Forum Participation

[Freddy]

This was posted on another forum I visit and I thought some of you might like to read it.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html

It basically explains the situation on most forums and how only a limited number of people are regular posters. I think GTP follows what the link is saying. Yes, we have over 95,000 members but I wouldn't be surprised if more then 1000 were regular contributors, 4000-5000 occasional contributors and the other 90,000 or so lurkers.

In a way this is not a bad thing. If we DID have 95,000+ members all posting at least 5 times a day, the boards would get crowded very quickly and the moderators would have a tough time keeping up with everything, even if they did spread the work amongst themselves.

On the other hand, viewing the same usernames again and again and getting the same opinions can get very annoying as well. That's why an occasional contributor or lurker might be helpful in adding fresh ideas and new way of thiking to GTP.

I am very happy with GTP the way it is although I would encourage people who only read to start posting as well. Even though they are not new members, they can add great variety to a forum and spice it up from the usual.

 

[guska]

# Reward -- but don't over-reward -- participants. Rewarding people for contributing will help motivate users who have lives outside the Internet, and thus will broaden your participant base. Although money is always good, you can also give contributors preferential treatment (such as discounts or advance notice of new stuff), or even just put gold stars on their profiles. But don't give too much to the most active participants, or you'll simply encourage them to dominate the system even more.

# Promote quality contributors. If you display all contributions equally, then people who post only when they have something important to say will be drowned out by the torrent of material from the hyperactive 1%. Instead, give extra prominence to good contributions and to contributions from people who've proven their value, as indicated by their reputation ranking.

These are the only twp points that would really work here, and these things are already in place. We get our usertitle upgraded as we post more, and for consistant quality posts, we get that nice shiny badge.

A good read though +rep

 

[Turbo Lag]

These are the only twp points that would really work here, and these things are already in place. We get our usertitle upgraded as we post more, and for consistant quality posts, we get that nice shiny badge.

A good read though +rep

Yes it is a good read and i think that maybe all new GTplanet members should read this 👍

 

[Pupik]

It basically explains the situation on most forums and how only a limited number of people are regular posters. I think GTP follows what the link is saying. Yes, we have over 95,000 members but I wouldn't be surprised if more then 1000 were regular contributors, 4000-5000 occasional contributors and the other 90,000 or so lurkers.

This is tue of many forums, not just GTP. Many automotive and racing-related forums I contribute to/lurk/visit have the same things, as well as other types forums I've visited. There's a handful of people who provide the bulk of the posts, a few more that pop in here and there, and a lot of people (and bots!) who just show up once or twice. Sometimes, you don't need to register to get the advice and information you need from a forum, which shows that people are contributing correct and helpful information.

In a way this is not a bad thing. If we DID have 95,000+ members all posting at least 5 times a day, the boards would get crowded very quickly and the moderators would have a tough time keeping up with everything, even if they did spread the work amongst themselves.

Exactly, but I'm quite sure this sceanrio occurs in both large and small scales with many forums open to public use, as well as other clubs and meetings with specialized interests, based on behavioral patterns.

On the other hand, viewing the same usernames again and again and getting the same opinions can get very annoying as well. That's why an occasional contributor or lurker might be helpful in adding fresh ideas and new way of thiking to GTP.

I don't agree with everyone here, but it's not forced into my head Newspeak by the Thought Police, nor am I coercing anyone else to take everything I say as Truth. No individual here is perfect, nor is any one member's posts intended to be one-size-fits-all. If you don't like the bulk or tone or style of what's being said in a forum, you can always leave, and there are some places that I don't visit any longer for one reason or another. New people and opinions will join, and yes, that is what makes this place refreshing and interesting at times. But it's also comforting (at times) to hear from some of the Establishment since I've been here for over 5 years.

I am very happy with GTP the way it is although I would encourage people who only read to start posting as well. Even though they are not new members, they can add great variety to a forum and spice it up from the usual.

Again, you can't, and shouldn't force people to post. In fact, some members whould do well to not post in every threaad, would do well to read and then contribute, but only if needed. Each thread is different...a "poll" thread is okay to have lots of posts, but a thread pertaining to a specific or specialized topic doesn't always need 50 replies, unless they're useful.

There's one forum (Atlas F1/The Nostalgia Forum) in which I've been a member of for 6 years, and I visit it at about once a week. It's a much more interesting for me to read than contribute, since it generally deals with topics of facts and research, rather than opinions, although occasional off-topic chit-chat. I think I have 100-120 posts there, because there's a lot more peopl who can contribute information, while my information only comes in handy to a handful of threads.

By the way, this is all coming from someone who had threads like "What is your favorite alphabet letter?"

 

[UnoMOTO]

I spent more than a year visiting gtp as a guest before becoming a member. At the time I could just look through the threads long enough to find an answer to a question. I knew about used car dates and got plenty out of the site with out adding my imput. I can't even recall what sent me over the edge to join but now that I have I wish I hadn't wasted all that time not participating.

 

[YSSMAN]

To be honest, I'm here because its fun and it is a good place to let my auto-enthusiast legs stretch out just a bit. I used to frequent the GT boards, but I backed out of there a while ago. Too many fanboy miniature arguments, and the same goes with some of the console threads (although I do keep up on the 360). As most of us know, I'm usually in the automotive forms, and now the rumble strip. Opinions = fun for me, and occasionally we can get some pretty good discussions going on.

...It would be nice to get more active folks like BX and tha_con (no matter how much some of us didn't like them) back in the forums, and I think a lot of the newer members have the capacity to do much of the same, however some may be a bit intimidated by those of us who have been around for a while.

All I can say is don't be shy, we're usually pretty nice. When you're new, you have a grace period, and we'll let things slide...

 

[Gen.]

Isn't Jeremy Ricci tha_con.

 

[OZZYGT]

Isn't Jeremy Ricci tha_con.

That's what I was about to say.

 

[YSSMAN]

I brought that up before and it didn't go over well... There have been times where it seems like harrytuttle is BX too, but maybe thats because we agree on things so often...

 

[1X83Z]

I brought that up before and it didn't go over well... There have been times where it seems like harrytuttle is BX too, but maybe thats because we agree on things so often...

Hey! Harry is a tried and true New Yorker!

 

[OZZYGT]

Hey! Harry is a tried and true New Yorker!

Hmmm, another person who might be able to attend NJGTP perhaps?

IF he does lives in NY that is....

 

[1X83Z]

Hmmm, another person who might be able to attend NJGTP perhaps?

IF he does lives in NY that is....

He does; all his photos in DYSAGT are from New York. I wouldn't mind meeting Harry; he's always been a wonderful car photographer and a stand-up guy. And he's got an STi.

You coming to NJGT, Ozzy??

 

[OZZYGT]

He does; all his photos in DYSAGT are from New York. I wouldn't mind meeting Harry; he's always been a wonderful car photographer and a stand-up guy. And he's got an STi.

You coming to NJGT, Ozzy??

Well, if John, backspace and at least 2 or more members decide to do something concrete, I'm defenitely down as I stated in the thread.