Forum Name Change

Cherry Blossom

Hi guys,

We visited the possibility of a forum name change quite a few years ago. Unfortunately the name chosen caused a bit of consternation behind the scenes as the name chosen included the word ‘Welfare’ which was deemed unsuitable due to its association with Rescues which caused issues in the past and led to the old Animal Welfare forum being renamed the Pre-moderated forum. With this in mind we are now revisiting the possibility of a name change.

For me personally I don’t like the word ‘issues’ as this implies that people come to us with problems. Problem threads are welcome of course but we also want people to post here when things are good. It’s always nice to see a light-hearted thread. The word Animals encompasses all animals and this is predominantly a forum about pet animals. We don’t want pest control threads here and there are more suitable forums for threads about wild animals, livestock and horses. We feel the current name is not really reflective of what this forum is really about. Some of the names that were up for discussion last time included:

Pets
Pets and Pet Care
Companion Animals and Pets

Please feel free to add your own suggestions to this thread and we will have a poll in a week or so to see can we reach a consensus this time round that is agreeable to the majority.

Cherry Blossom

For me Companion Animals and Pets has a nice ring to it and portrays what this forum is about.

Knine

I like Pets or maybe Pet Lovers Lounge because hopefully we all share the love of Pets in common!

Graces7

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

For me Companion Animals and Pets has a nice ring to it and portrays what this forum is about.

Perfect! Totally perfect! Look no further... The next two are too.... It has all that is needed and enough … dignity... to show we really care and are deeply committed.

And leaves wide enough.

jellybear

Knine wrote: »

I like Pets or maybe Pet Lovers Lounge because hopefully we all share the love of Pets in common!

I like these suggestions, particularly Pet Lovers Lounge. I think the others sound a bit...cold/clinical..? Understand there may be a need for the word animals though as not all threads are about pets

Kattunge

Pet Lovers Lounge is a great suggestion.

em_cat

What about Animals Lovers Lounge on second thought maybe not, if the look on my OH's face is any indication

DBB

em_cat wrote: »

What about Animals Lovers Lounge on second thought maybe not, if the look on my OH's face is any indication

That is exactly my thoughts too
I think this name could attract a lot of hits we weren't bargaining for!

Alun

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

For me Companion Animals and Pets has a nice ring to it and portrays what this forum is about.

Agree, but I'd turn it around, i.e. Pets and Companion Animals. Pets is a much more common and easily recognised term than Companion Animals, indeed I'm not sure exactly what the difference is if any.

VonVix

Love the suggestions.

Pets & Their People
Pets & Care

I really like Pet Lovers Lounge or Pet Lounge, has a casual feel to it.

Cherry Blossom

Anything with ‘lovers’ in it sounds a bit too fluffy to me. We don’t want the name to exclude people from posting and I feel quite a few men folk wouldn’t want to post in forum called pet lovers lounge. 😄

tk123

I like Pet Lovers Lounge. It definitely needs pets and something to show that the forum is for people who actually like pets. I feel at times - possibly due to the pandemic and more people online etc.... that it’s becoming more and more like After Hours Pet Edition and just not worth contributing to some of the threads once they go down that road.

CelticRambler

Long-time lurker, very occasional contributor to this forum. As someone who grew up with a cat on my pillow, had a cat on my desk all through uni, and adopted several cats over the course of my adult life; and as someone who only last night couldn't bring myself to kill the mouse that's made her home behind my china cabinet ... I would never set foot in a (sub)forum labelled "Pet Lover's Lounge"

The scientist in me (who also works with animals, as it happens) would opt for the simplest "Companion Animals" title. Not all "companion animals" are pets, but all pets are companions; Father Jack might argue that not all pets are animals - can I ask about my brick's moss-problem here? :pac:

If changes are afoot, I'd suggest that moving the forum out of "Recreation & Hobbies" might be more useful. "Home & Garden" or "Society & Culture" seem more logical places (especially as "Accommodation", "Family", "Farming" and "Personal Issues" all live under the latter, and I'd say most Pet/Companion Animal questions fall into one of those categories).

Dubl07

CelticRambler wrote: »

Long-time lurker, very occasional contributor to this forum. As someone who grew up with a cat on my pillow, had a cat on my desk all through uni, and adopted several cats over the course of my adult life; and as someone who only last night couldn't bring myself to kill the mouse that's made her home behind my china cabinet ... I would never set foot in a (sub)forum labelled "Pet Lover's Lounge"

The scientist in me (who also works with animals, as it happens) would opt for the simplest "Companion Animals" title. Not all "companion animals" are pets, but all pets are companions; Father Jack might argue that not all pets are animals - can I ask about my brick's moss-problem here? :pac:

If changes are afoot, I'd suggest that moving the forum out of "Recreation & Hobbies" might be more useful. "Home & Garden" or "Society & Culture" seem more logical places (especially as "Accommodation", "Family", "Farming" and "Personal Issues" all live under the latter, and I'd say most Pet/Companion Animal questions fall into one of those categories).

Mice are sweet, rats are not. I agree that Lover's Lounge in any shape or form will attract trolls from around the globe.

Perhaps just 'Pets and domestic creatures' could suffice? I'd also be inclined to make it an application for authorisation area. We suffer from trolls who want to inflame situations far too much.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Alun wrote: »

Agree, but I'd turn it around, i.e. Pets and Companion Animals. Pets is a much more common and easily recognised term than Companion Animals, indeed I'm not sure exactly what the difference is if any.

I'll second this suggestion.

RichT

Furry Family Members

tk123

Pet Peoples Lounge
Pet Parent's Lounge
Pet's Corner

CelticRambler

Dubl07 wrote: »

Mice are sweet, rats are not.

Nahhh, rats are cool. You have a decent conversation with a rat; mice are just annoying mess-makers. Except for yer wan behind the china cabinet, who (assuming its the same one) got nick-named "the housekeeper" over the summer when she did a great job of clearing all the visitors' crumbs off the floor every night.

But that's well off topic now ...

My unease about any title with "lovers/lover's" in it is that it could deter anyone with a serious interest in, and respect for, animals from visiting/contributing. I know that enthusiastic reptile-keepers or Maine-Coon breeders or canine agility contestants will probably have their own forums or facebook groups, but you wouldn't want to create a barrier for the person who hates animals yet wants to ask about their neighbour's mangy cat on her seventh litter of soon-to-be-drowned kittens.

em_cat

+ 1 for pets corner

Zapperzy

+1 for pets and companion animals.

Anything with lovers in it just sound a little cringey to me, I'd feel it might turn some people off.

Cherry Blossom

Lads, I think we have to veto anything with ‘lovers’ in the title. We already attract a lot of attention from internet trolls. I feel a name like that would be just click bait to undesirables, we’d be sitting ducks. Elsewhere on boards people refer to us sometimes as those mad people who sleep with their pets. This is in fact a mostly serious forum and should have a mainly serious name. We don’t want to lose any credibility. There are many, many reasons why it’s a bad idea.

Sorry guys!

Graces7

Zapperzy wrote: »

+1 for pets and companion animals.

Anything with lovers in it just sound a little cringey to me, I'd feel it might turn some people off.

agree and also the word " lounge" ?

The forum is so much for so many people. Needs to have a more formal title than lounge; yes we do sit and chat but also folk come here as a first port of call for advice when they do not know where to turn,

Keeping the title open and simple and strong. makes us more accessible? l

Hellrazer

Why not just Animals and Pets - drop the "issues"

Graces7

Hellrazer wrote: »

Why not just Animals and Pets - drop the "issues"

Great. Although maybe folk might think of farm animals as well as pets? And "companion animals" is now a well known imported expression from the US?

CelticRambler

Graces7 wrote: »

And "companion animals" is now a well known imported expression from the US?

I think you're confusing the term with "emotional support animal". The term "companion animal" to describe non-cat and non-dog pets has been in use in Ireland and Britain for at least forty years.

Alun

Hellrazer wrote: »

Why not just Animals and Pets - drop the "issues"

There's another forum, Nature and Birdwatching for the wild animals, so that would just be confusing I think. What animals do we deal with in here that aren't covered by the other forum?

What's wrong with just Pets? Isn't companion animal just another term for pet, or am I mistaken?

Alun

CelticRambler wrote: »

The term "companion animal" to describe non-cat and non-dog pets has been in use in Ireland and Britain for at least forty years.

So, rabbits, budgies, rats, hamsters etc. aren't pets??

CelticRambler

Alun wrote: »

So, rabbits, budgies, rats, hamsters etc. aren't pets??

Uh yeah - but they're not dogs or cats! It's not that long ago that having any animal in the house (other than a lamb that needed bottle-feeding, or a hen that wouldn't stay out in the yard) was considered a bit strange. The cat or the dog were generally working animals, but over the years, they came to be part of the family. They're not all "pets" in the emotional sense, though: a lot of people keep animals for reasons other than the companionship aspect.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Hellrazer wrote: »

Why not just Animals and Pets - drop the "issues"

Also support this. The simpler the better, as its more accessible.
It feels like this thread is becoming bogged down in semantics.

Graces7

CelticRambler wrote: »

I think you're confusing the term with "emotional support animal". The term "companion animal" to describe non-cat and non-dog pets has been in use in Ireland and Britain for at least forty years.

Never heard that dreadful expression so no I am not !lol

Graces7

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Also support this. The simpler the better, as its more accessible.
It feels like this thread is becoming bogged down in semantics.

Head spinning here so taking leave of absence!

Cherry Blossom

Just in case anyone hasn’t seen it, the poll is up now in a separate thread. It closes next Friday at I think 5pm.