Jerome
I am a devotee of the AH site and find it extremely useful, viewing it regularly - well done for all your hard work.
I would however, like to make a point about the format, which I hope you will view as constructive criticism. My issue is about the order of the threads within each forum.
Work committments mean that I am often away for a few days; something that probably applies to a lot of people. When I go back on the AH site after an absence I am always interested to see new threads and new postings on existing threads that are still being commented on.
Generally speaking (but not always) the first three or four weeks of the life of a new thread is the time when it is likely to be read most and will receive most new posts. These newer threads therefore tend to be the more relevant and interesting. Older threads are continually being resurrected, which is usually good because it can give them a new lease of life.
However, what is happening is that there is a lot of resurrection of old threads by posts that do not carry the topic forward. They are receiving "Great pics!" comments, or "Wow, that's great!" posts or some additional remark that doesn't add to or re-open the discussion but which has the effect of carrying that particular thread back to the top of the listings. Some of the resurrection posts are really valuable, such as chemarq on Judging Springbok, but these are rare.
Now, it's always rewarding for the originator to receive a complimentary post and I am not suggesting in any way that people shouldn't do this. They should. What I am saying is that it could be better, in my opinion, if the threads remained in the order in which they were posted within each forum, or at least for the latest 20 new threads, with older threads then following and becoming highlighted if there are any new posts.
To illustrate this, just before I wrote this post, I looked at the Plains Game forum. A relatively recent post on the differences between different types of Eland was only made last month. Yet, it is the 12th on the list, with 10 of those above it having been first posted last year.
I think that most people would like to be able to see the recent new threads (I suggest the 20 most recent) as a priority, with new posts on much older threads being a second priority.
I am not sure if you can do anything about this (if even if you feel it needs to be addressed) although I hope you will consider the point I'm making.
