Reading Site Related

Seriously, this site has had one new headline in like, a month. I'd try to write something interesting, but no techies come here anymore, and I think even the most devout have faded off. What's the deal, I mean, seriously? Either you guys need to start posting and rating (because I've no intention to continue to post when I'm not gonna get responses and the last 4 or 5 of my posts have gone unanswered) or this site is gonna finish going belly up. It's already starting to die, and I doubt this is just a drout.

I should be ashamed of myself.

I was going to post this but Aynjell beat me to it. So, I'll just add on to his.

Well NAO, its been a year since I have been at this fantastic, intelligence lead, forum. Just let me say, my writing has never been better. For I contribute much of that to my postings and desire for them to be coherent and replied to.

However, there is just one question I have:

Whats up with the user rating and post ratings (or the lack thereof)?

It just confuses me how I went from a user rating of one white star to my current rating of 2 orange. I know there was a brief period of me going MIA from the site (1 month maybe), but that was a few months ago and since then I have only been posting & posting. Does user ratings have anything to do with the lack of post ratings that I have been getting?

(because I've no intention to continue to post when I'm not gonna get responses and the last 4 or 5 of my posts have gone unanswered)

Exactly my dilema. I went back looking at me last 30 posts and out of those only 2 have been successfully rated.

It's not soo much my perpetually lowering rating but the lack of posts and responses on the larger scale.

Personally, I would love to see NAO experience a revival.

Now are ye undeceived! Welcome, again, my children, to the communion of your race!

Does user ratings have anything to do with the lack of post ratings that I have been getting?

Yes, after a while your old rates start to fade off, and if you aren't very much rated, this is what is gonna happen. If you noticed, more or less everybody is in the same condition: me, null, Hawkeye had 3 white stars, and now we all have only one, Orchid is going down too, as well as all the other members.

For what concerns me, I always try to read and rate as much as I can, but it is somewhat depressing to see that I do write and people seem not to care about what I write. It is like a spyral actually. People see that other people don't rate, so they feel disregarded, they post less, and they rate less.

And the bad part is that the system, rating you lower and lower, also keeps you from posting at a certain point. I think that you, Hard, have still quite a bunch of posts per day, probably more than a normal person could write in 24 hours (unless they were 3 lines posts), but I can understand your disappointment.

I don't know what is happening to this site, really. I have the feeling that either people don't rate, or they rate somewhat randomly, maybe without even reading the whole post or failing to grasp its contents.

To be perfectly honest, I have also the feeling that Nao could soon tranform into a *ugh* blog! I mean, I see more and more journals here instead of posts in other forums. Nothing wrong if you want to say what you feel or how was your day, but I think that some posts by Harold Maude for example are quite exaggerated. I am getting annoyed with people who come online only to post in their journal.

I mean, let's face it: who is gonna read long journals afterall? Unless it was your own, or unless someone decided to reply you? I think that one thing is posting one journal in a while or something, but posting like 2 or 3 journals at the same time is just nuts. I am telling you, this site is being transformed into a blog! You probably can tell I am not a big fan of journals myself.

I have written several entries, and I seriously intend on keep writing them, only I don't think it is my priority. I mean, I like this site because I can share opinions with its members, and because it is nice to see other people replying to your ideas and consider also their point of view and things like that. Seriously, I do have my own domain... if I wanted a blog or a place where to post my things that happen everyday to me, I could do it there.

I have a suggestion here, which might be considered antidemocratical, but I think it might be useful to try to stop this crisis... null, would it be possible to restrict the journal posts to only 1 per week? I think that this might help people stop focusing on themselves and their daily life (posting speaking of course, because I am not suggesting for people to just stop caring and loving their own person) to focus more on other topics?

And null, I know that if I didn't want to read/see Harold Maude or any other journal poster's journals, I could just make it so that I would be displayed her posts or the journal category anymore. But this is not the point; it just disturbs me that people who are good writers and normally have smart, intelligent ideas (and Wendy does) do not use their talent to contribute to this site, but they only focus on their daily life, and post here whatever happens (even if it is only "what I ate today" kinda thing) during their day. I mean, it wouldn't bother me if they also contributed in other posts, but it seems to me that the trend lately is more like "everybody minds his own business", and I am quite fed up with this!

Please, wake up everybody. Let's save this community! I don't want it to be turned in an anonymous blog!!

Un bacio è un'apostrofo rosa scritto tra le parole "ti amo".

This post was edited by andromacha on Feb 01, 2006.

[Just a short note as I'm away from home & not very online at the moment]

null, would it be possible to restrict the journal posts to only 1 per week?

I think it is technically possible, but it requires messing with the code and thus only Jaz could do that. I don't know how much work it'd be (let alone if it's even desired).

The question is, would it solve the problem? For some users it might be just the right kind of prod in the right direction, but it won't give people new ideas to write about.

Speaking of topics, any suggestions?

Politics: Local chieftain elections in Camelistan might not be of too much interest for people from other countries. Worldwide events such as aggressive US foreign policies and the Iraq war have been thoroughly discussed; posting that Bush is an idiot loses much of its appeal when you do it for the 100,000 time... and we all know what happens when a Bushie joins one of those discussions.

Tech stuff: It hurts me to say it, but I think we're just not enough devoted geeks to have lots of interesting discussions* on that topic. Pretty much the same can be said about other aspects of geek life, such as Star Trek. (* My definition of 'interesting tech discussions' does not include blogging the specs of your PC. Sorry.)

Love&Lifesense: Now that appears to be either the "i love him does he love me too omg what should i do" kind of hit&run post, or if it's more in-depth then it's probably something that goes straight to the journal or just isn't suitable or intended to start a big discussion.

I think with all the great stuff sitting in NAO's archives, it's just getting harder to come up with new ideas.

Oops, online time running out. Bye!

Consider yourself hugged.

Well, I have to admit, I am not as much of a geek as I would like to be. And I don't always contribute to the debate a lot.

But I must say, I love NAO. It's like my family, and I am really sad when nobody talks. NAO has been instrumental in helping me develop a more open minded and global world view. I would also say it has helped me become a more decent and sincere person.

Also, I miss Jaz! I know he's just the guy who runs the website, but I miss our psuedo-leader.

We are all getting older and bussier, and like it or not, being part of this community takes a commitment. There have been some great things happening this year. My favorites were the secret santa, and the "find these bands" picture.

but I think we're just not enough devoted geeks to have lots of interesting discussions* on that topic.

Are we too attached to our geek heritage? Maybe it's okay that we aren't the best geeks ever. We can just be who are, and that may mean a little less geek than we have been in the past.

Worldwide events such as aggressive US foreign policies and the Iraq war have been thoroughly discussed; posting that Bush is an idiot loses much of its appeal when you do it for the 100,000 time...

I agree. I'm tired of talking about Bush and US foreign policy. I'm tired of no one listening to my requests(or my votes) in this country. And honestly, I don't know much about current events in other countries. :$ Staying up on current events takes some commitment too.

I'm grateful for the friends I've made here. And I think NAO is still better than the rest of the faceless internet.

Please contiune to vote AND post.

Maybe it's okay that we aren't the best geeks ever.

Definitely. It just helps with discussing geek things. :-)

Consider yourself hugged.

I know that blogging PC specs bit was aimed me... butthead. :-p

So what if I got a new PC? :)

Anyway I'll be happily riddling the site with post after post. Read, reply, rate, do something.

I should be ashamed of myself.

I know that blogging PC specs bit was aimed me

Not in particular... it was just the first example that came to mind in a small internet cafe in the back of an Asia shop. :-)

Consider yourself hugged.

I'm grateful for the friends I've made here. And I think NAO is still better than the rest of the faceless internet.

Ditto, Charlie :) I enjoy very much the friendships that I have made here, as well, and thank you for the e-mails from all of you guys who sent them. I still drop by and read every once in a while...and I think everything goes through seasons. I know I've been through some, and am still traversing some rocky terrain that keeps me from coming here regularly. But that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate what I do choose to read, or that I don't value the friendships I've made. If this site were to fall off the face of the earth, it still wouldn't change the fact that I met some truly wonderful people here. And some pains-in-the-butt as well. I'm sure I'm both.

If it would make you guys feel better, I'll rate, but that requires me logging on...and that also means that on rare occasions I might be able to chat. I just don't have the time to post right now. Maybe that's good? Because this one is ultra-ultra brief....for me. Heh.

Take care all, and keep up the poetry Charlie and Ecthelion. Aynjell, you always make me laugh. Jugs and smooches. I mean "hugs and smooches", but the original typo was funny...so I left it.

My mind is made up...not like my bed, which is a mess.

This post was edited by rosyxxx on Feb 04, 2006.

Netalive was a community established with the intention of encouraging intelligent discussion among anyone able & willing to participate. This goal, I think, has been achieved. I have never before seen on the internet such a community that could discuss such a wide array of topics without sounding ignorant or immature. I hope to continue discussing here for years.

That makes it all the worse that I am one of the culprits in NAO's at least temporary demise. I think to some extent we all are. To be honest, I've been kicking around the idea of wheter or not to post a discussion exactly like this one for months, but never did. As a community, we need to be more open and clear about the direction we feel this site is taking. And then, with that in mind, we need to do something. As long as you people are here, I will be too.

It is a big problem that posts are not being rated enough, since this concept of critique and evaluation of ideas is the main precept to NAO's goals. I think every topic one reads should be rated, regardless of the user's interest. Look at the consistency of ideas, reasoning, argument, and ability to express. Then where you see problems, back up your ratings with a post, a response. Ultimately this community will only survive if its members take interest in its continuation. If you don't see anything new and exciting, write something yourself. You don't even have to post it... just get something started, save it.

I wouldn't say NAO is dead by any means. Any group, especially online, goes through phases of varying activity, and Netalive simply is at a low point. As soon as we start posting and commenting, ignoring our own ratings and merely stimulating discussion, traffic to the site should increase. You may find this stupid, but tell your friends about Netalive, especially if you know they would be interested in certain topics that are often discussed.

Ultimately I would say it is pointless and useless to throw up our hands and say "NAO is dead", when it remaining alive depends on us ourselves. Clearly there are still visitors, and still plenty who want this community to grow again. If all of us who are participating in this very thread were to try our hardest to be active, to keep in touch with each other (the messenger is there for a reason), and keep track of each other's posting, Netalive should have few of such problems.

Now, go check out the three new poems I posted a few days ago...

-ecthelion-