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This thread is the co-winner of a Special Prize in the Thread of the Fortnight contest- 16th to 31st May '24.
  • Category: Creative Writing

    Do good threads only get good responses or good responses make a thread good?

    We are reading posts and discussion threads in the ISC forum and some members may be visiting other blogs and forums.

    I have seen some seemingly innocuous or irrelevant threads getting some very good responses which then leads to some healthy discussions. I have also seen some good threads not getting expected responses and sometimes the thread is hacked off to some other paths.

    So my question is whether threads become good by good responses or good threads elicit good responses.

    Members may be having first-hand experiences as authors of threads and as responders too. Please come out with your valid views in this regard.
  • #779538
    I think good threads elicit good responses. But these good and bad are relative terms in my opinion. The thread which I felt was good may not be considered as good by many other members. But on ISC we can identify good threads easily. We can assume that threads that are getting the thread of the fortnight award or some other appreciation like enhanced points etc, as good threads. Many members may not have time to read all the threads. So they may select one or two by seeing the heading and post their views. In this process, there is a chance that good threads may not catch their attention. To avoid such issues ISC is pinning with some emojis to alert the members about the speciality of that thread. That will make many members go to such threads and post their points.
    Recently I observed that many threads are getting a good number of responses. This may be due to less number of new threads.

    drrao
    always confident

  • #779541
    In my view if a post is unique and is not a mere repetition of an earlier post then chances of it getting more responses are more. Sometimes, a simple post can also get more responses because many members have information related to that. Post which ask for sharing experiences in a matter also get more responses as one has simply to recollect what happened in that matter in the past.
    So, there are many reasons why a post gets more responses. Further, if a post has already got a good number of responses then some members might look at it as why it got more responses and if find interesting they may also give a response.

    This particular post is also a unique one and I hope it will attract more responses.

    However, presently, there are limited number of members participating regularly in forum section and the maximum number of responses will be limited to that only until a few of them make relevant multiple responses.

    Knowledge is power.

  • #779545
    The author has floated an interesting post and I fully agree with other members that unique and new topics always attract more members to respond.
    There are many members who respond to a good number of posts but at the same time there are members who are selective and respond to only the posts where they have some interest and desire to contribute.
    We have many times discussed the issue of owning our thread and then intervening time to time if required. If that is followed then responses will further increase.
    In general a unique and interesting post will attract more responses.

    Thoughts exchanged is knowledge gained.

  • #779547
    If the number of members active in forum section at any time are less due to whatever reason then it is possible that even some good threads may starve for responses. In that case we can bring those threads back in the front page feed by responding to them. That would be a good strategy especially in lean times.
    Knowledge is power.

  • #779557
    This thread is good and hence it has obtained recognition by getting pinned and getting enhanced points. Now members will get attracted towards this thread and we can expect more responses and some may be good responses.
    drrao
    always confident

  • #779560
    One thing that comes to my mind is that if we try to float forum posts on a variety of subjects like finance, share market, politics, historical matters, travel, household matters, medicine systems, health & exercise, Yoga/Meditation/Spirituality, education, current affairs, basics of some science topics, relationship, religion & culture, internet related, computer applications, mobile related, etc then the chances of getting more responses increase.
    Different people have interest in different areas and they will respond to a post if it falls in that particular line.

    Thoughts exchanged is knowledge gained.

  • #779562
    Members have brought in various points from various perspectives.

    Srinivasa Rao is of the view that "good and bad are relative terms". True to some extent. He also thinks that due to paucity of time members may not be able to answer all threads and just pick and choose by the titles. In this, some good threads may be overlooked. Following up again he adds that this current thread is good and so may get good response.

    Umesh has a view that a thread which seeks readers' experience may get more response as it is easier to recollect one's experience. He also doubts about following the flock –responding to threads where some responses have already come. He adds in a follow up response that if the forum members online are less on a day or at some time then even good threads coming during the time may starve for responses.

    Neeru Bhatt sees it in another way. She says that members are selective as per their own interest. Also, more intervention from the thread author also may elicit more responses. Hence, she seeks members to float more threads on variety of subjects.,

    I feel all these views are valid. ISC team can pick up the core points from these responses and include in their tips and guidelines for posting guidelines to attract more visitors to the posts and to ISC.

  • #779567
    Yes, the good posts might be overlooked by many members due to the paucity of time of the members. They might be bussy with other activities and as such they feel the shortage of time. Whatever, they notice at first glance is taken up for responses. Once they devote to the time set by them is exhausted, they will take up the assignments set by them.
    A thorough search of the new posting could help them for picking up the responses of their interests. Unfortunately, we all feel a shortage of time in responses due to our other activities.

  • #779608
    I think it is relative and a definite answer is not possible. It is so because the threads and responses are basically dependent on the contributing members- their aim, interests, creativity, views etc. are few factors that would decide the quality and nature of a thread or response.

    I feel that even a thread that is not so good, subject-wise or the way it has been presented can be upgraded if a member posting the response wants it to be so. Responses are equally important because they can add content if a member puts in some effort to interpret the topic and give it a twist so that the direction of the discussion takes a new turn. Similarly, a good thread can lose its charm if the responses are not well thought of and is diverted.

    So, what I feel is that a member who is either raising a thread or is posting a response or response to a response must do it seriously and after giving the total (entire) content a good thought. The idea should be to add value to the content. What we write should be able to elicit an interest in the reader to react. Sometimes it happens so that a title is catchy and meaningful but the elaboration in the content may lack clarity or may not be striking enough to interest the reader and vice-versa. As a reader, I think, we should read the title and the content and then post a response so that the next reader might get a different idea and be persuaded to post a response.

    A good thread, as a matter of fact, may get good responses and good responses can change the nature of a not so good thread. But basically, the point to note would be that the topic and the content we raise must have something to be discussed or to be debated upon. It would also be pertinent to mention here is that we should take care to avoid repeating stale topics. But again, we should not overlook the fact that even stale topics can be made to appear fresh if we try to look at them from a different perspective.

    It is like preparing a dish. The basic ingredients will always be the same. But you can change its appearance and taste by adding more ingredients or changing the quantity of the ingredients or the way you prepare/present the dish. The person consuming it will identify the dish but only after tasting, and he will relish the change and enjoy the dish.

    So, let our endeavor be to post fresh topics or even if they are repeated, put in efforts to bring in changes so as to make them appear different and also post responses to add value to the content instead of making it simply a routine exercise.

    'Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all'.
    -Aristotle

  • #779610
    I agree with Saji Ganesh. The responses may increase the value of the thread. It all depends on the member and his knowledge of that particular subject. One good thing about ISC is even good responses will also be recognised and higher points may be given. This shows the commitment of the Editors to reward quality contributions. I feel thread and responses are complementary to each other.
    drrao
    always confident

  • #779620
    A lot of observations and good points are contributed by the members in this thread and given a good guidance for floating a post such that it adds value to the forum discussions and attracts good responses from others.
    Let us try to float new posts using these tips.

    Thoughts exchanged is knowledge gained.


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