My reply for Skeptic Overview 10, why posts are declining.

I can't really voice my opinion as to why posts are declining seeing as how I've only been able to drop in every so often on ATS due to time constraints caused by real life. I usually post frequently when I am not busy with school, sports, and family. It's usually this time of year that I become a lurker and not a poster. Perhaps the reason for declining posts is that, real life getting in the way? Either way... I hope to rejoin you people here at ATS within the next month or two... but if worse comes to worse... I may not post again until January or so. I have finished my Nanotech paper I promised to post for some members, but I will not be able to post it until I find more time. Anyway, I hope nothing's going on with ATS and that it stays just how it has always been!

The real reason?

With every online forum you tend to get a trend, you get groups of people joining who will post for a few months and then leave. You also get the long term posters.

Due to the new membership policy, many of the first group will be denied membership so you will get less of the people joining to fill the gaps of members who leave. This results in less posts in the long run, however it should result in a high quality of posting as [in theory] less of the racists, bigots, et al should get through to post on the forum and only those who the "powers that be" seeing as "fit" to "deny ignorance" are able to join. :-)

It is that simple in my opinion.

Between the cracking good threads started by Lanotom, regards Prophet yahweh and the FEMA camp story by Valhalla, the bar for newcomers is very high.

I am coming up to my 1st year anniversary in ATS and even in the short space of 1 year it has changed beyond recognition. Not only are we providing a new type of collaborative news portal, ATSNN, we have really taken the podcast ball and ran with it.

That is intimidating, even for the boldest of us newcomers. I don't see the high standards as a barrier but as a challenge. I got my first ATSNN submission accepted today, I am so chuffed and happy. Despite having fluffed it afterwards by some post-submission editing (doh) I still want to keep going.

Newbies, I say to you this. Every member who has ever posted on ATS has been shot down at some stage. Some learn from it. Some don't. Don't be disheartened, just keep trying. I hear a lot of complaints about threads dying. Something that is interesting to you, may not neccesarily be interesting to everyone. Case in point is the recent FEMA camp discussion. It was interesting to ALL of us, so it was popular. Try thinking about that.

Since I have been here there have been at least two other dry spells like this one. Then a Prophet or a juicy story pops up and the whole thing goes off again like a bat out of hell. Wait until the TV show hots the air and then we will all be lamenting the quiet days before the storm!!!

But are the "standards" up because the post number are down?

Prior to this, you might have got 1 good post for every 10, however now we will get 1 good post for every 5.

On the surface, it looks good. However, if we are to Deny Ignorance we need to help the truth come through by removing peoples ability to post those other 5 remarks/questions, they will stay ignorant and to me that one worthwhile post doesn't get to be seen by as many people as it could have been.

I myself would rather have as many members as possible, so we can actively engage all of them. Help them all learn the "truth" rather than it becoming a select few.

Stay tuned for a special edition Skeptic Overview podcast tonight that has some perspective on this issue, and two new ATS initiatives.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
Stay tuned for a special edition Skeptic Overview podcast tonight that has some perspective on this issue, and two new ATS initiatives.

Free pie?

I look forward to it in the morning.

Originally posted by Odium
But are the "standards" up because the post number are down?

No, I don't think so. The "standards" I refer to are the quality and content of the posts. Rather then posting fluff, a lot more work is going into posts in general. By "standards" I wasn't trying to suggest we were becoming elitist which you seem to be implying, more that we were becoming more aware as a community as to the "standards" required to produce a post which will be easy to read, interesting and generate a large number of views and replies.

Prior to this, you might have got 1 good post for every 10, however now we will get 1 good post for every 5.

If those 5 posts lost are just bitching and partisan bickering then no real loss. I think I know where you are coming from though. If more people are posting, then more people are engaged in the discussion. This is of course the ideal situation. A person who has a small nugget of valuble information may be too intimidated or just can't be bothered to post because it seems like too much work.

I don't know if it is one of the initiatives that SO will be suggesting in his Podcast later on, but if the ATS Writers wanted to help out by suggesting ways to write and post, like an "Idiot's Guide to Posting", or something then maybe people would gain a bit more confidence to try? At least they would also be learning a valuble new skill. Plus being obliged to submit work would show everyone how easy it is to post and get them a small ring of fellow posters in their class to bounce ideas off.

howmuchisthedoggy, you said you’ve been a member of the board for about a year now. I’m not sure how often you post, but in that year you have accumulated a total of 7,160 points (at the time of this posting). That’s a respectable number (twice as much as I have, and I’ve been a member a bit longer than yourself), and I’ll bet you put in a considerable amount of time and effort to build up those points.

Personally, I don’t pay much attention to my own point total. At first I did, when I was a more active contributor, but eventually gave up when I realized I was going nowhere fast. For whatever the reasons, I just wasn’t getting anywhere point-wise. I noticed a few others, however, who’s points seemed to skyrocket, and I wondered what they could possibly be doing to earn points so fast. Finally, I just threw in the towel. Now I’m mostly a lurker and contribute a lot less, but I’m more selective when I do.

A couple privileges that points will allow are a) the ability to purchase items from the store and b) the ability to visit areas on the board that are restricted viewing. To gain the right to those privileges, I can understand why points are of value to many members.

Now back to your 7,160 points, howmuchisthedoggy. There are members here who have in excess of 200,000 points. While I know these folks have been members for quite awhile, they are frequent contributors and they add value and quality to this board (my hat is off to them - I often enjoy their posts!), still 200,000+ points is an awful lot. At the current rate you are accumulating points, howmuchisthedoggy, you will become a member of the 200K Club in another 26.93 years. Good luck …

Please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I’m just curious to know the secret of gaining such great wealth. I may be a poor boy (point-wise), but I still love this board and plan to stick around awhile …


[edit on 10/25/2005 by netbound]

Skeptic Overview #11 is a special edition covering these issues and comments:

Podcast MP3 file:
www.podtrac.com...

Feed:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Comments thread:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I tend to come and go from ATS at times, simply because life gets to busy to spend the time to read through and compose posts on some of the more interesting topics. Lately I have noticed that there just are not many topics that catch my eye. Most are ones that we have heard over and over before (what’s the best fighter, bomber, gun, tank, etc…), a lot are hoaxes that seem to resurface about once every other month, especially in the Cryptozology threads (Is this catfish real, what about this giant jellyfish picture, this obviously plastic statue of a Cupacobra, etc…).

The few threads that are of interest right now, tonight on this board, are mostly over 30 pages long already. We all know what it is like to try and come into a topic that is that far along, yet try and sound intelligent, without starting at page one and spending a few hours reading it first, which when your already busy is a task. Then to make matters worse I think that some are more afraid to post debating things for fear of being labeled a troll, since the rules on that supposedly have been made sticker. To be honest this is the first site I have ever been on and the line between debate and trolling to me is still a gray area, even now over a year later. It almost seems to me that a troll is simply someone of the dissenting opinion of the person who is calling them a troll to begin with, and very much a matter of opinion and perspective.

Beyond that I believe there just has not been as much to report on as of late that anyone cares that deeply about. It seems like a lot of people are just waiting on the next disaster, and we have all gotten so used to one disaster after the next, that a lull like this seems weird and too quiet. If you think about back pre 2000, how many threads and how long would the tsunami have been a hot topic of debate here; a year, perhaps longer? I think that people are in that mode where they are waiting for the other shoe to drop and the next major event. They have gotten used to the threads on one disaster not getting past page 10 till the next one happened, and now that we are in a lull it seems like these other topics seem trivial by comparison, so there is not much interest in posting to them.
Then again that is just my opinion…

They are on the upswing now...I'm baaack...My computer is installed in my new apartment, so here we go.

Originally posted by netbound
howmuchisthedoggy, you said you’ve been a member of the board for about a year now. I’m not sure how often you post, but in that year you have accumulated a total of 7,160 points

I don't post as often as I used to. As SO said in his podcast, the initial excitement has worn off and I only tend to chip in when a thread interests me.

Personally, I don’t pay much attention to my own point total.

Neither do I. The only rush I made to get my post count up was so I could enter the chat room. Apart from changing my avatar colors, etc, which I have only done a couple of times and now couldn't be bothered, I have no use for the points.

I noticed a few others, however, who’s points seemed to skyrocket, and I wondered what they could possibly be doing to earn points so fast.

Now back to your 7,160 points, howmuchisthedoggy. There are members here who have in excess of 200,000 points. While I know these folks have been members for quite awhile, they are frequent contributors and they add value and quality to this board (my hat is off to them - I often enjoy their posts!), still 200,000+ points is an awful lot.

I have tried to work it out as well and I have no idead how many posts you would need to get up there. I know it would probably take 3 or 4 years of posting 10 times a day to get anywhere near.

My own case, I was involved in some high point earning activities. You may have noticed my "Fighter" status. The debates are a great source of points, but an even greater source of fun!! I also have gotten applause from time to time, and it does build up eventually.

At the current rate you are accumulating points, howmuchisthedoggy, you will become a member of the 200K Club in another 26.93 years. Good luck …

I'd rather be known for good posts then blathering on and posting on as many one-liners as I could. High points means nothing. Those in the 6 figure range often bemoan they have nothing to do with their points.

Hi, my name is spam and I'm a forum addict (hi spam)...

I post on several forums, and I have noticed a decline in posts across the board. This is not ATS specific.

I don't know what's causing it...mid terms maybe?

However....

It has been my observation that forums that are more adversarial tend to garner greater attention. I have also noticed my own disinterest in forums where critical thought is not valued, and... sorry to say, but...the quality of posts seems to have diminished since I joined this forum.

It's a conspiracy of the credulous!

There are some forum bugs that might be driving people off. I occasionally see users as the last poster in a thread I subscribe to, who are not on my ignore list, but no matter what I do I can not see what they posted. Maybe I'm on their ignore list? If so, I don't see why I should be prohibited from seeing their posts, and those on my ignore list seem to see my posts just fine.

Yes, I should report such a bug, but I'm lazy as hell and it isn't immediately obvious how to report it.

One other thing, the pop-ups and flash ads impacted my own post frequency until I learned my way around them. Adds to not have to destroy the ability to use the forum to be effective.

Get out there and post.
Do some research and put up the links.
Make your opinion known by backing it up with facts.

I get a lot out of ATS and I make an effort to contribute back to the community.
I think these boards would do better with people that spend more time trying to reason with each other and put a stop to the name calling.

I know the diversity of the community adds fuel to the fire, but I think ATS should be a place that members can expess beliefs and opinions that may be controversial, but be able to debate those subjects without personal attacks.

I would be interested in seeing stats for ATS,BTS,PTS and ATSNN, and see if more members have gravitated to BTS in the last few months due to the heavy hand that has been laid on ATS.

Originally posted by resistance
Odium -- Well, then why don't you just read Zipdot's last response to me on the Creation thread?

Huh, what?

**Goes back to sleep**

**Snoooore**

Zip

Posts are declining because I'm not here 24/7 like I normally should be.

seriously though, I think this is just a cycle of things, life, hurricanes, school, work all happens and takes away free time from many of us. Some days we're busy, some days we're not. I think this is just a temporary lull as we all try to enjoy the last few warm days before the cold sets in.

As for us Florida members, many of us are without power and internet access due to Wilma, once things are restored, I think we'll see an increase of posts again.

and I for one don't believe this has anything to do with points.