Action for Animals Austin

The problem is that people who are new to animal rights are not going to learn much about animal rights by clicking on the blog posts or any of the items in the "What's Hot" box. The blog posts are going to be about events and specific topics within the field, not about the general philosophy of the movement. 

On the right side in a prominent place there should be a permanent link that says "WHAT ARE ANIMAL RIGHTS?" or something like that.

@DaveBrett -- thanks for the kind words and the feedback.

The What's Hot section performs some calculations based on how recently a blog was posted, how many people have clicked on it, how many people have commented on it, etc. to determine what's hot.  The difference is pretty subtle now, but that's because the site is so new and we still have a small number of users / blogs.  As the site grows this section will be more relevant as it gives blogs posts that really resonate a chance to bubble up to the top of that list.

I have added a few pages of static content (like the About and Donate pages).  However, I have resisted the idea of adding too much material that can be interpreted as representing the group's "official position" on a particular topic.  The philosophy behind this web site is that it is community oriented, not hierarchical.  Therefore, it is intended to reflect the ideas, philosophies, opinions, etc. of the members -- as posted in their own words.  Ideas that gain traction among our membership will bubble to the top (via What's Hot and similar sections).

I really liked the web site you referenced.  It concisely summarized a lot of core ideas that would be very helpful to people that are new to this.  Please write a blog post about it!  Maybe you could talk a little about how you came to search out this kind of info, what you found, etc.  You could explain what you like about this particular page, provide a few examples, and include the link (along with any other recommended links).

It is my hope that your posts inspire members to comment with their reactions, write their own posts, etc.

There is a forum where you can post questions, feedback, requests, etc. related to the site: New Community Site.  Please keep the ideas coming!

Yeah!!! Wonderful!!! Thx, again, Errol, for doing such a fantastic job on the website. It gets better each day.

You are doing a great job with the AFA web site. My thanks to you for the work you are putting into it. 

I don't see the point of having a box on the right side of the main page that says "What's Hot." All that box does is provide links to the material just to the left of it. What's the point of having duplicate links? People are going to look at the topics in the blog first, then their eye moves over to the "What's Hot" box, and they just see the same thing. 

I think you should use that box to provide permanent links to web pages that explain the basic philosophy of animal rights. That way people who are new to the animal rights community will have a place to go to understand what the movement is all about. 

Here is one page that explains our philosophy in a straight forward way: http://ar.vegnews.org/Questions.html
There are other pages like that. What do you think? 

Dave