What's the most annoying thread or type of thread on your forum?

The big issue around here is Topix.com, there is so much drama that goes on there for a little community of 800 people.

mrbill said:

Only repeat violators of community rules. On some sites, there's forum strength in diversity and cluelessness. My pet peeve is "That has already been answered somewhere else." Are you kidding me? The correct answer would probably have been just as easy as the snide remark. The person asking the question may never return.

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This.

After I spent all that time and money getting them in the door.

The great thing about forums is that members can pick and choose where they want to participate. Let the chatty threads roll along, they help new members make a soft transition in and provide a neutral space for those who don't want heavy topics. Those who would rather give them a skip and find the deeper topics can do that, without snark or being bored.

Alundra said:

Yes that's annoying too, but if it's LITERALLY "how long will my meat last in the freezer?" there's LITERALLY only one answer that can be given, there's nothing ti discuss there.

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I take it you don't store meat in freezers.

Vague questions that cover such a broad scope, a concise answer isn't possible. "Kindly tell me about the history of modern architecture very much please".

Shawn Gossman said:

The big issue around here is Topix.com, there is so much drama that goes on there for a little community of 800 people.

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Is Topix a direct competitor for all forums? They are hot.

Our local one looks like it attracts the kind of people we'd ban. It looks more like a service to us rather than a competitor.

Striving said:

Is Topix a direct competitor for all forums? They are hot.

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IDK, but one click + a shady pop up = never visit again.........

JQP said:

Our local one looks like it attracts the kind of people we'd ban. It looks more like a service to us rather than a competitor.

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Lol

Ones that get no replies!!

3phase said:

I take it you don't store meat in freezers.

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You can't be serious, there's a recommended timeframe for storing each kind of meat. Google the one you're after and you'll get your answer, there is LITERALLY NOTHING SUBJECTIVE about this question and no room for discussion unless you want food poisoning or freezer burned meat (or both if you're really unlucky!).

It's like asking how many planets are in the solar system. If there's a sun in our solar system. How many volts/watts of electricity come through a socket in your country. What video format your country uses. GOOGLE, not post!

So this will come as a shock to many people - I suspect, anyway ...

Google does not have all the answers.

Articles/info posted online are truncated summaries. I don't know whether to laugh or scream when someone wants to tell me they know everything about suspensory ligament strains in horses because they read up on it online. For all the research and articles, most of the best information has never been written down. Not even in the veterinary manuals. Just an example, the same for almost everything else we experience in life.

Forums are a fantastic way to tap into the direct experience and understanding of people who have never written down what they know.

There is so much info, knowledge and understanding that is related to individual experience that will never be contained on Google. Thank goodness !!! Otherwise there would be no need for forums.

Alundra said:

You can't be serious, there's a recommended timeframe for storing each kind of meat. Google the one you're after and you'll get your answer, there is LITERALLY NOTHING SUBJECTIVE about this question and no room for discussion unless you want food poisoning or freezer burned meat (or both if you're really unlucky!).

It's like asking how many planets are in the solar system. If there's a sun in our solar system. How many volts/watts of electricity come through a socket in your country. What video format your country uses. GOOGLE, not post!

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Bad analogy with the number of planets.

Consider the difference between "recommended" and actual experience. How large the cut of meat; how it was cut; how wrapped; various questions of quality and type ... type of freezer ... it's endless. Freezers not operating as expected, etc. & so on. Easy 10+ pages of discussion on a 10-post-per-page thread display, if you have enough people who store meat in freezers for long periods.

Sharing all that is the essence of forums. Encouraging the chatter to branch out is what keeps people coming back. It's like a community picnic with a lot of people jumping into the same discussion, each one coming from their own universe of experience. Is it meaningful to everyone? No, but so what. Everyone wants to have their say and if you listen, you can learn something useful.

OR ... you can kill it d.e.a.d. by confining the shared information to ... Google search.

3phase said:

There is so much info, knowledge and understanding that is related to individual experience that will never be contained on Google. Thank goodness !!! Otherwise there would be no need for forums.

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Funny, that. We had just such an instance a few days ago. A woman made an argument, a guy replied with his eyewitness account and she would not believe him because he didn't quote some news article or opinion piece. Never mind that he was the expert the writer would have interviewed for the story, she wasn't believing it. To some people, if Google didn't say it, it ain't true. Strange world it's become.

3phase said:

Bad analogy with the number of planets.

Consider the difference between "recommended" and actual experience. How large the cut of meat; how it was cut; how wrapped; various questions of quality and type ... type of freezer ... it's endless. Freezers not operating as expected, etc. & so on. Easy 10+ pages of discussion on a 10-post-per-page thread display, if you have enough people who store meat in freezers for long periods.

Sharing all that is the essence of forums. Encouraging the chatter to branch out is what keeps people coming back. It's like a community picnic with a lot of people jumping into the same discussion, each one coming from their own universe of experience. Is it meaningful to everyone? No, but so what. Everyone wants to have their say and if you listen, you can learn something useful.

OR ... you can kill it d.e.a.d. by confining the shared information to ... Google search.

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You're looking at it from a broad perspective. If someone LITERALLY posts "how long will meat last in the freezer?" and their post is "I have a steak, how long will it last in the freezer?" there's only going to be one answer or x replies of the same answer.

If they posted "how long will meat last in the freezer?" and then their post was something like "I have a really **** freezer that leaks and stuff and I was wondering how I could make my meat last longer in there?" then there's room for discussion there.

You're saying it's not annoying because you don't understand the type of post I am talking about, which is NOT the type of post you're talking about, which I do not find annoying.

Alundra said:

"how long will my meat last in the freezer?"

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Keep me and my wife out of this conversation!

For my reasoning, click box:

Sorry, sometimes my Navy submarine sick humor manifests itself.

Alundra said:

You're looking at it from a broad perspective. If someone LITERALLY posts "how long will meat last in the freezer?" and their post is "I have a steak, how long will it last in the freezer?" there's only going to be one answer or x replies of the same answer.

If they posted "how long will meat last in the freezer?" and then their post was something like "I have a really **** freezer that leaks and stuff and I was wondering how I could make my meat last longer in there?" then there's room for discussion there.

You're saying it's not annoying because you don't understand the type of post I am talking about, which is NOT the type of post you're talking about, which I do not find annoying.

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I'll try it another way ... if a narrow, definitional question is posted, sticking with narrow definitional answers is a big missed opportunity on a forum. Take "how long will meat last in a freezer?" and open it up. "What kind of meat?" "what kind of freezer?" "how large is the cut and how did you wrap it?" and get your shills and chatty cathy's to broaden that narrow question to the world of frozen meat experience. Don't let narrow questions stay narrow.

The type of post I hate most on my forum is a narrow response. Anytime there is a "google it!" or (just yesterday) "wikipedia is your friend!" I want to reach through cyberspace and snatch that keyboard away from that person. It does not matter what the question is or how adequate are the google/wiki/etc answers.

The kind of posts I hate on my forum are those that give the answer, because then the talk is over. I want questions to be answered with more questions, so the conversation will continue.

The point I've been trying to make is rather than being frustrated at narrow questions/statements, instead let the responses open it up. Introduce more angles and encourage pov's so more people will be interested in posting. Let them beat the thing to death (like I'm doing in this thread ). The OP may not stay involved once they find their narrow answer and that's fine. No matter how trivial the question, and even the discussion, seem to some, nonetheless this is one way to convert a nothing question into content, engagement and returning members.

mrbill said:

Keep me and my wife out of this conversation!

For my reasoning, click box:

Spoiler

Because she doesn't rotate the meat in the freezer and some of it goes bad. What did you think I was talking about?

Sorry, sometimes my Navy submarine sick humor manifests itself.

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There ya go !!!!!!!!!

I would be so thrilled if you posted that (spoiler) reply in my forum. That's what I"m talkin about.