I just went through the New Posts and got to Page 5 before I encounter 2 or 3 of them that had 0 or 1 Reply. They are only a week old. I replied to one because it was interesting and somehow I never saw it...and I go the New Posts and Recent Posts several times a day. Funny how they just get lost like that. My general take on it this that the old posts that are still sucking oxygen likely have a lot of replies to them. In order to take Ken's admonition out any further than 5-10 day old posts, you'd have to drill down to Page 10. I've mentioned before that I've resurrected old posts on other forums and folks have said "That's why we continue to make them available." I dunno. You and I could argue either side. Then we could switch sides just for the heck of it and be equally persuasive...and equally right.
I had something come to me this a.m. in a reply I wrote, and I think it might fit here @Ken Anderson I got so sick of FB because there is no, real "social interaction" and neither is there on these other "so-called" social networks. I missed that so much because not just because of Covid, long before that, I found it very hard to find and really visit with folks at my age. I am starting to feel the way I've heard "lines" in movies or TV say "I felt invisible" or something to that effect. Maybe terms that are like that, real conversations with people. I mean I see a lot of people sharing important things here, and fun things too, you have a little of everything. Maybe it was just timing for me, to come back and really enjoy what this forum offers. I feel sorry for folks that are alone like me, don't even have a computer, or know how to use one because I had something to look forward to this morning! Seeing and talking to folks, not just "likes" that say nothing, or yes, those couple of words in response show people are paying attention, but I love someone to really add to the conversation. I know I've always looked at being online with people as if I'm sitting in a room with them yacking. Although I forget that sometimes, and say things I'm not so proud of, and wouldn't have said it if we were in person. What about a list of "search terms" or words, suggestions from you and maybe others, of what we could all try and add into our posts! I'd sure be willing!
Excellent post. I rarely even visit Facebook anymore. Although it was nice to be able to be on the same platform as people who I am related to, went to school with, worked with, or lived near, I couldn't tolerate Facebook's interference in conversations that didn't involve them. Politics and religion can lead to a lot of words, but they are words that are found everywhere on the Internet, and so few of the opinions expressed even approach being original. I place much more value in human conversations about pretty much any topic that our members have an interest in, and that could be encouraged if we (and I include myself in that) didn't feel the need to go on the attack so much of the time. There will always be disagreements because, for one thing, it would be horribly boring if everyone thought the same thing, but I don't think that most of us are particularly rude when we disagree with someone in real life, particularly not when they are people we have even a casual relationship with. It's much easier to be rude to people we know only from the Internet. While forums like this tend to be a bit more personal than Facebook and to have less of that, it's still easier to be rude to someone in a forum than in the grocery store. There are ways to disagree without insulting the person you're disagreeing with, and I think that most of us could improve our communication skills by looking for these opportunities and practicing these skills. At the same time, most of us probably have a whole host of things in our heads that are not likely to lead to contention, and we could maybe spend more time on these. I am hesitant to control discussions or words in such a way as to seem manipulative or to cause someone to feel so worried about what they say that they don't say something that might be of interest to us. However, I think that if we could look at each thread as a website in its own right, and strive to keep that thread on-topic to the point where it is easy to tell what the thread is about, that would be an immense benefit to the forum, not only for the purpose of search engine optimization but in deciding which threads we want to participate with, as a member of the forum. As far as search terms and keywords, consider the topic of each thread rather than the forum as a whole, and think about what words or phrases you might use if you were looking for something on that topic in a search engine, and try to use those words or phrases in your posts, not in a way that seems excessive, repetitive, manipulative, or annoying, but in a conversational manner. I often repeat the question or subject posed in the opening post, not only to help keep the thread on-topic but to help the search engines figure out what the topic is. In doing so, I will often rephrase the OP so as not to be repetitive, but also because search engines are able to put that together well enough. While we may understand that the opening post determines the topic, a search engine algorithm will view it as words, phrases, and sentences that will be mingled with all of the other words in the thread, and if no one ever mentions the topic again, the algorithm won't know what it is supposed to be. It would be great if, when someone starts a thread, they would take ownership of it, trying to keep it on-topic, encouraging others to take part in it, and promoting it, either by linking to it from other threads where that topic comes up or even posting links to it on Facebook or elsewhere, which will draw not only search engines in but human eyes, as well. For every hundred people who might come to the forum through a search engine, we're lucky if one of them will register for an account and participate as a member of the forum, but that percentage is probably higher if they are referred to it by another human being, particularly someone they know. Also, don't be afraid to promote older threads that you have started. Every week, we get new members, and, unfortunately, we lose some of the older ones, but new members probably won't drill down to the older threads, and current members are unlikely to catch every thread that is started. While I try to keep up with things, I sometimes come across posts that I have an interest in, even ones that have been addressed to me, months or years before, that I missed.
I too live alone and don't have any living children, siblings, nor grandchildren. It is not that I don't have other things to do, but like you, I like the social interaction with other seniors that this forum offers. Like you, to receive a response to a post is appreciated and helps remind me though I may be insignificant, I am not invisible. One of my recent concerns stems from the fact that a trivial incident made me feel invisible and unappreciated. After several years I dropped out of a senior women's fitness forum because all the conversations became about kids, grandkids, husbands, and dogs. I was told I should get a dog if I wanted to fit in. That was it for me. No one was interested in me and my journey, just wanted to see conversations and photos of a dog. I like this forum because it offers so much and isn't plagued with pages of rules, doesn't silence anyone, or continually beg for contributions. I do appreciate your interaction on my post and since you also live alone I think you know how important that has been to me. Thank you!
Wow @Ken Anderson I never even thought of linking to a specific thread!! Most of my friends on FB are my age and older. They may not join the site, like you mention, but I know there are threads that they would love reading!! I've been telling my sister for years all the funny stuff I read on here, now I'll just grab a link, starting today!! All your feedback is excellent and I'll be working on that with my posts and replies to other's, Denise
Hi Faye, a relate to all you said, and I admit I don't often see a lot to look forward to. So I am glad to be back here, and come for the reasons you do as well. I'm really glad you are here and glad to meet you Faye Denise
Red: That happens to me all the time. Not sure what's going on, but this forum doesn't refresh like all the countless forums I've been on since 1994.
Heh, I have no kids either, and I also live alone. I have two older sisters and they have numerous descendants, although I rarely see any of them since Covid (their choice, not mine, we're all within an hour of each other). I spend much of my online time on a Corvette forum which is full of old guys, nearly all are politically conservative, and we yak about everything and not all that much about cars. One needs a thick skin at times, but it's a lot of fun when you're with like-minded, age-compatible people. I'm not, and never was, a FB guy. I did have an account there, looked at it maybe once per year, and deleted it a year or so ago.
Linking to specific threads is far more valuable than linking to the main page of the forum, as it speaks to specific content while linking to the main page of the forum suggests promotion.
Makes sense to me! Ok, well I linked to the "new posts" page, should have picked just one thread, but I will next time.
Agree about FB; never got the appeal of that platform. Around 2003-08 I participated heavily in a Cadillac owners forum and it was a blast. Everyone was caught up in the "arts and science" CTS thing and there were a lot of very cool people there. Then when the CTS aged out and the "ricer" crowd could afford to buy (and ruin) them, the forum was invaded by young idiots and changed forever. Too bad because I made a lot of good friends there, and we'd meet up all over the USA for car shows and nice restaurants. It was a fun time.
Yeah, you never know when an ole' lady is going to turn out to be an auto enthusiast (motorhead). I got to drive a couple of CTS-Vs back in the day.
I think about deleting mine, but there are a few old, school chums and some family I know I wouldn't see, or get to say hey to if I left there. I know I could call or write, but have busy lives with families. It's a hard call, but my brother Alan bowed out quite awhile back. I never get to see him, I write, and he'll write me little short notes back. I don't know guess it's too easy to get sad sometimes for me. But it's good to be back on this forum, and not rely on FB for real company
My mom used to ask me "what kind of car are you going out with" instead of the boys name, LOL! That's a real exaggeration, I liked the boy first, car was just a bonus