Most people online???

[TiredOfLife]

There seems to a be a fair bit of that recently on Amiga.org, people comming out of the woodwork after along period of lurking to post.
Don't know whay's woken them up now though.
Something to look into maybe.
Something we can replicate here perhaps.

[Stephen Coates]

Maybe they were getting so desperate for a new amiga and so confused about everyone taking each other to court over new amiga products not being made properly.

[Sharingan]

Looks like the record has already been broken?

"Most users ever online was 53, 30th June 2007 at 06:53 PM."

[Harrison]

That's great. May it continue to increase And welcome to the forum Sharingan. Nice to see another new member.

I've seen many posts on other boards where the member states "long time member, finally decided to attempt first post" or something similar. I actually think that many people are unsure about forums and have never posted on them before, thinking there is some special way of having to post that worries them.

[AlexJ]

I think it's more down to the fact that generally on forums, there's regulars that post on there and know each other and it would appear slightly daunting to a new member that he needs to break into this circle. That and the fear of asking a question and being given a hostile "Read the FAQ" or "Do a search" answer (something which does not happen here, I should point out)

[Stephen Coates]

I think it's more down to the fact that generally on forums, there's regulars that post on there and know each other and it would appear slightly daunting to a new member that he needs to break into this circle. That and the fear of asking a question and being given a hostile "Read the FAQ" or "Do a search" answer (something which does not happen here, I should point out)

That is true.

And I have come across plenty of forums where the rules mostly consist of read the faq and search.

I don't think I am currently a member at any sites like that any more.

[Harrison]

I hate forums like that and consider it quite rude to just post the answer "read the FAQ!" or "use the search". If they bother posting a reply why not actually post something useful for the member needing help?

[Sharingan]

And welcome to the forum Sharingan. Nice to see another new member.

Thanks for the welcome

I think it's more down to the fact that generally on forums, there's regulars that post on there and know each other and it would appear slightly daunting to a new member that he needs to break into this circle. That and the fear of asking a question and being given a hostile "Read the FAQ" or "Do a search" answer (something which does not happen here, I should point out)

Aye, this is likely the biggest reason why newcomers are afraid to post in the first place. Fear of making a fool of oneself among the established crowd, and thus, 'blowing their chance' of ever being able to fit in.

Most often, this fear is unjustified, but I've encountered quite a few forums where newcomers were ripped apart verbally for saying something the forum veterans considered n00bish, or asking a question that's (god forbid!) been asked before.

Another reason for the reluctance to start posting is when a forum seems to have very little activity - it's always more inviting to participate in a place where quick and frequent feedback is guaranteed.

How to fix this?

There's probably no easy answer, save for keeping the atmosphere friendly and encouraging existing active users to keep posting interesting topics. Out of personal experience, I know that making a community succesful is one of the toughest things. But, if one can manage it - it's gotta be one of the most satisfying things!

[TiredOfLife]

That is a possibilty.
There are some people with a dodgy attitude on some forums.
They usually get shouted down by people with a more relaxed attitude.
Still, could be off putting to some people.

[Stephen Coates]

I hate forums like that and consider it quite rude to just post the answer "read the FAQ!" or "use the search". If they bother posting a reply why not actually post something useful for the member needing help?

Totally agree.

Even if someone doesn't know the exact answer or doesn't have time to write a suitable answer, they could at least point the person in the right direction, maybe by linking to some older topics which maybe of use (which the newbie might not have read), because as we all know very well, the topic title never gives a perfect indication as to what the content of the topic is.

And even if those topics have been read by the newbie prior to posting, it is still better than just saying 'search!'

Although at classicamiga in the past we coudn;t just tell users to search anyway, as they would be completely baffled then, due to the lack of a working search engine on the old forum