Conscious Bob
Well-Known Member
I'd like more smilies
I hate smilies.
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I'd like more smilies
It would be great if people didn't drift away. So many friends have gone, diminishing the life of the forum for reasons we never know.this might help with the "quiet" aspect, bringing back members who may have joined then forgotten about the forum. .
I can't speak for anyone else but as a newbie I sometimes find it quite intimidating joining a new forum. Regardless of how welcoming members are it's not always easy to just start posting.Well get posting then...
I like the idea of a newsletter.We'll also be starting a newsletter to update members on what's new (new threads, book selections for Book of the Month, polls, etc.) - this might help with the "quiet" aspect, bringing back members who may have joined then forgotten about the forum.
I agree, Karen, it can be a bit intimidating posting to a new forum when you don't yet know the personalities or style of the existing members. I'm glad you've been taking part!I can't speak for anyone else but as a newbie I sometimes find it quite intimidating joining a new forum. Regardless of how welcoming members are it's not always easy to just start posting.
Nope, that seems to have done the trick. It's no longer visible to guests.It looks like the private posts are not view-able to me when I logged out just now. Let me know if you're still seeing anything.
I'm not a huge poster here, but I do visit often. I don't post mainly because I find BAR to be a bit cluttered and haphazard with its layout, but this thread kinda drove me to log in and say something. I've noticed that the BAR seems pretty dead these days, not many new posts happening at all and never showing more than a couple of members online. When I saw the announcement of new owners, I thought maybe things were on the upturn, which would be great. But, I have to say, after watching for the last couple of months, for a new owner who claims to be "super eager" about the site, having plans for it and loving to interact with other "passionate" readers you're not showing much interest in the site, which is quite disappointing. In fact, the only thing you seemed interested in is the lack of smileys . . . .
I come here to read a lot and have noticed not only a drop in activity but that between Feb and April a few thousands posts actually disappeared from the site whether that's just from general spam cleanup (which would be quite a large amount in itself or some kind of mess up from the purchase, I don't know.. either way it's a lot of posts). BAR had 8 posts in the last 24 hours, that's pretty sad considering how active BAR used to be. Has anything been actioned on the newsletter you said you were going to send out back in March (we're now in June and I haven't received a newsletter) or any of the ideas you said you had in mind for the site... or even those extra smilies which you appeared to be rather passionate about?
I'm sorry that my first post here in a while is so negative, but I hope you'll take it for what it is.
I'm not a huge poster here, but I do visit often. I don't post mainly because I find BAR to be a bit cluttered and haphazard with its layout, but this thread kinda drove me to log in and say something. I've noticed that the BAR seems pretty dead these days, not many new posts happening at all and never showing more than a couple of members online. When I saw the announcement of new owners, I thought maybe things were on the upturn, which would be great. But, I have to say, after watching for the last couple of months, for a new owner who claims to be "super eager" about the site, having plans for it and loving to interact with other "passionate" readers you're not showing much interest in the site, which is quite disappointing. In fact, the only thing you seemed interested in is the lack of smileys . . . .
I come here to read a lot and have noticed not only a drop in activity but that between Feb and April a few thousands posts actually disappeared from the site whether that's just from general spam cleanup (which would be quite a large amount in itself or some kind of mess up from the purchase, I don't know.. either way it's a lot of posts). BAR had 8 posts in the last 24 hours, that's pretty sad considering how active BAR used to be. Has anything been actioned on the newsletter you said you were going to send out back in March (we're now in June and I haven't received a newsletter) or any of the ideas you said you had in mind for the site... or even those extra smilies which you appeared to be rather passionate about?
I'm sorry that my first post here in a while is so negative, but I hope you'll take it for what it is.
Azhria, One is always torn about whether or not to post critical comments about a forum that one likes, but I have to commend you for an unusually balanced and accurate appraisal of the way this site has seemed to be lately. Like you, some others of us who have been members for quite a while, hope patiently for an upturn in BAR's fortunes. Well said!
If there was a "love" button to click, I'd do so.
Well said, Azhria Lilu!
Azhria,Thanks guys. I did think about it for a day or so before I posted it as I wasn't sure how it would be received, since I'm not a hugely active poster. I run forums myself, and have done for a long long time, so I know how hard it can be to hear criticism come from what could be perceived as an outsider - both as a site owner and as a member. But, with that said, I've always used this as my go-to site in the past when I wanted to take a break from my own things and read what you lot have been talking about or reading. I don't really get a lot of time to post on forums not in my care - the majority of my online time attention goes to the growth of them, but it actually bothered me seeing how BAR has been starting to wane.
I hope my post spurs the new owners into action and they can bring back the glory days - god knows we need a great book forum! - but, three months in and nothing to show for it, I can't say I'm truly hopeful - otherwise I might have a start a book forum of my own
Indeed they do. But I also firmly believe that the manner with which an admin/mod deals with criticism says a lot about their characterAzhria,
I have taken the liberty of highlighting your post, because I that that it is worth mentioning again how treacherous the waters can be if or when one offers criticism of a site. Not all admins/mods are equally tolerant of critical or even constructive suggestions, and they do after all hold the power over one's participation on the site.
Azhria Lilu, thank you very much for your feedback. We're HUGE proponents of feedback and appreciate when people provide their thoughts and ideas with the goal of helping the community! So, no need to be sorry at all!
I think part of our issue is that Emily and I have had a lot of trepidation about making too many changes. We're not really familiar with the community yet and have been trying to get a feel for things. We thought that new peeps coming in and making a ton of changes would potentially cause more harm, discomfort, etc... so we've been kinda laying low.
We definitely want to find the balance and do whatever is best for the community, so we definitely would love to see as many comments and ideas as possible!
Regarding the layout being "a bit cluttered and haphazard": Please be more specific and post any ideas of how you'd suggest it be improved.
Regarding post-drop: We did do some cleanup of a hidden section where the previous owner had moved all spam that was on the forum into this hidden section. After a bit of discussion we didn't feel there was any value in keeping thousands of v1agra threads in a hidden forum, so we removed them.
Regarding the newsletter: Ya, we totally dropped the ball on that and I'll make sure SuperReaderGirl puts in the time to make that happen!
Again, thanks for your thoughts and feedback, we appreciate them and hope others will contribute with their thoughts and ideas!
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts so openly! We would also like to see this become a more vibrant community where people are able to discuss their opinions on books without fear of attack. We definitely do need to get a newsletter going to bring people back in and to garner more interest in the monthly book selections. I, personally, tend to mostly not participate in group reads, but like to choose my own thing. I'd like to join the BOTM discussions here at some point, though, so may change my reading habits. My reading goes in ebbs and flows - where sometimes I'm addicted and reading constantly, and sometimes I'm not reading, but just following some of the book/author/publishing news.
My favorite section here is the "Recommendations" area. I love searching for books people can't remember or recommending books I think someone else might enjoy.
I'd love to hear some suggestions for how we can make people feel more welcome and comfortable posting. I like the review/journal sections we've started because it seems people are able to freely express themselves there. I occasionally hesitate to share some of what I read because it's largely "Young Adult" rather than "classics" or other more acceptable adult fiction, but I suppose everyone has their own preferences and opinions and that's what keeps life interesting.
We definitely do not mind - and actually welcome - constructive criticism. I am new to the forum management domain and learning as I go, so please be patient, but Rob is assisting me greatly and we'll work to implement the things we think will help the most.
I hope my post spurs the new owners into action and they can bring back the glory days - god knows we need a great book forum! - but, three months in and nothing to show for it, I can't say I'm truly hopeful - otherwise I might have a start a book forum of my own