Lurkers will be removed October 1

[Robert Dewey]

1) If you lurk, that means you do not post.
2) If you do not post, then you are not losing anything by not having an account.

I think that has been summed up how many times?

Question To Lurkers - You already made if clear that you don't post, so what's the ST membership really going to do for you?

I don't care either way; I just don't understand why people are "pleading" their cases when they stand nothing to lose, except helping the ST community by freeing up database space.

 

[Jason Foster]

I still don't post that much.

I think they'll be back. That's what I did. I think I signed up for StormTrack three different times in the past...starting when it first started. But I too never posted...and accepted being de-membered (sorry I just had to say it like that...gotta have a little fun with this). Eventually I found something I wanted to say, rejoined, and started posting. I'm sure this is not a total banishment. They'll be allowed to rejoin if they so desire, and contribute. I bet not everyone who posts less will get the ax. I think it's time for a poll on this one....after I re-read the policies on those.

Added:
In reading I find under #2:
* Public discussion, complaining, or contesting of a specific infraction or administrative action, whether concerning oneself or another user.

So I think it's OK...Poll started in another thread.

Added:
As of this writing I show 218 posts. With about 10 months of membership...that comes out to about 21 posts per month...that's not a lot

 

[Tim Vasquez]

We have no problem with guests viewing attachments; in fact it escaped us that this wasn't allowed. No problem here as long as it doesn't clog up our bandwidth. We'll make the change tonight.

Tim

 

[Jason Foster]

Lurkers will be removed October 1 (The Poll)

A poll to ask the question to the lengthy thread on the issue of " Lurkers will be removed October 1".

Original Post:

This is official notice that on October 1 we will be pruning out dead accounts, lurkers, and all spam zombie accounts that have slipped through over the years. Accounts will be autodeleted for those who have an extremely low post count total (zero or very close to zero) and have been here at least 1-2 months.

Individuals will also be removed if short one-liners are posted just to evade the deletion, or if all posts are in Bar & Grill.

If you consider yourself a lurker, you will still be able to view the weather discussions even as an unregistered guest, so in practice this will not affect you and there is nothing you need to do. However we are a community based forum and our goal is to share meaningful information about severe weather, so participating is what we expect in return for having an account here.

This will not be done before October 1 so if you haven't posted, there's no rush until then. If you're a newbie, the educational forum is a good place to begin.

Thanks,

Tim

 

[Joey Ketcham]

If people log in for 5 minutes just to make a post so they don't get kicked off the list, that certainly won't help the quality of posts. Personally, I think the current arrangement is working fine. I have no problem with removing people who never post over the period of a year or more, but I am still not sure what "problem" this rule is attempting to solve.

The point is, nobody is so busy in life that they cannot check ST and make a post at least once a week. I hate when people uses the "I'm too busy" excuse, I'm sorry.. nobody is busy 24/7, I don't care who you are or what your job is. There is no way that someone is so busy that they can't participate on ST.

 

[Chad Cowan]

Stormtrack isn't a Democracy, it's a Timocracy.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I voted that I agree with it. I think it's a good thing.

 

[Eric Sipes]

It really all depends on what your definition of a lurker is. So, until we here that question answered from Tim, I have no opinion on the subject. I hope that I am not one who will lose their account but, if I am, oh well. It's not my forum and therefore not my place to judge.

If a lurker is descibed as someone with VERY little posts (0-10 out side of B&G) and has been here for more than 6 months just to read, or if all post are one liners and/or argumental, I agree.

JMHO,
-Eric

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I agree with it, I don't really know what the big deal is.. you either post or you don't, if not then there's no point in having a membership. It's as simple as that.

 

[Jason Foster]

Stormtrack isn't a Democracy, it's a Timocracy.

I know you were just joking...but to clarify...the Poll was just for interest...and my weird fascination with polls.

 

[Paul Hadfield]

We have no problem with guests viewing attachments; in fact it escaped us that this wasn't allowed. No problem here as long as it doesn't clog up our bandwidth. We'll make the change tonight.

Tim

This could almost become a debate in it's own. Prior to becoming accepted, it was highly annoying but then upon approval was a privilege. It says to the world, "step up, go through the process to show you actually care and you will be rewarded." Though i've not used the attachment feature, I can see how some might like the privacy factor in being able to restrict material from being viewed by the general public.

Intimidation over some negative experiences and other reasons drove me into lurk mode recently. I posted yet another dumb message yesterday but then recanted since nobody really knows me or would care for that matter. Throughout the day I thought to myself that it's ridiculous to be afraid of ST but in truth, this place is seriously hardcore. If you knew me, i'm not afraid of much, so why be concerned about some internet forum?

Interacting with a variety of people, many of whom possess significantly higher levels of knowledge, education, achievement or equipment can be a bit unsettling. Then you write that one dumb post that gets you tarred and feathered and it becomes very easy to just want to lurk. I suspect there are quite a few gentle natured people who have succumbed to becoming lurkers for this reason.

So what do you do then? There's really no easy answer. A clean sweep of lurkers seems to me more of a short term solution because ultimately there will be future situations that create lurkers. Perhaps allow lurkers to pm their case to seek immunity? Anyone else who hasn't successfully done so by the deadline is removed?

Speaking for myself, I am not going to risk forfeiture with an organization i've waited a long time to become a member so I intend to continue posting. If I do something stupid or offensive, no one's perfect and we'll just have to work it out. I'm not saying that intimidation is a root cause of lurking but for example, half the time I don't want to waste thread space with my pictures. I feel that in contrast to many here, mine suck... and i'm actually comfortable with my photography. Just offering one perspective is all.

 

[rdale]

If a lurker is descibed as someone with VERY little posts (0-10 out side of B&G) and has been here for more than 6 months just to read, or if all post are one liners and/or argumental, I agree.

That's what Tim indicated in the main thread (very first post) - can't imagine he would change his mind elsewhere

 

[Josh Richardson]

I voted that I agree as well, I dont post a huge amount of the time but at least I post somewhat. It's pretty simple, as it's been stated a thousand times, if your not going to post anyway what's the big deal.....you could still come here and read the topics if you like.

 

[Brandon Sullivan]

Can't say it in a simpler fashion.

It's being done to free up some space.

I don't see why it is a big whine time. Many of those posting in the thread are FAR FAR away from being knocked out.

Those who dont post. Why? It takes 10 seconds to throw out your thoughts on an issue.

 

[Josh Richardson]

1) If you lurk, that means you do not post.
2) If you do not post, then you are not losing anything by not having an account.

I think that has been summed up how many times?

Question To Lurkers - You already made if clear that you don't post, so what's the ST membership really going to do for you?

I don't care either way; I just don't understand why people are "pleading" their cases when they stand nothing to lose, except helping the ST community by freeing up database space.

Exactly, how many times has this been said now? I don't think one person with an "extremely" low post count has ever answered to this yet.

It's funny for those who have made it seem like they don't have time to post are now "finding" time to post in this thread. I just don't understand what the difference is if your not going to post anyway....what are you losing?