Doug's Blog 

The forums aren't a chat room
Posted 11-15-2007 at 06:05 PM by Doug Nelson
Perhaps not enough forum posters realize (or care) that they aren't just talking to the one or three people that respond back in their thread. No, they're actually talking to thousands of people every day.
Yet they bounce around from topic to topic within a single thread as if they were in their own private chatroom. A serious discussion or solution to a problem shortly devolves into comparing hometowns, which eventually devolves into favorite coffee choices.
Why should you care? After all, you got your problem solved, and you ran into an interesting person to chat with. Life is good.
Well, life could be better. Your problem/solution/hometown/coffee thread lives on forever, long after you've forgotten it. But it still continues to attract people here, via search engines. So your thread might possibly solve their problem, as well. Unless it didn't quite solve everything or they have need of further explanation, but as they read on finding your hometown/coffee discussion, now they have to decide if they really want to interupt this cozy little kaffeeklatch.
99% of them won't interupt, they'll simply leave and go back to google or wherever. And in their minds RetouchPRO is a low-quality place for help.
The irony is you'll also attract some hometown/coffee fans, but they won't post for the same reason.
So pause one second before you hit "Reply" and think "does this have anything to do with the thread topic?". If so, type away. If not, simply hit "New Thread" instead of "Reply" and type away. You'll still get your warm chat, plus we'll be of more use to future visitors, and probably have more registered visitors.
And that would make life really good.
Yet they bounce around from topic to topic within a single thread as if they were in their own private chatroom. A serious discussion or solution to a problem shortly devolves into comparing hometowns, which eventually devolves into favorite coffee choices.
Why should you care? After all, you got your problem solved, and you ran into an interesting person to chat with. Life is good.
Well, life could be better. Your problem/solution/hometown/coffee thread lives on forever, long after you've forgotten it. But it still continues to attract people here, via search engines. So your thread might possibly solve their problem, as well. Unless it didn't quite solve everything or they have need of further explanation, but as they read on finding your hometown/coffee discussion, now they have to decide if they really want to interupt this cozy little kaffeeklatch.
99% of them won't interupt, they'll simply leave and go back to google or wherever. And in their minds RetouchPRO is a low-quality place for help.
The irony is you'll also attract some hometown/coffee fans, but they won't post for the same reason.
So pause one second before you hit "Reply" and think "does this have anything to do with the thread topic?". If so, type away. If not, simply hit "New Thread" instead of "Reply" and type away. You'll still get your warm chat, plus we'll be of more use to future visitors, and probably have more registered visitors.
And that would make life really good.
Total Comments 3
Comments
| | Guilty!!!Oh Doug what can i say...I have been guilty of the coffee whatsit gossip...but included in whatever the thread is about...Its one of the things I love about Retouch...the friendliness of the members here....I know and understand where you are coming from...but this site has personality.....when i have or had plenty to say to another member i always pm d to them! Living here in Sweden i get a bit giddy when i see someone is from my home town...as a few of the members are...So i think you mean me!!!!By the way how is your Scandanavian coming on? |
Posted 11-17-2007 at 06:14 PM by patriciakay |
| | Nope, I won't let you tempt me into changing the topic But I do plan on learning Swedish one day, so feel free to start a thread in Salon about Scandanavian life. |
Posted 11-17-2007 at 07:07 PM by Doug Nelson |
| | guilty as wellI Thought i would put my hand up as well, I am always being told that i don't know when to shut up will pm more now though Palms Photoshop Pat how's your weat |
Posted 11-19-2007 at 11:43 AM by palms1 |
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