* * * NEW * * * Recumbent group.....

On Feb 25, 11:32 am, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
"JimmyMac" wrote in message

...
[...]



Tom, Gotbent and Jon ... I have enjoyed your insight and would like to
add my own...

Like it or not, Internet forums commonly undergo an evolutionary
process
regardless of whether they are moderated forums or unmoderated. The
The natural life cycle of an Internet forum, with its various phases,
might be summed best as follows:

1. Declaration of Enthusiasm ... Subscribers introduce themselves and
gush over how wonderful it is to have encountered kindred spirits.

2. Birth of Evangelism ... Participants moan about how the forum
consists of far too few members and brainstorming ensues to initiate
recruitment strategies.

3. Expansion of Community ... An ever increasing number of interested
parties subscribe and contribute to the forum. Lengthy threads
develop
(some more relevant than others).

4. Emergence of Camaraderie ... Information and advice is exchanged
(some empirically founded ... some just anecdotal nonsense).
Friendships are forged. Members rib one another, but all in good
fun. New subscribers are welcomed and veterans are patient with
newbies. Both newcomers and old-timers alike are comfortable asking
questions, providing answers, and sharing experiences.

5. Ascent of Disenchantment ... The volume of postings increases
dramatically. Not all threads are of interest to all participants.
Some participants pitch a bitch about signal-to-noise ratio, off-topic
threads, me too posts, forwarding of private emails, and other
violations of internet forum netiquette. Member #1 threatens to
unsubscribe if things don't change for the better. Member #2 aligns
himself with Member #1. Member #3 disagrees with both Members #1 and
#2. Member #4 suggests that Members #1, #2, and #3 should lighten
up. Flame wars erupt and adversaries emerge. Bandwidth is sacrificed
as an abundance of postings proliferate in an effort to resolve
differences and restore some semblance of order. During this
particular phase, many a delete key gets more than its share of
abuse and filtering and killfiles are implemented.

6. Stagnancy of Growth ... The purists castigate members who ask and
old question or respond humorously to a serious post. Newcomers are
rebuffed and discouraged. Traffic volume subsides considerably and
is generally confined to minor topics. Many relevant issues are
communicated via private emails. Some members turn in their
membership
cards in a huff and the remaining members continue to participate in
phases #4 and/or #5 above.

7. Salvation from destruction - Someone like me pound away at the
keyboard composing a post such as this one in an effort to stir the
juices of those members who find themselves entrenched in the quagmire
of phase #4 and/or #5 above ;-) Well, at least this posting should
prove to be a thought provoking departure from the norm and hopefully
sheds some light on the nature of the beast we have come to love and
hate ... the internet forum.

I should probably have added a stage 8 (Forum flight), when all hope
is abandoned and forum flight ensues.

I have never seen the first 4 stages. I think they must have only applied in
the early days of the computer, the Internet and Usenet. That is ancient
history now.

However, the latter stages are all alive and well on ARBR and that will
coniintue to be the case until the group dies an ignominious death. Stage 8
is the end result and inevitable human nature being what it is.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

I'm pleased to have been able to introduce you to stages with which
you are unfamiliar ... stages where you would likely find yourself
completely out of place. It comes as no surprise that you are most
familiar with stages 5 onward because that is specifically where you
have made yourself a home.

On Feb 25, 4:10 pm, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
"JimmyMac" wrote in message

...



On Feb 25, 11:32 am, "Edward Dolan" wrote:
"JimmyMac" wrote in message

...
[...]

Tom, Gotbent and Jon ... I have enjoyed your insight and would like to
add my own...

Like it or not, Internet forums commonly undergo an evolutionary
process
regardless of whether they are moderated forums or unmoderated. The
The natural life cycle of an Internet forum, with its various phases,
might be summed best as follows:

1. Declaration of Enthusiasm ... Subscribers introduce themselves and
gush over how wonderful it is to have encountered kindred spirits.

2. Birth of Evangelism ... Participants moan about how the forum
consists of far too few members and brainstorming ensues to initiate
recruitment strategies.

3. Expansion of Community ... An ever increasing number of interested
parties subscribe and contribute to the forum. Lengthy threads
develop
(some more relevant than others).

4. Emergence of Camaraderie ... Information and advice is exchanged
(some empirically founded ... some just anecdotal nonsense).
Friendships are forged. Members rib one another, but all in good
fun. New subscribers are welcomed and veterans are patient with
newbies. Both newcomers and old-timers alike are comfortable asking
questions, providing answers, and sharing experiences.

5. Ascent of Disenchantment ... The volume of postings increases
dramatically. Not all threads are of interest to all participants.
Some participants pitch a bitch about signal-to-noise ratio, off-topic
threads, me too posts, forwarding of private emails, and other
violations of internet forum netiquette. Member #1 threatens to
unsubscribe if things don't change for the better. Member #2 aligns
himself with Member #1. Member #3 disagrees with both Members #1 and
#2. Member #4 suggests that Members #1, #2, and #3 should lighten
up. Flame wars erupt and adversaries emerge. Bandwidth is sacrificed
as an abundance of postings proliferate in an effort to resolve
differences and restore some semblance of order. During this
particular phase, many a delete key gets more than its share of
abuse and filtering and killfiles are implemented.

6. Stagnancy of Growth ... The purists castigate members who ask and
old question or respond humorously to a serious post. Newcomers are
rebuffed and discouraged. Traffic volume subsides considerably and
is generally confined to minor topics. Many relevant issues are
communicated via private emails. Some members turn in their
membership
cards in a huff and the remaining members continue to participate in
phases #4 and/or #5 above.

7. Salvation from destruction - Someone like me pound away at the
keyboard composing a post such as this one in an effort to stir the
juices of those members who find themselves entrenched in the quagmire
of phase #4 and/or #5 above ;-) Well, at least this posting should
prove to be a thought provoking departure from the norm and hopefully
sheds some light on the nature of the beast we have come to love and
hate ... the internet forum.

I should probably have added a stage 8 (Forum flight), when all hope
is abandoned and forum flight ensues.

I have never seen the first 4 stages. I think they must have only applied
in
the early days of the computer, the Internet and Usenet. That is ancient
history now.

However, the latter stages are all alive and well on ARBR and that will
continue to be the case until the group dies an ignominious death. Stage
8
is the end result and is inevitable - human nature being what it is.

I'm pleased to have been able to introduce you to stages with which
you are unfamiliar ... stages where you would likely find yourself
completely out of place. It comes as no surprise that you are most
familiar with stages 5 onward because that is specifically where you
have made yourself a home.

I cannot even imagine the first 4 stages.

Don't hurt yourself. So much your imagination.

I do not think Stage 7 exists.

Some posts made here would indicate otherwise.

Once a certain number of former members have left, I do not think any
recovery is possible.

The more who despair and enter stage 8, the less likely is it that
stage 7 will ever have a chance of success and rarely does.

Stage 8 most certainly does exist but there are always
a few desultory members who persist in posting in the forlorn hope of a
resurrection. Eventually all is dead and forgotten as though it had never
existed. We all of us go the way of the Dodo Bird. Yea ...

"Once I wasn't, then I was, now I ain't again."

- Epitaph found on tombstone in Ohio graveyard

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota