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Author Topic: Daily posting limit?  (Read 21868 times)

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Prestidigitator

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #40 on: September 14, 2013, 03:15:14 PM »

I didn't want to get involved in this thread, but as a frequent poster I suppose I must.
It seems most of the replies are against some automatic regulatory  restriction and I agree with that.
Yes, there is flippancy and downright stupidness (Limericks?) but the majority of people who post to this site are decent honest and genuine. If a restriction was imposed, You , the best gang in the world would not be reading this.
Now let's go compose a Limerick.  >:E

Absolutely incorrigible!
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Bob Ellis

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #41 on: September 14, 2013, 03:30:35 PM »

In proposing a limit to the number of posts, Theo, you are offering a solution without specifying the nature of the problem. You mentioned some complaints/criticisms you have received, but you have not been very specific about their nature (perhaps intentionally).

I raise this because we might be able to suggest alternative solutions if we understood more clearly the nature of the problem.

Speaking for myself, I haven't noticed any problem in what I consider to be an excellent, informative and very well-mannered forum. If a thread doesn't interest me, I don't read it. However, it does concern me that imposing a limit on the number of posts might have unforeseen deleterious consequences.
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Gary P Chapin

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #42 on: September 14, 2013, 04:05:08 PM »

What might be nice, though more work for the mods, would be to have on the home page or forum home page a note to new users to try the search function before posting.

Thanks, that is a useful suggestion and will  take all of a couple of minutes to add to the welcome message.   What will take longer is to improve the search function, which is not very good.  There seems to be an add-on for SMF that takes you to a Google search of the forum.
Perhaps slightly off topic, but ... there are topics that are amenable to this, but I don't actually come to the forum for information per se.  I come for conversation about information.  Probably preaching to the choir here.
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911377brian

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #43 on: September 14, 2013, 04:45:32 PM »

'I come for conversation about information'. I wanted to say exactly that but couldn't find the words. Thanks Gary.  ;)
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Steve C.

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #44 on: September 14, 2013, 06:10:12 PM »

Gary, what I was going for was a comment I think that was made regarding reluctance of new members from posting.
It "seems like" many new posters are looking for information, sometimes in areas that have been treaded and re-retreaded, such as what is a good box to learn on, are 1 rows easier to play than 2 rows, what key(s), can I fix/tune my own box, etc.
Bob, good point.  If leadership would be so kind, maybe they could more clearly outline what it is we are trying to fix......
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Pat.

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #45 on: September 14, 2013, 06:15:43 PM »

Theo - sorry to learn you have had some complaints.

Nevertheless, I also feel that putting a daily, or a time limit on the number of posts would be a backward and somewhat negative step, for the reasons given by Ollie, Gary, Nfldbox and others too. I feel it would detract from the excellent community atmosphere of melnet; I too love all the types of posts we get here, both the technical and the trivial. If there are any threads I don't wish to follow, I simply don't read them.

This has to be one of the most friendly forums on the internet and I would be sad if that changed, however subtly.
           I completely agree with the above,well put steve.
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Steve C.

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #46 on: September 14, 2013, 06:20:16 PM »

I don't know if this speaks directly to a root cause, but maybe we could have an annual "bake sale" and buy the forum some bandwidth credits.

I get the impression that the "buy and sell" honoraria sent in are inadequate to support the considerable fixed expenses of the ISP.
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Theo

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #47 on: September 14, 2013, 06:26:21 PM »

Steve C

That really needs a new topic, I don't see it's relevance here, it is just speculation and is incorrect.  My suggestions were prompted by the reasons I gave. There is no shortage of money in the kitty. 
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #48 on: September 14, 2013, 07:55:00 PM »

Quote,  from Theo "there's no shortage of money in the kitty"

There'll be even more when the Melnet book of Limericks comes out.  8)
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Prestidigitator

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #49 on: September 14, 2013, 08:05:15 PM »

Quote,  from Theo "there's no shortage of money in the kitty"

There'll be even more when the Melnet book of Limericks comes out.  8)

Not just incorrigible, but an out-and-out recidivist as well. Tut-tut.
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #50 on: September 14, 2013, 09:28:58 PM »

 ;D
Quote,  from Theo "there's no shortage of money in the kitty"

There'll be even more when the Melnet book of Limericks comes out.  8)

Not just incorrigible, but an out-and-out recidivist as well. Tut-tut.

 :'(  ;D
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Lyra

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #51 on: September 14, 2013, 11:00:45 PM »

Well, surely the nature of the issue (I refuse to see a problem) is kinda key.
While encouraging new people to search before asking and thus ask in a more informed (or confused) manner is probably a good idea, you don't (I think) want this to be a place where people come, search, read and depart in silence. If at least some of them don't join in then stagnation is possible and perceived cliquishness more likely.

My other forum has an incredibly detailed FAQ (well FMR, but same principle) sticky which is very helpful (not slaved over by a mod, btw but a forum person). Problem is many live queries arethen  answered by "read the FMR" which is not helpful and not the melnet way. Where else could you go and ask a genuine but naive question and without fail get a helpful, polite, enthusiastic response that will make you feel better about yourself and probably give you a giggle?

Yes you get thread drift "I'm looking for a pink melodeon, any suggestions?" may well dissolve into a debate on the sound characteristics of pink and whether light pink or hot pink are more resonant, most of which will go over your head but you'll know people are interested, come out with some suggestions on what to choose AND where to get them, which bus to catch to the obscure Italian village that is the only place that makes them, an introduction to a tuner to fettle it and on a good day a limerick to cheer you on your way. AND some of those may have come from legendary players whose feet we are unworthy to wash, at that!

I doubt there are many forums that provide such an all round service.

I also personally like the one liner quips - it proves there are real people here and they take no time to read as well as usually raising a smile and the odd guffaw. They also contributed strongly to my staying, having wandered in randomly*.
Incredibly long walls of text on only vaguely related topics are probably more of an issue for me as ignoring them takes longer (and they make me feel inadequate). However, without those there'd be no quips. I also work for the government, so skipping over turgid prose is my speciality ;)

Anyhoo tl:dr not sure it's broken, actually

* maybe not such a good thing, then
« Last Edit: September 14, 2013, 11:14:01 PM by Lyra »
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #52 on: September 14, 2013, 11:20:59 PM »

Beautifully put Lyra, even if Etienne did think you were Sir. ;)
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Steve C.

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #53 on: September 14, 2013, 11:48:11 PM »

This shall be my last "me too" post.
This shall be my last devoid of serious content post (fingers crossed).

Seriously, though, good to hear that it is not a financial issue.  My mistaken surmise.
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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #54 on: September 15, 2013, 05:49:20 AM »

But what if one is really really feeling an exceptionally strong "me too" as I am at this moment with every word that Lyra just said? Is there another way i could put it? As a relative newbie to this site this thread is becoming exactly why I spend so much time on it. That and the fact that I live in a melodeon void, and really have no one else to answer my questions or just talk boxes with.  :(
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BJG

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #55 on: September 15, 2013, 09:33:43 AM »

It "seems like" many new posters are looking for information, sometimes in areas that have been treaded and re-retreaded, such as what is a good box to learn on, are 1 rows easier to play than 2 rows

Although it's always sensible to search a forum first if looking for specific information, it's easier said than done. I don't know if the second was an actual example but I just experimentally tried a couple of searches and didn't come up with anything useful. That's nothing to do with the search function; it's just that terms like "one row" and "two row" are so general you'd have to plough through a lot of posts to see if you could find anything. I think forums like this are inevitably going to have quite a lot of repeated questions. I guess a FAQ is the best answer to that. How about heading the forum with a "Welcome" section with a beginner's FAQ and a place where people could introduce themselves? (Another possibility would be some kind of "beginners" section where people could post trivial repetitive questions without fear of intruding on more esoteric debates, the ones about limericks etc.)

My other forum has an incredibly detailed FAQ (well FMR, but same principle) sticky which is very helpful (not slaved over by a mod, btw but a forum person). Problem is many live queries arethen  answered by "read the FMR" which is not helpful and not the melnet way.

I don't think the existence of a FAQ would necessarily lead to peremptory "read the FAQ" posts, any more than simple questions are presently met with the even more soul-destroying "use Google". On some forums being able to politely direct someone's attention to information in a FAQ is an effective timesaver for everyone, and if people want to make more personal replies they still can.

I don't actually come to the forum for information per se.  I come for conversation about information.

That's a nice comment. I recently posted a query on a another unrelated forum which was doubtless the kind of thing that had often been posted on forums before, but still elicited quite a lively and informative thread-drifting debate. Questions about one thing on Melnet often seem to lead to answers about another!
« Last Edit: September 15, 2013, 09:53:36 AM by BJG »
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911377brian

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #56 on: September 15, 2013, 11:14:05 AM »

I'm on Melnet at least twice a day because it is friendly and an enormous source of information, some of which I don't properly understand but is always interesting. Looking things up doesn't really work most times for me, mainly because my knowledge of all things melodeon is not too good. For example, the term Helicon has always puzzled me and the explanation on 'Melodeon Terms' didn't help over much, but an enquiry on here yesterday came up with very understandable descriptions pretty quickly.( OOM PA ) I do post when something hits the spot, and yes, sometimes it is a 'me too', but I also go weeks without posting. Would I accrue valuable house points after long silent periods? I can't be the only one to admire Lyra's posting on this, it seemed to cover the subject admirably...
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EastAnglianTed

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #57 on: September 15, 2013, 12:20:25 PM »

    What's your thinking so far Theo?  (:)
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malcolmbebb

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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #58 on: September 15, 2013, 02:54:36 PM »

This seems to have two directions - one for newbies posting "previously asked" questions, and one for the more, shall we say, light hearted posting.
I suspect that Theo's concerns centre around the latter, although I've not noticed any specifics, or indeed proposals for any specific limits. I am assuming no PMs have been issued on that matter.  8)

FAQs have their uses, but going back to my early days on Usenet in the early 90s I recall frequent exhortations to "Read the **** FAQ" - to me a clear indication that they have never worked. I suspect for UK users FAQ means " I can't be Fagged to Answer your Question" (not my original choice, but I couldn't have two As).  A few more information files distilled out might be good, but I think newbies should be allowed, if not encouraged, to post their initial questions without any pressure or "guidance".

Theo suggested that a posting limit would only slow down helpful discussions, not kill them. I take the opposite view. If you've got to wait until tomorrow to post (or get) an answer, most will lose interest and the topic will have moved on anyway. So I think people won't bother. And unless any limit is applied unequally, with "heavyweight" users being allowed more posts than "flippant" users, the most helpful people will be capped most.
And apart from any "fairness" issues, that would be a pig to operate so I can't see it happening.

Another side effect might be that people would seek to put more into long posts - unless there was a character count limit - so there would be more long indigestible posts. (like this one  ::)

As for the "more prolific" users - can't really comment, not having much experience of one-line posts or limericks, myself,  ::) but it is a clear indication that the users are comfortable with a forum and as others have said, they are not universally unwelcome. But I also think the names that come to mind would be amenable to a gentle prod from a list admin without taking it it to heart, and while that's a bit more work for the admins (and I have been there) it might be worth a try to start with.

Finally, I don't think Theo specifically said "complaints" - but of course, wherever you are, there are those more predisposed to complain than others...
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Re: Daily posting limit?
« Reply #59 on: September 15, 2013, 06:10:58 PM »


I also personally like the one liner quips - it proves there are real people here and they take no time to read as well as usually raising a smile and the odd guffaw. They also contributed strongly to my staying, having wandered in randomly*.
Incredibly long walls of text on only vaguely related topics are probably more of an issue for me as ignoring them takes longer.....

* maybe not such a good thing, then


Good points.....and I have been witness to very few incidents of flaming on this forum. Perhaps they are expunged automatically  :o

 On the issue of search, I must confess that I have found the search engine to be painfully ineffective. If it was more useful, perhaps new users could find much of the well discussed information they are seeking. I have searched every which way for a keyword that I know exists on a former thread, to no avail. Sometimes they appear quite by accident.
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