Infighting, lurking and another positive bit!

[bellybabe]

Just re-read a couple of topics, including Bob's 1000 up post with its summaries. I was quite taken aback this week when i read through the flyposting thread. It all seemed to get very personal and very unpleasant for a while. Glad we seem to have recovered our equilibrium - infighting has never done any group any good, and has destroyed plenty of small groups. And after all it was very educational to read such improving works of literature as the takeaway poetry!

My partner is a lurker; I have tried persuasion but to no avail. Partner believes in the forum and the website - and in fact introduced me to it - and the good it does the community we love, but i think feels that one member in the family is sufficient. Did post at first but no longer does. Just thought it was interesting to illustrate at least one of Bob's lurkers!

Anyway, we were discussing forums earlier - partner is active member of another forum i refuse to use, and it has proved very useful, if very disquieting at times - and their usefulness and i leapt to Porty's defence. I just thought about how much difference it makes sometimes. The campaign agaisnt the superstore is the obvious example but there are others. Finding good local tradespeople, learning more about where we live, having the information to be more proactive in what we want for our community...there are lots and lots of good things that come from this forum.

The superstore really brings it home though. I thought about it, and i guess without this forum, i'd have been angry, signed a petition, but on the whole would have felt fairly powerless to do anything about it. But thanks to the people here, from bob who puts so much work into running it to the people that send us all the information, I was far more aware of what was happening, how it progresses, what steps have to be taken beforehand, what people are doing to try and stop it, who to contact to object, what to say, how to say it, having the confidence to say it... For me it all came from this forum. And I think that might be true for other people too.

This forum may have its faults but I think on the whole it's a great thing.

Paula

[Guest]

Bellybabe/Paula

Thank you. It's really good to get some positive feedback occasionally. It is difficult to justify the time I spend on this so thanks for taking the time to explain how you find the forum useful.

I know there are lots of lurkers out there who follow the discussions closely without ever being tempted to post themselves. Many of them probably don't even bother to register. What makes one person a poster and another a lurker? Answers on a postcard please.

Things did get a bit unpleasant there and I'm learning that it is a difficult balancing act to promote free speech and moderate the forum at the same time. I hope I get it right most of the time.

[bearcub]

Put my hand up and say that until recently - earlier tonight actually! - I was a lurker and not a poster. My partner has been a poster since we moved to Porty recently, but I was just happy to read the threads and agree/disagree as I went along. However, I did email my objection to the Superstore plan to the planning dept address from a post I'd read, so I suppose I was a closet poster for a while.

I suppose all I can say is that the longer you're a lurker, the more likely you're to become a poster. You can only keep quiet for so long!

[Guest]

And doesn't it feel so much better to be a poster? Come on you lurkers! If you agree with a post, we want to know. If you disagree, we STILL want to know.

This weekend is a general amnesty for lurkers. Doesn't matter how long you have been a lurker for, now is the time to come out of the closet and have your say. All that stuff you've been holding back, let's hear it!

Bearcub has done it, you can do it too. Go for it!

[Skeely]

I've just de-lurked recently, and it's good to feel a bit more involved. What put me off for a long time was having to register - I'd have been more inclined to post at first if this could have been done anonymously. Bob, what are the advantages of asking users to register?

[Guest]

Good question! Here's what the FAQ section has to say on the subject:

Why do I need to register at all?
You may not have to -- it is up to the administrator of the board as to whether you need to register in order to post messages. However, registration will give you access to additional features not available to guest users such as definable avatar images, private messaging, emailing to fellow users, usergroup subscription, etc. It only takes a few minutes to register so it is recommended you do so.

So it's about useability but it's also about security and accountability. You still have anonymity, in that you post under a user name and you can choose to hide your email address from other users, but as administrator and moderator I have access to your email and IP addresses, which hopefully means that you are less likely to post something offensive or libellous.

[nads]

another lurker here, have been a member for a while but dont post much, I will put my 2p worth in future.