Forum member observations after two years

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trsullivan
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by trsullivan »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 8:47 am
jkbarnes wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 8:09 pm By the way, my goal is to get myself listed on the first membership page when sorted by post count. As soon as I hit that magic number, I’m outta here! :lol:
It can be arranged sooner... :twisted: :lol:
+1 :lol:
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by strapline »

jkbarnes wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 8:07 pm I’ve been following this thread all day, waiting until I got home from work to comment. My thoughts have changed with each additional comment that’s been added!
Now that's dedication; as a teacher you even set yourself some homework. :lol: :lol: Seriously, thanks for the reply Andrew. As it turns out, it doesn't appear to be a thread that generated much traffic. I think forums are funny places in general; first off they're places where people can have a voice, if they wish, whilst being completely anonymous. As you have said, a forum is much like wider society, it comprises all sorts. Some people are naturally more effervescent (there's a word for your dictionary :lol: ) than others. For me, it's perfectly normal to generate threads. I do not overthink it; I hope that they serve a purpose and that others might benefit from them.

It took me a while to find my feet on the forum, too. There are some tight groups on it that like to interact with each other, that have a lot of history together, I have no issue with that. I am not particularly here to make friends, I am here to increase my knowledge with like-minded people that share my interest.

Personally I would not be on the forum if I founds that it made me look at my own watch collection as if it were inferior to others. Both you and I love the Reverso; it was the forum that bought that particular watch to my attention, which in turn set me off doing some research in to it. I may well never own one and, then again, I might find that it's not for me if I ever get to put one on my own wrist. But this is what the forum should be about, stimulating thought and discussion. Above all, I always try to be respectful and remember it's nice to be nice.

Now... I do like the idea of a blue dial watch, surely someone should generate a thread about that? :lol:

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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by kiter65 »

Personally I hate the bloody place, I’m not a wealthy man and I had a few sleepless nights when I bought my first CW, a C7, couldn’t believe I had spent so much on a watch, £275 I think :shock:. Fast forward to now and because of this bloody place I have ended up with 2 Rolex, 2 Omega’s, 2 Tudor’s and a Bremont :shock: :shock:. How the hell did that happen :? Look how much fun I could have had if I’d spent it on sex,drugs and alcohol :lol:
Seriously I have so much to thank the forum, it’s members and their willingness to share information :clap:. Without this place no way would I have been able to own these watches. With the knowledge I have learnt here, a lot of fun buying and selling, working up the ladder with the help of swapping 0% interest credit cards I own the for mentioned watches :D all paid for and if the s**t hit the fan I could sell them all and maybe make a little profit :thumbup:

I thank you all
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by rkovars »

strapline wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 9:52 am As it turns out, it doesn't appear to be a thread that generated much traffic. I think forums are funny places in general; first off they're places where people can have a voice, if they wish, whilst being completely anonymous. As you have said, a forum is much like wider society, it comprises all sorts. Some people are naturally more effervescent (there's a word for your dictionary :lol: ) than others. For me, it's perfectly normal to generate threads. I do not overthink it; I hope that they serve a purpose and that others might benefit from them.
It would be interesting to see a metric of how many people opened the thread and the average time spent there (a crude metric to gauge whether or not it is read). Posts on a thread are only half of the equation.


strapline wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 9:52 am
Personally I would not be on the forum if I founds that it made me look at my own watch collection as if it were inferior to others. Both you and I love the Reverso; it was the forum that bought that particular watch to my attention, which in turn set me off doing some research in to it. I may well never own one and, then again, I might find that it's not for me if I ever get to put one on my own wrist. But this is what the forum should be about, stimulating thought and discussion. Above all, I always try to be respectful and remember it's nice to be nice.
+1
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by Soporsche »

^^^ +1
I definitely learn more than I contribute and have benefited hugely from the membership here in watch terms. I also find it generally an oasis of interest, politeness, niceness and general goodwill. Irrespective of whether 50 members contribute 80% of posts or 800 members contribute 50% of posts...
I genuinely think I'd enjoy a beer and a chat with most members if we were to meet face to face..
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by jkbarnes »

Soporsche wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:03 pm I genuinely think I'd enjoy a beer and a chat with most members if we were to meet face to face..
I feel the same. That’s the ultimate measure of the quality of this forum. I’m hoping now that things are opening back up I’ll be able to organize a meet-up with the few members in my area.
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by ajax87 »

rkovars wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:45 pm
It would be interesting to see a metric of how many people opened the thread and the average time spent there (a crude metric to gauge whether or not it is read). Posts on a thread are only half of the equation.
Yea it would be cool to see that detail. We’ve got a little bit of info available; it shows this thread has been viewed 583 times, with 20 replies. Not sure how a “view” is counted, because I’ve been following this thread closely and have opened it maybe 8-10 times to read replies. Does it count each time I open it? I’d actually be surprised if 583 individuals each opened the thread, based on the replies. But I think even so it definitely shows quite a few people opened it and viewed it without contributing.
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by ajax87 »

Soporsche wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:03 pm I genuinely think I'd enjoy a beer and a chat with most members if we were to meet face to face..
Another +1 for this, though I’m pretty sure the closest forum member to me would be a drive of several hours each way :(
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by trsullivan »

jkbarnes wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:18 pm
Soporsche wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:03 pm I genuinely think I'd enjoy a beer and a chat with most members if we were to meet face to face..
I feel the same. That’s the ultimate measure of the quality of this forum. I’m hoping now that things are opening back up I’ll be able to organize a meet-up with the few members in my area.
I'd be up for that, Andrew. Even if I had to come back to Virginia!

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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by strapline »

ajax87 wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:55 pm
rkovars wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:45 pm
It would be interesting to see a metric of how many people opened the thread and the average time spent there (a crude metric to gauge whether or not it is read). Posts on a thread are only half of the equation.
Yea it would be cool to see that detail. We’ve got a little bit of info available; it shows this thread has been viewed 583 times, with 20 replies. Not sure how a “view” is counted, because I’ve been following this thread closely and have opened it maybe 8-10 times to read replies. Does it count each time I open it? I’d actually be surprised if 583 individuals each opened the thread, based on the replies. But I think even so it definitely shows quite a few people opened it and viewed it without contributing.
Mmm...interesting, Alex! viewed 583 times with twenty replies; can we call that about a 3.5% engagement rate (if you define engagement as a reply)? Going back to my OP I said that the forum had over 14k members, with a typical online presence of around 100 people (0.7%). I suppose against that kind of metric you could say the post was something of a relative success. :lol:
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by iain »

When I first joined the forum it took me about three years to make my first post. I did an intro thread in that section and got a few positive and welcoming comments, then slowly started commenting on other posts. Over time I started a few threads which didn’t get much response and I occasionally start others from time to time.

I first came here to learn about watches and to be honest I could have done that on many other forums. What I like about this place is the friendly atmosphere. No one is ever talked down to and almost no one is ever criticised for their contributions unless they arguably justify it.

I still don’t see my self as a major forum member but have had many pleasant interactions here and drop in most days. There have been ups and downs, periods where conversations are slow as people leave and join. I think we are in a good period about now with some good people on here. I hear talk of the good old days and members lamenting those who have left but I wasn’t here then to say if things were better.

I recently shared a very personal story about my dad and got some fantastic comments back. Others have shared even more personal stories and had nothing but full support from everyone.

Overall I think this is one of the friendliest forums out there. Thanks to everyone for how ever much you want to contribute and keep up the good work.
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by suicidal_orange »

rkovars wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:45 pm
strapline wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 9:52 am
Personally I would not be on the forum if I found that it made me look at my own watch collection as if it were inferior to others.
+1
I was thinking about this after posting yesterday and it's strange - I like my 'collection' and I've never had a problem with jealousy over other people's more-expensive-than-mine headphones or keyboards (other buying based forums I've frequented for long periods) nor others' cars or houses, but for some reason it seems I really like nice watches. Maybe I have found my 'thing' and should fully embrace it?
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by iain »

^^^^^ I’ve never felt jealousy over others watch collections but like you do admire other people’s watches. I started out with those I could afford and have moved up in time. There are watches now I love to see but would never buy myself as I have other priorities which prevent me spending what I don’t want to.

I like the NCWOTD, SOTC and the what watch are you dreaming about threads. They show me watches I would never have otherwise known about and will probably never dream of buying. That’s the good thing about here for me. Variety.
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by ciclismosam »

Really excellent write up. I think one observation I have is that regardless of the topic in question I have always found there are more people that prefer to enjoy it in the "background" or "lurking" if you will. Rather than actively take part in the conversation. I am quite sure that this holds true in the watch enthusiast community as well.

I know for myself I have sometimes been reasonably active and other times lurked without logging in or rarely visited for more extended periods of time. For me it has really just depended what is going on in life at the time and where I am prioritizing my time. I think my comments have mostly been in response to others but I have started a few topics over the years.

I enjoy conversing back and forth on topics of shared interest but I also am not one to post/discuss much if it is not an interest for me. Other than watches that means it has been shifting topics over time. I used to spend a lot of time cycling, that is something I do much less now. I do spend time in the outdoors still with some overlanding, backpacking, and camping. I've travelled quite a bit in the past but less recently, and so on. However these interests shift in my life does frame my posting habits on non-watch related topics of course as well.

This has been interesting to think about and thanks for sharing your own journey in the forum.
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Re: Forum member observations after two years

Post by nbg »

strapline wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 6:06 pm Mmm...interesting, Alex! viewed 583 times with twenty replies; can we call that about a 3.5% engagement rate (if you define engagement as a reply)? Going back to my OP I said that the forum had over 14k members, with a typical online presence of around 100 people (0.7%). I suppose against that kind of metric you could say the post was something of a relative success. :lol:
Well I have clicked on it a few times and haven’t yet replied ( been out and about most of the time since you created the thread).

Each time someone opens the thread, the number viewed increases. Now at over 700...

I have met a fair few forumites over the years and they are people that I often interact with on the forum. However it was the interaction on the forum that came first. My take is that by joining in, it is easy enough for anyone (if that is what they want) to become one of the “regulars”.

The forum is different things to different people. Some are only interested in watch related content, many others are equally interested in the non watch content. I put myself in that category.

Just off now to take some pics of a few loud shirts... :lol:

I think we need a shoe thread as well - Andrew... :)

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