How much interaction do you get on here?

[buttersigh]

I was just wondering about how much interaction people get on this site? Obviously if you post a thread it might get at least a few replies but if you post a comment on another thread how often do you actually get any kind of reply or response to your comment? I know now they have the response buttons so we can count them as well. I'm just kind of curious as I seem to remember several years ago pre 2020 when I was on here it seemed like there was a lot more back and forth with actual conversations happening but now it seems like it is all just people posting there thoughts and even if you respond to someone directly just to agree with them and further the point or to ask them a specific question it feels quite rare to get a response at all.

Is it just me or is interaction down a bit these days and its more like a space to just independently say your piece and then move on?

Yes totally from the heart .... and Nothing.

Has this happen.
It's mad because there's always different ways at looking at things. And what works for one doesn't always work for another.

When I joined about 12 years ago (can’t remember exactly), there were a lot of quiche threads (MN for clique), posters were much more likely to recognise names & everyone knew the mods, who would sometimes join in the chat or even drop in on a thread with a tray of virtual brownies or big pot of coffee.

The first thread I remember joining in was a wild flight of fancy involving a missing toaster, zombies & Prince Philip & every so often there would be a virtual raid on MN to steal wine & pizzas. Again, the mods would join in but nowadays, I think that would be totally unrealistic for several reasons.

And yet even in those idyllic days, a group of the oldest posters had just left because MN wasn’t what it used to be.

@EmpressaurusKitty I hate to break it to you but I think it was more like 17-18 years ago if you mean the Moldies! 😬

Pandemic time jump strikes again.

I’ve just checked back & my first posts were in 2010.

I think when I arrived was shortly after the Moldies set up their private forum & invited Justine.

I don't mind other people having different opinions, it's when they criticise your advice without giving any of their own.

I was thinking about these “popular” posters last night. I remember when there would be threads about topics a popular poster was known for and people would be commenting “Where’s SoAndSo with their thoughts?” It was a bit odd for an anonymous website, but I find it interesting how social behaviours play out in the same way across different platforms of communication.

Back then HQ were also still hosting in-person meet-ups which is very hard to imagine nowadays.

Very little interaction with other posters. It was different when the site was new - there were fewer posters (obvs) and no one name changed, so you got to know people.

It takes a bit of getting used to - I think some people expect to come on here and make friends. The truth is very few people read whole threads - and even I, who tries to make a point of reading whole threads, generally skip past any reply that is more than a few sentences long.

I think there’s a vicious circle. More people are just reading the OP’s posts (at most), so comments are more likely to be repeated, which makes for boring threads, so then people become more likely to just read the OP’s posts….

I get all I want or need.

Like pp have touched on, I think if it's actual connections you're looking for then you should start or join one of the ongoing multiple thread topics. Like a tv show you like, there's threads on those. Or a hobby or interest. Something that's ongoing where you'll get to know the other posters on that thread over time. The people on those threads seem like they've got to know each other a bit.

Yes the in-person meet-ups! And the MN secret Santa, which resulted in long long LONG threads about who hadn’t got anything, and who hadn’t said thank you for their gift, and so on. It was in some ways much more of a community, but it also resulted in a lot of people feeling like they’d been slighted or left out.

Yes - I have IRL friends I met on MN, but all the friendships started several years ago.