Is there any point to this website?

Maybe - like myself - some people find it hard to put their thoughts into words. Or perhaps some may have the same questions as you and are waiting for others to post?

I don't know, there are many reasons.

 

I think it really depends on the topic itself, personally. And also a high coincidence factor.

However, in your topic Should I talk to someone? I see that there was one reply. Someone replied with a question towards you, which you didn't answer.. It may help, if you want help from others, that you reply. =] I think that increases your chances of getting more responses (because it's turning into a conversation).

Cheers,

Quem

Technically, a safe place to chat doesn't mean that a lot of chatting is going on. It simply means that you can chat safely here. There are a lot of conversations on EC, it's not difficult to find these. =]

 

I agree with Quem. The topic and content of a thread has a lot to do with the amount of replies you get. Sometimes, the people who view those threads, do not know how to put into words what they want to say, and end up closing the tab without a reply.

I sometimes open a thread, read through the opening post and click on the reply button. I will then type out a reply, read through it and decide, "nah, that's stupid. Delete, delete, delete" and then end up closing the tab without replying. Perhaps that is what's happening in your threads too?

I've also started threads that didn't get a reply for days, sometimes even weeks. So I now make threads where the topic is easy to understand and something that many people on here can relate to, have dealt with, or have knowledge of. I see you've only made two posts on the site so far, so I'd like to welcome you to EC

My advice to you is to be patient. Because of time differences, access to internet, time spent online, etc. there will most likely always be delays in replies. So don't lose hope (*hug*)

 

Yeah, I think it really depends on the subject of the thread and whether it's something that opens up to comments. For example, if you ask clear questions about others' experience or advice, you're more likely to get responses than, say, for a vent post. Not that anything is wrong with a vent post.

Personally, I've found a lot of good responses to my threads. It just depends, you know, if it is something many or just a few people feel they can contribute to after reading. Most people only reply to things they are well acquainted with. Like, a lot of trans* people will hang out in the "Gender Identity" sub-forum and have good advice for you there. Other LGB members could offer input in the "Sexuality and Romance" section. And of course if you need a one-on-one with someone maybe about a more personal struggle, EC has fantastic advisors on call.

Comments a take time as well. Sometimes just wait it out a couple days.

 

I can definitely see what you mean. It can feel frustrating to seemingly make a diary entry with no response. You're not alone in feeling this way. A lot of people aren't sure what to say in advice threads because they have either never been through it themselves, feel unqualified to answer, or are afraid to open up. They also could be waiting for an answer like others said.

I found that people often get more responses when posts aren't really really long for some reason. I personally just have a hard time reading a lot all at once.

Another that I've found for easier reading and higher response rate would be to break up the thread into different paragraphs so it isn't in 1 big paragraph. That makes it easier to get a clear picture of what is going on without getting caught in the text.

Also, asking a question sometimes helps so people know what to start off with instead of just writing a thread without a clear objective. I'm not saying you have done this since I didn't look at your previous posts at all but I like to write and I think this may help users in general. I'm not sure though.

Just remember that people do care and I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience with this site. (*hug*)

 

honestly i think there's far too many subforums for the activity of the board. the interested userbase gets spread through all those forums and are less likely to see everything. whereas if some things were merged, it would increase traffic in those areas.

 

There are a number of reasons why threads don't receive replies. In addition to those already mentioned, it may be a matter of timing, it may also be that the topic/s is very complicated and involved for most members and sometimes it's because the original posting is excessively long and badly structured, making it hard to follow. I've posted threads that receive little or no response, but I know it's not personal.

It's important to understand that EC is an open forum, operating in all time zones. While I am wide awake and posting in the UK, many people in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. will be fast asleep. By the time they wake up and log in, other people will have posted and created threads and my contribution could be right down the list. That's why I aim to contribute to EC at different times of the day.

It's also important to realise that a lot of our traffic is from non-members, who view threads without ever joining or contributing. It's great that we have so many members who do contribute regularly, but EC has a wider remit and there are many thousands of people who have been helped simply by reading content on this forum, so thread views should be considered in that context.

 

Maybe they don't know what to say?

 

It depends on the post.

If the post is too long, it can strain my eyes and make it hard for me to think up any advice. If the paragraphs are not separated, this makes it worse.

I personally try to give advice on anything I can though. I'm a lesbian, but I also give advice on threads dedicated to gay guys, bisexuals, and trans people. I'm knowledgeable enough to see where they're coming from.

 

It's important to remember that you need to respond to responses. I've seen many threads where the subject is a bit vague, those can be tough to give advice on sometimes. Members may respond with questions to better understand the situation, and I see often these go unanswered. Help us help you, in other words.

 

^^^Indeed, sometimes the question or situation is hazy enough that I try to ask additional questions. I try to do that, because it is easy sometimes to launch into a sermon or a lecture, and usually the threadstarter is looking for feedback. Another problem can be that the writer is shy and, when posting a thread, is somewhat coy about describing the problem or situation. Especially when someone appears depressed or especially when they are suicidal, it is important to be more certain of how they are feeling before starting in with advice, lectures, sermons, or consolation.

EC seems like a great place, but like most on-line meeting places it lacks the full range of human connection that is sometimes necessary. The one thing about it that is better than 3D appears to be our willingness to open up and share things here that we'd be loathe to quickly share in real life, with our surrounding people. For people who feel unnecessarily unique or alone, this one feature is a tremendous benefit.

 

That I can see, you started one thread other than this one (your only other post, over 4 months ago).

In that thread, a poster responded, with questions that are highly relevant to your situation, and you never answered. It could be that people who read your OP had similar questions and were waiting to hear your response before they added something. If you don't engage with your own thread, it's kinda unreasonable to expect lots of others to engage with it.

Very often, I post thoughts to people here and never hear a word back from them. So when a poster won't engage with her own thread, I ask myself if there's any point in *me* putting time into responding to it.

Bottom line response: you get out of sites like this what you put into them.

 

Every website is like that, not just this one. There will be threads that don't get a lot of comments, while others do. It also has to do with how much you put into the topic, and if people generally know what to say on how to help the topic creator out.

 

Just to voice my opinion on this topic is that I find a lot of members saying that they do not take interest in certain post because they are very long. There are times when you are venting something that has caused an impact on you that you want to make sure that whomever taken the time to read your post understand what you are trying to say as well as what you are feeling. There are some who do write shorter post and yet...you have to respond to the fact of not getting an understanding what is the meaning of this post or where you are trying to go with what you are saying. Many times this leads to you receiving these additional responses in that manner. Therefore, if this is supposed to be an open forum for individuals to express what they are going through as well as seeking advice ...then I don't think its cool to complain about the length. Again...this is just my opinion. Another thing that I've noticed is that there is a lot of repetitious posting on the same subject or topic and yet these are the very posts that mainly receives a lot of responses which always boggles my mind to some degree because I am thinking...this question or this subject matter appears on a daily basis and yet...people complain about someone pouring the heart out being long winded and yet...you keep responding to a post that was posted on the same subject matter the day before. Just saying...