Is BYC getting so big my questions are lost in the shuffle!

[punk-a-doodle]

I personally enjoy the large crowd and the many different perspectives and experience levels that come with it. That's why I'm on a forum. For a community of people interested in chickens. If I wanted expert advice all the time, I'd sign up for Jstor and browse peer reviewed agricultural poultry articles all day (and sometimes I do, haha).

As my kenpo instructor tells us, don't be in such a rush to have your question answered. Pay attention to what is being asked around you and realize that the answer and question given may be as equally important to know or will be beneficial down the road. Your answer may not immediately come, but you will learn a great deal more.

 

[dianaross77]

Quote:
4. If you ask questions and you get offended with any answers and think they are rude or nasty when they are merely being informative, then others may not wish to answer your questions anymore for fear of getting the same response.

Suggestion: Realize that you aren't always going to find the answer you~specifically~seek and you may not like the answers offered. If things like this tend to get you upset or offend you, then this indeed may not be the place you want to ask your questions. Everyone has different perspectives and even different posting styles. These are not necessarily meant to offend or be "nasty" to you or even pointing blame. Remember that the internet is a big ol' place and this is America...you can choose to utilize your options to sift through any answers you receive, not post on the forum or even find your information elsewhere. Getting angry or giving a tart retort could be the reason why those "cliques" avoid your threads.

I choose to longer post questions in that thread and instead post them in different sections. I don't get angry or complain that I get ignored so I'm pretty sure I did nothing to get avoided. And I have been told by someone else that newcomers "have to put in their time" in that section. So it's not always in people's imaginations that they're being ignored and it's not really about hurt feelings for everyone. It's frustrating when some threads get answered when they are asking the same question that has been asked 9 million times before and others don't. There really isn't a wealth of chicken keeping information out there. I went to my local library which is quite large and they didn't have any books on chicken keeping.

 

[Beekissed]

newcomers "have to put in their time" in that section

Well, that's just silly!

I don't know what section you were in or who told you that, but I've never heard of such a thing. I'd just ignore that...that type of person isn't going to be helpful anyway. There are many old-timers and newcomers on this forum with a wealth of info and an eagerness to share it...I've never had one problem getting info even when I was a newcomer. I'm sorry that you had that experience...they should be ashamed.

Might be a good idea to read threads on the subject and see who is giving good, common sense answers and then PM them instead of approaching any clique-y types. I realize there are certain groups on here that seem to band together but if you are looking for real information, you usually won't find it from those types of groups. Real chicken people are usually very generous with their time and knowledge base.​

 

[darkmatter]

I try to answer questions that I personally have experience with having kept chickens for a couple decades now and from rural roots myself. I can't answer a thing about show or fancy chickens since that has no interest for me or experience with. I also tend not to answer questions that are readily answered if the questioner would have just read chickens 101 on the BYC homepage. I read and am greatly amused by impulse buyers of chickens for pets. (but don't answer such questions because I would be banned for politically incorrect phrases)

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I agree...I tend to skip over topics of which I have little experience~like illness threads...never had any illnesses in my flocks, my mother's, or granny's... or topics that I know will irritate me and possibly make me want to go into a full body seizure.

 

[dianaross77]

Well OP, you sure are getting a lot of answers to this question!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
I really don't think a lack of response is because the site is big. I'm not going to comment about why others might not respond, just why I might not respond. And I am not going to go look at your posts so I am not attacking you or your posts directly. Remember, we are not paid to answer your questions. We do it voluntarily for our own reasons.

This is a worldwide site with members from all over the globe. I may not be awake when someone posts. I may not be online when someone posts. I generally look at the latest posts and the unanswered posts. I seldom go to the different categories and look there. If someone posts and one person responds, unless I am online at that time, I probably won't see it. I know others look in the individual subject forums regularly, so this comment will not apply to a lot of them.

I look at the subject line to decide if I want to open a thread. Being specific in the title helps. If the title is vague or mushy, I probably won't open it. If you want a question answered, be a little specific in the subject.

If I can't understand the question, I probably won't answer it. Use punctuation and capitalisation. Use separate paragraphs. Make it fairly easy to at least identify the question. Try to give some basic information. I don't remember all your other posts. I probably have not read them. I don't know your specific situation. Give me enough information in that post so I can at least have a shot at giving you relevent information. There are many times that I respond and then the OP (original poster) gives further information that makes my response incomplete or maybe even wrong.

I have no problem at all in answering a question that is asked a few times each day. This site would die if the only questions allowed were ones that had never been asked. Besides, those are often the easy ones. Newcomers often don't know enough about the search feature to even search for the right thing. I have problems using it sometimes too and I've been trying for a while. A lot of times I do give links. Sometimes it is to a thread that gives differing opinions. Sometimes it is to an article that can answer the question better than I can. Sometimes, especially on controversial subjects, it is to show why I answer the way I do, based on actual studies, not just my opinion. Sometimes, those links saves me a lot of typing. If someone doesn't want to follow a link, that's their problem, not mine.

Sometimes people have their own agenda and will not accept an answer different than their preconceived answer. I tend to leave those alone if I recognize it in time.

Some people are on here for social reasons. Cliques do get formed. I have certain people on here that I joke with and insult. I feel that I know them well enough that I can do that and not really hurt someone's feelings. But if I don't feel that I know you, or if I feel that I am not part of that clique, I usually don't get involved in those threads.

Sometimes I don't feel that I have the knowledge or experience to respond to a post.

Several posts don't ask a question. I avoid those that are obviously someone proud of their chickens and want someone else to gush over how cute they are. Nothing wrong with that and there are plenty of opeople on this forum that can gush with the best of them. It's just not my thing.

Anyway, this is how I look at it. As you can see, plenty of others look at it differently.

 

[Runt Of The Litter]

Quote:
have seen this on many forums over the years,its a typical human instinct to want to be part of a pack.
the more extroverted highly social users often fall into cliques and the independant introverts tending to be 'lone wolves' unaffected by peer/pack backup.


-honestly,dont feel left out/worse off by not being included in a clique or not answered by people in one [assuming its because of their group]-its like validating their actions as having worth/meaning,just completely denie their existance,blank them back,it makes people realise theyre not as important as they think they are when someone acts the same way.
but often on forums,it isnt a personal reason why we dont get answered/ignored/whatever,its easier to think that when we are desperate for an answer,we are seeing it from our view so other people may have a completely credible answer for having read and not answered the topic.


to the original points...
this forum is by no means over populated,there are plenty of forums which have a much bigger and more active community,it depends on the hardware its stored on-some forums are so popular they have their own datacentres as opposed to just one server.
the most obvious signs of an OTT overloaded site is not when a board is active,but when we start noticing lots of SQL errors due to the db server not handling the level of data.

 

[redhen]

I dont feel that i know enough to help on MOST chicken subjects..
I'd feel like hell if i gave wrong/harmful advice and killed your animals.
Soo... i just try to help with the safe subjects..

Also... if you have a serious question about chicken health...a vet is usually the best person to call, to be safe. Because you dont REALLY know anyone on here. Someone could give you bad advice on purpose.. etc...

With that being said... if i have a question i really want answered, i just nag until someone steps in and helps me.

 

[zippitydooda]

I've never experienced my questions getting "lost". Every question asked has received SOME kind of a response.....even the newbie questions and the wacky questions.

Everything I've ever learned about chickens has come from this forum (and keeping chickens for a year now). EVERYTHING. I've never had someone get snarky with me. I've spent HOURS reading all the posts in each section.

I've received nothing but respectful answers and encouragement. I've even made a few friends. Honestly, I know not what the OP refers to. Maybe I'M the clueless one. Oh well.

Good luck with your questions. What exactly did you want to know, anyhow?