Suggestion regarding Intro's and Welcoming

[OldTimer]

Here’s a new suggestion to hopefully promote members to post, and to feel more welcome & comfortable at OSF.

At date of my typing this OSF has 897 members – yet only 191 “introductions “exist in the welcome category.

Perhaps each member should be required to post an acceptable introduction prior to being granted the permission to view/download pictures and attachments………. Or make any other posts.

An “acceptable” introduction need not be much - just three or four sentences letting your fellow members know how long you’ve been fishing, generally where you hail from, and what species and styles of fishing are your favourites.

Furthermore – I suggest – that the introduction will gain acceptance after either approval of the moderator, or upon reciprocal welcomes from 5 different existing contributing OSF members.

Not a bad idea perhaps.

Plus ………… it sure will cut down on the "16+ posts in one night or so" zoomers.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[Giuga10]

Great idea! I'm all for it!

[zippyFX]

Sounds good to me as well!

[snakestar]

I am new to the group and will follow whatever rules are agreed/decided. Regardless of the decision it's best to move forward and focus on what really counts...Fishing... cheers all, looking forward to contributing.

[OldTimer]

(12-16-2013 04:54 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Here’s a new suggestion to hopefully promote members to post, and to feel more welcome & comfortable at OSF.

At date of my typing this OSF has 897 members – yet only 191 “introductions “exist in the welcome category.

Perhaps each member should be required to post an acceptable introduction prior to being granted the permission to view/download pictures and attachments………. Or make any other posts.

An “acceptable” introduction need not be much - just three or four sentences letting your fellow members know how long you’ve been fishing, generally where you hail from, and what species and styles of fishing are your favourites.

Furthermore – I suggest – that the introduction will gain acceptance after either approval of the moderator, or upon reciprocal welcomes from 5 different existing contributing OSF members.

Not a bad idea perhaps.

Plus ………… it sure will cut down on the "16+ posts in one night or so" zoomers.

Cheers,

OldTimer

BUMP

Would get rid of the recent unapproved advertising spam as well.

OT

[MuskieBait]

Yeah, but you'll now get the "intro" zoomer...one intro, then dwell in the lurker category...

Intros are worst really...one intro, a few BS sentences...and then they have unlimited access without the requirement of any future input. It still doesn't solve the issue.

What is contributed to the forum if you know member XYZ likes to fish for species ABC, they've fished for N years and their so-and-so relative/friend/neighbour/whatever taught them to fish...and that's all they will ever share before "lurking" in the background? It really adds nothing to the forum in terms of discussing techniques, species knowledge, fishing locations or timely fishing reports. It gives a neat historical account of the member...but that's all. One short story may be all that you'll get.

I know...because sometimes I'm digging for into and I'll come upon a report I really, really want to read...so I register for the forum, write a little intro, read the necessary report, and then I may disappear forever. Often times, these forums are catered to fishing in a particular country somewhere in another part of the world...one that I won't have any worthy contributions to share...

However, there are many "lurkers" that will simply sign up and read reports, techniques and locations but will hardly if ever contribute back to the forum...such is the natural law of these forums...

Like I've said to MA before...on any given forums, if you get 5% of the members to post on a regular basis, you're doing well.

As it is, 16 posts still doesn't work. Once a member reached 16 posts, they can go on the "lurk"...as we've seen many times already.

I still believe that an algorithm that can track contributions is the best way to maintain an active forum...a member must contribute X number of posts within N number of days in order to maintain membership...otherwise, their access to the forum material is suspended until they have something to contribute again. Once a new contribution is made, their account is active again for X number of days again.

[OldTimer]

(05-14-2015 12:36 AM)MuskieBait Wrote:  Yeah, but you'll now get the "intro" zoomer...one intro, then dwell in the lurker category...

Intros are worst really...one intro, a few BS sentences...and then they have unlimited access without the requirement of any future input. It still doesn't solve the issue.

What is contributed to the forum if you know member XYZ likes to fish for species ABC, they've fished for N years and their so-and-so relative/friend/neighbour/whatever taught them to fish...and that's all they will ever share before "lurking" in the background? It really adds nothing to the forum in terms of discussing techniques, species knowledge, fishing locations or timely fishing reports. It gives a neat historical account of the member...but that's all. One short story may be all that you'll get.

I know...because sometimes I'm digging for into and I'll come upon a report I really, really want to read...so I register for the forum, write a little intro, read the necessary report, and then I may disappear forever. Often times, these forums are catered to fishing in a particular country somewhere in another part of the world...one that I won't have any worthy contributions to share...

However, there are many "lurkers" that will simply sign up and read reports, techniques and locations but will hardly if ever contribute back to the forum...such is the natural law of these forums...

Like I've said to MA before...on any given forums, if you get 5% of the members to post on a regular basis, you're doing well.

As it is, 16 posts still doesn't work. Once a member reached 16 posts, they can go on the "lurk"...as we've seen many times already.

I still believe that an algorithm that can track contributions is the best way to maintain an active forum...a member must contribute X number of posts within N number of days in order to maintain membership...otherwise, their access to the forum material is suspended until they have something to contribute again. Once a new contribution is made, their account is active again for X number of days again.

Such a system may have flaws too - and perhaps generate a plethora of useless "re-upping" posts...?

And Like I've said before - many citizen's of this country, who are great people, smart, and of value, - may not have the language or writing skills, be physically challenged , or feel very uncomfortable making a lot of posts. - Do we punish them - I really hope not as I hope to share with good folk (which my silly head believes are the silent majority in this world) .

It is a complex puzzle, perhaps with no ideal solution but one filled with compromises.

My point is this - whats cookin aint workin - try another recipe - maybe it'll taste better............... who knows?

"Take a chance!"........... John Pinette 1964-2014

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

Well, the idea is to have an active forum. If most of the members are silent and not chiming in, how active is it? If most are silent and not participating, then what kind of community is it?

If the "good folk" are in the background simply silent, how do you meet these "good folk"? How do you know they are "good folk" if they never interact with you?

My friend Andrea speaks broken English...he types to me in Italian...but we still email each other back and forth...and we still discuss fishing techniques and arrange fishing trips together. Is it really a barrier? If you want to make it happen, you WILL make it happen.

I post on a Hong Kong fishing forum in English while most of the reader there converse in Chinese. We get it done.

The beauty of fishing is that it doesn't matter where you are from, or what language you speak or write. A knot is a knot regardless of language. A nice fish is congratulated just the same in many language. Writing skills or language is only a barrier if you want it to be the barrier.

When I was young, I learned to be computer literate by daily use of fishing forums...I have older friends who learned to use computers, emails and internet because they wanted to participate in fishing forum discussions. If there is a will, there is a way...and the learning comes with it.

[OldTimer]

(05-14-2015 05:24 PM)MuskieBait Wrote:  Well, the idea is to have an active forum. If most of the members are silent and not chiming in, how active is it? If most are silent and not participating, then what kind of community is it?

If the "good folk" are in the background simply silent, how do you meet these "good folk"? How do you know they are "good folk" if they never interact with you?

My friend Andrea speaks broken English...he types to me in Italian...but we still email each other back and forth...and we still discuss fishing techniques and arrange fishing trips together. Is it really a barrier? If you want to make it happen, you WILL make it happen.

I post on a Hong Kong fishing forum in English while most of the reader there converse in Chinese. We get it done.

The beauty of fishing is that it doesn't matter where you are from, or what language you speak or write. A knot is a knot regardless of language. A nice fish is congratulated just the same in many language. Writing skills or language is only a barrier if you want it to be the barrier.

When I was young, I learned to be computer literate by daily use of fishing forums...I have older friends who learned to use computers, emails and internet because they wanted to participate in fishing forum discussions. If there is a will, there is a way...and the learning comes with it.

We must not see things only in our perspective, based on our abilities, our drive, and our desires - things widely vary in the eye of other beholders.

.......... it's not about promoting I, it's about nurturing we.

Dig?

but then again............. opinions vary.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

At the moment, it's just "I".

eg. "I" will register onto the forum, write an intro so "I" can read reports, and "I" am too busy/language poor/computer illiterate/new to fishing...what have you...to contribute...at the moment.

Let's change it to "we"...let's be active on the forum so "we" can talk fishing and "we" can share what "we" know. If we are promoting "we", then "we" must get involved. You can't build a community with a bunch of people who only care about their own needs, with "I" being their objective. You need people who care about the need of everyone in that community and people are willing to contribute.

This is my whole point all along... Dig?

All the excuses are BS IMO.

1) If you can find this particular forum among millions of websites online, you're computer literate enough. You know how to do a Google search or you know how to type in a web address. Heck, you even manage to get as far as typing a nickname into a textbox, creating your own password, clicking a checkbox, clicking a few buttons, and even received and replied an email to get your account activated. You are well beyond computer literate. You can't simply type up a report now and click the submit button?

2) If you can read these report and make sense of it or if you are asking for spots to fish, and go as far as naming the species you are after, plus stating the lures you like to use, you don't have a language barrier at all. If you can write a 3-4 sentence intro on your favourite fish to catch, when you started to fish, and your favourite technique, you don't have problem with written English. And now you can't write a paragraph to share with others about your weekend fishing trip?

3) if you are too busy, you won't even have spare time to waste on the internet forum. If you have time to browse through all these forums everyday to see where the latest bite is happening, or if you have time to search for a fishing lodge, or if you have time to read about this and that lure or technique, you have time. People, like many friends of mine, who don't have time don't even go on fishing forums...heck, they don't even have time to fish. So now that you have spent all that time online, you don't have 5 minute to reply someone's question or write a report?

I was in those situations list above at one point of my life or another...I know these are all simple excuses. I've walked many miles in those shoes...been there, done that...how's that for perspective?