[busymomof5]

Whenever I come here, there are multiple check-in type threads with up to 900 posts and individual check-in threads with a couple hundred posts.

The result? I don’t read them. I’ve tried to follow along, but the posts are too varied/get no responses and it all seems like people are sharing what should be an individual post in a huge thread without getting adequate responses. It’s kind of like talking to no one.

There aren’t a lot of threads started here, and it seems to me that many of the posts in these threads should be individual posts so that the forums stay active and posts get responses.

What is the attraction to these mega threads?

[bizi]

I guess you would call my thread a mega thread. some people follow along. I rather feel it is a blog of sorts.
Don't read if it bothers you.
I can't follow along with the whole forum because of my mental ineptness.
There are many who no longer post and I miss them as I could follow them easily.
Any one hear from blue bicycle?
Bizi

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by bizi

I guess you would call my thread a mega thread. some people follow along. I rather feel it is a blog of sorts.
Don't read if it bothers you.
I can't follow along with the whole forum because of my mental ineptness.
There are many who no longer post and I miss them as I could follow them easily.
Any one hear from blue bicycle?
Bizi

I would like to hear from bb. And I enjoy your thread, bizi.

busymomof5, the check-in thread is a way for us to keep in touch with each other and what's going on in our lives. You're incorrect when you state that we don't reply to each other. We do, and we follow each others' life events. You know..."bonding."

I also have a "mega thread" to keep track of my meds. I don't expect anyone to reply to me (which I stated in the beginning of the thread). Sometimes people do, and I am very grateful for that extra support and friendship.

I checked with Doc John at one point because someone else complained about the mega-threads. He approved them. You'll find them not only on this board, but on many other boards in which people want to show extra support for each other.

I don't really understand why the threads bother you. Can you just skip over them? They're not required reading.

[Fuzzybear]

Like Bizi, I also often do not follow along with the whole forum (due to time constraints and ********)

I would also like to hear from bb (and others who are not currently posting...)

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by bizi

I guess you would call my thread a mega thread. some people follow along. I rather feel it is a blog of sorts.
Don't read if it bothers you.
I can't follow along with the whole forum because of my mental ineptness.
There are many who no longer post and I miss them as I could follow them easily.
Any one hear from blue bicycle?
Bizi

Re the OP's question, I also enjoy the more in depth threads that there used to be more of (I think.....). I think this is in part due to some of the more frequent regular posters leaving or taking a break a while ago....

[FluffyDinosaur]

I don't follow along with the check-in thread either because it's too fast-paced for me. I can see the value of it for some people, but I personally prefer the in-depth threads. I can also see what I think is busymomof5's point, which is that it's sad that there are fewer in-depth threads than there used to be. I don't know if that's a result of the "mega threads." I think maybe it's more because a good number of previous frequent visitors have left the forums not too long ago. Whatever the cause, it's definitely a pity.

Suffice it to say, there are varying opinions on the topic.

The first question I would pose is -- would an individual post from everyone talking about their day really constitute the envisioned motive of this forum? I wouldn't think so. Call it having taken issue from the past -- but there are notoriously times mods will decide your posts belong somewhere else and move them. They have a general chat section and they don't hesitate to decide where it's best for your posts to go. That aside, the sense of community and bonding I feel are strong components to the idea of veracity of what the forum tries to encompass and therefore, are generally accepted.

I post in "mega threads" often and I personally don't have qualms with it. If my question or discussion is bipolar related or delves into aspects of the illness, I'll make a separate post, hoping for traction and comments. In my case, I'm simply talking about my day or something that happened in a check-in thread, I'm not expected a reply but I do see it's read and get support through likes/hugs. Its nice to feel acknowledged. It's not on topic, per se, but it is a community building exercise.

I don't want to read too much into what you're asking though, cause I could veer off course easily. From what I understand, you don't have any ill will or issue with them existing, but you particularly don't see the appeal -- your question is what attracts mega threads, if I understand correctly. For me, I guess it's all about how to approach the forum. Some are here to form close bonds with others and have, and that's great. I know many use the private message function often to keep up on a more personal basis. I see check-in thread to be particularly a nice medium. You may not know the person well enough to inquire about them, but it's nice to hear about their day -- again, back to a bonding scenario as BethRags mentioned. I think that's part of the appeal -- just existing in a realm outside of a particular topic or argument and seeing a person in a light of their everyday. I like that. Snippets -- not threads chronicling day-to-day of each individual, but just enough to know how they are and how they're doing. I like it.



So, that's my response. I find appeal in that. Hope this helps!

[yellow_fleurs]

When I first started posting here I only created or responded to the individual posts, not the check-in thread. As time went on and I got to know people better, I like posting and reading the check-in thread to catch up on how people are doing. Sometimes I don't find my daily life activities warrant their own discussion which is why I just post there. If I do have a question or discussion topic that I think would be interesting to post in its own thread then I still do that. I think they both have their own place, but can understand if someone isn't interested in the mega threads. Feel free to start a thread on any topic that interests you and I think people will usually respond.

[busymomof5]

One of the biggest problems I have is with how large the threads are. I’m not going to read back through 500 pages and I don’t get on every day. The threads move fast, become too much to read and respond to, and As I was trying to read, I noticed people posting some bigger issues deserving of a thread in the bipolar forums (not chit chat) that barely got responses. With a high number of posts happening in threads that are hundreds of pages long, it does not surprise me that the forums have slowed. When I check in, there aren’t many regular posts to respond to. Wading into a mega doesn’t interest me. So I often don’t post.

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by MarcusAurelius

Suffice it to say, there are varying opinions on the topic.

The first question I would pose is -- would an individual post from everyone talking about their day really constitute the envisioned motive of this forum? I wouldn't think so. Call it having taken issue from the past -- but there are notoriously times mods will decide your posts belong somewhere else and move them. They have a general chat section and they don't hesitate to decide where it's best for your posts to go. That aside, the sense of community and bonding I feel are strong components to the idea of veracity of what the forum tries to encompass and therefore, are generally accepted.

I post in "mega threads" often and I personally don't have qualms with it. If my question or discussion is bipolar related or delves into aspects of the illness, I'll make a separate post, hoping for traction and comments. In my case, I'm simply talking about my day or something that happened in a check-in thread, I'm not expected a reply but I do see it's read and get support through likes/hugs. Its nice to feel acknowledged. It's not on topic, per se, but it is a community building exercise.

I don't want to read too much into what you're asking though, cause I could veer off course easily. From what I understand, you don't have any ill will or issue with them existing, but you particularly don't see the appeal -- your question is what attracts mega threads, if I understand correctly. For me, I guess it's all about how to approach the forum. Some are here to form close bonds with others and have, and that's great. I know many use the private message function often to keep up on a more personal basis. I see check-in thread to be particularly a nice medium. You may not know the person well enough to inquire about them, but it's nice to hear about their day -- again, back to a bonding scenario as BethRags mentioned. I think that's part of the appeal -- just existing in a realm outside of a particular topic or argument and seeing a person in a light of their everyday. I like that. Snippets -- not threads chronicling day-to-day of each individual, but just enough to know how they are and how they're doing. I like it.

So, that's my response. I find appeal in that. Hope this helps!

I feel similarly on this

Originally Posted by busymomof5

One of the biggest problems I have is with how large the threads are. I’m not going to read back through 500 pages and I don’t get on every day. The threads move fast, become too much to read and respond to, and As I was trying to read, I noticed people posting some bigger issues deserving of a thread in the bipolar forums (not chit chat) that barely got responses. With a high number of posts happening in threads that are hundreds of pages long, it does not surprise me that the forums have slowed. When I check in, there aren’t many regular posts to respond to. Wading into a mega doesn’t interest me. So I often don’t post.

I agree, it's not ideal, but the opposite could hold true as well. How many even go to page 2 on the forum to look at topics or threads? Imagine isolating hundreds of posts into individual threads. You're just as quickly going to see favorites rise to the top and everyone else be buried below. That being said, people are free to post where they choose to. I've seen some topics I merit being more than chit chat in the mega thread as well. I guess it's all based on the original poster's intention


Regulars come and go a lot, in my experience on the forum (which is longer than my profile leads you to believe) and there's a lot there to dissect and look at.


The forums have slowed over the years -- I've not really thought about it until you brought it up, but as someone who comes and goes in waves, my contribution isn't much anyway lol.

To be clear -- I'm agreeing with you, there may be better ways to get community interaction and involvement int he community by looking at other ways to engage rather than simply the Check-in thread, or other mega threads. I, however, don't know what that would be.

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by busymomof5

One of the biggest problems I have is with how large the threads are. I’m not going to read back through 500 pages and I don’t get on every day. The threads move fast, become too much to read and respond to, and As I was trying to read, I noticed people posting some bigger issues deserving of a thread in the bipolar forums (not chit chat) that barely got responses. With a high number of posts happening in threads that are hundreds of pages long, it does not surprise me that the forums have slowed. When I check in, there aren’t many regular posts to respond to. Wading into a mega doesn’t interest me. So I often don’t post.

I totally agree that more topic threads would be welcome. I remember when I was newly diagnosed (or at least accepting of my diagnosis), I seemed to have tons of questions and came up with a myriad of topics. But it's been almost 14 years since then, so my idea river has gone dry. While I was eager to post, many others are a bit more shy to. I think that facilitators can be valuable for a forum in ensuring there are multiple topics. It seemed that PC used to have facilitators that served such a purpose, but they have gone. Now those left are more "traffic cops in the background". Frankly, I don't even know who the facilitators/moderators even are here, now.

Since some of us are long-time members, I suppose a cliquishness might be perceived by some. That's a shame, because I don't believe most here are aiming for one. Sometimes new members are not properly welcomed or encouraged to keep posting. Again, facilitator issue, to a degree.

Members leave for various reasons:

* Fight/quarrel with another member.
* Hurt feelings or feelings of neglect
* Stable, so no need to be here anymore.
* Probably the "mega thread" issue you brought up.
* Anonymity broken (that's what blue bicycle said pushed her away).
* So ill they can't participate (wide scope of issues).
* Seeing ads
* Rules too strict.
* Rules not strict enough.
* Switch to other social media groups

* Etc.

[MickeyCheeky]

i also tend to not follow the mega-threads as there is too much stuff to check out for me. However, i have no problem with other people deiciding to post there often. i am not sure if the decline of specific threads is due to people using the check-in topics more often but i feel like if someone feels the need to they'd have no problem just starting a new one. Sending many safe, warm hugs to ALL of you, @busymomof5, your Families, your Friends and ALL of your Loved Ones! Keep fighting and keep rocking NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, OK?!

[MuddyBoots]

I kinda like the check in thread (I'm assuming it's threads like that one you're referring to) because it's just that, a place to check in. Just say what's up, talk about things that don't really merit their own thread. I don't really keep up with it either as in read every post in its entirety (esp. because some posts are quite wordy and I just don't have that concentration), but it's cool to see how people are doing. We do start a new check-in thread every 100 pages, and it's not required reading. There is still the "New Thread" button for those who have a topic they want extra attention to, as well.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by busymomof5

One of the biggest problems I have is with how large the threads are. I’m not going to read back through 500 pages and I don’t get on every day. The threads move fast, become too much to read and respond to, and As I was trying to read, I noticed people posting some bigger issues deserving of a thread in the bipolar forums (not chit chat) that barely got responses. With a high number of posts happening in threads that are hundreds of pages long, it does not surprise me that the forums have slowed. When I check in, there aren’t many regular posts to respond to. Wading into a mega doesn’t interest me. So I often don’t post.

When I first joined the forum (years ago, despite what my profile says) the forums were extremely busy - at that time, there was a check-in thread, and bizi's thread existed because I used to read it.

The forums have slowed because for a few of reasons, a large core group of members left the forum, or very seldom post. There was a problem with anonymity, there were some serious health problems, and there was a jealousy issue between some members. At least one person has left because of dislike of the ads (no doubt there are more than 1). I am sure that people leaving has absolutely nothing to do with the "mega threads." Take a look at the Psychotherapy board as an example. There are at least 2 mega threads running there, yet the board is extremely busy.

Post all you want! I am absolutely sure that you will receive replies - just as you have to this thread.

An additional way to get involved with the forum is through Chat. And as far as the mega-threads, no one need read the entire thread to participate. Just jump in and post about your day or what's on your mind at the moment. Take it from there.

[busymomof5]

Lol. I think this is the most responses I’ve ever gotten to a thread!

[*Beth*]

See, I think that's one of the reasons the check-in threads on the boards are so popular. There's none of the "I made a thread and almost no one cared enough to answer." On the check-in threads everyone is included. Honestly, I like a balanced mix of thread types and chat. Each has its value on the forum.

I really like the check-in thread. I enjoy getting to know people. It's good company during these lonely COVID times. Use the forum in whatever way works for you. Chime in if you feel like it and don't if you don't. If something specific is on your mind, start your own thread. There are a variety of ways to use the forum, according to your purpose, how you feel in the moment. Enjoy!

[Victoria'smom]

I like the check in thread because it feels like I'm participating. I often don't have words for what I want to say and I'm quiet here and in real life. I participate more here then in real life. I'm kinda stepping away because of the ads and that I had to change my theme. I'm not good with change so it still bugs me. Plus with my word poverty I can't explain what is going on plus I've been here long enough to know what most will say. I'm also pulling away because I currently have no support team and am about to possibly loose insurance. I still read but participating has been hard for me since the transfer.

[Aviza]

Not a fan of mega threads either. I totally see your point, and wish more people would post. I tried joining and it's too clicky and impossible.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Aviza

Not a fan of mega threads either. I totally see your point, and wish more people would post. I tried joining and it's too clicky and impossible.

But it's not clicky...as soon as you post on the check in thread you're included, just as much as anyone else posting on the thread.

Originally Posted by BethRags

But it's not clicky...as soon as you post on the check in thread you're included, just as much as anyone else posting on the thread.

I'm not sure your experience exactly negates how aviza feels. I think she's entitled to her feelings based on her experience, and I wouldn't say I can't see where she's coming from. I don't think there is intention, but I can definitely understand that poster's point of view.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by MarcusAurelius

I'm not sure your experience exactly negates how aviza feels. I think she's entitled to her feelings based on her experience, and I wouldn't say I can't see where she's coming from. I don't think there is intention, but I can definitely understand that poster's point of view.

I can definitely understand her point of view. Of course, I felt the same way when I came to the bipolar board. But I wanted to participate, so I jumped in.

Originally Posted by BethRags

I can definitely understand her point of view. Of course, I felt the same way when I came to the bipolar board. But I wanted to participate, so I jumped in.

Well. I'm glad your initiative worked in your favor.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by MarcusAurelius

Well. I'm glad your initiative worked in your favor.

So am I. Initiative can be good like that.