Thread: Lots of silent members on here.

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I just had a PM from a member who has done some threads and he was questioning why so few people respond to things he posts, and that other folks post. He noticed that a lot of people looked at his thread, but only a handful had anything to say. It left him feeling like it might not be worthwhile to do them or that they weren't appreciated.

I've been on this forum for a few years now, as well as some other forums, and as most of you know, if I bolt something on my car, I'm doing a thread. Sometimes I get some response, sometimes I don't. It happens on every forum, a few people seem to be vocal and the majority look but don't post.

No one is asking for everyone to jump on and be cheerleaders when someone does a thread, but it sure would be nice to hear from some of you who look but do not post often. It takes a fair amount of work to take pictures then type up what we have done, and most of us do it because we like to share our work with our friends, and maybe pass along something to those who might benefit. I learn so much when another member takes the time to do a thread, and I can't tell you how much I have learned over the years from people who really know their stuff and are willing to share.

This subject has come up on every forum I am on..........how do we get the silent majority more involved? All that I can say is that this forum is for all of us, and it would be very nice and beneficial for some of you who don't post much to every so often welcome a new member or just say you appreciate something another member has posted.

Do any of you other thread starters feel this way too?

Don

Well written Don and sadly I have to agree with your thoughts. As you know I'm a newbie on here but I have found this one of the most friendliness sites to be part off. Sadly like most sport clubs or car clubs or any sort of club there is always the same minority that are prepared to put the effort into making the club a successful club.
On another thread on here there were a number complaining about the cut of year of cars at national events etc. and whether those people would still be prepared to go to those events. I answered that with "it is what one is prepared to put into an event as what one got out of that event that made something a success". I believe that is true with this site also and I personally try to follow any thread that interests me but sometimes I have neither the knowledge or understanding to reply to a thread.
On a light note I for the life of me I can't get that three word thread..

Whiplash had a good point about clubs. Many years ago I belonged to a local club with over 200 members. The "core group" of people, who would make a personal effort to organize events, or take on the responisbility of being an active "worker bee", was small. ...about 10%, in that case. The others would attend events, but generally were not motivated enough to help. ...only to participate when it looked like fun. I suppose that is true of most social organizations. I put on about two events every year, a picnic and volleyball game with another local car club, a go cart race with beer bust/trophy presentation afterward, and helped with the annual ISCA car show display.

That is the exact reason I don't join small chat groups. It is hard to chat daily, when only a very, very small pecentage of any group will respond. If the group doesn't have a membership in the thousands, it can go days with very little activity. I soon lose interest in those groups, because an even smaller percentage will happen to be interested in the particular subjects what you want to discuss.

This group has a couple advantages for me. It is pretty large. It includes those types of cars and related subjects that I enjoy. My interests are quite varied, and I like almost any type of hot rod... muscle car... drag car... or even the odd stuff that can only be included by a very vague or broad interpretation of the term, "hot rod".

Most importantly, it is a respectful crowd, that does not try to force it's collective opinions on those who don't care for a particular style, or social outlook.

I have enjoyed my time here a lot. It is the first site I go to every morning. Thanks to the organizers! ...my brothers! :-)

When I see someone doing nice work I like to tell the person how nice I think it is. As far as posting I mostly stay in the Lounge for I’m not building anything to show. I spend more time on my wife’s car trying to keep it running then actually doing something to my cars. I just took a break from cleaning the 50 Ford for a show this Saturday and even though it’s a small show I’m getting excited. Not to go commercial but if I could say something about a vinyl top cleaner and dressing I would say a product that starts with an M is very good. I was checking the net to see what was the best and I took the new counter guy’s word for the product.

So until I’m able to start building I’ll keep posting in the Lounge and commenting on other peoples cars and trucks that are being built.

I check the site first thing in the morning and usually before going to bed. It is a good place to share the good and sometimes not so good things that are going on. When the site was down the other day I kept checking to see when it was coming back on. It's a good place to hang out!!!

Richard

For me, I'm just not that good of a writer. It seem to flow out, like a fountain from some of you. There are times when I wish I could come up with something that doesn't sound stupid. So I just read the post and don't say anything.
When I'm posting for my build it's easy, because I'm explaining.
I do appreciate everyone that does post up there builds, I know how time consuming it is.
Ken

all of us are entertaining each other to some degree and those who wish to look and not participate are more than welcome to do so

Hmmmmm...................of the four forums I check in on this is now the third one with this type of post/concern/observation/complaint, whatever, recently. On one the owners announced they were evaluating killing the site for lack of interest (not the issue here obviously). On another it was mainly a complaint that others didn't "appreciate" the amount of effort that went into posting up the info (might have been a personal pieve).

Perhaps it's the time of year..........maybe it's that there are lots of options now and people are evaluating where and how much time to "invest" in the internet. Maybe something else. However it's perceived, Pops is right that we get out what we put in.

I've told the story before, probably more than once. When this place first started a few of us made it a point to create subjects to talk about that we hoped would spark interest and participation. Once momentum developed we backed off and watched the site choose it's own way with only slight nudging to try to maintain the civility Jay mentioned. By and large it's worked pretty well. That's not to say I wouldn't like to see even more participation. Some threads invite more commentary, some don't seem to be able to that. I don't believe any one poster (at least within the population we currently have) is being selected against for ignoring. It's just a matter of content. It could be (summer having more distractions)that the person who might contribute something of value just isn't around right now.

For those concerned I'd suggest not giving up easily. A couple of thoughts: reread your entry with the perspective you might think someone else would have. If you're asking a question, you obviously know what you mean, but once it's written did it come out as clear as it was in your mind? Maybe rewording it in a different way would trigger a response more to your liking.

Don't be bashful about what you've done. You may think what you've done is trivial, but I'd guarantee you there's someone out there that hasn't seen it before. If you're posting up pictures, PLEASE, shrink them to a size that fits the screen without having to scan across. A lot of folks won't take a second look, much less comment, if they have to monkey around to see a picture. If you don't know how to adjust the size, ask, odds are you already have software on your computer and it's really not that tough.........lots of us are pretty techo illiterate, but have mastered it.

Lastly, don't be intimidated by the post count of those post count whores that are over 10,000 posts.

Originally Posted by Whiplash23T

I for the life of me I can't get that three word thread..

Can't get what...........................

Geez, I actually agree with some things Bob said there. (Except for that last line)

The point I was trying to make was that if you post some stuff and don't get a bunch of people posting back, don't think we all weren't interested and grateful you did it. It might just mean we didn't have anything meaningful to add or we felt we had already posted too many times already that day.

Don

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Lastly, don't be intimidated by the post count of those post count whores that are over 10,000 posts.

Hey i try.... i am not a whore yet ?

I usually go to a handfull of forums each day, and like Jay this is the first one I hit when I fire up the computer, The place always kind of feels like home to me.

I don't post as much as I have in the past, and I think in partthat has to do with not having as much time before I go to work and in a lot of cases the information I might add to a topic has already been covered by someone else during the day.

I'v just been busy lately. I do visit this site every day, but don't really have time to stick around.. especially now with 2 projects and a daily driver to- be that needs some work

I believe my post count and my join date are all I need to add to this conversation... If I see someone post something and it gets answered correctly I stay out. If I know, and you dont I'll post it. But I dont read a lot of threads. I usually cruise thru, then hop over to an offroad forum.

Originally Posted by Ken Thurm

For me, I'm just not that good of a writer. It seem to flow out, like a fountain from some of you. There are times when I wish I could come up with something that doesn't sound stupid. So I just read the post and don't say anything.
When I'm posting for my build it's easy, because I'm explaining.
I do appreciate everyone that does post up there builds, I know how time consuming it is.
Ken

Ken, looks to me like your writing is just fine! And if you run out of things to write, all you gotta do is post pics of the amazing work you do and that will keep us all entertained for hours!!

As for me, I usually check in here several times a day. I'm part of an on-going thread that started with some questions about my 37 Ford build and has turned into a core group of guys reporting & commenting on their respective projects. Several others view it and comment now & then, too. It's pretty fun and I've learned tons from all you guys whether I've told you so or not! So thanks.


Randy

Tis subject comes up on all forums and is normal in any large group. 10% of the people do 90% of the work/posting. For me it's a time factor. I have work all day mon to fri. I don't usually have time to post or a bunch of other people have already replied. How many attaboys does anyone need after every build post? When I get home it's family time. I usually have work to do in the shop or work on the house etc after that.
The other factor is I find that unless you post on a regular basis you don't get a lot of replies or attaboys, meaning no encouragement for further posting.
Bottom line is priorities, whether it's posting or building a car. Unless you make it a priority to do what you want something else will get done first or nothing will get done. I had that building my 47 Mercury pickup, I put it first and wanted it done. It got done, now I can drive it.
I like seeing what other people are doing and that's why I read this forum. I can read a lot faster than I can type. This post will take me about 30 minutes, so how many posts can do in a day?
This is not slam against any one on the forum, I enjoy most postings. Just had to express my lurking point of view.

Thanks for listening.

Lightspeed Mike