Bumps/apology

[apenman]

Dear Board Members-

It appears that the act of a sincere fan has set off the ire of some folks. I actually agree with the person/persons who are upset about this. To me it does seem a bit unfair that when an older story gets a "like" and a reply it gets bumped up to page one. And I agree that this sometimes, as in this case, takes the spotlight off the newer stories/writers. Unless I've posted something NEW, they're the ones who deserve PAGE 1. Just remember, ALL the story writers on this board live for your approval and are deeply flattered when kind words about their work are posted. To me, that's why we write. But the kind person who took the time and trouble to read and comment on my stories should NOT be blamed for something that is not under their control.

Personally, if there's a way this "glitch" can be corrected so that new stories don't get knocked off page one, I would be fine with that. I'm pretty sure all the other talented writers here would be too.

Sincerely,
A. Penman

[sffan4e]

To me it does seem a bit unfair that when an older story gets a "like" and a reply it gets bumped up to page one. And I agree that this sometimes, as in this case, takes the spotlight off the newer stories/writers. Unless I've posted something NEW, they're the ones who deserve PAGE 1. Just remember, ALL the story writers on this board live for your approval and are deeply flattered when kind words about their work are posted. To me, that's why we write. But the kind person who took the time and trouble to read and comment on my stories should NOT be blamed for something that is not under their control.

To be clear, it is not a 'like' that causes a bump, but a reply. So only a 'like' shows ones appreciation for the post, without moving it's ranking.

I personally don't mind an occasional bump. It gives some good oldies the well deserved attention. Especially for those, who might have missed it.
And I believe some well meant and/or constructive feedback deserves a place on the board.
But imho the recent bumps are what some might call 'overkill'. So many posts from one overflows those of others. I think it would have caused less frustrations if all the comments were combined in 1 reply, so for example solely in the final part. This way only 1 post gets bumped up. Or at least spread them over time.

Just my 2 cents.

[XP]

Well looks like this saved us a private message. LOL We have been deliberating on how to deal with the mass of bumps. As I mentioned in another thread, we are deliberating on how to handle this surge of bumps. On the one hand, it isn't fair to newer threads to be pushed down this far. On the other hand, it isn't fair to delete a bunch of positive comments. Our current idea is to delete some, but then the question arises as to which ones to delete. Suggestions are welcome.

As an aside, I want to make it clear that Hostboard isn't mine. I do not own it and cannot reprogram it. Nor can I influence the owners of Hostboard to reprogram the site for the sake of this forum. I've tried.

[sffan4e]

Our current idea is to delete some, but then the question arises as to which ones to delete. Suggestions are welcome.

I presume the poster had the best intentions. I would suggest to leave those comments, and introduce a new forum rule which states that it is not allowed to bump related posts (e.g. stories seperated over multiple posts) up. If one wants to comment on a story, do so in 1 consolidated reply. Or if one replies on seperatie parts (because one reads not so fast through the stories or wants to respond to specific parts in the story), at least 1 week needs to be between these posts.
If explained why this rule is necessary, I suppose most members will understand and hopefully respect it.

[Angel Dawn]

The same thing happened to me several weeks ago. I signed on and discovered that most of the entire first page were different threads of my continuing story "The Adventures of Angelica, Private Eye." Of course I was delighted that someone had taken time to express "Thank you's".. but it was also a little embarrassing because it did push some of the newer posts down to the bottom of the page and onto the second page.. which was unfortunate. I certainly have no problem with people commenting on my story.. good or bad.. and I have had both... however, if someone is reading all of the story, I think one "comment" would suffice. I also understand about older stories being "bumped". I am sure there are new readers who perhaps have not read some of the older stories.

I suppose I am somewhat guilty and may contribute a little to this problem. I respond to everyone who posts in my threads. I believe if someone takes his/her time to comment, then I should personally "thank" the poster. That's just me.. it's who I am. It has to do with respect and being polite. However, I have noticed that after a few weeks, the comments cease and the older chapters eventually get shuffled to the second and third and fourth pages.. which is as it should be. And if someone does post to one of my older threads, I will 'thank' the poster in my newest thread.. so the older thread will eventually make it's way off of the first page.

Perhaps the threads should be kept in order based on the date that the original thread was created.. but I assume that is not possible. Perhaps members should be encouraged to respond to older threads via a Private Message. Anyway, this does not happen that often, and the first page typically "comes back to life" in a week or two.

[DHH]

XP and I both agree that the "bump posts" were made with good intentions for sure. We saw no ill will and definitely no intention to force newer topics off the front page. It's just a case of someone who really liked several threads of the same ongoing story and decided to post about it.

That being said I want to thank you guys for the comments and ideas thus far. I'll talk to XP about rules update, but he has mentioned to me on several occasions that he worries about having too many rules since he doesn't want this forum to become bogged down by them and I can definitely understand that.

In regards to post order I believe XP can change the default sort function. So here's a question:

- Do you all feel that it is better for the order of posts to be sorted by default to "Most Recent Reply" or "Most Recent Thread"?

My thoughts on this is that if we default to Most Recent Thread, then it will be harder for people to know when there are new replies to topics that have ended up on the second page and beyond. Is that something you are okay with?

DHH

[doom2241]

am i the only one who thinks this is stupid that we need rules for this sort of thing? i like it the way it is.

one exception to that might be that a relatively new thread that has been moved down by more new threads shouldn't just be percolated back to the top if the person posting a reply just says "awesome". that's ok, in my opinion, if it's part of the same chain of replies within the past couple days, but after that, if you are going to just post that you like it, just click like. clicking like also has an important role which i will explain.

uuummmm. not to sound like a dick, but we all know how forums work right? i think having a rule about bumping is completely unnecessary because

- first, new posts inform the surfers that new information is in those forums.
- they may bring back to life older stories that are good for new surfers. they may not surf 40 pages back just to explore.
- there's no fair way to keep people from posting new threads that do the exact same thing.
-there are easy ways to find new threads that have been started.
-more activity on a thread is a good thing. using forum statistics, surfers can find the really popular threads that may be buried.

down toward the bottom of the first page, there is a control bar that lets the surfer sort threads by new threads, and by how far back, within the last 3 days, week, month, etc. then the surfer can see all the new threads that have been STARTED within the past couple days.

sorry to sound like a know-it-all.

[XP]

DHH is right when he says I am not a fan of adding more and more rules. I personally believe that in general people are decent and can conduct themselves perfectly fine on a forum without a ton of rules forcing them to.

doom2241, I have always assumed people will learn how to use this forum if they join and like being around. I think the issue for me personally with this "bumping" thing is whether people want the Default sorting of this forum to stay the same with new replies taking priority or if they would prefer that I change the settings to give priority to the date a thread / topic is created. It's a convenience issue, I think.

But I could be wrong and I welcome more input, publicly or privately. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to this discussion so far!

[apenman]

am i the only one who thinks this is stupid that we need rules for this sort of thing? i like it the way it is.

one exception to that might be that a relatively new thread that has been moved down by more new threads shouldn't just be percolated back to the top if the person posting a reply just says "awesome". that's ok, in my opinion, if it's part of the same chain of replies within the past couple days, but after that, if you are going to just post that you like it, just click like. clicking like also has an important role which i will explain.

uuummmm. not to sound like a dick, but we all know how forums work right? i think having a rule about bumping is completely unnecessary because

- first, new posts inform the surfers that new information is in those forums.
- they may bring back to life older stories that are good for new surfers. they may not surf 40 pages back just to explore.
- there's no fair way to keep people from posting new threads that do the exact same thing.
-there are easy ways to find new threads that have been started.
-more activity on a thread is a good thing. using forum statistics, surfers can find the really popular threads that may be buried.

down toward the bottom of the first page, there is a control bar that lets the surfer sort threads by new threads, and by how far back, within the last 3 days, week, month, etc. then the surfer can see all the new threads that have been STARTED within the past couple days.

sorry to sound like a know-it-all.

doom2241-
you don't sound like a know it all. Your thoughts are excellent! And appreciated!
Sincerely,
A. Penman

[sffan4e]

That being said I want to thank you guys for the comments and ideas thus far. I'll talk to XP about rules update, but he has mentioned to me on several occasions that he worries about having too many rules since he doesn't want this forum to become bogged down by them and I can definitely understand that.

I totally agree to keep the number of rules as small as possible. Only as a last resort.

A tip for responding to 'undesired'/too many/etc bumps, it might be better to post a short general comment in the post like "I've sent you a PM about bumps" and go into details in a PM. Some people might feel attacked if criticized publicly about such thing. I mean, who are you mister co-member to tell me what to do... Right?
Just how I feel about it and how I generally respond to little things like this. I prefer to solve things personally and quietly whenever possible.