Someone wrote to me this morning thinking no one was interested in what they have posted in the forum. First of all, that is fairly unusual in this forum; because we have such varied interests, someone is almost certain to be interested in whatever you have to say. I understand that it can be disheartening if no one is replying to your new thread, but that does not always denote a lack of interest. I know that I read a lot of things here that are of interest to me, although I may not have anything to add to it at the time. I hope he won't mind my using him as an example, but I am personally fascinated by the things that @Frank Sanoica has accomplished in his life, particularly the skills that he has attained. Yet, although he says a lot of things that I can join in on, I don't have anything to add to his threads about the homes that he has built, or the fact that he can buy a new car and improve upon it - not because these things are uninteresting, but because I don't have those kinds of skills, and have never had those kinds of skills, so about all that I can add to some of that stuff is "Wow!" Sometimes I don't even know what the hell he's talking about, but I am still impressed. What I am trying to say is that the number of replies that a thread gets is not always indicative of the amount of interest that it has generated. Plus, there is the fact that if even one person joins in on your discussion, it is one that is worth having. It is probably a good idea for all of us to try to respond in some way to the threads that we have taken an interest in because discussions are more fun than monologues, and feedback is a good thing. You can see how many times your thread has been viewed by clicking into the category where you posted it and looking for your thread on the list. The forum will show both the number of views and the number of replies. Sometimes, a low number of views can be the result of a thread title that isn't descriptive.
This is a really good point, and probably something that crosses everyone’s mind at some point or another. We have probably all posted something that we thought would start a great conversation, and then ......... it didn’t. Sometimes, months later, some new person will run across that old forgotten thread, and then it might come to life again; so we just never know what might happen when we start a thread on any topic. Like Ken says, sometimes there are threads that I read, and just don’t know how to respond, or maybe don’t even understand what the thread is all about; but I am interested and probably impressed just the same. Another thing that always seems to affect the forum is nice weather, especially summer. Bobby and I are outside as much as possible in that space between way too cold outside and way too hot outside; so we spend less time on the forum as a result . I imagine that this happens to a lot of us when the weather is nice and we are busy.
I am guilty of reading and not responding....no real reason as to why. Also just depends on how. much time you have to spend reading long posts.
Sometimes I, too, wonder what the hell I'm talking about. Then, I remind myself I have been called "B. S.-er of the year"!
Another way to improve page views and participation in your thread is to bring it up again if you haven't had many responses to it after a reasonable amount of time. Think about something else that you can add to it, then add it as a new post, so that the thread will be bumped to the top again. That can be done without being spammy if you add content to it rather than simply posting "bump" or something, as I have seen in other forums. If it's your thread, you should be able to think of something to say about it. You can also refer to it by linking to it from another thread, when the topic of the other thread touches upon the topic of your thread. Simply posting something mentioning that you had posted about something similar a week ago, or whatever, then leave a link - see my hyperlinking thread, then post something that more specifically relates to the thread that you are interrupting, so that it doesn't look like you're trying to derail it. If your topic is exactly like the other topic, I'll merge the two. Otherwise, both threads should continue. I do that with my threads from time to time, you'll notice. Please remember that there is nothing wrong with bringing up an old thread either, particularly if there is a likelihood that a new group of people might be able to give it new life. I rarely exhaust everything that I have to say about a topic in my first post, so I'll sometimes also post the first couple of responses as well, then usually someone else will join in and we'll have a thread. Sometimes that doesn't happen but as long as people have read what I have to say, I'm satisfied. Usually, we have fewer people on weekends than we have during the day, so if you post something on a Friday, there may be several other threads throughout the weekend, but the people most likely to reply to your thread might not notice it, particularly if it gets buried in a bunch of new threads, so it helps to bring it up again.
My posts don't always get responses either. Sometimes I have to reply to my own opening post a couple of times before anyone else joins in.
Ya know, I used to get a tad upset if someone didn't respond to a thread or post that I believed merited at least something! Then, I started watching how many views I had on a thread and had a sudden epiphany! On a thread I started in another forum I had no responses but I had over a hundred views. Then, a couple of days later I had over a thousand views and only 3 responses! Man! Am I good or what! All those great writers out there; Thoreau, Dickens, Shelly, Shakespeare, Poe and Longfellow all have millions of copies of the MANY books they all wrote and I only wrote one small thread so in per capita, I probably got more views than all of them! Life can be good when ya look on the positive side!
Bobby, sometimes when people read posts and totally agree with it, or can think of nothing to add, you do get views and no comments. Just think that much of what you write is so profound that folks are in awe of your ability and have nothing to add. On this forum, folks can "like" but not all allow that.
I sometimes read a thread but can't think of anything to add. If I can think of anything, I do add it. I do know how it is to start a thread and have nobody reply. I think we all need praise (Approval) for our efforts. That is only human.
Well, It's my fault for selecting subjects a that are too esoteric and "off-the-wall" compared to the topics that get a lot of discussion. My "swifties" in the "make me laugh" section are witty, but not funny at all. I guess I'm intending them for a different audience. My post on college glee club singing fell flat, too. As for my post on the Mars Opposition...nothing. The only reply on that one was from myself, with more information on the event. I guess I'll just stick to writing replies instead of posts! Hal