Bah, no replies.

S

Sprig

Moderator
Why do threads I created generate an on average significantly lower number of replies?

I am confident that most of my text is well presented in grammer, logic, and argument.

Today I got a brainstorm! While researching the MIB threads I had taken my camera with me. Today, I came up with the idea for a parody of the content in those threads.

Several hours organizing images, resizing them, debugging and uploading HTML, and I get 2 ... a whole TWO replies to over 70 hits. Thats not a very good reply/hit ratio.

Either it was good, or it was terribile, but ... why did so few reply?

BTW, the rubber tire tank in the last photo was manned at Ft. Lewis. As we drove up the guy operating the turrent pointed it towards us. As we left to drive off after taking the picture he again tracked us with the turrent. My kid in the front seat thought it was cool. Brings back memories of me testing IR Mav missles from the front cockpit of an F-4 in the desert at night and locking onto rabbits ....

But why no friggen replies??? Should I have made mention that the MIB don't carry pansy Glocks in 9mm and that they really prefer the 1911 with its superior .45 pre-expanded bullet? Would that have generated at least a few replies?

Sprig
The sad guy who gets no respect ... er replies.
 
You seem to have the same problem as I do. Most threads I post get a response that would best be described as "tepid". OR, sometimes, I'll reply in a topic someone else started, but ask a question of the TFLers, and get NO answer, or my reply is the last one in the topic- EVER. It's like, once I post, everone says "Oh, Oomodo's replied to this topic. It's officially dead". Am I some sort of jinx? :confused:

It is probably due to the topic you posted not being something the various members of TFL have interest in. Also, I read quite a few threads, but try not to engage in "me too" posts, so I only reply if I have something to add. Sometimes I just don't have anything to 'say'. Case in point- your MIB topic. I went to the web site, looked at the story, and left totally confused. I couldn't figure out what in blue blazes the point was.

I don't take lack of interest in my topics personally. I am used to being sort of an outcast among my peers. It comes as no surprise that TFL is no different.

------------------
Pray as though it's all up to God, act as though it's all up to you.

Aim small- miss small...

If it isna Scottish, it's CRAP! RKBA!

[This message has been edited by Jedi Oomodo because he has an irritating tendency to leave out words while he's typing :mad: (edited July 22, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Jedi Oomodo (edited July 22, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Jedi Oomodo (edited July 22, 2000).]
 
I have the same problem but in a different way. I visit about 6-8 boards a day and try to follow along with what is current. I comment or initiate a post when I think I have something to add. Most of the time there are no posts after I post. It is almost like I jinx the thread. MWT
 
Hey, I can fix this!!!

"your MIB topic. I went to the web site, looked at the story, and left totally confused. I couldn't figure out what in blue blazes the point was."

It was a parody of content of two threads on TFL. There was the incorrect assumption on my part that TFL members would have seen the other two threads.

I think if I creatively linked to the TFL threads, or quoted some of the text, it would have provided you with the background to see the parody.

These two links will take you to the orignal threads.
http://www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=37346
http://www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=37483

THANKS!!!
Like I said, good or bad, I would sure like to know. If you came back and said, "I don't get it" I would realize I needed to fix it.

But, its not just this one post. I normally get about 2 or 3 replies to anything I write. I don't mind just reading TFL. But, I am wondering if it is worth mine time to try to contribute. Without a few replies as feedback I have no idea if I hit or miss the mark, or if the topics I've wrote are just not of interest to TFL readers.

Without the feedback I HONESTLY don't know whether its worth my time and the TFL readers time for me to keep posting; perhaps its more effiecent for me to just go back into "lurker mode".

BTW, anyone reading this notice anything about the odometer images and the text acompanying them???

Sprig
 
Why don't you link the threads you are talking about. They sound interesting.


Here is a thought for you: maybe your titles are not catching enough.
Many people like myself browse through the titles quickly and click on the ones that look interesting.
I have not seen your threads, but I did click on this one because the title caught my eye.
I usually try to sum up what my thread is about in the title, but still make it eye catching.
 
Now I get it. Vague "proof" that what the original conspiracy nut said about Ft Lewis is true. Is this typical of conspiracy nuts "proof" of MIB and Area 51?

------------------
Pray as though it's all up to God, act as though it's all up to you.

Aim small- miss small...

If it isna Scottish, it's CRAP! RKBA!
 
I looked at it and thought it was funny, but when I tried to return to TFL my computer locked up. It's new and does that once a week, usually when the cat walks on the keyboard. John
 
Sprig:

I suspect that most posters here are like me…. Someone with very little time. Although I try and respond when I can… I don’t even have the time to read all the threads, let along respond to them. Over the past several months I was busy out collecting signatures for the veto the governor (CA RKBA amendment). I’m now on to our state assembly race. I’m getting very involved in local politics. Helping on others campaigns takes up a lot of my time.

I mostly come here to TFL to get the latest RKAB news. I refuse to get my news source through the liberal main stream press and currently don’t have the time to do a continual search on the net for it. Thus I rely on my friends at TFL to keep me posted with the latest information. One of the contributions I try to make in return is I do monitor the Emerson Case closely and try to keep everyone here posted on the latest updates to the case.

As you may have noticed by the time of my post, it is now 5:30 a.m my time. I usually get up early on Saturday’s & Sunday’s so that I can get caught up on the other threads here. Once 6:30 rolls around the crew (horses, dogs, chickens, cats etc) gets hungry and if I don’t get off my duff and feed them….. well I’d hate to think what would happen to me….




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Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sprig:
Why do threads I created generate an on average significantly lower number of replies?

I am confident that most of my text is well presented in grammer, logic, and argument.

[/quote]

If you want a lot of replies you need to stick to something that is either mainstream for you target audience [TFLers] or something that will irk them enough to provoke a response [try saying something like Glocks make 1911's look like cap guns!] without irking them so much they ignore you.

I have found out, I think, why the 9mm vs 45 BS STILL gets so much coverage in the gun rags. Because readers like it. It is like ford vs chevy no real logic involved so emotions run high at times.

Another way to get response is to ask for information from people in the title/subject [ie "How do you...." or "What should I..."]
 
Sprig, chalk up another TFL'er who feels as you do. I can't even count the number of topics that died after I posted. It can't be my breath, so it must be me. ;)

You _could_ do a post identifying yourself as a foreign national working for the UN, and question why we in the US need to have guns. But then you'd have to quit your day job just to keep up with all the replies.

Don't take it personal.

Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
 
I was gonna post something nice, but then I saw it was just Sprig and Jedi and some of the other nerds...... ;)

Just kiddin'.
 
Common sense, guys.

If you post a question, people read it.
- If they don't know the answer, they usually don't have anything to say. No post. (Obviously there are some exceptions - people who post when they have absolutely nothing to say!)
- If they know the answer, they post the answer and, if answered well, others have nothing to add.

If you post a statement, people read it.
- If they agree, all the "Yeah" and "Right on!" entries add nothing but workload for the staff and bandwidth for the server.
- If they do not agree, others may already have posted or (in the opinion of the reader) they have too little to add, too little time to spend arguing, or don't want to get into a familiar argument again.

Now, what was the question again? AHA! Why don't enough people keep adding posts to your threads?

I don't know.

[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited July 23, 2000).]
 
Sprig

If you want topics with a lot of replies try a few like
1) Glocks are unsafe lousy plastic trash and should be banned!
2) The 1911 design was obsolete in 1912! Time to scrap them and replace them with modern designs!
3) All automayic pistols are totally unreliable. Anyone with any sense carrys a revolver
Flesh out the arguments a little and they should get you lots of replies.
 
I have personally killed off a number of threads. At the time I also wondered why no one else was interested in responding after my posts. But then I figured it out in a flash of insight - my response had to be exactly correct and there was no need for anyone else to respond after my words of wisdom were added to the thread. Or, it could be that everyone was laughing too hard at my idiotic post and forgot to say anything. :)
 
Personally I read a lot more than I post. I wouldn't worry to much about it. I've started discussions that I thought where super interesting that died the same day, and I've asked mundane questions that drag on forever.

I will say this though, there are some members here that are just interesting, so even though I don't have time to read all of the posts, if I see a topic from them I have to see what it is about.

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Ordering deadline for TFL shirts & hats is July 29, don't miss out. www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=37865
 
Get yourself attacked by loonies and, if possible, crocodiles on a regular basis. It worked for one member who shall remain nameless.
 
Don, it wasn't a crocodile, it was an alligator and I wasn't attacked by it -- instead, it made a running charge for my little one. Also, I wasn't ATTACKED by loonies but I have had more than more fair share of encounters with them and fortunately, none of them required a handgun to even come into play.

I didn't post them to get attention. Instead, I posted them because they were gun-related and I felt that the other members on this board would find it interesting and might benefit from what happened to me and I might benefit from the points for improvement that were offered by others.

Now, to address Sprig's question ... As others have pointed out, the title of a post has a lot to do with it. The title should accurately describe what the post is all about. For example "Sig 229 or Beretta 92" MIGHT generate more interest than "Which one should I get?".

If I know something about Beretta's or SIGs, I might read the first post and depending on the content, might decided to comment. Whereas, the second post might not catch my eye if I am pressed for time.

Another pointer is not to post things that have already been posted before especially if it was posted recently because people who are drawn to that particular topic might not feel like re-posting what they said in an earlier trend all over again.

For example, I've been thinking about getting a PPK and wasn't sure if I would be better off with one in .32 or .380ACP. Before posting the topic, I did a search across the various forums and found a trend that dealt with this very subject and after reading what was said, a lot of my questions were answered.

Posting the same question all over again might not have generated very much interested since a lot of people shared their knowledge the first time around.

Of course, it could also have something to do with which house your moon was in when you were born.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>As others have pointed out, the title of a post has a lot to do with it. [/quote]
Sprig,
this is a good point. For example, you probably would have gotten even more response to this thread if you had called it something controversial or catchy like, "What is WRONG with you people????" or "You know you're an e-leper when..." :D :D :D
sorry, just kidding!!!!
(ps...people can also sense when there are green smileys in a post, maybe you should try that!)
 
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