What gives a thread life?

[sal]

I read here on a daily basis and there are threads that I think will have only a few replies and they take off page after page.
The flip side of the coin there are some I think wow a lot of folks will respond and it dies after only a few comments.
I tried to analyze from multiple points and do not see any pattern.

What are your thoughts?

 

[nice hat dude!]

Well some of the Topics are tried and true that a lot of the members have in common,Golden Era,WWII ect,certain topics breed more reaction just because of what a person believes ie;Gun Control anything like those types always get lots of attention,maybe because we all have strong opinions about certain things or our personal moral opinions and want to be heard on those subjects?Just the opinions of a Truck Driver?

 

[Pompidou]

One theme that never fails to spawn huge post counts is "Look how terrible these modern people are". It pairs like wine and cheese with examples where a member was superior to a person of modern values. Throw in the posts of trolls/modern-apologists, and you've got a popular thread on all counts.

 

[dhermann1]

And you never know when one comment is going to take a thread that starts out on one topic, and throw it entirely in a different direction. Not as many orgies of total silliness as we used to have, tho.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

A few have been known to come back from the Dead. And at least several have become the de facto FL Chat Room.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Remember, there's nothing like Life.

Except Look, Click, and Pic.

 

[Atticus Finch]

What gives a thread life?

I think it gets traction if it touches on larger issues that concern a wide spectrum of people.

For exaample, John Chapman (Goodwear Leather) raised the prices of his jackets recently. I'm not sure how many Loungers purchase ultra high end reproduction flight jackets, but it can't be too many. He said he raised his prices when had 150 pending orders...150 is hardly a large percentage on this forum's total membership. But when someone posted about the price increase, the thread took off. Last I looked, it was seventeen pages long.

I'm guessing people were really more concerned about something other than jacket prices.

AF

 

[tonyb]

True, Atticus, but the people who care about these things really care about these things.

And God bless 'em for that. There are people here (and on other forums touching on topics on which I have at least a passing interest) who have made extensive studies of their particular areas of interest, and many of those folks are more than happy to share that knowledge. I can only imagine how many hours our own rlk (to cite one stellar example) has devoted to researching all matters of the hat. Dude really knows his stuff. And he is very generous in passing along that knowledge to the rest of us.

This doesn't really address the OP's question, I suppose. Maybe it's kinda like auction prices. An item that might have gone through the roof on one night might not have fetched even a reasonable minimum bid on another. It all depends on who's in the house.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Not sure if it is normal or not for me, I have never looked at how long any topic stays afloat or sinks, just what is interesting to have been stated or shared by everyone...and of course being stubbornly a participant towards projecting my own 2 cents......

 

[tonyb]

Yeah, well, don't feel alone there, LMH2. The Interwebs sometimes seems like a gift from on high to those who are convinced that the world really needs to know what they think on any given subject.

I got several decades of loudmouthery under my belt, so I kinda get where the regular posters are coming from. In my seven-plus years here I've posted 3,402 times. How many of those posts actually contributed much to the discussion I'll leave others to decide. Because really, as far as that goes, my opinion truly does count for nothing.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

Yeah, well, don't feel alone there, LMH2. The Interwebs sometimes seems like a gift from on high to those who are convinced that the world really needs to know what they think on any given subject.

I got several decades of loudmouthery under my belt, so I kinda get where the regular posters are coming from. In my seven-plus years here I've posted 3,402 times. How many of those posts actually contributed much to the discussion I'll leave others to decide. Because really, as far as that goes, my opinion truly does count for nothing.

But for you as one of the "masters" of making hats, what you do say holds a lot of value to many here.

I have just been hit with a thought about the lounge in general, it is very similar to a world of it's own. There are regular "citizens" that participate, and from every corner of the planet. Folks from a variety of backgrounds with different talents, skills, answers and problems. The majority have a similar value system, and even if giving out the wrong answer to a problem, did so in hopes of being a help to the problem asker! I think that also directs what keeps a topic rowing the boat longer than another topic....just my opinion on it.

Myself I enjoy at times sharing what is new or going on. My personal life has had to adapt and when I read what is going on here at the lounge, it gives me some chance on at least feeling "normal". And I love to learn! lol!

 

[Edward]

One theme that never fails to spawn huge post counts is "Look how terrible these modern people are". It pairs like wine and cheese with examples where a member was superior to a person of modern values. Throw in the posts of trolls/modern-apologists, and you've got a popular thread on all counts.

"Whine", surely?

 

[St. Louis]

I fear that is true. I find myself drawn, train-wreck-rubbernecking-like, to threads that promise some kind of negativity. What does this say about me? Nothing good.

On the other hand, I love the informative threads and study them carefully. In fact I often save information from some of these threads on my computer. I might not reply to those, because I'm just not as knowledgeable as many of the people here, but I really appreciate them.

 

[tonyb]

The overwhelming majority of people have a great deal more in common, including a fundamental set of "values," than whatever it is that has us lungeing at one another's throats.

And that's a darn good thing, for if it weren't so, we wouldn't survive as a species.

But we're also a competitive animal, and "winning" is too often deemed a worthy end in and of itself, no matter how little that "victory" advances anyone's cause, including the victor's.

Getting the last word doesn't mean that he who speaks (or posts) last has "won." Rather, it's more often a sign that everyone else has grown tired of the discussion.

But I agree with you, St. Louis, that sometimes it's hard to resist watching a wreck unfold. It's "reality" television's stock in trade.

 

[sal]

On the other hand, I love the informative threads and study them carefully. In fact I often save information from some of these threads on my computer. I might not reply to those, because I'm just not as knowledgeable as many of the people here, but I really appreciate them.

I could'nt agree more

 

[mikespens]

I just like to type once in a while.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I just like to type once in a while.

And let us not forget, we love HATS! Weeee Hawww!

 

[Shangas]

[video=youtube;QuoKNZjr8_U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuoKNZjr8_U[/video]

 

[LoveMyHats2]

The Frankenstein Monster had good taste in his attire, always wore a suit, wore fairly nice plain toe oxford style boot/shoe, took the time to wear color and pattern matching socks, used hair dressing to keep his hair smoothly in place, never allowed his trousers to hang down low, and on occasion would smile at small children......

 

[C44Antelope]

...Getting the last word doesn't mean that he who speaks (or posts) last has "won." Rather, it's more often a sign that everyone else has grown tired of the discussion.

I do not have the history here that many other FL regulars have, so I'm still learning who is who and what their specialty is, etc. However, I've always felt that if I was the last to comment on something, I killed the thread. I always feel bad about that.