it and it will remember your size setting.

The WHO IS IN CHAT is currently located in a right-hand side bar and the bottom of the forum home page.

More info to come.

 

[Hhbean]

re: Chat is Back! Please VOTE & Suggest Topics

Love this!:cheerful:

 

[RubyRain]

re: Chat is Back! Please VOTE & Suggest Topics

WooHoo!

 

[Duffinvt]

re: Chat is Back! Please VOTE & Suggest Topics

Chat is loads of fun !! Hope you will all try it out !

 

[ellisa]

re: Chat is Back! Please VOTE & Suggest Topics

Yay! It's so awesome!

 

[SweetiePig]

re: Chat is Back! Please VOTE & Suggest Topics

Awesome! I'v been waiting for this! Thanks

 

[CavySpirit]

I'm going to schedule Wheekly Cavy Talks with Themes. We'll see how attendance is to see about repeating them. For now, I'm going to go with the most popular time. Sorry, but I had to choose times that are going to work for me. I may put together a chat log and publish it after the fact. We'll see.

So please vote for some times that will work for you. Feel free to suggest some other times, but I know that will be all over the map.

I'm also looking for suggestions on Themes.

Please feel free to make some suggestions. I have my own ideas, but I'd like to hear from you all first!

ALSO, I'm going to be allowing the general public in from Facebook, although I will only be promoting the chat to Fans of our page.

 

[kathlaaron]

I love the idea of having Themes...that could be so cool ! It could also involve education, which keeps things novel, interesting and just plain fun ! ( As long as things stay light-hearted, that is...)

You are so creative and stylish Teresa, man you are such a special person !!

 

[CavySpirit]

People can hop into chat any time. Themes can be fun or entertaining or educational. I'm really open and would like suggestions from people.

 

[kathlaaron]

Teresa, I am really going to put my "thinking cap" on here and try and come up with some good, creative suggestions.

It's been a long time since I wore my "teacher's hat" ,( As Head Teacher, I was required to write up my students weekly curriculum, and I mostly used "themes") but hopefully those creative juices are still running through this old lady's brain, to offer up some good suggestions !

* As soon as I can come up with some, I will post back here, if my suggestions are still needed ! There are tons of creative people on this site....

 

[KiwiCavyAdorer]

Well, I think I'd best just go with what actually happens if I can, I've made my eyes square, and my brain go on strike trying to figure out the differences on the converter pages off google. They have all sorts of time delineations but not the simple Pacific or Eastern.

Am I right in supposing that Chat will be like skype about a specific topic?

Sounds like fun.

 

[kathlaaron]

O.K. Now this is only off the top of me ol' head here, but thought you might appreciate a few "basic" ideas that I was thinking about, since you are probably needing suggestions asap, so that you can get the process moving forward.

THEME SUGGESTIONS:

1. Garden Utopia

a) Treasure Hunt for Treats- how many interesting ways can you come up with in serving your cavy's foods ? Ex. Parsley/Cilantro pin ups, tie some ropes/kitchen string/ really long strips of fleece to their cage and using a clothespin pin up in small bunches along the rope.

b) What Foods cause Bloat ?

c) Name Five Veggies with low calories, and high Vitamin C !

d) Name 5 common household poisonous plants.

e) Lettuce Remember ! Ex. (pic incl.) "Name that Lettuce" !


2. Sounds Of Music

a) What Sounds Soothe Your Cavy ? Try 30 minutes a day, each day a different soft musical melody, and see which piece of music seems to calm your cavy.

b) Sounds Around Home: What sounds does your cavy hear on a daily basis ? Is your washing machine nearby ? How about dogs barking ? Sneezing or Snoring ? Family voices laughing ? Vacuum cleaning ?

c) What behavioural changes do you notice with soft music on ? Off ?

3. Cavy Trivia !

a) How many teeth does a cavy have ? (20)

b) True or False:

1. Guinea pigs only chew hay using their molars. Their incisors are mostly used for gnawing.

2. Mange mites can be seen with the naked eye.

3. When your Vet prescribes Antibiotics, if your cavy does not improve within 2-3 days, have him/her SWITCH TO ANOTHER antibiotic.

4. Probiotics are substances which contain live microorganisms that are thought to restore the balance of microflora in the digestive tract.

Well there's a few ideas at least, let me know what you think Teresa...

 

[RubyRain]

Theme ideas:
*Favorite Piggie moments-share your pig's laughable experiences and quirky antics

*Hints for easy care
-such as share your hints to make trimming nails easier or how to make cleaning your cage go faster or how do you calm your piggie down

 

[CavySpirit]

Thanks guys. So, Kath, I think in taking your suggestions and working them into a chat topic, I would probably go more with a little more general of an approach, Diet Do's and Don'ts perhaps. On a diet topic, we'll need to make sure we have multiple diet-savvy people on board.

I like the idea of a sounds topic, but I might wait a bit on that to see if I end up getting the audio/video chat extension or not.

Cavy Trivia is good. We can have people trying to stump each other, actually on that one. Cute idea.

Favorite Piggie Moments is good, also.

Easy Care Tips is good. On both of those, I'd like to come up with a cuter topic name that will attract people, but all great suggestions. Thanks!

Keep them coming!

 

[RubyRain]

I'd love to talk about how to get a local piggie group going too. Also how to organize a local "pignic" and/or gathering of some type with other locals-how and where to advertise and logistics.

 

[Onetwo]

I like the idea of the soothing sounds one. We can select a musical piece (play it at same time everyday for 7 days) and write down our guinea pigs reactions to the music and talk about it the next week.

Some members are new members and some are advanced/more knowledgable. I know personally if it isnt a topic I know well then I would love to be involved. If its a topic like adoption, bigger cages, diets (basics) I'm not interested at all since I have researched and learned those topics to death...

Are there chat "rooms" in chat like the previous one where more advanced people could possibly talk about more indepth concepts in the same topic like GMO food verses non GMO food diets and guinea pigs or something along those lines?

 

[CavySpirit]

Yes, I was going to create a room for more serious gp discussions rather than the 'all over the map' discussions that happen typically.

HOWEVER, I'm not going to dilute the chat rooms until we get more people participating in chat more often.

So, the more people use it, the more options, I'll provide as demand grows.

At the moment, I'm still working out the kinks, too. But again, I need more people involved in chat to even find the kinks!

 

[kathlaaron]

I am a little disappointed in the turn out here, on this thread. I was hoping more people would chime in and offer up some creative ideas for themes, too. Where is everyone ? There are so many talented, and creative people here in this community of ours, come'on guys...

I am definitely hoping for more challenging topics, for it to hold my interest too. I hear you Onetwo on that one ! Besides, we have all the "basic knowledge" right here already, available 24/7 on our forum, with just a "click" away.