Full text below the image; image displayed only to show that I actually sent it.
Hey dude, old buddy, how’s it hanging?
I’m going to be busy until the end of the year, and wanted to get my best wishes to you and yours, and to Elad, for the coming Christmas and New Year’s. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!
You know, something’s been bothering me for a long time, and I couldn’t put my finger on it until recently.
There appears a lack of “community†on democraticunderground; it’s as if each member exists in his or her own bubble, oblivious to the existence of other members. I’m sure that’s not want you want, but that’s what you got.
What you got are a bunch of members screaming, “LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!,†utterly ignoring the existence of other members unless other members happen to acknowledge them.
I’m sure there’s lots and lots of members with very low “topics posted/comments†ratios; drama queens who post original topics, but then don’t comment on other threads.
As a guideline, over here on conservativecave, the three moderators in one particular forum have “topics posted/comments†ratios of 1-to-5 or 1-to-6, that is, five or six comments on other members’ threads as compared with each original topic they post.
But that’s low because on conservativecave, moderators are required to be active in their own forums, to incite debate and discussion, to keep the place animated. Among all members as a whole, the “topics posted/comments†ratio appears to be 1-to-14, which shows hearty debate and discussion in each thread (or at least most of them).
I’m sure there’s many members of democraticunderground whose ratio of “topics posted/comments†is barely 1-to-1, or even 1-to-0 (I can think of a few of the latter).
So as to encourage more interaction and “community†among members of democraticunderground, how about having Elad, during his spare time, devise some sort of software that allows members to post an original topic only for each ten (or so) comments they make on other members’ threads?
Food for thought this holiday season.
Again, my very best wishes to you and yours, and to Elad, for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Your good friend, franksolich.
