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I second this motion!
Hi Guys,
I have never worried much about lurkers for two reasons. What we post here is open on the internet so in that sense I am always aware that anyone is free to read and that there is a large unseen audience. Which I'm glad of for two reasons, one being that due to the sensitive nature of a lot of what we discuss, I think it's good that people can lurk for awhile and get a feel for the place and how safe it feel for them before posting. The second is that, even for people who never, or rarely post, it is my hope that reading about other people's experiences will help them in their journey even if we never know about it. I know that most people lurk for awhile before posting and starting to join in. I know I did.
All that said, I do believe that the more people who are posting, the stronger the community is. And as you pointed out DF, it can be pretty daunting to post for the first time. I like the idea of a dedicated area, partially because the forum has grown so big that it can be easy for posts to get lost. There's nothing worse than putting up a first post and having no one respond or welcome you. Which very rarely happens here, but it would be good if there was a place where people knew to check periodically for new members. I also agree that an introduction thread takes the pressure off so to speak. That you can take that posting plunge without having to create a whole new thread.
I have several ideas for a solution. One would be your suggestion DF, which would be to open up the New Members section for posting, but I would have to clear that with Shrinklady first. There are two other possibilities, which would be to create a new forum just for introductions. I like this because of the visibility of it being a separate area, but the drawback is that the forum has recently expanded alot and I am worried about adding yet another forum at this time.
The other would be to start an introduction thread in this forum (Coffee talk) but make it sticky so it always appears at the top of this forum.
Can people chime in and give their thoughts? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to say on OF. And if anyone has another suggestion, that would be good too.
DF, amazing smilies.
AG
I have never worried much about lurkers for two reasons. What we post here is open on the internet so in that sense I am always aware that anyone is free to read and that there is a large unseen audience. Which I'm glad of for two reasons, one being that due to the sensitive nature of a lot of what we discuss, I think it's good that people can lurk for awhile and get a feel for the place and how safe it feel for them before posting. The second is that, even for people who never, or rarely post, it is my hope that reading about other people's experiences will help them in their journey even if we never know about it. I know that most people lurk for awhile before posting and starting to join in. I know I did.
All that said, I do believe that the more people who are posting, the stronger the community is. And as you pointed out DF, it can be pretty daunting to post for the first time. I like the idea of a dedicated area, partially because the forum has grown so big that it can be easy for posts to get lost. There's nothing worse than putting up a first post and having no one respond or welcome you. Which very rarely happens here, but it would be good if there was a place where people knew to check periodically for new members. I also agree that an introduction thread takes the pressure off so to speak. That you can take that posting plunge without having to create a whole new thread.
I have several ideas for a solution. One would be your suggestion DF, which would be to open up the New Members section for posting, but I would have to clear that with Shrinklady first. There are two other possibilities, which would be to create a new forum just for introductions. I like this because of the visibility of it being a separate area, but the drawback is that the forum has recently expanded alot and I am worried about adding yet another forum at this time.
The other would be to start an introduction thread in this forum (Coffee talk) but make it sticky so it always appears at the top of this forum.
Can people chime in and give their thoughts? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to say on OF. And if anyone has another suggestion, that would be good too.
DF, amazing smilies.
AG
DF,
Didn't think you had a problem with lurkers at all nor did I think you alienated anyone. Your whole post came across to me that you wanted to make it easier for people to speak up and you'd love to have them join in. I thought it was really welcoming.I apologize if my response gave you any other impression. I really did think this was a good idea and very thoughtful of you (and NO rudeness!)
Didn't think you had a problem with lurkers at all nor did I think you alienated anyone. Your whole post came across to me that you wanted to make it easier for people to speak up and you'd love to have them join in. I thought it was really welcoming.I apologize if my response gave you any other impression. I really did think this was a good idea and very thoughtful of you (and NO rudeness!)
DF (and AG) I think having a "sticky" in the Coffee Talk forum would be an ideal place for people to introduce themselves and take that first step in posting to the forum.
DF... thank you for addressing this topic. I have often thought of this idea and just never brought it up. Even with those that have been posting for a bit, I can get confused and forget their personal story and it would be great to have a place to go back and check.
So that's my 2 cents!
Oh and DF... I LOVE that gathering hug smilie. So cute.
TN
DF... thank you for addressing this topic. I have often thought of this idea and just never brought it up. Even with those that have been posting for a bit, I can get confused and forget their personal story and it would be great to have a place to go back and check.
So that's my 2 cents!
Oh and DF... I LOVE that gathering hug smilie. So cute.
TN
I also like the cool smilies... I find your proliferation of smilies in above post...endearing. I like the idea of an introduction area, it's a good one.