harrise wrote:

And if you want to talk about limits, I would suggest first 50 because that's easier to deal with. If we went that route and had the runner's ups be the next theme deciders if someone should bail, would that make more sense?

I personally like that idea ^ probably because I only have 30-something posts even though I've been a member for about 5 months o.0

I also think 50 would be better as i am new to this forum also and i am not a big talker but i really enjoy this site as its very informative and i love to read all the stories about every one else's pups

I like that idea. I'm also open to any other suggestions. I just want everyone to get an equal shot.

Montana14 wrote:

You're right, I don't like it. I feel like it's punishing all for the deeds of a few bad apples. I am a moderator for another forum, I know there are other ways of doing this. Moderators have the ablility to see who is on the site and when they are on. It really should be based on how many times the person visits the site. All the mod/cl has to do is click on that persons profile to make sure the # of visits makes them eligible. Though I would hope the poster would read the guidelines first and post when they are eligible.

While I appreciate your input, our staff volunteers over 100 hours a week collectively just make this a clean, fun and friendly forum for all who enter. Asking them to individually go into the stats for every one of the 75+ members who posts a picture in the HOTM competition is just unreasonable.

Montana14 wrote:

This goes back to what I said before, I would love to post if I felt I had something worth posting. I don't feel like I should have to spam(post something corny) on a thread, just to be able to enter HOTM. It's takes all the fun out of it

No one is asking ANYONE to spam the forum just to get into the HOTM competition. In fact, that would just be sad. This is a friendly competition offered to those who are loyal members. Some of those members have been around just a few months. Some of those members have been around since the start. Remember, none of this means that you are incapable of posting your dog's pictures to the forum. This just means that you are withheld from competing in a FRIENDLY competition that allows your dog to be featured on our website for 20+ days until you have contributed significantly to the community.

Montana14 wrote:

Someone also suggested that if you have more than 50 submissions, split it in half and the top 5 from each poll goes to the next round for a chance to be voted the winner. That's a great idea and perfectly fair. I think the current way would only serve to run more people off than keep them.

Again, this is asking a lot from the very few staff members we have here. I am not willing to ask that of the volunteers I have working here.


This was a unanimous staff decision and we did research on several other forums in order to come up with a decision. While I understand that it's disappointing to some, if you're that interested in entering the competition... stick around for a few months and we'd be happy to have you. 100 posts isn't as unreasonable as you may think

?? I don't understand what this is all about... I think 100 posts means you've contributed a bit and stuck around. It's not hard to reach that. Hopping into the hijack or posting pictures or asking/answering questions is fun and easy. I like this forum because I can get to know a lot of these people. We're active and we get to know each other and our dogs. I just met up with Jenn a few months while vacationing in CO because of this place! And then started the SFL Snowdogs group and met Denise and Melissa that way, and then organized a camping trip and met Sara!

And I think that's what Tori has tried to create, a place that's fun and friendly where we can really get to know each other. I think limiting HOTM just to members who stick around for a little while #1 cuts down on their work load and #2 keeps it more close knit. I enjoy the pictures more when I've gotten a chance to know the dogs!

Just my 2 cents.

"I'm open to any other suggestions. I just want everyone to get an equal shot."


I don't know about others, but one of the main reasons I joined was to get a shot at HOTM. I love posting pictures of my pups and see everyone else's. I think changing the rules mid-game is a huge set back for me and those like me. I've been here over 6 months already, posting when I felt I had something contribute. Shouldn't that be enough?

I thought i saw a banging head against wall emoi but can't find it on my phone.

Montana14 wrote:

I love posting pictures of my pups and see everyone else's.

Isn't that what the scrapbook is for? You only joined for HOTM? (there is the new HOTM Chat as well where you can post.) That's definitely not the reason that I joined; at all. I joined to get to know fellow Sibe lovers and to share my personally experiences with the breed and learn from others, not for a photo comp. I think that 100 posts isn't much AT ALL. I've been apart of forums where it was 300 posts...

I have only been a member for a little over a year and, HOLY COW, I have over 700 posts!!

I don't think I even noticed this was happening until this whole HOTM rule changed. This is just a fun forum... I probably post a couple times a day. Sometimes it is a corny post on the hi-jack subforum and sometimes I have a question or try to answer a question. I think it is legitimate for the forum moderators to begin limiting our HOTM entries in some way. I also think that using the # of posts as a criteria makes the most sense and will be easier on the group of volunteers who are giving their time for us to have a community of "friends" who share in each other's "husky experiences" together.

I remember well the first HOTM contest I entered. I was so new I had no idea what I was doing. Here's the real confession... hold on... wait for it... I voted for myself!! I didn't know not to... Then I was informed that I needed to come up with a HOTM category for the next month. I must again go into confession mode... I thought about running away! If I had been allowed to hang out here on the forum for awhile, getting to know the ropes, it would have been much less awkward for me. I also remember that it was only about a year ago that we would barely have 10-12 pictures entered in the HOTM contest. With growth comes necessary change.

There's no reason why you cannot share your pup's pictures on your own scrapbook page or on the HOTM chat page that the moderators have been kind enough to think of for those of us who do not have the 100 posts or those of us who have recently won and are, therefore, unable to enter this month.

This is a great forum. Thank you Tori, and all the volunteer staff, who make it possible!

Montana14 wrote:

"I'm open to any other suggestions. I just want everyone to get an equal shot."


I don't know about others, but one of the main reasons I joined was to get a shot at HOTM. I love posting pictures of my pups and see everyone else's. I think changing the rules mid-game is a huge set back for me and those like me. I've been here over 6 months already, posting when I felt I had something contribute. Shouldn't that be enough?

While I appreciate that's why you joined, I do think you're in the minority there. I DO think many people joined to post pictures of their dogs and see pictures of others, but that's what the scrapbooks are for. That's also what the chat thread is for until members reach 100 posts as Lisa mentioned. Further, we have the 52 weeks threads if you really wanted to post new and interesting pictures every week. We have PLENTY of "equal opportunity" picture posting. Is trying to win a chance at getting your husky featured on the website for a month that important?

I understand that the new guidelines are disappointing for some, but with growth comes necessary change. We can't operate like a small start-up forum anymore. We are the LARGEST husky forum in the United States and the second largest in the world... and we have FIVE staff members, one of which is part-time. We have organized the forum that way for a reason and that will not change (ie- I'm not adding more staff just to do the HOTM competitions).

Like I said, stick around. I think getting to 100 posts is not going to take as long as you might think.

ETA: Thank you Kristina and Lisa It's wonderful to hear the positive feedback from such valued members of the forum

I joined the forum to give my opinion on things, learn from other members who have had huskies longer and have fun like any other forum. However, my wife has had a few bad forum experiences, and so tends to shy away from discussion. She joined solely for the fun of having a new "challenge" to take a picture of each month. She's not really in it for the competition, since we're normally using a cell phone to take the picture, we know her picture isn't going to win, it's just for fun.

How about making a second thread/sub forum/whatever that allows anyone to post their pic, but isn't for judging? That way, the "non-eligable" people can still post with the HotM theme, learn about the HotM process, enjoy sharing challenge pictures, and best of all, no mods have to do extra work of making polls, voting, or enforcing the HotM rules.

Finally, I will mention that as soon as you start putting post count limits on things, you end up adding value to post count. There are quite a few forums that treat you like an idiot if you have under 100, or in some cases 1,000, posts. This forum isn't flooded with useless crap partially because, as far as I can tell, post count isn't a big deal. I'd hate to see that change. Fyi, on another forum where post count is considered for the value of your post, I have over 16,000 posts.

Post count +1

Domingo wrote:

How about making a second thread/sub forum/whatever that allows anyone to post their pic, but isn't for judging? That way, the "non-eligable" people can still post with the HotM theme, learn about the HotM process, enjoy sharing challenge pictures, and best of all, no mods have to do extra work of making polls, voting, or enforcing the HotM rules.

We already did that It's called the HOTM Chat thread and anyone can post in it. It's also a place to talk about the photos of the official poll. We did this for that exact reason.

Domingo wrote:

Finally, I will mention that as soon as you start putting post count limits on things, you end up adding value to post count. There are quite a few forums that treat you like an idiot if you have under 100, or in some cases 1,000, posts. This forum isn't flooded with useless crap partially because, as far as I can tell, post count isn't a big deal. I'd hate to see that change. Fyi, on another forum where post count is considered for the value of your post, I have over 16,000 posts.

This is the ONLY activity of the forum that has a post count limit and as far as I am concerned it will continue to be the only limited access aspect of the forum. I too believe that post count doesn't correlate to wisdom. That's why we have the "treat" system. However, I also would like to think that we ARE a community that gets to know each other and we start to learn whose advice is valued by the quality of their posts.

Many of you don't know me.. but I like to think that I am a person with a very strong sense of ethics and ideals. We have been around for almost 3 years and this is one the very FIRST rule changes that we have put in place. We don't take these sorts of decisions lightly and for almost ALL changes, I require a unanimous vote of my staff.

Please don't think that this forum is going to change because we decided to limit the entry into the HOTM competition. Although it is a fun aspect of the forum, it is most CERTAINLY not the meat and potatoes of what we are and what we do. And for that reason, it is not indicative of any monumental change to our community.

I'm ashamed to say I was probably one of the people that instigated the rule change

Not that I was trying to. I've been a lurker for 5 months now, and instead of starting a new thread for a question I had, I've been searching to find that my question was already answered.

When I finally had a HOTM topic I felt I had a good picture for, I posted one. And then, finally having the courage to post made me post in other topics (huskies swimming, for example), and that one post got some immediate positive feedback from one of the big posters here, so now I want to post more!

I am bummed that you need 100 posts now, but I also realized this is more of a welcoming community than just a place to gain knowledge. I'm trying to become a larger part of that community now, and look forward to being senior enough to enter HOTM again.

So... mission accomplished (even if it wasn't really the mission).

i remember a day when the HOTM did not even exist on here.....
We LOVE all our new members and we want you to stick around and contribute when you can, post as many pictures as you want in scrapbook and in our HOTM chat, soon enough you will get to 100. were sorry if some of you are upset but yes with such a large growth sometimes there needs to be change.
All of us admin try the best we can to make everyone happy and make this a great place to come to everyday, i have meet SOOOOO many friends on here and it has been great to even meet them in person when they come to town i hope you all stick around and get to know us a little better, and if your here long enough Tori might even give you a nickname

Thank you Tori for starting this forum!

You guys are too sweet!

Again, I do want everyone to know that we appreciate and value their input. We would never want to make a decision that upsets our members and we'd never know if people didn't speak out. We welcome suggestions and promise to consider all of them. So far, in this case, we have considered what everyone has brought up and remain confident in our decision, but please feel free to bring any future concerns to our attention.

We understand this will be an adjustment, but I trust that this community will be accepting and learn to move past it.

Tori, i just looked at your join date. did i really join 9 days after you launched the site?

Yeah- we created the site on the 19th, I think? I was operating under the ADMIN name for a couple of days until I decided that I didn't want to be known as just "ADMIN" and so I made myself my own account. You found us about 10 days after we launched

One other note to make folks is if you preferred to be just a lurker and not post except for HOTM.
Here are 2 examples of what WERE wonderful Husky Forums that have died just because people would only post once in a blue moon.

http://huskylove.proboards.com/index.cgi <----- I finally gave up hope on this one about 4 months ago


http://siberianhuskyforum.com/ <---- if it wasn't for Sara, and coldonkey I doubt there would be any active re-posters in there.

Both were very active sites and just seem to fade into oblivion

So hey don't be shy come join the action and don't take things personally when we tie each others undies in a wad.

arooroomom wrote:

?? I don't understand what this is all about... I think 100 posts means you've contributed a bit and stuck around. It's not hard to reach that. Hopping into the hijack or posting pictures or asking/answering questions is fun and easy. I like this forum because I can get to know a lot of these people. We're active and we get to know each other and our dogs. I just met up with Jenn a few months while vacationing in CO because of this place! And then started the SFL Snowdogs group and met Denise and Melissa that way, and then organized a camping trip and met Sara!

And I think that's what Tori has tried to create, a place that's fun and friendly where we can really get to know each other. I think limiting HOTM just to members who stick around for a little while #1 cuts down on their work load and #2 keeps it more close knit. I enjoy the pictures more when I've gotten a chance to know the dogs!

Just my 2 cents.

Exactly!!! Because of this forum I have met AWESOME people who share their love for their dogs just as I do. Kristina has created an awesome meet up group that I look forward to monthly. Because of that group I met Denise, Kristina, and many other great people. Without this forum the camping trip would have never happened IMO. I've never felt more at home on a trip! Awesome feeling btw

I really have enjoyed getting to know the active members and have discussed so many things other than our huskies. For example, the weight loss threads and wedding photo threads.

You're all awesome! Sorry if I went off topic there, but just thought I'd share that

Haha. You guys are too funny!

Booo, I just brought a shiny new camera to take lots of fun pics of Luka - and i mean lots! I think I took 600 just the other day! I'm happy to wait till i hit a 100 posts though, doesn't sound like much to me and i do understand where the admins are coming from!


edit: OK, i didn't realise I had that many posts - maybe i talk to much?

Erinc wrote:

edit: OK, i didn't realise I had that many posts - maybe i talk to much?

See does not take that long at all

Here4thePics wrote:

One other note to make folks is if you preferred to be just a lurker and not post except for HOTM.
Here are 2 examples of what WERE wonderful Husky Forums that have died just because people would only post once in a blue moon.

http://huskylove.proboards.com/index.cgi <----- I finally gave up hope on this one about 4 months ago


http://siberianhuskyforum.com/ <---- if it wasn't for Sara, and coldonkey I doubt there would be any active re-posters in there.

Both were very active sites and just seem to fade into oblivion

So hey don't be shy come join the action and don't take things personally when we tie each others undies in a wad.

Yeah, that second forum is sad now! I've pretty much given up on it too and will just send people to this forum. I know it's bad to send people to a different forum, but that forum really is dead now and the people are looking for advice. So sad.

And yeah, this forum is an awesome way to meet people! Camp was great and we definitely wouldn't have had the turn out if Kristina and I weren't connected through this forum! There probably would not have been a camp!

Just catching up on here. I have been reading a few threads every day, but haven't posted much. Sorry I've been a little distracted.....(Ugh, men )

I LOVE this forum. I think the decision is fair. It doesn't take much to get to 100. I have made some great new friends on here and enjoy chatting with them. It's nice to have a place to get and give advice to people with a common interest. Huskies are a unique breed and only other owners understand. Any other forum I have ever been on, I was always just a lurker. Here everyone has been so welcoming and accepting that I actually enjoying posting