Book Give aways and new posters .. Thinks

Former_MSE_Andrea

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. As you've noticed, with over 8 million people receiving the weekly email we've had a lot join up or come back to the forum recently.

If you could welcome them with a smile and any help you can think of if they carry on posting that would be lovely.

Thank you

mandi

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. As you've noticed, with over 8 million people receiving the weekly email we've had a lot join up or come back to the forum recently.



Thank you

Thank you for replying Andrea

I really don't wish to cause any friction , however the weekly e mail has as you say " had a lot of people join up or come back to the forum "

Looking at the thread no one knows how many people have recently joined as apposed to regular posters with multiple user names. As for coming back to the forum I could see several posters who only " post" when there's a free book giveaway ?

I still think that the books should be given to people who are regular genuine posters .:)

meher

"You should post a lot to offer a feedback, you should post to benefit from the site" is really not going to help enhancing the reputation or the resourcefulness of the site. The assumption should be that (imo only ocoufrse) everyone, including active and passive audiance has something to offer to enrich the site. Registration in itself is contribution enough.

imo no one should be judged or posting integrity questioned simply because they want a freebie and no one should have a monopoly over freebies or offers, certainly not after sending these over emails for everyone. It would be making a mockery of emails and the whole idea of inviting people to build a bigger ms community. If we're brave, we should even do away with "register for a freebie / offer". Instead offer everyone a code exclusive to mse. When they key in their email address, it should automatically offer them an mse membership account because some people feel lazy about the registration process. Woo them stealthly i know that i would be lazy to register where there are more than three steps. The worst step is to put in the security code.

alright i shall give it a rest :D

Sparhawke

meher wrote: »

"You should post a lot to offer a feedback, you should post to benefit from the site" is really not going to help enhancing the reputation or the resourcefulness of the site. The assumption should be that (imo only ocoufrse) everyone, including active and passive audiance has something to offer to enrich the site. Registration in itself is contribution enough.

imo no one should be judged or posting integrity questioned simply because they want a freebie and no one should have a monopoly over freebies or offers, certainly not after sending these over emails for everyone. It would be making a mockery of emails and the whole idea of inviting people to build a bigger ms community. If we're brave, we should even do away with "register for a freebie / offer". Instead offer everyone a code exclusive to mse. When they key in their email address, it should automatically offer them an mse membership account because some people feel lazy about the registration process. Woo them stealthly i know that i would be lazy to register where there are more than three steps. The worst step is to put in the security code.

alright i shall give it a rest :D

Finally! lol (joking)

I have absolutely nothing against new posters or users, I just wish that those that have signed up will start using the forums and start posting, but that I guess is a little too much to hope for.

Having one of the largest websites in the world means nothing if the forum has 10,000,000 members but only 1% of them actually contribute anything on any regular basis.

So the question becomes not how many new users you can get, but how to convert them into active users?

meher

Sparhawke wrote: »

Finally! lol (joking)

:snow_grin

meher

Sparhawke wrote: »

Finally! lol (joking)

I have absolutely nothing against new posters or users, I just wish that those that have signed up will start using the forums and start posting, but that I guess is a little too much to hope for.

Having one of the largest websites in the world means nothing if the forum has 10,000,000 members but only 1% of them actually contribute anything on any regular basis.

So the question becomes not how many new users you can get, but how to convert them into active users?

honest i was about to go away but i really feel compelled to defend the underdogs here - the passive users

If i ran a forum like this, i'd consider the ones who read my well reasearched articles and emails, click on the links and churn out wealth for me as users as well, i'd actually value them more than the ones who come and chatter on my forum. i know this is embarassing but i'm a regular, the only contribution i've ever made is praising the great USA on the travel board and that too no one listened!

So whilst you consider "users" of the site to be posters, and i wouldn't dispute that but what i'm tryint to say is that those who read emails, those benefit from other parts of the board, other than the forum are also users. In fact they don't cost the board as much as the regulars do. Sorry for being blunt but that's the truth because this forum is just that. The chunk of the revenue is from the main site and are you suggesting that the users of the main site, the email audience should never ever join the forum for a freebie. i protest.

cathcol

Hi, does anyone know when and how we find out if we are lucky enough to have got this.:j

Sparhawke

We do not know Cathcol, but they have hundreds of pages to go through so I would check back in about a week

Shebeepy

I have been registered to the site/forum for I forget how many years, and have posted some 10 times during that time. I don't have time to sit and trawl through the threads, looking for where I can add my bit - I work full time (and really long hours) so that is just something that is way down on my list of things to do. I do, however, USE the site regularly when time permits, be that looking for information that others have kindly posted about, or clicking through on various things from the weekly email. This website is a huge and extremely valuable source of information for millions of people.

Just because I use the site differently to how you use it, does not mean I am any less of a valued member. Nor does it mean that I shouldn't be chosen from the masses to receive a book.

emmael

Sparhawke wrote: »

I agree with Mandi, I have just looked through a few pages of that topic and it is like a who's who of alternate account newbies, way more than would be statistically probable.

On page #252 for example there are 11 members joined in the last several days still with a newbie badge, and 9 who have a very low post count yet have accounts that have been around for years but decided this day of all days they are going to come and grace us with their presence.

Now do not call me a cynic, but the former forum admin in me gets very suspicious when I see posting patterns like this, it is like everyone in the world has simultaneously decided that this is the day they are going to post for only that topic, and that just does not happen.

What's the harm with driving new people to a forum from a promotional giveaway?