Originally Posted by Talk Host

It's very interesting. All across the internet, there are thousands of forums for every conceivable interest and millions of people join the fun and conversation. There is no greater special interest group than the Villages residents. Hundreds of people visit this site every day. We have 10s of thousands of page views. Just the "speeding cars" topic has nearly 200 views. Yet, people seem to not join in the conversation by posting replies. Can you think of a reason why that might be? :dontknow:

Do other forums have the same kind of ratios of people who just read messages to those who post on various message boards?

Maybe, the readers are waiting for a topic about which they feel very strongly? Now if the Yankees had won the World Series...?

[janadill]

You raise a very good question. I always enjoyed reading what everyone else had to say but I am very opinionated myself. Maybe it is a little bit of laziness on my part but in the future I will try to respond when the spirit moves me. Thanks for the hint. About the World Series....

[efrahin]

Taltarzac: The NYYankees has to give a chance to the other teams once in a while, let the poor Red Sox enjoy it a little, it will only last one year.

[oldecarguy]

as a new visitor to the forum---I noticed that only a special few people comment on topics over and over, and we dont want to seem contrary.

[tony]

Nobody here is viewed as contrary. That is the beauty of the forum. Say what's on your mind, ask a question, give an answer.

If nobody went in the pool because the same people are always swimming in it . . .

C'mon in!

;D

Originally Posted by tony

Nobody here is viewed as contrary. That is the beauty of the forum. Say what's on your mind, ask a question, give an answer.

If nobody went in the pool because the same people are always swimming in it . . .

C'mon in!

;D

I think some people believe that there is more than just swimming going on in the pool to use your analogy. :joke:

[tony]

Please explain.

Originally Posted by tony

Please explain.

That's a joke, Tony. Putting it another way, if you do not want food on your clothes, do not walk into a food fight. There are sometimes pies and other such stuff flying around on various message boards. You and the other administrators do a very good job of keeping the flying food to a minimum on TOTV.

Some of the readers are probably familiar with just how much food lands on various faces on other message boards.

They are pie-shy. :joke:

[tony]

Ahhhh. Now I get it. ;D

[beady]

Opinions matter. Can't hurt to have a bit of egg on your face now and then.
Jump in the water is fine and the company even better.

[captain1202]

Probably a lot like a New England town meeting. For example, 750 voters in attendance, a handful will talk to the articles, the rest "fall into line" or just don't want to stick their neck out.

That's the beauty of the blog..if your anonymous you can stick your head out as far as you want!

[diskman]

I believe that since we are a senior community,many of the viewers are people who have not learned their way around their computer. This makes them shy to try. it also explains why threads are interupted by people injecting comments which have nothing to do with this thread.
If you want a topic on RED HATS LADIES GROUP. go to the bottom of the thread and click new topic and start a red hats conversation. This type of thing is what makes me skip a posting many times.
Larry & Beverly :dontknow:

[Sunflower]

The site is so informative! We newbies probably feel we get more info than we could possibly give. I hope at some point to be a contributor as soon as I get down to TV.
Were coming down in the spring whether the house is sold or not!

[tbsoccer]

From watching TOTV over the last couple of months, it appears that there are two primary groups of contributors - a very knowledgeable administrative core and a lot of wannabes (like me) who are looking into the corners of TV before buying. TOTV is like a quilt - lots of individual squares that are of little value until united into one large comforter. I have little to offer but am anxious learn everything I can. As "they" say, knowledge comes from reading the fine print. Experience comes from not reading it.

What is the percentage of TOTV members who do not own homes in TV?

[SteveFromNY]

Originally Posted by Taltarzac

Do other forums have the same kind of ratios of people who just read messages to those who post on various message boards?

Short answer is YES, other forums are the same. I don't know all the reasons why, but what's happening here is very consistent. One message board I go to occasionally has been around for years, with many members having thousands and thousands of posts. One thread had 20,140 views and 420 replies, and it goes on and on. There is a very high ratio of views to posts. And I am sure there are many reasons. I will often respond to a post, then check back to see what others have said after me without actually posting anything else. I must have viewed the playground thread 50 times, but posted only twice (neither time with anything negative I might proudly add )
Other times I just look at new posts but don't have strong enough feelings (knowledge, opinion?) to post.
But mostly, I just follow the conversations along easily at a 10 to 1 ratio of reads to posts.