Glad I Found SCAPECRUNCH

[techman81]

Just wanted to say that in the short 3 weeks since I joined the forum, I find myself spending much less time following the FB aquascaping groups. The content and discussion here is of a much higher quality and I thank all of the contributors for that. Special thanks to @Jeff Miotke for mentioning this forum on his channel.

 

[BenB]

Just wanted to say that in the short 3 weeks since I joined the forum, I find myself spending much less time following the FB aquascaping groups. The content and discussion here is of a much higher quality and I thank all of the contributors for that. Special thanks to @Jeff Miotke for mentioning this forum on his channel.

I have to say, on occasion I'm trying to find some info that I haven't see on here and I look back at TPT and it is excruciating. The ads are awful. It is so much better here.

 

[Sb1415]

100% agree, i used to post many questions on Reddit and had a hard time figuring out who to trust. Now so many resourceful experts here who are ready to help! Thanks all

 

[SkaleyAquatics]

This is a great forum and community and I know i am happy to have you all here to support this growing community. I havent been as active the past few months so im probably a stranger to most.

 

[Aquajack]

This forum is great, not only for the very informative and useful information but also for the inspiration through the journals and other posts.
This forum i think helps bring everyone up a level and makes you look at perspectives you wouldn't otherwise consider.

 

[techman81]

On a side note, I see George Farmer is a member here but has sadly never posted. His book sits on the end table next to my primary chair in my living room.

 

[Aquajack]

On a side note, I see George Farmer is a member here but has sadly never posted. His book sits on the end table next to my primary chair in my living room.

I also have his book and in a similar position, only had a chance to read about 20% so far though

 

[acino]

Hey, I am also very happy that we have ScapeCrunch. I remember the golden era of forums (and I am not even old) where I spent so much time - the opportunity to exchange information is so exciting. I still do not understand why most of the hobby moved to Facebook groups - I probably can't imagine a worse format.

 

[Sb1415]

On a side note, I see George Farmer is a member here but has sadly never posted. His book sits on the end table next to my primary chair in my living room.

Didn’t know he was a member here. Great videos. I find his videos a mix of aquascaping and mindfulness. Just took a picture recently of a video of his that I plan to show anyone who asks me what I would do when I retire (a long time away).

 

[gnatster]

Hey, I am also very happy that we have ScapeCrunch. I remember the golden era of forums (and I am not even old) where I spent so much time - the opportunity to exchange information is so exciting. I still do not understand why most of the hobby moved to Facebook groups - I probably can't imagine a worse format.

It's not just this hobby that moved away from forums in the mid-2010s. Much like anything that becomes successful and makes a few bucks at the grassroots level, the money people step in and think they can do better. Many forums, both big and small, were acquired by two forum aggregators. Some went for big bucks, like 7 figures. To pay for these purchases, advertising on forums grew exponentially. As the owner of a site and part of a team that wrote plugins for forums, we witnessed the shift when our former small forum owners let us know they had sold to one of the big two. Our own little forum plugin company and my site were bought out for stupid money. I did some consulting and Q/A work for them, then bailed when the corp BS got too much for me. Been semi-retired ever since

Thankfully, Art was not dismayed by all the machinations and created ScapeCrunch. Become a member, support the independent. It's less costly than a box of aquascaping rocks, and more informative too.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I hope to the aquascaping gods that @Art is willing to keep this forum hobby-driven, especially by paying/supporting members, rather than become ad-filled junk like so many other forums. I'll happily chip in every year to keep this forum not only alive, but reminiscent of the good days of what forums used to be before corporate BS came in!

 

[techman81]

Yeah, didn't take long for me to see the content here is worth supporting with my wallet.

 

[Art]

First, THANK YOU for posting this and commenting on it. It truly does warm my heart.

Second, ScapeCrunch will never be sold nor will we fill it up with useless and annoying ads. ScapeCrunch is owned by a US public charity (a 501(c)(3)) corporation meaning that it is and will always be member-supported and for the public good of the members and the hobby.

Lastly, thanks for being a member of our growing (hobbyist-led) community!

 

[techman81]

Just took a picture recently of a video of his that I plan to show anyone who asks me what I would do when I retire (a long time away

Hopefully that's my life here in just the next couple years. Of course, I've earned enough vacation being with the same company for 30+ years that some think I'm aleady there.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Speaking of which, I finally supported. If anyone else wants to support the forum, go here:

https://www.scapecrunch.com/account/upgrades​

 

[acino]

It's not just this hobby that moved away from forums in the mid-2010s. Much like anything that becomes successful and makes a few bucks at the grassroots level, the money people step in and think they can do better. Many forums, both big and small, were acquired by two forum aggregators. Some went for big bucks, like 7 figures. To pay for these purchases, advertising on forums grew exponentially. As the owner of a site and part of a team that wrote plugins for forums, we witnessed the shift when our former small forum owners let us know they had sold to one of the big two. Our own little forum plugin company and my site were bought out for stupid money. I did some consulting and Q/A work for them, then bailed when the corp BS got too much for me. Been semi-retired ever since

Thankfully, Art was not dismayed by all the machinations and created ScapeCrunch. Become a member, support the independent. It's less costly than a box of aquascaping rocks, and more informative too.

Thanks for this perspective, I had no idea it was that attractive for investors.

On the other hand, it still does not explain why the community was so content with moving to FB groups etc - keeping the information organized and looking up older information is just a nightmare. I thought we were a more conservative bunch In any case, happy to be here.

 

[BenB]

On the other hand, it still does not explain why the community was so content with moving to FB groups etc - keeping the information organized and looking up older information is just a nightmare. I thought we were a more conservative bunch In any case, happy to be here.

I suspect originally it was because in order to post a pic on a forum, you had to have your own web storage space. Then you created a link back to the pic. It was a pain. FB was simpler. Even now, I find it more tedious to look at forums on my phone.

However, it may be because it's summer, but I feel I see fewer and fewer posting questions on FB. I hope they are swinging back this way.