Kinda Sad

[rastarogue]

I was looking at the Main Forum section and I relaized that there are 150 members as of right now. bUt as I post and look at who else has posted I realized that there are propbably 10-15 people who consistently post.
Why won't people post?

[alexthegreater]

Happens in every fithing message board on the Internet. Its just a fact of life.

[rastarogue]

I dunno, I kinda felt that maybe because we are such an random bunch maybe we would not suffer from from the post once and forget syndrome... (sighs)

[Aspen d'Grey]

Heh, well, a lot of people create accounts becasue they think they -might- post... And then they dont. Others post once, which, as far as I'm concerned, is a Good Thing (TM) because it shows that they participate, even a bit. Once they've got that foot in the door they're likely to continue to post when they see a need. Other people get to the point where they check a forums every spare minute and everytime they come within range of a wifi hotspot... (Hmm, wonder who this is on our forums?). In my experience, they can either become a lynchpin of the forums or burn out after a few months...

I've never been this excited about a forum before, so I can't tell you what will happen here. ^^

[rastarogue]

I'm going to burn out probably within a month, but you never can tell, Tom might just keep me coming back and talking about the latest release.

[Aspen d'Grey]

Content is the bane of the internet, but webcomics are by there very definition the counter to that... So, I personally will probably post less the next time when we have a Doctor Disaster storyline (wasn't really engaged for that) but I'll certainly be posting for this one.

[alexthegreater]

Whatever do you mean by that?

[Aspen d'Grey]

Since I'm not quite sure what you are referring to, a line by line analysis...

Content is the bane of the internet, but webcomics are by their very definition the counter to that...
//In general, to make a site popular, you have to have content, something that someone wants to see. To make it sustainable, you have to update and add more content. A webcomic does this all the time, so you get both popularity and sustainability. This carries over to the forums (Case in point; Megatokyo)

So, I personally will probably post less the next time when we have a Doctor Disaster storyline (wasn't really engaged for that)
//I didn't like this storyline, and if the forums had started then, I wouldn't post as much as I do now.
but I'll certainly be posting for this one.
//If the next chapter is as good as this one, I'll keep posting like this.

[rastarogue]

Yeah, the doctor disaster thing was not a favorite of mine, but if the plot stays this engaging...

[alexthegreater]

Hey I liked doctor disaster.

[rastarogue]

He's cool and all, but I felt it did not advance the plot, and did not reveal anymore depth to anybody's character and was thus unecessary, cool but unecessary.

[mrw]

Actually, that episode did show that Annie could not easily "let go" and enjoy herself. She's walled herself away from other children a bit. Even Kat was starting to get annoyed with her. She had to force a conscious decision to take part, and socially it paid off. (It usually does.)

[Aspen d'Grey]

Good point, and once we got to the end it was a little better, but it kinda tested my love for Annie's character.

[monkeybucks]

I wasn't too hot on the Doctor Disaster storyline either, but I understand that really, I think it was just supposed to be a nice, fun break from the usual drama of GC, and I know a lot of people enjoyed it for that very reason. Besides which, it was probably incredibly fun for Tom to write and draw. I think the reason I didn't like it as much because I was still so in suspense from all the rest of GC! So many questions!

[nyanko]

Does anyone else find it a little odd that a topic questioning low participation on behalf of the members is only being posted in by three people? Oh wait, four with me...

[dork457]

I don't post often but I have the added benefit of being the most important user on this forum.

[missushow]

I thought the Doctor Disaster story was some sort of weird corssover for Holloween...XD

and then I saw that it was serious and I kind of liked it...it was cute.

[Myrani]

Doctor Disaster was a wonderful diversion, even though the story didn't really need any diverting from... I suppose I'm one of those who likes seeing tangents crop up every now and then, and what goes on that might not directly affect the main storyline but nevertheless is a part of the characters' lives.

But anyway, about the initial topic of this thread... I greatly prefer frequenting forums I sign up for, otherwise it's generally pretty useless to register in the first place. It's just the time constraints I have to battle with all the time, unfortunately... I liked it better when I didn't have much of a life. >.>

[iMacThere4iAm]

It really is like this on every forum. I find that around 10% or members post regularly enough to learn their characters, and the others only post occasionally or never. Then there are lurkers, who read but may never even sign up.

Personally, I have difficulty following more than 2 forums at once, and I currently watch 4, so I can't say if I'll stay or not.

[Yin]

Ahem. In my life in forums, I have discovered that there's usually a very vocal minority, a slightly vocal majority, and a mute minority. You guys seem to be the former and the rest seem to be the latter two. *ponders* Maybe it's just the time difference, but I've found that most of the majority *can* become part of the first minority if someone can respond to them fast enough.

[La Poire]

I think a lot of the reason people don't post lies in laziness and fear, most specifically fear of being written off as a newb by the more experienced users, or fear of appearing stupid or whatever. When I read some three-page analysis of a minor Gunnerkrigg character or some awesome fan art I at once think "holyshit am I supposed to do that? Does it make me a bad forumer if I don't?" and my one-line posts – probably containing the word "butt" – seem a bit superfluous. And anyway, although I would like to see more people post, it can't be denied that there are a lot of people who simply feel like they have nothing to say, and the borderline between participating and spamming is often a hair-thin one.

Edit: Ironic that the ones most avidly discussing this are the ones who post most.

[fjodor]

I guess it's a bit like on a birthday party(*), where only a couple people talk and the rest sips beer and smiles silently. So it's only human.

(*you know the dull kind where everyone gathers in a circle and stay there for the rest of the evening. Not familiar with those? Then it's probably just me...)

[Yin]

Point. I hate parties like that; I never know what to say.

[mrw]

lapoire said:

I think a lot of the reason people don't post lies in laziness and fear, most specifically fear of being written off as a newb by the more experienced users, or fear of appearing stupid or whatever. When I read some three-page analysis of a minor Gunnerkrigg character or some awesome fan art I at once think "holyshit am I supposed to do that? Does it make me a bad forumer if I don't?" and my one-line posts – probably containing the word "butt" – seem a bit superfluous. And anyway, although I would like to see more people post, it can't be denied that there are a lot of people who simply feel like they have nothing to say, and the borderline between participating and spamming is often a hair-thin one.

I think you nailed it.

To the lurkers out there:
If you're nervous about posting, I find the easiest way to get started is this: If you see somebody making a point you agree with, say so. Voice your support. And give compliments. You'll be helping make the board a place where people want to participate.

On a philosophical note:
Forums are very much like town-meeting politics in this way: the vast majority may share the same opinions, but most do not say anything. That allows a vocal minority to appear in control, as if they represent the majority, and they further intimidate the majority, even if that is not their intent. It leads to disastrous results, both in the real world and in forums.
So please speak up.

[katana]

Well....I guess that's normal...I have never found forum where all of users were active...

[La Poire]

Well, let's make this the first one! Gunners, unite!

[ffej]

Huzzah! A new member has arrived!

[Aspen d'Grey]

Yay for newcomers posting. ^^

Truly, we're not going to shoot you down or flame you for anything except doing something really, really stupid, like posting links to porn sites. So go ahead, post! The more opinions we have on stuff, the better we can talk about it and come up with theories.

[moony]

I typically lurk about I don't get much chance to actually sit down and post. So, I left I should now... just this once.

[nyanko]

Well, good for you!^_^