For: * I know a lot of women have grown great friendships from the thread and use it as a chat spot. * it's a great place to post the little things not worth their own threads
Against: * it's daunting to walk into if you're not starting out on the first couple pages * people post things in there worthy of their own threads - thus missing out on support * the board seems to be otherwise quiet and some random posts of their own would be nice * (eta) all the PM announcements also make it seem unwelcoming at times
For. It's chit chat. It's fun. I don't think you need to necessarily start at the beginning and read all the way through to contribute. In fact, you can read nothing and contribute.
In the beginning of the random thread, thread-worthy stuff got buried in there all the time. I don't think that's so much the case now.
There's no voting here. It was just stated that opinions on the random thread weren't welcome in the random thread. So, I started a thread. Big deal. Just a place for people to say why they like it or not.
I wish I could participate in it, but I work, and by the time I get a chance to sit down some nights, it's already 8 pages long.
I think I only participated once because... When I get a chance to site down and TB it's already on page 10... I would love to have the time to read all of it and reply to some comments but there is so much to keep up with that I get lost.
I always want to participate but come in toward the end (or at the very beginning) and feel bad that I'm usually just posting something about myself instead of interacting with other people and responding to what they've posted.
I always want to participate but come in toward the end (or at the very beginning) and feel bad that I'm usually just posting something about myself instead of interacting with other people and responding to what they've posted.
I like the random thread myself, and try to read through as much as I can because I feel like if I don't, I miss out on a lot of what's going on with you ladies.
However, like @djtippietoes, I hardly ever get to actually post. The only time I have to bump these days is super early in the morning (like, before 6am MST) so I'm just posting something about myself, or at about 8;30 or 9, when the thread is pretty much dead so I end up just reading and not posting.
In my opinion, the board started slowing down when people started having babies. There are a lot fewer things to talk about after the babies are already born.
Agreed! I have always heard how much work NB's are, but DAMN R is busy lately!!
I think it's natural for the board to slow down. Personally, if there is no random thread, I'd be posting less. I post there in addition to other threads, not instead of them. Although I think I started 4 threads today so who knows?
I've posted personal stuff in the random thread before, I think it's because making my own thread can seem way too AW, but posting in Randoms feels more like just telling my girlfriends what's going on.
The thing is, if we suddenly got rid of the Randoms thread, I truly believe the board would stay just as slow. @golfergirl08 for example probably wouldn't start a thread about how much she loves hot dogs, because that's weird. ;-)
I think the issue isn't with the randoms thread detracting from other threads -- it's just that overall, ppl are posting less often and creating fewer hot topic threads in general.
I believe this "mass exodus" is actually more of a "people are really busy and focusing on other things" development.
The other thought that crossed my mind is that after the whole F14 being crazy sensitive debacle, many people got turned off and annoyed at having to walk on eggshells constantly. So they went someplace else or stopped posting as often.
Oh, I think the randoms thread in general is a great idea! I wouldn't advocate for trashing it completely. It just doesn't stick to just being randoms, y'know? There's a lot of talk about sleep, some randoms thrown in, and then sometimes some big stuff that really should be its own thread. I'd be more likely to read the randoms thread if it wasn't so big every day, but I look at it and know that there could be something interesting, or it could be a hell of a lot of, 'my baby used to be such a good sleeper but she was up twice last night!'. And I'm not willing to sift through 8 pages in case there's something good in there.
It's like shopping at Winners or Marshalls. I love going to Winners on a day that I'm not after something specific, and have time to just sort of browse around in case there's a hidden gem. But if I'm in a rush and I just need a t-shirt? I'm going to Target, getting what I need, and going home.
The randoms thread is like Winners.
So what you're saying is, you don't want to know just how much golfergirl loves hot dogs?
lol, joking, obviously. You make an excellent point and I absolutely see where you're coming from. For those people who don't have time to sit down and invest in long threads, it's daunting to look at. And there definitely are things posted in Randoms that are worthy of their own thread.
FWIW, I've been posting random mini-Nashville updates in there. Once I actually have real news, I'll be AWing the shit out of myself and our plans. ;-)
I'm still here (in case anyone missed me) -- just personally in a funk and somewhat overwhelmed by life. It's nothing personal, F14. Babies are hard work, yo. Just popping in to say "LOL" at this thread and to lovetit @boogerbearoriginal.
I missed you - despite not being here myself? You can come lovetit me any time!
Re: Opinions for/against the Random Thread
* I know a lot of women have grown great friendships from the thread and use it as a chat spot.
* it's a great place to post the little things not worth their own threads
Against:
* it's daunting to walk into if you're not starting out on the first couple pages
* people post things in there worthy of their own threads - thus missing out on support
* the board seems to be otherwise quiet and some random posts of their own would be nice
* (eta) all the PM announcements also make it seem unwelcoming at times
I wish I could participate in it, but I work, and by the time I get a chance to sit down some nights, it's already 8 pages long.
I mostly post over there, but that was the case long before f14 came about.
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