Forum posts

[Tony Walker]

I've had the distraction of moving house over the last month, and did not have the time, or for nearly two weeks the internet access to visit the forum.  This prompted me to look at the composition of the posts over the last two months from 9 June, as I had a large backlog to plough through.

It makes interesting reading

In this time there has been 107 separate posts from 13 different individuals.  Of these 107 posts, 76 (71%) were made by four members, four other members made one post each in this period.

Of the 107 posts, 48 received no replies (45%).  The remaining 59 posts received 167 replies, an average of about 2.8 per post.

I started to analyse the number of replies to these posts to see what kind/type of post was the most popular in this respect, but realised this was probably unsustainable in statistical analysis, of which I have no expertise, so I leave it to you to sort out.  However the unchallenged figures do make interesting reading.  If it was not for the four top posters, the forum would be approaching a 50% reduction in posts.  Is there a correlation between this and the fact that almost half the posts (not necessarily from the top posters) received no replies? 

But no replies does not of course mean no interest to members. If one sets aside brief replies such as ' Great cover, can I have it for the Journal', 'Fascinating material, thanks for sharing it' and suchlike, one could say the number of informative replies is further reduced.  However as someone who enjoys Howard Weinert's posts for instance, which are so comprehensive (and interesting) that further information is unlikely to be forthcoming in replies, setting these aside is not justified.

Peter Harvey's idea for a 'Cover of the Day' was excellent, and gave us something to read in the earlier days of lockdown, so too was his idea the call an end to it recently.  The same as 'Clapping for the NHS'.  As I mentioned at the start, I had around three pages of the forum posts to catch up on, and i was left somewhat underwhelmed, and I'm still not sure why that is.  Maybe other members could reflect of the current forum.

[Alan Baker]

Tony

I think the point of the Cover of the Day was not necessarily to elicit replies but simply to share with others what we find interesting. This could result in a new direction in collecting or finding that there are others with the same interest who might be able to provide that piece of information we have been seeking. As an example, I have been collecting Canada WWII for some years but met during the Zoom meeting yesterday another member with similar interests. Like me, he thought he was the only one.

It might also cause a feeling of admiration in what others have collected and the detail they have gathered. Howard's offerings fall into this category, but clearly one could not hope to reach those heights.

I think there is still room for this kind of sharing of material with others and perhaps online meetings are a big part of the future, even when we can get back to our regular face to face programme

Best wishes, Alan

[Tony Walker]

Yes, I take your point Alan

I think I was daunted, after several weeks absence, by the sheer volume of posts there was to look at.  It is a pity more people do not use the forum especially in the current meetings restrictions

Tony

[Andrew Brooks]

Hello Tony,
Until the lockdown I have not been involved in the Forum. However, I have asked for help three times and received an answer each time (twice from Howard Weinert and once from your pal Reg G.). I shall continue to use the Forum in the future. I am sorry that 'Cover of the Day' has finished as I found it interesting to see what other members collected. I suspect like many members I look at most of the posts but cannot add anything that would be of help. It would probably be more helpful if more members posted their problem covers and helped the four members who posted 70% (your stats). Hope the move was not too stressful but I am sure that it was!!
Andrew Brooks