So, What Did We Learn From Regular Free Week?

8.4k · February 8, 2005

OK. I learned that I can abstain from posting here for a week. I didn't want to let RK down.

What did you learn?

22k · February 8, 2005

I made it harder on myself by lurking.

I learned that while I may have been itching to respond to a topic, letting it slide by sitting on my hands lowered my angst level in the long run.

But! now that I'm here I do have a few late responses:

Stick both of them in the dishwasher.

Not my Mama, YOUR Mama.

All at the same time??

The mirror is not working.

If you found it already, why try again?

Funny, but I don’t get it.

This doesn't really have anything to do with geocaching does it?

============

There I feel better now.

2.6k · February 8, 2005

I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if it wasn't announced.

8.4k · February 8, 2005

I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if it wasn't announced.

Now I'm hurt. You didn't miss me? :huh:

2.6k · February 8, 2005

I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if it wasn't announced.

Now I'm hurt. You didn't miss me?

Well, I missed you, of course. But in general, everything here was IMO pretty much the same. It didn't feel like anything was particularly different.

22k · February 8, 2005

But in general, everything here was IMO pretty much the same. It didn't feel like anything was particularly different.

as expected.

Edited February 8, 2005 by BlueDeuce

38.2k · February 8, 2005

I was here. I didn't even notice I wasn't supposed to be until a thread popped up a few days into the week mentioning it.

1.8k · February 8, 2005

Carp! I didn't know there was going to be a test! I really didn't learn a thing, mostly because I didn't even notice a difference.

3.8k · February 8, 2005

Why have we had it ? :huh:

7.2k · February 8, 2005

I guess I learned what it is like to be a lurker. I was here, probably almost as much as normal, and I think I did see difference.

It seemed a bit calmer. Less dynamic. I could see some new faces taking the regulars' places, but they'd soon bring it to the same place--just with slightly different prespectives.

Also, by stepping back I saw some folks who choose to stay--or didn't know about the experiment--in a different light. Opinions of them changed. Some for the better. Some not.

Will I be able to bring the knowledge gained from this experience to the table in a positive manner? I dunno. I hope.

1.6k · February 8, 2005

It seemed a bit calmer. Less dynamic. I could see some new faces taking the regulars' places, but they'd soon bring it to the same place--just with slightly different prespectives.

Ditto that here as well , with the exceptions of the "regulars" that chose not to participate . It seemed to be a very calm week , with little or no angst at all ! I also noticed that all of the questions , were also answered without us.

Lesson learned : The forums will be just fine with or without " The Regulars"

Star

4.7k · February 8, 2005

i knew about the experiment but didn't care enough to pay attention to when it was supposed to happen. i also did not notice a difference.

was there a point to it other than to see if people missed you?

it's like quitting a club to make people sorry: it makes a stir at the outset, but in a surprisingly short time they fill your position and take over your committee assignments and nobody cares much.

February 8, 2005

Being a lurker was interesting! There were a couple of posts I really wanted to respond to, but restrained myself. Surprisingly, the response I would have written was provided by someone else (not a regular).

So what did I learn?

That there are incredible similarities in posters' responses to those traditionally made by the so-called regulars.

It's possible that many of the forum attendees tend to wait to see if a 'regular' is going to post first, holding back to see if their view is presented and what sort of reaction it invokes.

I don't think the forum was any calmer, or had less "angst", but the tone of any post is open to interpretation, I guess. I have a weird sense of humour, so often find the so-called 'angst' incredibly amusing and more often than not, not worthy of additional comment.

But I'm glad I can post again ............

February 8, 2005

What did I learn? Uhhh... I chose the wrong week to be otherwise excessively busy so I couldn't read the forums much...

On a serious note, when I did get on (briefly), I noticed that topics were unreplied to for more than about a minute ::gasps::

If I had a lot of free time during a(nother?) regular-free week, it'd be really boring! without the quick replies of the regulars, there's really not a whole lot to read if you've got 2+ hours to kill!!

Happy Caching

Jeff

February 8, 2005

It seemed a bit calmer. Less dynamic. I could see some new faces taking the regulars' places, but they'd soon bring it to the same place--just with slightly different prespectives.

Ditto that here as well , with the exceptions of the "regulars" that chose not to participate . It seemed to be a very calm week , with little or no angst at all ! I also noticed that all of the questions , were also answered without us.

Lesson learned : The forums will be just fine with or without " The Regulars"

Star

Ditto, ditto. There were a couple threads going that I know certain regulars would have came in and let their opinion be known. It was kinda nice to hear from some others for a change, even if they were echoing similair sentiments.

--RuffRidr

4.8k · February 8, 2005

Pocket queries is hard to slip into many threads.

Edit: I learned something else too, but it is a secret. :huh:

Edited February 8, 2005 by carleenp

February 8, 2005

A lot less "Markwells" for sure! :huh:

5.3k · February 8, 2005

I never knew it was a done deal, I missed it I guess.

9.4k · February 8, 2005

When is regular-free week? I don't see it on the upcoming calendar

3.8k · February 8, 2005

So, What Did We Learn From Regular Free Week?

That's easy. We learned that when the regulars aren't posting...a...well I'm sure we learned something.

I'll get back to you on this. :huh:

2.5k · February 8, 2005

I learned that it's alot easier to not post if you don't lurk. lol!

I must say that I did do a few posts, but I think that I posted as many the whole week as I do in one posting session (Now, times that by two or three sessions a day.... )

In a way, it was kinda depressing to see that the forums go on without us.. That the 'core' group of posters doesn't make the forums go round..

On the other hand, I was really happy to see that other people who may not have normally posted would step up and answer questions as they arose. :huh:

And as a plus for those of you who don't like me, I got a job, so even though regular free week has ended, I won't be on here as much as usual.

9.5k · February 8, 2005

i knew about the experiment but didn't care enough to pay attention to when it was supposed to happen. i also did not notice a difference.

was there a point to it other than to see if people missed you?

it's like quitting a club to make people sorry: it makes a stir at the outset, but in a surprisingly short time they fill your position and take over your committee assignments and nobody cares much.

Actually... you hit it without realising it, which validates my statement made in the original thread.

Nature abhors a vacuum and some people just can't stand silence. Also, some won't be able to resist the urge to taunt in a transparent attempt to try to pull the "regulars" back in during that week. Those are the ones that will fill the void. The complainers will see all their complaints about the regulars will be for naught.

It certainly wasn't to see if anybody missed us... at least, not from my perspective.

I lasted until yesterday morning when I was suckered into the snowshoe thread. :rolleyes: However, my lurking observations did not notice much difference.

Right off the bat, in the original thread, there were the clowns that posted off topic and caused the thread to be locked.

There were others that took over the Q&A; some doing a good job, others not resisting the urge to reduce the angst.

There were angst-filled thread openers and continued to stay that way.

I saw new faces coming up with questions, and receiving the same response the original complainers whined about.

I saw threads being opened that had nothing to do with geocaching forcing them to be closed down.

Nothing changed except the backfill were under different aliases.

February 8, 2005

What did you learn?

I learned I get a lot more Nigerian scam emails when the regulars aren't posting! :rolleyes: :tired: Oh come on, I'm just kidding. I appreciate all the help I've received from you folks...glad to see you came back.

5k · February 8, 2005

I found it surprisingly hard to stay out of the forums. I even caught myself clicking on the "Discuss Geocaching" link from the main page more than once.

I did make two posts during the "free" week, but they were to very specific threads and I didn't read anything.

Aside from those two posts, I went from 31 January until 7 February without the forums.

When I returned, I was surprised to learn that many people continued to lurk and even post. I thought the participation would have been much higher. Actually, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, no big deal, but if more people had been free of the forums, we might have had some interesting results. As it is, it seems that there was very little notice.

Jamie

3k · February 8, 2005

When was it? Can I still play? I like free things! :rolleyes:

Is there going to be a Premium Free Week?

Having just started a new job, I don't think I was in the forums anyway.

Edited February 8, 2005 by Planet

9.1k · February 8, 2005

I was a good boy for most of the week, and only posted in the OT forum except for answering a media inquiry and for RSVP'ing in a thread about an event cache I'm planning to attend.

Unfortunately I got mixed up on the dates and thought that Friday was the end of the week, so I started posting again a bit too early!

The most positive thing I can say is that I enjoyed reading sbell's posts, as he chose not to participate in the week off. There was a long period when he wasn't in the forums very much, so who cares, I am glad he is back and adding his thoughts.

My negative observation is that I wish a few more people had taken the week off. :rolleyes:

20.7k · February 8, 2005

I never really understood what the point was, so I didn't participate or maybe I failed to not participate. I'm confused. :rolleyes:

2.6k · February 8, 2005

I learned that I really ought to write things down, because I couldn't remember if I was supposed to come back today or tomorrow. Today, I guess.

February 8, 2005

Was here everyday just lurking as usual, only wanted to post once and bit my finger to keep from it.

Overall calmness of the forums in general was a good thing for the most part, and we should do this more often and see what others views are without the know it alls, but a few remained, that was OK to I guess, but how did anyone not know about the week off unless they were posting and not reading.

Pleasantly surprised that sbell111 stepped up to plate and helped a lot with questions asked and they were very informative and humorist post. Way to go dude

Also noticed “Pocket Queries” were mentioned a lot , Heee Heee ………….. JOE

February 8, 2005

Much to learn we still have.

I finally figured out what it was! I thought it was talking about Premium membership or something at first! Doh!

I learned that I like the OT forum.

I learned that I can go away and come back and we're still giving the same answers to the same questions for most of the bandwidth.

I also learned how to scale down a GPS 12 to fit in Yoda's hand!

38.2k · February 8, 2005

...but how did anyone not know about the week off unless they were posting and not reading.

If a thread doesn't interest me I don't go back to it, so I had no idea it was going forward until someone mentioned it during the week.

9.1k · February 8, 2005

Apparently the threshold level for a thread being "interesting" is quite low for Brian. :rolleyes:

3.9k · February 8, 2005

I think I posted twice...hey I'm on the 12 step program, give me a break. :rolleyes:

El Diablo

20.7k · February 8, 2005

...Also noticed “Pocket Queries” were mentioned a lot , Heee Heee ………….. JOE

The funny thing is that a while back, I used to b***h that everyone's answer was always 'get a PQ'. Now it seems as if I'm doing it in every other post.

The other half of my posts are just barely on-topic wisecracks. Sometimes, I really miss spaghetti boy.

1.2k · February 8, 2005

So were all you guys gone or something???

5.7k · February 8, 2005

I'm not really a regular, so I wasn't affected. Seriously, I wasn't aware that this was going on. I didn't notice anything different. What "week" was it? Last week?

--Marky

20.7k · February 8, 2005

So were all you guys gone or something???

That's what they claim. :rolleyes:

Edited February 8, 2005 by sbell111

2.3k · February 8, 2005

The other half of my posts are just barely on-topic wisecracks. Sometimes, I really miss spaghetti boy.

Ooo, shocker. :rolleyes:

4.7k · February 8, 2005

i didn't notice y'all were gone.

22k · February 8, 2005

i didn't notice y'all were gone.

But I betcha notice when we're here!

(Starts doing the muggle dance and singing the muggle song)

2k · February 8, 2005

I agree with the others that posted that it was alot calmer around here.

I think questions that newbies had were answered in a kinder manner.

4.7k · February 8, 2005

i didn't notice y'all were gone.

But I betcha notice when we're here!

(Starts doing the muggle dance and singing the muggle song)

nope. it's all the same stuff, no matter who says it.

and since i often end up reading a thread that's been open for a time, it doesn't even occur to me that people have beeen gone for a few days.

what happens is that the "regulars" change. apparently some of the people who went on vacation for the week weren't even people i recognize, let alone consider "regulars".

if (insert well-known poster) doesn't talk about the superiority of the meriplat, somebody else will. is (other well-known poster) isn't here to complain about the general decline of cache quality someone else will.

if i don't bother to make the muggle rant, somebody will do it for me, albeit perhaps not with the same relish and vitriol. you go ahead and dance and sing. it will make nice video for my collection.

February 8, 2005

I'd have to agree with flask's take on this. I don't consider myself a regular poster, though occasionally I chime in. Honestly, I don't even open 90% of the threads -- I'll duck in, see if something piques my interest, read it, comment if I have something to say, but generally not much... I did notice some new voices in threads, which was refreshing. No offense intended, but sometimes those new voices are obscured by the pundits of the forums -- different styles, different names, maybe some of the same old questions, but nice to see new cachers bringing them up... The old dominant posters are appreciated, but the competition for billboard space was lessened and some of these new perspectives had a chance to be the stars without sounding like they were butting in to personal conversation traffic.

That said, a bit of me missed the argumental angst and clean wit of "normal" forums... maybe some of the newer voices will feel more confident to post after this week off. :blink:

3.8k · February 8, 2005

I agree with the others that posted that it was alot calmer around here.

I think questions that newbies had were answered in a kinder manner.

I noticed this too. I rarely appear in the general forum. I spend most of my time in "Units and Software" and "Getting Started" where the angst level is lower. I really think that there were fewer rants in here last week, and the demeanor over all was a little more friendly.

That having been said, that doesn't necessarily mean it was "better," just different. Squeaky wheels sometimes do get greased, and there is alway room for differences of opinion. It's what makes public forums public forums.

February 8, 2005

What, you regulars abstained by design?

Shoot, I thought you were out geocaching! :blink:

22k · February 9, 2005

I will agree that you’all didn't notice the regulars being gone, and I might agree that newbies faired well during the week. But I won't agree that the participating posters were the ones contributing to the abuse of newbies.

There is no need for me to provide names, just watch the postings, you will see for yourself.

Edited February 9, 2005 by BlueDeuce

February 9, 2005

I checked in through most of the week as I was interested in two things:

1. What was the "friendliness" quotient?

-- On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being utopia..lots of love)...I felt it was about an 8.5...not a lot of fireworks...but a little feistiness here and there. Normally I'd give the forums about a 6...with most of that score coming from a handful of folks...

2. Which regulars would really just blow off the "regular-free week" and chime in anyway?

-- I was surprised to see a few regulars that I thought would play the game (stay away)...but after reading this thread I see that at least one or two of them forgot. Of course, there were several who said that nothing could come between them and the "life-giving forums"...and they stuck to their word

It was nice to see lots of new names as topic starters or posters. It was also interesting to see at least one person who must have started a couple dozen topics in less than 48 hours It was eventually addressed by a regular...but I think it would have been dealt with a little quicker if everyone was online :blink:

Finally...I saw a few questions out there in the Getting Started section that went unanswered a little longer. But, overall...things didn't change a whole lot...

22k · February 9, 2005

overall...things didn't change a whole lot...

That, I completely agree.

22k · February 9, 2005

overall...things didn't change a whole lot...

oh, except my avatar. :blink:

Edited February 9, 2005 by BlueDeuce

February 9, 2005

Whew!

that was cruel and unusual voluntary punishment for having a vaguely defined number of posts, but I made it! :blink:

So, What Did We Learn From Regular Free Week?

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