It depends on the forum, I think. I'm active on a support forum for a particular piece of open-source software, and the number of posts are displayed under the members' names as a way of allowing people coming to the site for support to judge the experience of the member who replies. I belong to another forum where the number of posts is intentionally not displayed for each member for exactly the reason I think Youseff is alluding to - it's the content of the post, not the reputation/longevity of the poster that determines other members' inclination to read andreply. I'm not sure what I think the admins here should do, but Internet forums by nature tend to be very cliquish, so I might err on the side of not celebrating senority.
There is no such rule. Just for clarity's sake. That is correct. No member, new or old, can sticky a thread other than a mod or the admin. We try to keep the number of sticky threads under control. There are some forums where nearly the whole first page of a given subforum will be stickies. That's a bit much. We tend to use stickies more for commonly recurring conversations, informative threads that contain useful links and resources, and the chat threads that are in some of the subforums so that there isn't a proliferation of minor, short-term conversation threads. An example of such is the Tavern in the lounge. ETA: Also, in our forum, save for the general chat threads, stickies don't really see any more "play" than other threads. If anything there is a tendency for them to become invisible for always being in the same spot.
Thanks so much for your important comment, and understanding. We always try to clarify our point; for the sake of the collaboration of experience and thought. Thanks for your help. Our appreciations.
dear youssef, when you say 'we' and 'our' are you only referring to yourself, or are you also speaking for a companion? in english, when we are speaking only for ourself, we use the pronouns 'i' and 'me' and 'my'... 'we' and 'our' and 'us' refer only to more than one person... i hope this will help you to be more clear in your posting... and for members to understand you more easily... i mentor many aspiring writers all over the world, so am familiar with the problems in understanding that can arise from writing in a language that is not your mother tongue... that aside, since i have been a member here since the site was 'born' i can assure you that your fears are unfounded as far as this site is concerned, though i agree that other sites do have such problems... you are welcome here and i look forward to reading your future posts on other issues... love and hugs, maia
Hi, its a great honor to share my comments and subjects in one of the greatest writing websites ever; I mean the writing forums. Again Its a great honor to speak in the English language, the language that I love so much. Actually, our love is to all languages; and when the heart speaks, barriers will vanish. As to "we" and "I", sometimes a person prefers or likes to use "we". According to the circumstances. Thanks again for your comment.
i understand... but you should be aware that in the US, doing so can be seen as odd at best and at worst, rather pretentious and arrogant...
Hi and regards. Thanks so much for your comment. So, I will do according to what you've said, regarding this matter. Again, when I said it , I said it out of respect, and nothing else. My special true love to the U.S. and its humble people. Respects to you. sincerely.
I'm still very confused as to the subject of the thread. Is the argument that new people with fewer posts tend to get less attention when they do post, even if their posts are of higher quality, and that this is unfair? I can agree that it's unfair, but it's also just the way people are--they're more likely to converse with people that they know, than with strangers. With people they know, there's context and history; it's easier to know how the person will respond. If a person drifts in and out, and only occasionally posts, then they're probably going to have to make up for that missing context. They will likely need to go to extra effort to make their posts clear, understandable, and approachable. That said, my confusion remains due to the mention of "rules". There's certainly no *rule* that says that people aren't supposed to respond to new posters.
Is this discussion about the "advice, insights and inspirations" subforum? That is a place where only senior members can create posts and everyone can reply. And Daniel also wrote that it was for "sticky quality" posts. If that's what you're talking about, I'm sure newer members can share their insights and advice in the other subforums. It's only that one little area where the restrictions are in place.
I never notice who wrote a post until after I've read it. I'm not sure why I do that. Generally I can sort of "feel" who wrote it, if I am familiar enough with their style. If a person with only one post writes something wonderfully clever or funny? I love to read and respond to it! No. There's no hierarchy of posters here. If what is written is clever or engaging or insightful, there will be replies. Also if it is polarizing. That seems to work as well. If you can justify your reasons for saying "Hemingway was America's worst writer and the writing world was a better place after he killed himself", then you can have discussion. It will get heated and almost certainly shut down eventually. But before that, it will go on for pages! Feelings will be hurt. Words will be said. Posts will be made. Just write a thoughtful post that makes people think or ask for advice that they can give about a topic that has not been dragged to death already. Like, do not ask how long a book should be. Because. [sigh]
Hi Sir, yes, that's what I meant, but the subject is more complex than this; I couldn't ask it openly, or express it in one post. Yes, as you said , there is no rule that says that people aren't supposed to respond to new posters. Actually, i never said against that. And I agree about what you said. Thanks for your comment.