Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,962
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Post by Westy on Nov 16, 2015 21:10:49 GMT -8
I suspect patience is key to getting people back here. Give us a score, and many of us will bail completely Right On! Cajun! I liked you too! It's like having a website forum on Cooking and everybody talks about Motorcycles. Very weird. I could easily do that and throw in gear talk too. I ride a motorcycle, use my backpacking gear for overnighters and eat backpacking food. Actually the only variable is that I would be riding vs. hiking. There is a strong and common link between backpackers and motorcyclists. Heck, I ride on forest service roads that sometimes are part of a trail system like the CDT.
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davesenesac
Trail Wise!
Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
Posts: 1,710
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Post by davesenesac on Nov 16, 2015 21:12:20 GMT -8
My suggestion is not something I am trying to promote as functions that can be done with current forum software much less to replace software we are now using but is just an informal idea for the community to pleasantly knock around since these are issues of concern on the board. As for the idea, my vision of that is it would only become noticeable privately to individual members when they went into deficlt thus for the more active members might rarely be an issue. We members do want membership to grow and participation to increase. bp2go has done well bringing us back to this point. And I would hope members are open and constructive to suggesting modest improvements so he doesn't have to do it all himself whether or not it is something one agrees with.
Another idea which would certainly be possible for bp2go to perform would be to eliminate some of the current forums in order to concentrate member exposure to recent threads. Thus we might dispense with regional sub-forums and just make one or two East and West. When threads stopped receiving input for a couple months they might be moved and archived in the current set of forums. Thus I might actually become enlightened to things going on in other parts of the country. In the future when membership increased enough, they might be split back up. For now the community is simply small without critical mass.
I personally will not be one to participate heavily by posting in lots of threads because as I noted there are other outdoor boards I do so in that have a lot more activity and interesting outdoor discussions. Besides working a m-f 8-5 hi tech job for decades have been out in the field a lot during my off days as can be readily appreciated by looking at my current 2015 trip chronicles. So will be content to visit and post one or three times a week making a modest token regular appearance including occasional trip reports as I have always done.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2015 21:35:10 GMT -8
I agree wholeheartedly with those who mentioned this forum's sparsity of actual hiking-related/informational posts. I don't know why, but this forum has always been dominated by mindless banter. Mind you, a forum of any kind needs mindless banter, but why doesn't it happen interspersed in hiking talk here (much)? Forums are like potluck dinners. In order for people to feed on "hiking talk," members have to provide it. It makes no sense for people to check in once in a while and complain that there is no meat — if they are not taking their turns at providing that meat. You want hiking talk? Then provide hiking talk. When over half the dishes in the Trailhead Register contain meat, why would you drop in to complain that there isn't enough meat? Potluck is bring your own and share it. Same with hiking forums. We can't all live off the free contributions of someone else. Bring a meat dish. Start a thread with hiking talk, participate in threads with hiking talk. Do your share.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,710
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Post by rebeccad on Nov 16, 2015 22:19:25 GMT -8
I agree with those who think that some patient rebuilding may be necessary. And honestly, if we are a community, 50% of threads being on topics of general interest doesn't seem odd to me. Many of us don't get to hike all the time. If I only come on here and participate when I have backpacking-related things to discuss, I probably won't be adding much to the conversation most of the year.
One thing I have wondered about is the multiplicity of forums. I try to minimize my time on social media, so I am most likely just to check into the TR, maybe scan to see if there's been any activity in the womens and children's forums, and visit gear if I have time to kill. I seldom look at the destination forums.
And I'm also much more limited in how many photos I post by the extra step needed to upload to Photobucket before I link here. I know many people store photos in such places, but I don't, for the most part.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Nov 17, 2015 5:39:08 GMT -8
Give us a score, and many of us will bail completely. That thought provoking commentary has earned you 2 hiker bonus box tops CH Seriously, I've seen other software, like Yik Yak that give :karma points" for things like liking other people's posts. I know I don't pay any attention to them. I suspect a lot of others feel the same.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 6:23:07 GMT -8
And I would hope members are open and constructive to suggesting modest improvements I would not put a point system anywhere near the category of "improvements." I think it is a horrible, clueless idea.
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Post by Coolkat on Nov 17, 2015 7:14:19 GMT -8
Bring a meat dish. Start a thread with hiking talk, participate in threads with hiking talk. Do your share. Now that is getting to the meat of the issue, symbolically of course But seriously that is a very good point. Be a part of the solution.
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Post by llamero on Nov 17, 2015 7:31:06 GMT -8
I would not put a point system anywhere near the category of "improvements." I think it is a horrible, clueless idea. Travis, you present many interesting and fun post, but this isn't one of them. It comes off as a bit mean. I don't agree with a point system either, but the putting forth an idea doesn't deserve a reply verging on name calling. That is the behavior that drives people away. Rise above it, or just flame me.
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tarol
Trail Wise!
Redding, CA
Posts: 582
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Post by tarol on Nov 17, 2015 7:57:07 GMT -8
The points system works really well on Summitpost - I think it would be a good idea
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tarol
Trail Wise!
Redding, CA
Posts: 582
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Post by tarol on Nov 17, 2015 7:58:39 GMT -8
It is so disheartening to see so many trip reports that people spent time on posted and no replies whatsoever
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 8:08:27 GMT -8
I would not put a point system anywhere near the category of "improvements." I think it is a horrible, clueless idea. Travis, you present many interesting and fun post, but this isn't one of them. It comes off as a bit mean. I don't agree with a point system either, but the putting forth an idea doesn't deserve a reply verging on name calling. That is the behavior that drives people away. Rise above it, or just flame me. No, I'm not going to flame you. Maybe it does sound a bit mean. I think it is blunt. I just find it odd that DaveSenesac has introduced 3 recent threads on virtually the same topic: forum participation. None of them is really backpacking related. Then he excuses himself from providing the very thing he says this forum lacks: backpacking-related threads, which, as I have shown, constitute over half the threads on the first page of the Trailhead Register. Having a good memory of the forum fiasco that plagued us for a year in the previous version of the forums, I think it may be time for us all to rise above it and quit complaining about the forums. The forums are not the problem. Part of the problem is people who complain about lack of content and then claim they are too busy to help provide it. The OP asked for suggestions. I provided an important suggestion: It's potluck, bring your own and share.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 8:27:52 GMT -8
It is so disheartening to see so many trip reports that people spent time on posted and no replies whatsoever Yes, it is kinda. But I approach trip reports in the same way I approach short stories. As a writer, it is my responsibility to capture my audience's attention. I'm competing for other people's time. That means I have to use that time wisely. If I want readers, I have to be concise and to the point of grabbing their interest. I can't rely on the readers to do the work. I have to do the work for them. Writers have competing interests. They want to describe the details of the trip that bring back memories for them years later. But if they pack the trip report with too much of those details, they may lose focus on what makes the story interesting to the reader. For some of us, it isn't all those minute details. The literary marketplace is full of competition. Like it or not, writers have to concentrate on capturing audiences with the provocative and compelling parts of the story. Maybe they have to allude to that throughout the story. The work for the writer is not just in posting many photos and recalling all the details. The work is also in figuring out what opening lines or photos get to your readers, what foreshadowing of events will keep them reading, and how you resolve the plot and mystery you create with the first few lines. Performers and writers may just have to understand their audience to succeed. That's nothing new in the literary world. Shakespeare had the same problem.
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markskor
Trail Wise!
Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
Posts: 651
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Post by markskor on Nov 17, 2015 9:18:23 GMT -8
Travis writes, " Like it or not, writers have to concentrate on capturing audiences with the provocative and compelling parts of the story."
Have to agree...merely writing down a narrative - I did this, I then did that, I camped here, I saw, I felt, I knew... I, I, I...and then posting a gazillion similar photos is not the way to capture any audience's attention. After a few paragraphs of reading such egoist blather...gets boring fast. Perhaps, consider not using the "I" word ad nauseum in the Trail Reports, and instead, relating a better tale, written in the third person, making the story more about the trail and less about the author. After all, this is a backpacking forum, not a self-gratuitous showcase about you.
Go back and read your story again before posting...Is it primarily about you, or the wilderness? The mountain is the story, and should always be the story - the trail is complex and chock full of interesting twists, not about the I. Just my high school teacher's 2¢
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 17, 2015 10:11:00 GMT -8
To answer Travis N Wood I first need to quote Texasbb:
"I agree wholeheartedly with those who mentioned this forum's sparsity of actual hiking-related/informational post. . . . this forum has always been dominated by mindless banter."
Travis needs to oops include Texasbb in his criticism (and he does later in the thread). Maybe we should study how often Travis N Wood participates in the "mindless banter" posts?? I know he seems to enjoy The Two Word Thread. And of course he's free to participate in any thread he wants, even on a Backpacking Forum which rarely mentions backpacking.
Things is, the more this Forum is dominated by "mindless banter", the less visiting backpackers and hikers will want to participate.
Let's do a "Recently Updated Posts" survey for today November 17 at 1pm and see what comes up:
Muslims in America Hiking post Muslims Hiking Forum participation thread (this thread on "banter") Praying mantis Eagles The two word thread France Forum participation France Two word Two word Forum part. Forum part. Lake City Colorado area Trip report Forum part. Mantis Forum part. Mantis France France Two word thread Two word Two word Forum part. Hiking Hiking Los Padres Forum part. Gear Two word France Backpacking experience Democrats Two word France Paris killers Forum part.
You get the idea.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 10:31:27 GMT -8
Travis needs to oops include Texasbb in his criticism. Scroll up this page to the third post from top, and you'll see that I already did that. Maybe we should study how often Travis N Wood participates in the "mindless banter" posts?? I know he seems to enjoy The Two Word Thread. How do you know that that thread is "mindless banter"? And of course he's free to participate in any thread he wants, even on a Backpacking Forum which rarely mentions backpacking. As I have shown, half the threads on the first page of the Trailhead Register were backpacking related and you chose to participate in none of them. If there is someone here who "rarely mentions" backpacking, that could be you. Oh, and if the Two-Word thread is too short for you, did you read my post here? or here? There is far more backpacking information in merely those two posts than you can find "mindless banter" I've engaged in throughout the entire two-word thread or others. Where were you when there was work to be done helping new members with backpacking information? I was here and I contributed. As with the great majority of other backpacking threads, you did not.
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