I'm a senior hamster?

[StarlightSerenity]

Originally Posted by Jandrhamster

yes but thats all i did was ask and then when the question has been anwsered the thread can be removed so that we are reducing spam

You know mods wont remove or lock (usually) threads because the question has been answered right?

Sorry guys, it's probably my fault for getting this thread going like this, it was because of what Gemina said. I should have started a new thread, it just seemed appropraite as the thread was about post counts (sort of lol).

[souffle]

No I felt this was relevant because you asked how you got to be a senior hamster and this was explained which led to a discussion of peoples thoughts on post counts.
Unfortunately I cannot charge any of the forum set up or admin as only Fluffy can do that but I do take all the points about threads such as the 'game' threads and agree these should not really count.
The real problem I see with post counts is that newcomers may think that a person with a huge count must be an experienced and knowledgeable member when most of the posts they made are not terribly useful. I know I have a large count but I have been a member for many many years and out of necessity as a mod do need to post a lot.
I will try and split your thread if you would like Janandhamster?

[Eleanor]

Sorry to jump in but I can see why Jand is excited about being a senior hamster and has become one so quickly. I think most people post a lot when they are new as they are all excitable about being a part of the forum. I posted more when I first joined. I went all day today without visiting the forum and I certainly wouldn't have done that then XD

[starog]

I really think locking the threads after X amount of time is a great idea. A forum I use recently introduced this after getting quite a lot of newbie's dragging up old threads. Now a thread 3 months old gets locked and it's great.

Perhaps limit how many posts/threads a new member can make in a day? So they can't completely spam the forum? To be honest, if you're considering getting a hamster/wanting to improve the life of your hamster, you don't need to post loads of questions. If you look around the forum there's so much information. Then you can use your posts to ask specific questions.
I've only asked a few where I don't feel like I've got a full answer/ haven't been able to tell the gender of my hamster
And once they've been a member for say a week, take off the restriction?

Post counts to me really don't matter, I think I'm a bit old to care
Plus I'm shy so don't say much anyway

I do agree with Souffle, a large post count does suggest a certain amount of knowledge and this may not be the case but if you've got a chatty person on your hands then it's not great to limited their enjoyment.

Anyway that's my two cents, it'll be a long time before I'm a senior so I'll go hide in my shy newbie corner

[Fluffy]

Ok, I can see what I can do. Will not be a problem locking threads after X number of months. I can also set it up that posts will not count in a certain forum, so that might solve some of the problems if we move certain threads there. As I said, I will see what I can do.

Jason

[Nikorusama]

I've been around for 8 months and I still have less posts than Jandrhamster. I am pretty active recently and probably I know some of my questions are a little bit newbie-ish (although hopefully not recently) but I try to keep my posts to a minimum and try stay on topic. I agree about the TPBM thread but I'm not sure how that would work. Post count shouldn't really matter and although I haven't been on the forum that long I know already who talks sense and who not to listen to when I get replies and it doesn't always correlate to the number of posts they have. Although I also agree post count could be misleading to some people thinking that the person is very experienced.

[shazzy]

It took me a few years to build up my level of posts, because I only try to post if I have something useful to say. Just recently certain people don't seem to have the same idea and that's why I get annoyed... They spend plenty of time on the random thread or TPBMT, but when someone might need an opinion, like I did for example, they are not so forthcoming. I just think that the forum is for advice and talking about hamsters -there's msn for everyday chat which a lot of people on here chat with anyway

I haven't been coming much because of this obvious change to the forum

[emilyweb]

but if the forum is just a place for facts and figures, and no ones having fun posting on TPBM or the random thread, then people might leave.
New people might go and join another forum.
one thing about this forum that makes it so wondeful, is the fact that we all know eachother, some of us are great friends, I've made so many wonderful friends from joining this forum <33
and if people stop chatting, and Laughing, then in my way of thinking, there would be no HC.
HC is hamster central, but it's not all cold had facts and statisics, it's laughing, joking people having fun. I <3 HC!

[shazzy]

I'm not saying keep it to facts and fIgures, (and I didn't mention those, I mentioned chatting about hamsters) just wish people would pay more attention when people need it, rather than getting carried away on random threads. I've seen plenty of ppl online at one time when someone posted a question they wanted an opinion on, yet their thread got ignored while people were still posting on the random threads
I've made some great friends on here but keep any talking about non hamster things to Facebook etc and don't clog up the forum
Just an opinion from a long standing member that's been in the position to see how this forum has changed over the passed year

And there is a serious side to HC - it's where people come to for advice, and if it was all laughing and joking and calls for advice getting ignored then those people will leave...

[Erin Loves Dwarf Hamsters]

I see where you are coming from Shazzy, I often notice threads like TPBM at the top of the new posts and beneath it a stream of questions with zero or few responses.
Fair enough sometimes we may not know the answer to it so there isn't much we can do but sometimes even I find I cant be bothered to reply to some threads which makes me feel bad I always try to though, even on threads without questions, the ones where people are just showing off their hammies I think its important to reply to these ones because it shows you are polite and you care and shows the newbies that we are a friendly forum

I have my own personal hierarchy of threads to answer first. I scan through all of the new post and look for questions. If I cant answer them or make any suggestions I then look for newbies to greet so that they are welcomed to the forum After that its updates/photos on current hams but I don't always comment on these if they already have a lot of posts although I will always read them And once I have looked through it all I play on the games or chat in these sort of discussions.
I will admit I don't stick to my own hierarchy some days still

Also I always liked the idea of maybe when we read a question and cannot answer it but know someone who might be able to maybe dropping them a message about it? It could help people get their answers faster.. or then again it could clog up some of the more knowledgeable members PM boxes