Quote:
Originally Posted by Alisha1972
They don't, darling. That's just it. And I'm sure that was Kat's point.
This is exactly why I don't get riled up over posts about what we "should" charge, why a 19 year old stripper is better than me, etc.
Reality is, at the end of the day, those posters are not my clients. Never have been, and never will be. So why do I care what they say?
Kat is dead on. Serious hobbyists don't/rarely post. They don't have a reason to whine and complain. After all....they're getting laid [IMG]file:///C:/Users/Entropy/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.png[/IMG]
I've been more of a lurker myself in the last year. Just look at my post count...lol. That might change. I'm starting to feel the need to converse with like-minded individuals.
Alisha ...xoxo
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To say serious hobbyists don't or rarely post is correct. Just as much as saying irreverent hobbysists don't or rarely post, strip club hobbyists don't or rarely post, or SW hobbyists don't or rarely post.
Fact of the matter is that a great majority (and I don't pretend to know what kind of numbers, but we'll use the example eglrdr used of 90 or 95%) don't post. While providers will see that their "serious hobbyist" clients mostly come from lurkers, they are not seeing the lurkers who don't patronize them - and they may outnumber "serious hobbyists". I would be willing to bet that the percentage that one would consider serious among the lurkers may be comparable to ones you would consider "serious" among the active posters. It's hard to deny prolific guys like City Jazz or Metal Smith as anything other than serious whatever your reasonable definition might be. I would consider them fairly active posters.
So if I
had to take a guess, I would say that the percentage of "serious hobbyists", strip club patrons, SW cruisers, sugar daddies, and who only read for curiosity rather than really hobby in any form might not be so different among active posters and lurkers. Yes, this is conjecture...but any other shot at such ratio would be a guess as well without some objective study done.
As for the original question of who speaks for whom on the forum, I think those who might have a problem with the Whispers/strip club mongering talk have a tendency to think that the problem is bigger than it really is. Whispers posts a lot, but as he likes to point out, it's not as much as people (with problems with him) tend to think, and not all of his posts are about said subject. Rarely have I seen the active posters claim to be speaking on behalf of others, while the dissenters have come here and started threads that they speak for all the lurkers. So if a lurker comes on and claims that they speak for the majority lurkers, is that any more valid?
I will disagree with Whispers on the point that number of views actually reflects the opinions of the lurkers. I think it reflects their interest - many might agree with him, and many might be looking into the drama threads for the same reason Jerry Springer had good ratings - but not necessarily their agreement or dissent. What I will agree with him about is the value of those view count to the owners. Page loads and ad views generate revenue for the ownership, whatever threads that generate traffic to the site is good for the site.
One of the problems I have been seeing lately are the dissenters. They have a low post count, but come on primarily to bitch about one or two posters' actions. If you rarely post, but have a problem with the way the board is going, then post things that you think are positive. What are you really doing when you come on here to only deliver slightly veiled insults that end up in a dogpile of back and forth insults? Because of your dislike of the topics/opinions of a few active posters, your contribution to the board has become negativity. You're not helping your cause. If you really have a problem with Whispers' posting, drown him out with what you do want to talk about. Hell, put him on ignore and start your own threads. If you want to be purely a lurker, then you've resigned yourself to read the boards as presented by the active posters, that is fact in any community.
Sorry that this post came after a quote of your post, Alisha. Most of this wasn’t directed at you. I do like your attitude on how you deal with those that do not concern you, more mature than others.
