Lurkers in the Forum

[vynsane]

I think the best way to get people to become more active is to continue to engage in more conversations that aren't just sales and deals. Perhaps some of the discussions will strike a chord with those who are less active and spur them to contribute.

That said, it wouldn't hurt for all the lurkers out there to chime in every once-in-a-while and thank those who are working hard to bring you the best sales and deals news out there.

[atmail35]

That said, it wouldn't hurt for all the lurkers out there to chime in every once-in-a-while and thank those who are working hard to bring you the best sales and deals news out there.

I agree with this, however the lurkers likely aren't even reading this thread!

I personally think the sales and deals forum on this site is better than any other I've seen. I think we get good updates from various members (like the Target Clearance thread) that really are valuable (or wallet draining). I guess if there is a better set for Sales & Deals, I don't want to know about it b/c my wallet can't handle it ;)

Maybe lurkers don't contribute because they don't find the deal first, but if the DO find information (i.e. the same set discounted at XYZ store, even a different location is useful), it would be nice if they posted about it.

There is very little traffic on Off-Topic. I guess people come for the deals and go. That's all I can think of.

And the culling...I've seen it happen on a number of boards I belong to. I don't think it turns people away, because if you are active you don't get cut. If you leave for two years and want to come back, you can.

[Ice]

I think the best way to get people to become more active is to continue to engage in more conversations that aren't just sales and deals. Perhaps some of the discussions will strike a chord with those who are less active and spur them to contribute.

That said, it wouldn't hurt for all the lurkers out there to chime in every once-in-a-while and thank those who are working hard to bring you the best sales and deals news out there.

Vynsane is correct. The more discussions there are, the higher the likelihood that a regular guest will stop by and post something.

There is very little traffic on Off-Topic. I guess people come for the deals and go. That's all I can think of.

Thats because only certain users have access to it. I don't allow everyone to start joining just to discuss about something unrelated to LEGO. ;)

[Ice]

If anyone is interested, here are some of the forum statistics (top 10).

For the past 30 days, we had 715 forum members who visited us at least once. 1315 forum members did not visited us at all in the past 30 days.

By User Participation
• LEGO Sales & Deals (North America) 22.17%
• LEGO Availability (North America) 14.14%
• General LEGO Discussions 10.34%
• LEGO Original 9.85%
• LEGO Retailer Discussions 8.37%
• LEGO Star Wars 8.18%
• Buy/Sell/Trade 7.88%
• LEGO License 7.68%
• LEGO Creations (MOCs) 5.86%
• New Member? 5.76%

By Topics
• LEGO Sales & Deals (North America) 34.09%
• LEGO Availability (North America) 9.49%
• LEGO Reviews 7.35%
• General LEGO Discussions 7.31%
• Buy/Sell/Trade 5.42%
• LEGO Creations (MOCs) 5.06%
• LEGO Retailer Discussions 4.84%
• LEGO Original 4.69%
• LEGO Sales & Deals (Europe, UK) 3.53%
• LEGO Star Wars 3.38%

By Posts
• LEGO Sales & Deals (North America) 31.97%
• LEGO Availability (North America) 12.80%
• LEGO Original 10.67%
• General LEGO Discussions 6.59%
• LEGO Star Wars 5.44%
• LEGO Retailer Discussions 5.14%
• LEGO License 4.72%
• Buy/Sell/Trade 3.64%
• LEGO Reviews 3.49%
• LEGO Creations (MOCs) 2.70%

[atmail35]

Thats because only certain users have access to it. I don't allow everyone to start joining just to discuss about something unrelated to LEGO. ;)

Ok I get it now, although folks don't want to post and talk about Lego so I doubt they care about Off Topic ;), but I get what you are doing.

I have noticed several "newer" (i.e. lower post count) folks submitting to the contest, I hope it doesn't stop there and they actually start contributing regularly. Of course the fabulous prizes don't hurt ;)

[lukeskywalker]

I joined because of a contest. It was the one where the guy had his family members sign up and vote for him. That was before they made the rule that you had to join before the contest started to be eligible. I didn't submit my entry in time, but it got me looking at Tnb regularly

[keland]

I come here for news, moc's, and reviews. I have no need for sales or deals.

[Legobrandon]

I forgot why I joined but I think it was because of the coverage of Canadian sales. I also don't know how I found TNB. Lol.

[Mantisking]

I'm not sure if it was this discussion, but we seem to have a handful of newcomers posting in the forums. Yay! :D

[lukeskywalker]

I'm not sure if it was this discussion, but we seem to have a handful of newcomers posting in the forums. Yay! :D

I noticed, It's quite refreshing.

[Mantisking]

If anyone is interested, here are some of the forum statistics (top 10).

For the past 30 days, we had 715 forum members who visited us at least once. 1315 forum members did not visited us at all in the past 30 days.

It'd be cool to see these statistics every month, to see how the forums change over time.

[atmail35]

I'm not sure if it was this discussion, but we seem to have a handful of newcomers posting in the forums. Yay! :D

I noticed this too, I think we guilted them into it! ;) Hey whatever works, it was nice to see a couple of first time posters thank the original poster for posting a deal.

[Orangechef]

I'd love if there was some sort of "thank the poster" or reputation system where I could show appreciation for a deal. Most of the time if I'm clued into a deal its because of this site, but after I know about it I don't have anything to add to the discussion besides "thanks!" or "didn't find anything" and it feels like I'd clog up good threads if I just posted that all the time.

Even if I don't post much I love the site though - try to use the affiliate links whenever I can.

[atmail35]

I'd love if there was some sort of "thank the poster" or reputation system where I could show appreciation for a deal. Most of the time if I'm clued into a deal its because of this site, but after I know about it I don't have anything to add to the discussion besides "thanks!" or "didn't find anything" and it feels like I'd clog up good threads if I just posted that all the time.

Even if I don't post much I love the site though - try to use the affiliate links whenever I can.

I think your wish has been granted! You are right though that saying "thanks" in a thread probably just bogs it down. I'm guilty of doing that for sure. I'm curious to see what Ice has to say about the new thumbs up button!

[vynsane]

I'd love if there was some sort of "thank the poster" or reputation system where I could show appreciation for a deal. Most of the time if I'm clued into a deal its because of this site, but after I know about it I don't have anything to add to the discussion besides "thanks!" or "didn't find anything" and it feels like I'd clog up good threads if I just posted that all the time.

Even if I don't post much I love the site though - try to use the affiliate links whenever I can.

I 'thanked' your post (even though it sounds like it said you thanked me for some reason, but whatever...) because I appreciate you chiming in in this discussion, and also the reason why you don't just post 'thank you' in every topic - that makes a lot of sense.

[condor]

To be fair, there isn't the same amount of new posts each day like some of the bigger sites. Even the sales and deals thread only has about one new topic per day. I check the site a few times a day while at work, but most of the time there isn't anything new. I guess you could also say there would be more topics if I posted more though.

I disagree with having to have a certain post count or being here a certain length of time to view the deals. That would be a turn off for people and I think the goal is to bring in as many people as you can to contribute. You never know, the next 75% off clearance sale could be posted by somebody who's never posted before.

That being said, this site has a great community and I hope to contribute what I can to help out :)