Why so many RP's now?

[sherylreno]

Sorry if this upsets or bothers anyone on here. I'm not trying to make waves. It's really bothering me when I go to the new posts to keep up with the forum and there are 7, yes I counted them, 7 RP poles, stories and other stuff there all to do with stories and role playing. I'm here because I have birds. I'm here because I want to learn about my birds and perhaps help someone with their birds too but all this other stuff is blocking people who posts their issues with their birds.

If I wanted to be reading a story about something then I download a book to my reader and read it. If want to join in a game I either join in on my computer with other friends, invite people over to play games or go over to their houses and play games.

I thought BYC is for us to learn about what we have versus what others have. What happened to our flock, where our flock is now or what did you do to help your sick little chicken because I may have the same issue with my flock.

Instead, I get RP's and such stories. When can we have more posts about our flock and not so much about stories or RP which doesn't even talk about chickens or other pets and fowls?

 

[redhen]

There is a specific section for the rp and stuff... its called games jokes and fun...
If you don't like the rp threads..then simply don't go into the games section to read them..
This section that you have posted this thread in is called Random ramblings..where people post random things...like rants on rp threads..
Again...its real easy to simply not open the thread if the content bothers you..
If you want to just read up on chickens..then browse only those specific forum sections..
BYC isn't a forum where people HAVE to only discuss chickens(that'd be pretty lame..)..and you MUST know that, because you started this thread that isn't about chickens..
Just sayin'...

 

[CarolJ]

I'm not a game & role play kind of person either - so I just ignore those posts. It took me awhile to figure out what "RP" meant in the titles.

I click on "new posts" too - and see all the RP threads - just skip them and look for what you're interested in.

 

[Bunnylady]

all this other stuff is blocking people who posts their issues with their birds.

I really don't understand this part at all. How is anyone being "blocked"?

The reason for a lot of the RP and stories, is that there is a fairly large group of young people on this site, who have active (some might say over-active) imaginations. They generally have interest in poultry of some type, but they enjoy just "socializing" with each other, as well. There are lots of threads that aren't particularly chicken related, that adults post as well - this forum and Family Life are popular areas where the threads are hardly ever chicken-related.

Because New Posts covers the entire forum, it will naturally contain a certain amount of material that won't interest you. This is such a diverse community, with such a variety of interests, it's inevitable that not everything would be about raising or eating ducks and chickens.Do you want to read threads about, say, emus or peafowl? Even if the kids weren't posting their games, there are still people that would be chatting about their other hobbies, sharing their personal joys and sorrows, or discussing recent news stories. Every forum that I have ever been on involves an area for that, as well as sub-forums that are dedicated to specific aspects that are so narrow in their scope, some members are bound to not be interested in them. Why single out the kids?

 

[pips&peeps]

It seems to me it is all about numbers and advertising now; not about poultry.

 

[sherylreno]

Numbers are important and so are the advertisers but yes, I agree there too. I miss the easy links to the gardening forum, sufficient self and backyard herds too. You can't find those anymore.

What I meant about blocking is when someone posts a new post it's gone in no time because the RP's come up so often you didn't even know someone posted something you are interested in. I do ignore the RP's but I would like to see more posts about chickens.

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

Quote:
Well said.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

It seems to me it is all about numbers and advertising now; not about poultry.

I don't think that is a fair statement.

Regarding advertising: Yup, advertising is a big part of the site. Anybody with experience running a site this big will tell you that it takes a lot of time and money to do so. Layered on top is the fact that we provide 94.7% of the services for free. So, the choices are:

1. Advertising
2. A paid service for everyone
3. No more BYC

I think we made the right decision.

Regarding the focus of the topics: I could spend hours proving to you how BYC's focus and how almost all of the staff's time is spend helping to promote the trend of raising backyard chickens and proper care of keeping chickens. There is plenty of data and statistics that show how much we're accomplishing toward these great causes.

I don't know how many huge organizations you belong to, but I can promise that every one of the successful and enjoyable ones has a social element and each one puts in resources to promote sociality. Every one of them, from religions groups to educational institutions supports and encourages social interaction outside of the scope of their area of expertise. I don't know of any churches, schools, businesses, hobby groups, etc. that only focus on religion, education, business, the hobby, etc.

We're not perfect, but we love this community and love promoting backyard chickens! We've been at this a LONG time we're in this for the long haul. We'll continue to put most of our focus on the most important goals of the site, but we also recognize the importance of the social aspects of our amazing community.

Regarding RP games: A discussion on this here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/642244/rp-takeover

 

[OwlLover]

I really don't understand this part at all. How is anyone being "blocked"?

The reason for a lot of the RP and stories, is that there is a fairly large group of young people on this site, who have active (some might say over-active) imaginations. They generally have interest in poultry of some type, but they enjoy just "socializing" with each other, as well. There are lots of threads that aren't particularly chicken related, that adults post as well - this forum and Family Life are popular areas where the threads are hardly ever chicken-related.

Because New Posts covers the entire forum, it will naturally contain a certain amount of material that won't interest you. This is such a diverse community, with such a variety of interests, it's inevitable that not everything would be about raising or eating ducks and chickens.Do you want to read threads about, say, emus or peafowl? Even if the kids weren't posting their games, there are still people that would be chatting about their other hobbies, sharing their personal joys and sorrows, or discussing recent news stories. Every forum that I have ever been on involves an area for that, as well as sub-forums that are dedicated to specific aspects that are so narrow in their scope, some members are bound to not be interested in them. Why single out the kids?

x100.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I miss the easy links to the gardening forum, sufficient self and backyard herds too. You can't find those anymore.

The links to the sister sites are at the bottom of every page in the "footer". They can also be found on the homepage in a block to the bottom right with the links to our Facebook page, etc.

While not as prominent as before, they are on every page now vs. just the forum pages.