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Hi, Bill,
There are many reasons that people do not post to the forums but I think the primary reason is quite simply the time it takes.
When I post, it isn't just a case of seeing what started the forum off in the first place and responding to that, it is a case of reading the full thread and responding to the totality of responses as well as the initial post.
From my own observations, too many people who do post only reply to the initial entry - comments made by others are ignored.
I see no evidence of a 'fear' of posting. There are many posts by bad spellers, posts containing grammatical inaccuracies, posts that add nothing but say that someone was there, posts that are in total disagreement, posts that are totally irrelevant (like ads, for example) and posts that are simply made to achieve a 'ranking' in the system.
Many 'forums' that are initiated are not forums at all - they are simply advertisements and do not call for a response other than to 'sign up'.
Not all forums appeal to all people put we have enough members and such a diversity of talent and knowledge that I would have expected that any reasonable forum would have attracted attention from enough members to make the forum owner happy.
Not all Adlanders ONLY belong to one community. It is very difficult to keep abreast of all developments in all the forums to which you might be signed up.
Those with a small list of friends will have a much smaller exposure than those with a mega list of friends and so, get a smaller response.
Not every forum has appeal to many people. For example, I have a forum running to aid myself in my search for God. Not many people have contributed but those that have have been extremely helpful and open in their responses. They have also shared with me a part of thier lives which many of us are afraid to acknowledge because of the general feeling that religion is a subject that cannot be discussed in a quiet and adult way. The small number of responses I have received has been of far greater value than loads of vaccuus or 'programmed' responses. Of course, more genuine responses would have been nice but I am extremely happy with those that I have received.
On the subject of 'Thanks for the info', I see no objection to these, however, I do find the profusion of sparkly pictures, bereft of all personal comment, to be disappointing. Not only that, these pictures slow down the speed at which a forum loads - especially when America, where most members live, is on line.
There seems to be no evidence of the claim that 'the old hands' will ridicule newbies. Where this 'fear', if it truly exists, came from I have no idea. My views are not always in line with or comfortable for the forum owner but I cannot think of a single instance where I was berated simply for posting. On the other hand, I can understand if an opinion is posted by someone who is not able or willing to 'fight their corner' and defend themselves against argument, that they would see this as beligerance rather than discussion.
I could go on but I think the main points as I see them have been made.
Arthur
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