Ignorance is Bliss

Hey guys, i don't know if you have noticed but this site and its members along with the "Staff" are extremely ignorant. I have only been a member here for a few months and even though i recieved a very nice greeting by the staff and a few of the frequent posters anything else i have ever posted has been completely ignored. I just went through the latest posts on the site and low and behold if a member of staff or "one of the boys" didn't start the thread noone bothers their ass with it (apart from the odd one obviously, thought i better put this here for the nitpickers). The only time i see a new person getting any sort of feedback at all is when they are posting an intro (funnily enough when i actually got acknowledged) or if their dvd player is broke and they are told to buy a new one (i know i know i said that too but thats not the point). I'm not meaning to flame anyone and i obviously can't name any individuals because there aren't any its everyone who doesn't bother their ass unless they recognise the name who posted, i'm mearly trying to give feedback on how to improve this board.

Can i ask what is wrong with some of the questions that have been asked that have been completely ignored? I found myself, a complete newbie on this board, actually trying to help out other newbies more than the regular members were and thats just a bloody joke!! This is one of the worst boards i have been a member of but the funny thing is its not for the usual reasons like arguing or flaming.

I remember at school with all the different cliques and how some people werent welcome in some of them. Its the same here, if you haven't been a member for any length of time and your not one of the regular members you just get completely ignored, regardless of how much you try to make an effort to become a regular your just left with no reason to.

I was well excited when i found this board as i really am a movie buff, i love watching movies and discussing them. Now i'm just gutted as i feel what this site could be is being let down by its members.

Ever wonder why most of the members on this site post only once or twice? Take out the people who are looking for cheap advertising and you will still have the majority of the members in that situation. U guys don't bother with them so they stop bothering and go elsewhere. Ever thought of actually hitting off a discussion with someone you don't know? Its not difficult to reply to a post from a stranger, most of them dont bite, you may even enjoy the discussion.

I guess i probably won't be a member by the time the first member of staff reads this but at least they will know my opinion before its deleted and i'm banned. Its just a pity there is nothing really here to miss as this is one of the most informative sites i have been to with the most ignorant message board i have ever seen in my life. Not being a member won't stop me from vewing the worthwhile parts of the site.

Scotster =oP

Nobody is deliberately ignoring you or anyone for that matter. It's just that this is a fairly small community and posts are often far and few between.

For the most part I don't even browse the forums. I typically just look at the sidebar showing the most recent messages withouth even knowing the author of the post.

Scotster,

Please don't go away mad. I remember one of your first posts got some good replies, and you complimented people for them. Here's what you said at the time: "Wow, a friendly board. I gotta be honest there aint many of these left nowadays. Usually i get flamed before i even post anything lol. Cheers for the kind replies."

But I notice that the last couple of threads you started went unanswered. It was probably because no one had a reply or no one was interested in the particular topics you started. That's just human nature. I don't usually start any threads myself, because every time I have, they have gone unnoticed, too. I guess I don't have much to ask that people care about. But I hang in here at the Board trying to respond to things as well as I can.

No one's trying to snub you here, and everyone but spammers and trolls are welcome. Just be patient with us. We appreciate the input you've made so far.

John

In the world of statistics, the relevant term here is "sample size." You've started 4 topics, one of which spawned a long thread, 2 of which got one or no responses, with the fourth being this one. It's rather difficult to conclude anything from so few posts. Keep on posting. Everyone has different interests here, and maybe a few of the other topics you posted on just didn't happen to connect with anyone here. It happens. Think how I feel when I pour my heart and soul into a review of a great Iranian film only to find that 20x as many people read the review of 'Miss Congenality 2' as my review. It happens, man. :)

I aint mad at all John, if anything i am really disappointed. The post you quoted is the exact one i was talking about when i said "I have only been a member here for a few months and even though i recieved a very nice greeting by the staff and a few of the frequent posters anything else i have ever posted has been completely ignored".

My point isn't about me, i'm not that shallow lol. Ok i was a bit disappointed when noone was interested in anything i had to say but hey, maybe thats just me and the things i want to discuss noone else does. The point i was making is that anyone who starts a thread who is not known gets brushed to the side. Maybe not deliberately but it still happens. I have, not that long ago, noticed someone try to start a thread and it got ignored. Fair enough maybe noone was interested. But one of the regulars posted a thread along the exact same lines and it gets pleanty of input. That kinda sums up what i'm trying to say.

Know what i find funny, the spammers get more replies than the real members do, granted they are being told where to go but something is always better than nothing.

Scotster =oP

Scotster,

Actually, a lot of discussion happens in the Reader Comments sections accompanying each review. :)

Eddie

I'm not asking you guys to reply to things i say (i keep saying this isnt about me, thought it was clear in my first post but obviously not as every reply has said the same thing), i'm just asking you to be more friendly to people you don't know on this board. I don't mean friendly as in when you talk to them be nice as you guys always are (well have been in the short time i have been here), i just mean friendly as in if you see them say something that you can respond to then do. If your not interested then fine thats different but just because you don't recognise the name doesn't mean you should ignore the thread.

Its funny that this thread is more popular in 20 minutes than anything i have posted apart from my "intro"

Scotster =oP

To agree with Tim, it's the inflammatory posts that seem to get more attention. Like a headline draws you in to a story. Take this thread for instance, "Ignorance is Bliss." Inflammatory topic; sounds like it might deserve a look. But when the topic doesn't look like something that I personally am knowledgeable about or am interested in, then I'll pass it by. That's not to say that every thread needs a needlessly inflammatory title, but I know if I see "Batman Begins," "George Lucas Is a Hack," or something that's of interest to me, then I'll check it out.

Generally if it's not a "Missing DVD" post, I'll take a look no matter what the topic is, but that doesn't mean I'll have anything to add. Like most other people, I simply scan the current topics list to see if something catches my eye. A lot of times, I catch myself starting to reply to something and realize I don't have much of anything to add to the topic (I almost didn't post in this thread, but thought better of not). I hit the back button, and it's like it never happened. On occasion, it even looks like I could be interested in a topic, but the conversation going on in the thread isn't an aspect of that topic that interests me.

In the few years that I have been coming to this site, I have found the majority of both staff and posters quite helpful and friendly. However, we all have different points of interest (i.e., Fight Club rocks even if Eddie doesn't recognize that fact). ;) If something doesn't fall into that realm for me, then I generally won't post anything. If I can help someone, I do my best to help, but I am not one to add something just to add something.

I hate that you feel like people are being ignored. I can't even begin to count the number of topics or posts I've thought would get some kind of response but don't garner a thing, or the course of the conversation is immediately changed (Summer Blockbusters 2005 anyone?). I just figure that what I put wasn't of much interest to folks. In the end, I guess it simply comes down to what each person wants to talk about. If it's a niche topic, then I would expect fewer replies.

In addition, I don't think it's the staff's job to put their 2 cents in on every topic out there. We are a community. These message boards are for us to talk to one another, not get advice or opinion from those reviewing and running the site unless we request as much. Considering how civil and informative most of the posting on here is, I think this community has built to a degree where posters themselves can help one another in their areas of interest and expertise.

I truly hope you stay around awhile and take some time to enjoy the better aspects of the site. There have been some great conversations and debates over the time I've been here, and there are some greatly knowledgeable staff and posters out there. I can agree that posting has been leaner lately, myself included most definitely, but it's likely just a season of busyness for most folks, not a case of blatantly ignoring individuals. I think if you wait out this season, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

DVDTown staff: all monies for this post can be applied to Offshore Account#: 1a357k

Sean (...now exiting Stepford mode...) :)

Scotster,

If you take my "no response" to any of your (I know it's not all about you) threads, I appologize. I usually only respond to threads that I take interest in or I have an opinion on. It's kind of hard to respond to topics that I have no knowledge in and there is also the issue of how much time in the day I have to respond to every post out there. Honestly, some threads bore me, like people talking about the technical aspects of HDTV or Blue-Ray. Sorry, that kind of stuff just doesn't interest me and I have nothing to offer for input. I'm not trying to be rude or pick and choose who I talk to, I just simply have nothing to say.

Now, with that being said, I will agree with you that our message board is very slow with response time. I was just talking to Josh yesterday on how slow our message boards are and the only time people really respond is when there is something debateable to argue about (personally, I love a good argument ;) ). I've seen entire weekends go by with no new threads or any responses to the ones we've had. I'm not sure what the issue is but I will say people respond better to conflict issues, such as Micheal Moore, religion, or politics. However, many of us refrain from these topics because they have been known to bring on hard feelings. I say bring on the taboo topics because at least we're all talking! :p ;)

Tim :D

Who's John?