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Ayashe · 09-16-2008, 05:15 PM

1) How did you find out about TFP, when you first joined? Did you lurk for a while, or jump right in with posting? What helped you open up and start posting? I believe I came across one of the threads in a web search. I lurked for quite a while, around a year. I finally registered and started posting right away. What helped me open up is the mature atmosphere.

2) From the beginning, how did you feel about the porn aspect of the board? (And the fact that as a result, there are far more male than female members here)? Has that ever made you hesitant to post more often here?

Porn is everywhere, I see no reason it should bother me being here. It neither encouraged nor hindered me in posting.

3) What kind of "female" board topics/forums might encourage you to post more often, if you could vote for something? (E.g. a "wedding" forum, or something for parenting, or any other topic that might be interesting to you?)

Life in general interests me. I am not the stereotype female who enjoys babies and decorating. I have to say that there really aren't any specific topics that would encourage me (specific to being female)to post.

4) Can you think of anything we might be able to change on the boards, to make it more appealing to potential new members? What is it about TFP that has made you stick around this long?

Changes to the boards themselves, no. There are a couple of ideals here that are unique. One being that thread necromancy is not only tolerated but encouraged. On most other forums this is absolutely frowned upon which is likely the reason that most newer members make their own threads rather than to dig up the old. I would be embarrassed to make a new thread about a concern or topic of interest and to be quite frankly insulted about not dredging through 3 years of topics to find the very one someone else were recalling.

A newer member will not have the same references that you will, they will not likely recall oh.. it was jimmy2283's thread I think it was called _____. It is a lot to ask a new member to sort through without much knowledge on how the subject was originally brought up. If you think it is an "oh god do we have to discuss this again" type topic to you, best advice is to not post in it. This type of negativity limits activity, encourages people to not post, to not provide new content with the fear that it has already been done and they are going to be chastised for not finding it.

I have also seen on more than one occasion where someone has made a post(generally on a heavy/emotional subject) and one of the first replies has been a blatant insult. The post is generally finished with "If you are reading and believe that I am being overly harsh it is my experience that after a first post like that the poster wouldn't come back anyway." Why should they? I wouldn't if that was the welcome I received. Elitism should be avoided at all cost.

Those are some of my observations as a newer member, take them as you wish. Keep in mind that even though I am fairly new to these boards, I have been lurking for around a year.

A final observation that I have to make is why is there this push for membership anyway? I have seen it mentioned several times and I am unsure what exactly is the concern. Is it a donation issue? In all honestly a push for members is not necessarily a good thing. In gaming I have seen massive influxes of new membership and I can tell you that it is not always a positive experience when a population explodes. Though it does seem that the staff here has a good handle on the membership(ie: I see banned members everywhere, that is another thought on bumped threads. It makes people wonder if they are going to be banned for a minor infraction to come across so many banned faces) What I am trying to get across is that a push could very easily upset the flora and fauna of these boards so why push?

What keeps me here, I mentioned it earlier. This is a mature board. This forum seems to be a place where no one is expected to fit a certain mold, no topic should be off limits. For the most part, the approach on most subjects is quite adult regardless of taboo.

I apologize if I ramble. I also apologize if this wasn't the response that you expected or wanted but these are my honest thoughts.

09-16-2008, 05:15 PM	#9 (permalink)
Ayashe Psycho	1) How did you find out about TFP, when you first joined? Did you lurk for a while, or jump right in with posting? What helped you open up and start posting? I believe I came across one of the threads in a web search. I lurked for quite a while, around a year. I finally registered and started posting right away. What helped me open up is the mature atmosphere. 2) From the beginning, how did you feel about the porn aspect of the board? (And the fact that as a result, there are far more male than female members here)? Has that ever made you hesitant to post more often here? Porn is everywhere, I see no reason it should bother me being here. It neither encouraged nor hindered me in posting. 3) What kind of "female" board topics/forums might encourage you to post more often, if you could vote for something? (E.g. a "wedding" forum, or something for parenting, or any other topic that might be interesting to you?) Life in general interests me. I am not the stereotype female who enjoys babies and decorating. I have to say that there really aren't any specific topics that would encourage me (specific to being female)to post. 4) Can you think of anything we might be able to change on the boards, to make it more appealing to potential new members? What is it about TFP that has made you stick around this long? Changes to the boards themselves, no. There are a couple of ideals here that are unique. One being that thread necromancy is not only tolerated but encouraged. On most other forums this is absolutely frowned upon which is likely the reason that most newer members make their own threads rather than to dig up the old. I would be embarrassed to make a new thread about a concern or topic of interest and to be quite frankly insulted about not dredging through 3 years of topics to find the very one someone else were recalling. A newer member will not have the same references that you will, they will not likely recall oh.. it was jimmy2283's thread I think it was called _____. It is a lot to ask a new member to sort through without much knowledge on how the subject was originally brought up. If you think it is an "oh god do we have to discuss this again" type topic to you, best advice is to not post in it. This type of negativity limits activity, encourages people to not post, to not provide new content with the fear that it has already been done and they are going to be chastised for not finding it. I have also seen on more than one occasion where someone has made a post(generally on a heavy/emotional subject) and one of the first replies has been a blatant insult. The post is generally finished with "If you are reading and believe that I am being overly harsh it is my experience that after a first post like that the poster wouldn't come back anyway." Why should they? I wouldn't if that was the welcome I received. Elitism should be avoided at all cost. Those are some of my observations as a newer member, take them as you wish. Keep in mind that even though I am fairly new to these boards, I have been lurking for around a year. A final observation that I have to make is why is there this push for membership anyway? I have seen it mentioned several times and I am unsure what exactly is the concern. Is it a donation issue? In all honestly a push for members is not necessarily a good thing. In gaming I have seen massive influxes of new membership and I can tell you that it is not always a positive experience when a population explodes. Though it does seem that the staff here has a good handle on the membership(ie: I see banned members everywhere, that is another thought on bumped threads. It makes people wonder if they are going to be banned for a minor infraction to come across so many banned faces) What I am trying to get across is that a push could very easily upset the flora and fauna of these boards so why push? What keeps me here, I mentioned it earlier. This is a mature board. This forum seems to be a place where no one is expected to fit a certain mold, no topic should be off limits. For the most part, the approach on most subjects is quite adult regardless of taboo. I apologize if I ramble. I also apologize if this wasn't the response that you expected or wanted but these are my honest thoughts.