If anyone has a certificate for a free Spotlight Ad that has been won at a raffle, please plan on running your Ad soon. I am going to be phasing out the Spotlight Ads. With the use of free social media websites, such as Facebook, there has not been the interest in placing Spotlight ads as of late.

Eventually the entire Links website will also be dismantled. The links have also suffered in the past few years, and I cannot see the website continuing. I'm no longer going to accept any new links, and once everyone's link expires, the webpage will come down.

This Forum will also be closing down. As I no longer have the time to monitor the posts.

Thank you all for your past support in this endeavor. We had a good run for nearly the past 15 years, but I think that the website has run it's course.

My warmest regards,
Jill

It makes me sad to hear about loosing this resource. As a "newbie" in the breed I don't have a lot of contacts in the Lab world yet and have no ideas where to find a resource like this one. I regularly use it to search the past posts for info.

Thank you for you years of dedication to this site Jill, and I can only hope that you may choose to continue it.

Sorry to hear all of this, Jill. Your site has been a great learning tool and discussion board for lots of us out here.

Whether you do decide to carry on with it's closure or change your mind, I thank you for all the years of work you've put in.

Me too. I can't add up all the helpful advice I've gotten over the years. Yes, some smart alec stuff, but overall the good far outweighed the nasty. I have tried to be a contributor when I felt I could help someone. Thank you Jill for having this site available in the wee dark hours when we have felt alone and scared with a problem. Someone was always awake to get us through.

Jill, thank you for all you have done. With the closing of the forum, will we lose the archive as well?

good question..I guess they would be lost as well. I'm just tired of having to monitor the posts...and having to deal with the ugly people that come on here adds to that. I am tired of having to read their comments and have always felt that it puts this forum in a bad light, which goes back to a direct reflection on me. I've asked nice, I've threatened, and they still come back here with the negative , nasty posts.

Couple that with the fact that I actually pay Bravenet to have this forum active and you can see the downside.

The Spotlight Ads have really fallen off, with most people choosing to advertise their dogs on FB. I don't know if they're getting the same results by using FB as they did by using the Spotlight Ads, but it's hard to compete with *free*.

I know that there are still some people holding certificates for free Ads (that were won at specialty raffles) and I am waiting to honor those ads before shutting things down.

-j

Is there any way we might be able to keep the archives (even if the forum was locked & for reference only), just to be able to look back at all the wonderful data that has been shared over the years? I for one would be willing to donate funds to help with the cost of the Bravenet account, and I bet others would as well...just to be able to keep the archives. Thanks Jill for all you have put into this website over the years!

Renee

I am going to be so sad to see this Forum close down. Through the years, I have gotten so much information from here and have enjoyed the Spotlight ads. This forum has been my go to source for upcoming shows and so many other things. Thank you Jill for the time and effort you have put into it.

This is very sad news Jill. I do understand why you have tired of monitoring the people who don't have a positive word to say, but I must tell you that I have learned so much from most of the people who post here. I just ignore the ugly comments.

If the Forum must go away, I do hope you find a way to leave the old posts up for future reference.

Frankly, I don't find the Facebook Ads as nice as your Spotlight Ads. Just sayin'

Thanks so much for everything you have done for the past several years.

Sincerely,

Denise

You guys must think I'm nutty... I've always felt like this Website was my baby. I loved doing the Spotlight Ads, and was always excited on the 1st of every month to see how the rest of you liked them. I felt that there was usually a pretty nice line up of dogs there. I know that many of the people that ran ads, ran them a couple of times a year, mainly because they were happy with the results the ads generated. Unfortunately, in the past yr, the Spotlight Ads diminished.

Then, with the last round of bickering that we had on this forum a couple of weeks ago..... and really, I'm not whining here, but every time that sort of rubbish starts on this Forum, it sets me off in the direction to pull everything down. I do not like to see that nonsense, anymore than anyone else does. It's moronic.

I do see the need for the information that this Forum, as well as the Links website provides. Heck, even I come here for information...and the upcoming Specialty Calendar is something I always use.

As long as I receive enough new links every year, and have people follow through with updating their current links, it will pay for the bandwidth as well as the payment to Bravenet. We are already at the highest allowed message post quota for Bravenet, so not every single post is archived. The oldest ones drop off eventually. I just checked and right now, we are at
198610 of 200000 Posts. That's allot of archived posts!

Just please,I'm asking all of you to help me keep trolls in line, by not responding to them. They will go away if they are ignored. And support the website, by sending your website link in. Given those two things.. we should be able to keep it up and running. I feel like I'm running a telethon here.. the links are still only $20 per yr... the price has been the same for at least the past 10 years. The links were always meant to be the one stop shopping place for people to find your website easily, and I know it still gets allot of traffic. Is your website link on it? (Ok where's Jerry Lewis when you need him???!!!) ;-)

peace~~out

-Jill

I pledge to keep my website on your links ; ) Thanks Jill!!

That sounds great. I would be willing to pay more for the links page if needed to pay for the forum.

Surely, it must be someone out there who might be willing to continue with the forum - and the forum only? It will be very sad to see it go...

Jill,
I personally want to Thank you for your years of support to the breed. I am sure you did not come to this decision lightly. I wish you the very Best.

Julie D - Julsby Labradors

Jill--I check your forum all the time. It has been a wealth of information for me also. The specialty calendar, the spotlight ads and litter listing have served as a constant source of information. While FB is a good tool, your forum was and is a place to find all the information in one concise area. Thanks for all you have done for us, the Labrador community, over the past 15 years.
Diane McClurg

Jill, Thank You for providing this forum.
It is a wealth of information! I hope that
somehow it will continue.
I, along with others, choose to not be on
Facebook. This forum is the format I really
like.
Would be most grateful if you choose to
keep it going. (I do not have a kennel
name to put into your site. Will support it
In any other way I can.)
Thanks in advance!

Can someone tell me if the ads in the LQ were also lower in the current issue? I believe I had heard someone say that the current issue was a little thin? If that's the case, I don't feel so bad about the Spotlight Ads being down.

I'll keep trying to keep the ads going...and if you guys are getting sick of seeing my own dogs as **fillers** , that's too bad Send in some ads. ;-)

-J

LQ Stud issue was a little thinner than usual. I still like both the Spotlight ads and the LQ. I can't seem to totally get away from published media....but like the online stuff too. Personally, FB is nice, but you loose track of so many threads as they scroll down. Same with the Ads. Maybe if I was on the computer all day it would be different, but my time is limited during the work week.

I like going to a traditional forum and being able to sit down and read threads and catch up....

Sue Puff

I would be glad to pay to put my link up in order to keep the forum going. I think the use of the forum has slowed down due to Facebook but I also think the forum and Facebook are very different and that is only temporary.

Is it a lot more work to put in a feature where you could search links by states or area of the country in addition to having them alphabetical?

Hey Jill,
Please don't give up the Forum.
I'm on here all the time.
If you need ads and Kennel listings to keep it going, I'm in.
Laura D

LOL ok, but if I don't get some Ads soon, you guys are going to get real real tired of seeing my dogs as **fillers* I'm tired of putting my own dogs on the Spotlight. ;-)

-Jill

So sad, I will miss you !!!! I have learned alot over the years !!!!!