Nothing was particularly wrong with the old database, but it did have some pretty clear limitations which we felt were holding it back from what it could potentially become - a fantastic resource for birders everywhere.
- Only a single photo could be uploaded per species (now there's the possibility of using more than one, e.g. if males and females differ)
- There was no real possibility if linking between species (e.g. if the text about species X mentions that it often eats species Y, you can now add a link. So if you're not quite certain about species Y, a single click will take you the page for it)
- Only a single name could be used (e.g. "Dunnock" would give no results in the old database, as this species was listed under Hedge Accentor). Now a forward page will take you to the correct page, even if searching for Dunnock).
- The 'description' and 'identification' fields were far too limiting, and were confusing. We often had huge amounts of information listed under description, except for a description, and the identification field was often used to provide more information about the photo.
- No history was kept, and it wasn't possible to find out what pages were being edited and when, or to discuss what was happening with them.
