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What Happened to SquidU? And a NEW, unofficial forum by and for members!

As most of you know by now, the Squidoo community woke up to find that the SquidU forums, aka the Lensmaster Lounge, were shut down by HQ. To replace them, HQ has set up a new forum on the HQ Blog site. Read their announcement here explaining why.

For various reasons, this change didn’t work for all of us. (Square pegs, meet round holes.) So Christene set up a totally-unofficial by-and-for-members community here:

Squid∩ Community

There’s a lot of familiar faces. Some folks are also on the new, official HQ forum, while others are sticking mostly to Squid∩. (Either is fine. We’re real big on “different things work for different people.” )

It’s also got subforums for people to discuss Wizzley, Zujava, or wherever else you’re active.

There’s a help forum where people can ask other members for tips/advice, plus an FAQ section where we’ve rescued a few of the most in-demand tips and Tricks of the Trade posts written by members who have migrated to Squid∩. Hopefully these forums will continue to serve as a place to get support and tips, as well as camaraderie.

(The upside-down U symbol is the mathematical sign for “union,” but really, we just like being upside-down.)

3 Comments

  1. AJ says:

    As a site grows to enormous proportions, as Squidoo has, then it is inevitable that the owners are not going to be “all things to all people”. I think it is really healthy that Christene has been pro-active and set up a networking group of the type that best works for her and those of us who have joined.

    I believe having different groups is actually healthy for Squidoo, providing those active in indpendent groups do not use them to try to circumvent Squidoo TOS. I dont see that happening in the new Squidn, particularly with the group of moderators we have.

    My biggest issue with how the new Squidoo HQ Forum was set up, is that I was extremely disappointed that HQ did not take the opportunity to thank the unpaid Volunteers who have kept the old SquidU free from spam and unkind behavior, making it a place I was happy to visit.

    1. Greekgeek says:

      Three thumbs up on this comment.

      I have to admit, the way that the new forum was set up — no warning, no consideration of the value or love the community had for the old forums, and most of all, no THANKS given to the volunteer mods who had put in substantial hours every day on Squidoo’s behalf for well over a year — is really what put me off.

      (Also rule #3 on the new forum, that spamming or flaming could result not only in a forum ban (fair enough) but also having all ones lenses locked (gack!) That SEEMS fair, except that in the past, when SquidStaff moderated SquidU, they banned a couple people who created great lenses, and who in my view could be somewhat irritating or make posts I disagreed with, but Spook being goofball or Makingamark making pointed, constructive criticism was NOT (IMO) banworthy offenses. Time out, at worst. Under the new rules, they might lose all their lenses. And so might I.

      So I’m very grateful to have an alternative. As you say, Squidoo can’t be “everything to all people,” and I don’t expect it to be (although I plead “leave me alone to let me try things my own way, even if it’s not HQ’s way”).

  2. I miss the old forum, but I am glad to be seeing an alternative to the new forum (I actually came to this site from a Google Search looking for a SquidU Alternative).

    Long Story short I am glad to have found an alternative :)

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