Actually I do understand what you are saying, and agree to some extent. But I don't believe the problem is really the number of forums here as much as it is the reluctance of the membership to post ANYTHING when they visit the site.
To give you a for instance, within the past 24 hours we had 2,467 registered members log into here. Within that same 24 hour period, only 431 posts were made. Even making a silly assumption of 1 post per member, that leaves 2,036 registered members who couldn't come up with a single solitary post to make while they were here. And then there are visits by people who haven't bothered to register and/or log in, which can be as much as twice the number of registered member visits. Are people actually afraid to post on this site, or is there another reason? Obviously to make a post about something is not the reason they came here.
Do you seriously think that if there were a lesser number of forums here that this would prompt the lurkers to suddenly break down and make a post? Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that.
This has been a problem on this site from day one when I have tried for the longest time to try to come up with ways to get people to be more active in the discussion forums. All to no avail, apparently, so I quit worrying about it. I dunno, maybe it was a mistake, traffic-wise, for me to end discussions in the classifieds sections. Perhaps SOME traffic, no matter what kind, would be better in the long haul to break the ice about PARTICIPATING here. Maybe simply posting their ads is ALL people really want to DO here. Well that and getting into the verbal wrestling matches that the BOI often becomes, of course.
But in any event I do understand your frustration. And quite agree that it is a problem. I run my own Corvette site (local in nature) as well as am a member of a very large similar site that is world wide. Obviously there are a lot more people on the larger site, and that means that posts are made more frequently than in my own much smaller site. I have a thread on each documenting a nightmare build I am going through, and the one on the large site gets a LOT more responses to it. Equally obviously, there is an almost irresistible urge to abandon the smaller forum (even though it is my own) saying to hell with posting in a no man's land, and only post in the larger forum where I get much more interaction with my own posting. There is just something disconcerting about feeling completely ignored when you post publicly on a forum that is difficult to swallow. No one likes to be ignored. So if they are ignored when they post in one place, but get lively responses and participation from others in another forum, well, guess where they will eventually decide to spend ALL of their time?
So of course the same mechanism will be at work here. Even though this IS a comparatively large site, the posting history and statistics just is not reflected in the numbers one would expect with such a large member base. I guess people "driving by" to merely post a new ad in the classifieds sections is all they are really interested in doing. Which seems kind of silly to me. If they want to sell their animals or products, they need to help give a reason for more people to come here and participate. The more there is for people to occupy their time here, the more likely that eventually they will take a look at the classifieds to see what is happening there. The more eyes looking at your ads the more the odds are that eventually someone is going to make that purchase you are hoping for. This is just common sense and a chapter out of the Business 101 course guide.
General discussions help generate enthusiasm and interest to many of the readers. How many people do you suppose got the idea in their head about buying an animal after reading discussions about it? Probably quite a few, I would imagine. And yet many people will not take the time to try to generate this sort of interest in their potential marketplace. And all the while, at the same time, be helping to toot their own horn as someone knowledgeable about the topic matter (meaning, the items they are trying to sell). Which, no doubt, tends to get people to thinking that buying from an "expert" is a really good idea. In the case of animals, don't you think that people would want to buy from someone who has demonstrated knowledge about how to properly care for such animals? Someone simply dropping in from out of the sky to post a FOR SALE ad for an animal, with no history, no demonstrated knowledge about such animals is certainly going to have a rough road to drive trying to make that sale when someone who HAS displayed all the right signs has an ad right there next to theirs selling the same thing. People just don't fall for the cheapest price any longer. At least the readership, generally, has gotten smarter about that aspect of buying live animals.
But still, people will post their classified ad, then hover around lurking and twiddling their thumbs, waiting for someone to contact them about their ad, when all the while that time could be put to better use making themselves more VISIBLE by using an often overlooked method of passive advertising. Use that time to SELL yourself. These days, to make a sale you have to MAKE an effort beyond just throwing it on a table and stepping back waiting for people to throw money your way.
But anyway, I guess that is their choice in how they wish to run their business. Perhaps they feel it works for them. I would wager to say that five years from now nearly all of them will no longer be in the business. If someone is looking for easy money, this business is DEFINITELY not what they are looking for.
So yeah, it would be nice if more people dig in and actually participated here on this site, but quite honestly, I just don't know how to help make that happen. And, truthfully, I am just not going to lose sleep over it.
My suggestion is that you need to help MAKE the changes you think would be helpful. If you feel the site needs more posting, then take the lead and try to get people to follow. Beyond that, I really don't know what to suggest to you.
To give you a for instance, within the past 24 hours we had 2,467 registered members log into here. Within that same 24 hour period, only 431 posts were made. Even making a silly assumption of 1 post per member, that leaves 2,036 registered members who couldn't come up with a single solitary post to make while they were here. And then there are visits by people who haven't bothered to register and/or log in, which can be as much as twice the number of registered member visits. Are people actually afraid to post on this site, or is there another reason? Obviously to make a post about something is not the reason they came here.
Do you seriously think that if there were a lesser number of forums here that this would prompt the lurkers to suddenly break down and make a post? Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that.
This has been a problem on this site from day one when I have tried for the longest time to try to come up with ways to get people to be more active in the discussion forums. All to no avail, apparently, so I quit worrying about it. I dunno, maybe it was a mistake, traffic-wise, for me to end discussions in the classifieds sections. Perhaps SOME traffic, no matter what kind, would be better in the long haul to break the ice about PARTICIPATING here. Maybe simply posting their ads is ALL people really want to DO here. Well that and getting into the verbal wrestling matches that the BOI often becomes, of course.
But in any event I do understand your frustration. And quite agree that it is a problem. I run my own Corvette site (local in nature) as well as am a member of a very large similar site that is world wide. Obviously there are a lot more people on the larger site, and that means that posts are made more frequently than in my own much smaller site. I have a thread on each documenting a nightmare build I am going through, and the one on the large site gets a LOT more responses to it. Equally obviously, there is an almost irresistible urge to abandon the smaller forum (even though it is my own) saying to hell with posting in a no man's land, and only post in the larger forum where I get much more interaction with my own posting. There is just something disconcerting about feeling completely ignored when you post publicly on a forum that is difficult to swallow. No one likes to be ignored. So if they are ignored when they post in one place, but get lively responses and participation from others in another forum, well, guess where they will eventually decide to spend ALL of their time?
So of course the same mechanism will be at work here. Even though this IS a comparatively large site, the posting history and statistics just is not reflected in the numbers one would expect with such a large member base. I guess people "driving by" to merely post a new ad in the classifieds sections is all they are really interested in doing. Which seems kind of silly to me. If they want to sell their animals or products, they need to help give a reason for more people to come here and participate. The more there is for people to occupy their time here, the more likely that eventually they will take a look at the classifieds to see what is happening there. The more eyes looking at your ads the more the odds are that eventually someone is going to make that purchase you are hoping for. This is just common sense and a chapter out of the Business 101 course guide.
General discussions help generate enthusiasm and interest to many of the readers. How many people do you suppose got the idea in their head about buying an animal after reading discussions about it? Probably quite a few, I would imagine. And yet many people will not take the time to try to generate this sort of interest in their potential marketplace. And all the while, at the same time, be helping to toot their own horn as someone knowledgeable about the topic matter (meaning, the items they are trying to sell). Which, no doubt, tends to get people to thinking that buying from an "expert" is a really good idea. In the case of animals, don't you think that people would want to buy from someone who has demonstrated knowledge about how to properly care for such animals? Someone simply dropping in from out of the sky to post a FOR SALE ad for an animal, with no history, no demonstrated knowledge about such animals is certainly going to have a rough road to drive trying to make that sale when someone who HAS displayed all the right signs has an ad right there next to theirs selling the same thing. People just don't fall for the cheapest price any longer. At least the readership, generally, has gotten smarter about that aspect of buying live animals.
But still, people will post their classified ad, then hover around lurking and twiddling their thumbs, waiting for someone to contact them about their ad, when all the while that time could be put to better use making themselves more VISIBLE by using an often overlooked method of passive advertising. Use that time to SELL yourself. These days, to make a sale you have to MAKE an effort beyond just throwing it on a table and stepping back waiting for people to throw money your way.
But anyway, I guess that is their choice in how they wish to run their business. Perhaps they feel it works for them. I would wager to say that five years from now nearly all of them will no longer be in the business. If someone is looking for easy money, this business is DEFINITELY not what they are looking for.
So yeah, it would be nice if more people dig in and actually participated here on this site, but quite honestly, I just don't know how to help make that happen. And, truthfully, I am just not going to lose sleep over it.
My suggestion is that you need to help MAKE the changes you think would be helpful. If you feel the site needs more posting, then take the lead and try to get people to follow. Beyond that, I really don't know what to suggest to you.
More than 10% of those posts? I always wondered if I posted too much until today LOL
