Guests have us outnumbered 3 to 1. Sad.

[slacker]

I think that it is mostly members who are not logged in. I think if you are into Dynasty and take the time to peruse this forum you are not going to be able to keep you mouth shut on some of the topics that come up so most lurkers have an account, but a lot of times we don't feel strongly enough about a topic to log in and make my comment so we just lurk. I would be interested in some metrics if there are any admins reading this. Do forum logon rates increase during the season? What happens to the logon/lurker ratio during the season?

[eraldo_coil]

I get that the more people contributing on the forum brings a greater set of ideas and opinions to the table, but forcing people to post or making them feel stupid for lurking is the antithesis of what a healthy community should look like, IMO.

[Coogan Football]

Comments on thread about forum activity even though he has never actually contributed any meaningful content or advice, but better yet stays online to post again and still doesn't get the hint.... Genius...

[Coogan Football]

I get that the more people contributing on the forum brings a greater set of ideas and opinions to the table, but forcing people to post or making them feel stupid for lurking is the antithesis of what a healthy community should look like, IMO.

Nobody is "forcing" anyone to post anything, but it doesn't take Mathew Berry to be able to throw in their two cents about fantasy stuff.

When I did the rookie write-ups on here last off-season I purposely put them under my subforum just so people would have to create a forum account to read all of them. (League subforums are private and only viewable to registered forum members)

[Bay City Original]

I also wonder if what's shown is not "real" but just some program glitch. I remember when it used to be that after making a new post, seconds later the stats will show that double digit views have been made to that post... impossible.

And since this is in the Advice section...

I advise people not to worry about it... those who are creepers and not contributors seem to base their decisions on what the rest of us might say... have your own opinion.

[eraldo_coil]

I get that the more people contributing on the forum brings a greater set of ideas and opinions to the table, but forcing people to post or making them feel stupid for lurking is the antithesis of what a healthy community should look like, IMO.

Nobody is "forcing" anyone to post anything, but it doesn't take Mathew Berry to be able to throw in their two cents about fantasy stuff.

So? Maybe people are new to dynasty and don't feel comfortable posting yet? Maybe people just want to read the discussions without feeling like they have to make noise because others are telling them they need to? This is a public forum. People don't have to post if they don't want to, plain and simple.

When I did the rookie write-ups on here last off-season I purposely put them under my subforum just so people would have to create a forum account to read all of them. (League subforums are private and only viewable to registered forum members)

Look, I completely agree that the more people who post, the better. What I don't agree with is the approach that many people are taking here to try and encourage people to do so. Posting a thread saying how "sad" it is that guests outnumber those of us with accounts is passive aggressive and unbecoming.

This forum is great and I hope more people feel encouraged to post their ideas and opinions, but if not that's OK too.

[saw061600]

I believe serial lurking is a problem based upon the definition of the terms listed: talk radio and forum, and the philosophy of social contract.
talk ra·di·o
a type of radio broadcast in which the presenter talks about topical issues and encourages listeners to call in to air their opinions.
fo·rum
a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.
so·cial con·tract
an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits

To elaborate: Talk radio and forums are philosophically very different. In talk radio, someone is paid to offer opinion and commentary and others are encouraged to call in with supporting or opposing position for the sake of adding to the entertainment or further exploration of the topic. There is no implicit agreement to contribute because the host is paid and participation is encouraged.

A forum, as a meeting place where ideas are exchanged, carries the implied contract that all members will contribute to the exchange. Not that anyone should be expected to contribute to every topic. A reader may not have interest in a topic, may not feel strongly one way or another about the topic, or may just not feel competent to offer an opinion on a certain topic. Possibly you have an account and just don't feel like participating that day and choose not to log in, lurking instead. All okay. But if you are always lurking, or worse don't even have an account, you are violating the implied social contract. At the end of the day though, the best case against serial lurking is the fact that the value of the forum, as a resource, is directly tied to the number of participants and the rate of exchange of ideas that occur within the forum.

Okay, woke up about 90 minutes early, hadn't had coffee, and am teaching philosophy to some Middle School kids right now so out pops social contact theory. Not trying to guilt anyone but do wish we had more people consistently offering opinions on threads. Sometimes the hive mind becomes like a Borg mine..."We are forum" and no other damn opinion will be tolerated. Fresh ideas and takes force everyone to rethink their valuations and that's never a bad thing.

As for "sad". It is sad that more people don't feel they can post. Attacking people who do post doesn't help. If I were a serial lurker, read this post, and saw some attacked for what they wrote I'd probably stay lurking.

[Phil21]

Comments on thread about forum activity even though he has never actually contributed any meaningful content or advice, but better yet stays online to post again and still doesn't get the hint.... Genius...

This is the type of person that makes me not want to post.

[Phil21]

I get that the more people contributing on the forum brings a greater set of ideas and opinions to the table, but forcing people to post or making them feel stupid for lurking is the antithesis of what a healthy community should look like, IMO.

This is the type of person that makes me want to post more.

[harr]

Yeah, I'm the type of person that sees a thread like this and says, "no one will tell me what to do", and just shuts it down. I obviously contribute (well, at least that's what I tell myself), but I don't give a rats behind if others do. Sometimes, there are certain posters that I wish would contribute a little less of their opinion, actually. There are plenty of people on here that post multiple times an hour, and most topics have 10 plus replies within an hour or so. This type of post just sounds like sour grapes from people who sit around hitting refresh all day on this forum, upset because they don't have anything else to do (not saying that is the case OP, or others who feel similar, just using as an example). Lurkers, lurk. Posters, post. It's a free country (although I guess even that gets disputed these days).

[pierson242]

I am usually one of these guest. As you can see I don't post much, but I read quite a bit of the threads

Then why not just contribute a little bit....Just like plenty of people did on your old 1.01 trade thread

Busted.

[pierson242]

Comments on thread about forum activity even though he has never actually contributed any meaningful content or advice, but better yet stays online to post again and still doesn't get the hint.... Genius...

This is the type of person that makes me not want to post.

Why because he called you out for asking for advice and not giving any. It could be argued that people like me and Coogan and lots of others who post a lot may not want to post on people with lower ratings because they may not respond back. So maybe someone like you makes me not wanna post. See it can be argued either way. All he ask is if you ask, give a little back. He didn't mean anything in a mean way just asking for some responses back for when you ask for advice man, no hard feelings!

[Kramer]

To speak of my own experience, I was definitely a lurker last offseason when I started playing dynasty. It wasn't until I actually needed advice on my own team that I couldn't find anywhere, that I actually started posting. Coogan got me to help others out to get better responses, to which I did. At first it was mostly the easier ones that I would comment on or just a poll. After a couple months of playing and having a better feel, I would start expanding to more threads. I still don't feel competent enough to comment on a lot of stuff, but that'll hopefully get better and better as the years go.

I think the best way to get more and more people is to have the content that people are looking for so that they come here. Once they do come here, not everyone will stop being a lurker, but that's okay. There will be some people (like me) who become posters and want to chime in and that'll help the forums grow.

[pierson242]

To speak of my own experience, I was definitely a lurker last offseason when I started playing dynasty. It wasn't until I actually needed advice on my own team that I couldn't find anywhere, that I actually started posting. Coogan got me to help others out to get better responses, to which I did. At first it was mostly the easier ones that I would comment on or just a poll. After a couple months of playing and having a better feel, I would start expanding to more threads. I still don't feel competent enough to comment on a lot of stuff, but that'll hopefully get better and better as the years go.

I think the best way to get more and more people is to have the content that people are looking for so that they come here. Once they do come here, not everyone will stop being a lurker, but that's okay. There will be some people (like me) who become posters and want to chime in and that'll help the forums grow.

Exactly, you don't have to post on every thread, 1 or 2 a day, then 3-5, then so one. Commenting helps you grow you wisdom and helps your own team. No one is expected to make an account and starting posting on every thread. But if you ask a question you should at least answer 2-3

[Coogan Football]

I get that the more people contributing on the forum brings a greater set of ideas and opinions to the table, but forcing people to post or making them feel stupid for lurking is the antithesis of what a healthy community should look like, IMO.

This is the type of person that makes me want to post more.

Then let's see you prove it, here's you chance to give out some help and show that you are here for more than just to read and not contribute anything