Why can't I see Nonsense posts in New Posts searches?

[Cynthetiq]

I've been watching this for the past several days. Each time I log on, I click on new posts and I look to see what forums are active. A majority of the new posts are here in Nonsense.

While I think that Nonsense has its place, I also think that it is in many ways opposed to what TFP needs to strive to be. Some of you may notice that my avatar has changed. It is the avatar that I use when I'm working on TFP and trying to make this space a better experience. Right now the focus is on getting more discussion going on. I'll be posting more about that in the general thread hopefully over the weekend.

Take a break from Nonsense, make some discussion and take in some discussion.

[Shell]

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

While I think that Nonsense has its place, I also think that it is in many ways opposed to what TFP needs to strive to be....Take a break from Nonsense, make some discussion and take in some discussion.

In the nonsense section, people are witty, happy, friendly, caring, intelligent and talented...it's fun. They are quick to forgive and their goal is to give smiles and laughter...and to recieve some...and to occasionally post an image that stirs thought and emotion...and ignites creative thought. Pictures are worth a thousand words and brief discussions do exist. It's healing when you've just come home from a stressful day at work. Laughter is medicine.

[Xerxys]

Oh goodness thank you Cynth. I have always been peeved when I click on new posts and see "number counting game" active or "longest thread EVAR!!"!! Jesus that is annoying! What I now (hopefully) wish would be moved here is "what are you eating/drinking/listening to right effing now"!!

[Ourcrazymodern?]

Originally Posted by Shell

I never receive that kind of treatment in the nonsense section. I feel liked, respected, and wanted here. People here are witty, happy, friendly, caring, intelligent and talented...it's fun. They are quick to forgive and their goal is to give smiles and laughter...and to recieve some...and to occasionally post an image that stirs thought and emotion...and ignites creative thought. It's healing when you've just come home from a stressful day at work. Who would want the opposite?

:

Shell has summed it up for me here. I'm sorry, Cynthetiq & Xerxys, that you find Nonsense too frivolous, but please observe that discussion is the exchange of ideas & that there's a lot of that going on here as well. To belittle where the "majority of new posts" appears seems "opposed to what TFP" wants to be. I read a great deal of the more serious stuff, but only reply if I feel I have something worth saying. 'nuff said?

[Cynthetiq]

The point OCM is to spark discussion of ideas. If you don't have something worth saying when reading more serious stuff, then isn't the onus on you to be challenged to also exchange on that level?

I never stated that it is frivious, those words nor theme came from my post at all. If it did, you've added it. I stated that it has it's place, but my goal is to get more of the other forums with discussion. Posting photos counting numbers or recurring themes is minimal towards discussion, especially if you look you'll see that people aren't posting much more than the photo itself.

Again, take I suggest you take a break from Nonsense and increase posting outside of it. Once I see that those areas that I'm tending to are getting more traffic via threads and posts, I'll be happy to add Nonsense back to the search button.

I'd say that the same quote that Shell is using is befitting of the community at large, not those that track into Nonsense. Look in Members Playground, Sexuality, Life, Ladies Lounge, blogs and you'll see all such things, will you see such things in Politics? More than likely not because of the heated discussion that comes from there.

[Jetée]

Originally Posted by Xerxys

Oh goodness thank you Cynth. I have always been peeved when I click on new posts and see "number counting game" active or "longest thread EVAR!!"!! Jesus that is annoying! What I now (hopefully) wish would be moved here is "what are you eating/drinking/listening to right effing now"!!

I agree on the point about the "eating/drinking now" threads and their tenuous merit (even though I participate in any said number of dozen of truly nonsense threads). They have their place, and whenever I encounter something of interest on the net, I try to assert that said finding into an appropriate venue by which to showcase it and have it make sense.

But this new decree seemed inevitable. I don't know when the Nonsense thread updates were reinstated, but to me, I thought of it as a test, or an experiment, to measure the activity there. So, this new action is not to new to me at all, it's a reversion, seeing as it was already in place less than a year ago.

Honestly, though, I participate in nearly every aspect of this community in equal measure, save for maybe politics, weapons, and food (don't like news, can't afford guns, and my food adventures are simple, and rarely do I encounter a need to print off instructions or snap a photo to further my eats.)

But, I also do find more of my conversational ideas are riled in nonsense, and from there, it can foster into a worthwhile discussion. So, it's a dual-stage for when people would rather not have to always be "on" and ready to react, or when a person would rather interact on a more defined basis, responding to another's query or statement on life, experience, love, or politics.

[Cynthetiq]

Jetée. this was a hard decision for me because of your contributions, because I have seen some of them turn into more discussion. Maybe that is the compromise, that over time the seed is planted and discussion comes forth, and the thread is moved to a more appropriate discussion area.

Earlier I was asked to do just such a thing for one thread. I asked simple, how is that thread discussion. I'm waiting for the reply and would like to see that it possible. With this particular request, I'm not sure it is based on the idea it's just all photo contribution.

[BadNick]

Thanks for the notice, Cynthetiq. Luckily, it has no effect on me since I never use or pay attention to "new posts searches" on this forum nor on a few other forums that I frequent on a daily basis. So if it better serves some goals of TFP to not show Nonsense posts, so be it. It seems like Nonsense for me to even worry about it.

As far as discussions, I rarely feel a need or desire to discuss things online. If a discussion just sort of happens with people I'm otherwise having some fun with, I like that and it's more meaningful for me. I think it might be mostly because I just don't have time or desire for being involved in serious discussions where there is usually an ongoing exchange and if I'm not there "in the flow of it" then I feel sort of lost and left out just dropping in to say one or two things so I won't do that.

If "the authorities" here believe that for the good of TFP we MUST HAVE DISCUSSIONS and they frown upon those who don't participate the way they see discussions should work, then I'll probably drift away.

[Redlemon]

Sure this is Nonsense, but there is a lot of joy contained in this subforum as well. I was happy when Nonsense was brought back under New Posts, it made this section feel like less of a ghetto. I suspect that the daily reads on "Make Love Not War" have dropped considerably since this change was implemented.

Many years ago, there was an attempt to allow users to customize what shows up under New Posts, but at the time it didn't work. Might it work better now, under a newer version of vBulletin?

[Cynthetiq]

I'm formulating a different way we can work this to contributions like Make Love more meaningful to the community at large. I think the staff has settled on a solution. I'll make a new announcement soon as I can.

There isn't a way to do the search like you're mentioning at the moment, and the new version doesn't look promising for that feature either.

It actually isn't impacting the traffic as much as you think. When I get a chance to get a screen grab of our active threads I'll post it.

[Redlemon]

Is this the only subforum excluded from New Posts, or am I overlooking something else?

[BadNick]

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

...more meaningful to the community at large...

In whose opinion? I hope this isn't one of those misdirected "marketing expert" concepts that should be flushed down a toilet.

[Cynthetiq]

red, I'm not sure any longer. The modification that handles it has a number of forums that are listed, but they are listed by number so I would have to go and compare them to the forumids. My guess is that there are a number of them left over from the TB are listed. Part of my preparations to upgrading is going over this space with a fine toothed comb to cull out 7 years of now defunct and meaningless back end stuff. It's going to take me time to do it without accidentally breaking anything.

Nick, those threads get a lot of traffic and activity. I don't deny that. I submit to you that one cannot deny that the word NONSENSE doesn't make sense if the expectation that I have of this being a place for mature discussion. What I would like to do is leverage that traffic and activity by putting something that is clearly not nonsense by placing it in a forum other than nonsense. I also cannot do that without accidentally breaking things so it is going to take me a little time to accomplish it. I do this in my spare time which is why I thought I wouldn't get to fixing that other issue until tomorrow, but I think I found the culprit and put it together last night before going to bed.

We don't have a marketing budget so we don't have savvy marketing consultants. We have the staff that we have and the experience of running this and other boards.

[Redlemon]

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

red, I'm not sure any longer. The modification that handles it has a number of forums that are listed, but they are listed by number so I would have to go and compare them to the forumids. My guess is that there are a number of them left over from the TB are listed. Part of my preparations to upgrading is going over this space with a fine toothed comb to cull out 7 years of now defunct and meaningless back end stuff. It's going to take me time to do it without accidentally breaking anything.

OK, so nothing else intentionally excluded. I'll run a test after I build up more of an "unread posts" backup.

[BadNick]

Cynth, please don't take what I'm ranting about personally. I appreciate your dedication to making this place better.

I tried your suggestion on that other problem but either it didn't work or I haven't figured out how to fully clear my cache. I went to IE tools and did all that, even "cookies" but strangely enough when I logged back in here it knew it was me so something wasn't cleared out. I'll keep trying. Thanks again.

[Cynthetiq]

please see new announcement in General Discussion.