Posted by Adam on February 9, 2001, at 23:31:19
In reply to Re: board for oldtimers, posted by Dr. Bob on February 8, 2001, at 22:23:16
I think the salient issue is "how to keep people here." Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems the "old-timers" board is a kind of carrot.
Howabout this? If there is some need to "elevate" the discussion, or provide extra stimuli for those maxed-out on some aspects of psychobabble (especially the highly recurrent ones that are to be expected of every newbie), lets provide something really new. Howabout a "guest expert" every so often, a periodic fresh face, someone who is willing, with certain disclaimers, of course, to come in every once in a while and answer science questions, maybe, or discuss what a particular diagnosis means, etc. I think if it could be made clear that this person wasn't there to service people medically, but merely to lend their expertise to answering questions for curiosity's sake, or to help someone understand what a particular term means, or something of that sort...
Well, I think that would be incredible. You know, kind of a psychobabble guest-speaker, a temporary participant every so often, who injected a little something extra into the discussion. I think both old-timers and newbies alike would have a ball with that. I think it would enhance other discussions by serving as a point of reference, as well. Few answers are as easily gotten or as well crafted as those formulated for a direct question. And isn't that why many of us are here? Not only to lend support, but also to get answers to questions?
> > What would be the purpose of a board for oldtimers? Wouldn't "we" be perceived even more as a clique? How would you define an oldtimer?
>
> Good questions... The main purpose, from my end, would be to provide some sort of perk or reward for participating (so the definition would probably be number of messages posted or something like that). What the oldtimers would use it for, I don't know, it would be up to them. Would it be something you'd be interested in? Maybe I need to think this through more -- or maybe it would just be a matter of seeing what happened.
>
> Yes, whenever some people have something that others don't, there's the risk of feelings of envy, resentment, etc., and that would need to be weighed against the potential benefits.
>
> Bob
poster:Adam
thread:586
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20001124/msgs/615.html