Norm
Wizard
One of the challenges of these forums is getting the quiet members or even the lurkers to contribute. Everyone has something to share. The challenge is to get them to realize that all their personal and financial information won't be compromised, they won't be ridiculed, and even an anecdote or two would be appreciated. Many forums exist with the same 30-40 members doing most of the posting even though their membership is usually over 200.
On my maxiscoot board I just changed up some of the "rankings by post count" just to try to encourage more participation from our quieter members but for the life of me I haven't really figured out a good solution. I posted this over there just to get the ball rolling:
I had a story from the old forum about the monikers but it is lost, along with all the information from that time. But I recreated it, to best of my memory:
On March 1rst Norm joins the MaxiScoot forum. Registration and signup goes well but Norm realizes early on he has been labeled “New” Member and that 100 posts are necessary to rid him of this moniker at which point he will then be known as an “Advanced” Member. General Scooter or motorcycle knowledge apparently does not figure in to the advancement process, which is good because Norm has none.
On April first Norm begins to add to his posts, mostly by responding to other people’s original threads. Still, having little to no knowledge of motorized 2 wheelers Norm finds this a difficult task. He begins by quoting other members pearls and then adding “+1” realizing this simple response will yield him a post. Later on he demonstrates his command of the English language by saying such things as “That was very interesting” and “That happened to me once too.”
Bereft of any real knowledge of scooters Norm begins working early in the morning (that’s 10 AM for us retired folks) to deep into the night (that’s 10 PM for us retired folks) eschewing his responsibilities as a husband, a father, and a Golden Retriever owner to obtain the magic 100 posts. His quest for such becomes amplified when he realizes that even a simple emoticon, such as a smiley face will garner a post.
On or about May 1rst Dave Karpman (the owner at that time) becomes cognizant that one of his members has been posting inane comments and rhetoric that is completely devoid of useful scooter information and, worse yet, that this dullard will be crowned an “Advanced Member” if he does not intervene soon. Unfortunately Norm is up to 90 some-odd posts so he must act fast. Dave realizes that his own reputation as a responsible forum owner, credible rider, and brilliant creator of a compendium of scooter knowledge is at stake if Norm achieves the “Advanced” moniker.
On or about May 5th Dave begins reworking the software to stop Norm. The software proves inflexible but a timely epiphany allows Dave to create a new wastebasket of monikers for members with 100 to 120 posts and he aptly names them “Scooter Losers” since only Norm will fall into this quantity of posts. This will give Dave more time to investigate the software glitch that is keeping him from altering the member ranking.
That same day however the forum software becomes self-aware and decides to ignore Dave’s inspired intervention. Oblivious to further inputs the forum software promotes Norm to “Advanced” member at 100 posts while Dave starts pulling his hair out and furiously contacting other forum owners to mitigate the certain fallout from this action as well as unwittingly promoting scooter morons everywhere to join his forum.
I remember when I first wrote this, very early on in my MaxiScoot career, Maggie (who I love for many reasons but particularly for her candor) was one of the first responders, saying something like “Well that was a waste of 15 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back,” Similar comments followed and I was fearful that further stories really would get me thrown off until a reputable member, AvaChava (Earl), stated something like “Am I the only one that gets this? That was very funny.” (I do miss Earl. Are you out there Ava?) After that more positive comments rolled in, including Brandon (WITF) and Travis, who also taught me to create small paragraphs so my meanderings could more easily be read since I had no breaks in the story, just one long paragraph.
This was one of my first attempts to be a contributing member to a virtual community but I am replicating the story as I may be able to draw out our quiet members. Remember, even an emoticon will be appreciated as well as contribute towards your promotion of rank. Unlike the military or professorial community you can’t be passed over in our place, lol.
On my maxiscoot board I just changed up some of the "rankings by post count" just to try to encourage more participation from our quieter members but for the life of me I haven't really figured out a good solution. I posted this over there just to get the ball rolling:
I had a story from the old forum about the monikers but it is lost, along with all the information from that time. But I recreated it, to best of my memory:
On March 1rst Norm joins the MaxiScoot forum. Registration and signup goes well but Norm realizes early on he has been labeled “New” Member and that 100 posts are necessary to rid him of this moniker at which point he will then be known as an “Advanced” Member. General Scooter or motorcycle knowledge apparently does not figure in to the advancement process, which is good because Norm has none.
On April first Norm begins to add to his posts, mostly by responding to other people’s original threads. Still, having little to no knowledge of motorized 2 wheelers Norm finds this a difficult task. He begins by quoting other members pearls and then adding “+1” realizing this simple response will yield him a post. Later on he demonstrates his command of the English language by saying such things as “That was very interesting” and “That happened to me once too.”
Bereft of any real knowledge of scooters Norm begins working early in the morning (that’s 10 AM for us retired folks) to deep into the night (that’s 10 PM for us retired folks) eschewing his responsibilities as a husband, a father, and a Golden Retriever owner to obtain the magic 100 posts. His quest for such becomes amplified when he realizes that even a simple emoticon, such as a smiley face will garner a post.
On or about May 1rst Dave Karpman (the owner at that time) becomes cognizant that one of his members has been posting inane comments and rhetoric that is completely devoid of useful scooter information and, worse yet, that this dullard will be crowned an “Advanced Member” if he does not intervene soon. Unfortunately Norm is up to 90 some-odd posts so he must act fast. Dave realizes that his own reputation as a responsible forum owner, credible rider, and brilliant creator of a compendium of scooter knowledge is at stake if Norm achieves the “Advanced” moniker.
On or about May 5th Dave begins reworking the software to stop Norm. The software proves inflexible but a timely epiphany allows Dave to create a new wastebasket of monikers for members with 100 to 120 posts and he aptly names them “Scooter Losers” since only Norm will fall into this quantity of posts. This will give Dave more time to investigate the software glitch that is keeping him from altering the member ranking.
That same day however the forum software becomes self-aware and decides to ignore Dave’s inspired intervention. Oblivious to further inputs the forum software promotes Norm to “Advanced” member at 100 posts while Dave starts pulling his hair out and furiously contacting other forum owners to mitigate the certain fallout from this action as well as unwittingly promoting scooter morons everywhere to join his forum.
I remember when I first wrote this, very early on in my MaxiScoot career, Maggie (who I love for many reasons but particularly for her candor) was one of the first responders, saying something like “Well that was a waste of 15 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back,” Similar comments followed and I was fearful that further stories really would get me thrown off until a reputable member, AvaChava (Earl), stated something like “Am I the only one that gets this? That was very funny.” (I do miss Earl. Are you out there Ava?) After that more positive comments rolled in, including Brandon (WITF) and Travis, who also taught me to create small paragraphs so my meanderings could more easily be read since I had no breaks in the story, just one long paragraph.
This was one of my first attempts to be a contributing member to a virtual community but I am replicating the story as I may be able to draw out our quiet members. Remember, even an emoticon will be appreciated as well as contribute towards your promotion of rank. Unlike the military or professorial community you can’t be passed over in our place, lol.
