WHERE ARE THE POSTERS?

[TinyJock]

I've been painfully aware since I've come back to Measurection how dead the forums have become. Postings are now few and far between, and from only a handful of members.

 

A review of the Main Page latest forum entries tells the story:

 

- Of the 22 non-site oriented forums, nearly fifty percent of the latest entries were made by only four members (and three of the single entries were by recognizably frequent posters).

 

- The average age of the latest postings is 28 days.* Similar sites typically show latest postings during peak day-time hours to be within minutes, or an hour at most.

 

In other words, members aren't posting that much, and only a handful of members constitute the greater bulk of the postings. I can leave the site and return a few hours later, and literally see no activity.

 

The reason isn't necessarily due to a lack of members. The "Online Now" box typically shows a good number of members (and lurkers) around. They're just not posting.**

 

A casual observer coming here for the first time would say the site is either moribund or in its death throes.

 

Why? Any ideas what's causing this and what we can do to make this a vibrant site again like it was a few years ago when I first joined? (Other than the obvious. . . "Kick out TinyJock!" ) If you care about Measurection, it'd be nice to hear your input. But that might mean posting. . .

 

 

 

* Current=2 posts; 1 day old=5; 4,1; 6,2; 7,2; 17,2; 26,1; 72,1; 93,1; 104,1; 247,1

** Members aren't even voting. LilDavid put up a poll recently which, after two or three days, only showed a few votes. Even after I entered a "Come on, guys, VOTE!" in the "Shout Box" it didn't pick up that much. Now how much effort does it take to vote in an anonymous poll, for chrissakes?!

Edited April 16, 2010 by Guest

[Rick]

If you care about Measurection, it'd be nice to hear your input. But that might mean posting. . .

 

Hey TJ!

 

And therein lies the problem, doesn't it??

 

I guess we need a new, wildly-exciting topic,-- like Drey breathlessly telling us all the sordid details of his first gay, anal experience (and what he did with the butt-baby afterward) :content:, or Bredero giving us a live demo of his various screaming techniques (thereby showing how intense, rapid swinging on his favorite chandelier exponentially improves his screaming ability) :pompom: :pompom:.

 

Oh wait! Maybe we just need Skwirl to auction off his best asset. That ought to provoke some serious action, and get everyone's blood stirring,-- keeping the posters posting. :waytogo:

 

Rick

 

 

 

[DreamCat26]

Well I know I stopped posting when I was down on myself and really didn't feel like I had anything uplifting to say. I come here to try to help out others and to reinforce who I want to be. I will work to post more and to stay in a good space so my posts are worthy of posting.

[TinyJock]

First off, wanna say Rick's one of my all time favorites here. He can be quite witty and without him and a handful of others, there wouldn't be much going on in the forums at all. And I have to acknowledge that it was partly due to Rick's encouragement that I rejoined the posting community.

 

But his response illustrates, perhaps, part our problem. Here we have Rick's being the only response so far (other than OK_Dave's). He's one of those referred to who had made multiple "most recent postings" in the forums on the main page (and, remember, this is a bad month for Rick -- he's been on sabbatical in the wilds of Alabama!) And he then references Drey(sek), Bredero, and Skwirl -- three others of the handful of frequent posters on Measurection. "The usual suspects."

 

And this graphically illustrates the situation here -- a small, incestuous group of guys, chatting among themselves, with their "inside the beltway references," unintentionally excluding others from the conversation. The others become merely an audience for us, listening to our endless stream of "in-jokes".* This doesn't draw them in. It shuts them out.

 

Hey, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this. All healthy sites have this sort of chatter. It's the leavening. I myself do it all the time. But here it verges on becoming the whole conversation.

 

This isn't anyone's fault. It's the result of a dwindling number of participants in the conversation. The question is: How do we get the others to join in? To become part of the community? To expand the conversation?

 

Or should I cut back on my coffee?

 

 

 

* Notice my intentional earlier reference to Rick's sabbatical to the wilds of Alabama, This is an "in-joke" which depends upon knowledge of earlier conversations about "incest" and Alabama in forum postings and the "Shout Box." Fun for us, but who else understands it?

[mcstang]

I noticed recently that if you type Measurection on Google, that measurection.com doesn't show up as the first listing... or the first page for that matter. You have to add the .com. Perhaps we need to be re-submitted to the search engines? Type in 'small penis' or 'small penis support'. We're nowhere to be found on the first page of Google either. So it appears that exposure (no pun intended) might be to blame in attracting new members (pun again).

 

Surely someone else can post pictures in the forums other than me! Not that I don't mind people looking, but I can't be the only one to have courage to show off what I have...

[Pineapples]

Peek a boo here I am! *Runs away into the jungle* :wave:

[canuck45]

Maybe lots of lurkers because they are not comfortable posting....or because its been up 10 years and after reading for a while people find their answers so don't need to post questions and get responses.

 

OK Dave (still gorgeous) was away for a while as was Kirk. Maybe they stabilized emotionally, came to accept themselves and didn't need help (not realizing their success is a boost for others still struggling).

 

I know I check every morning (humour section) to start my day off with a chuckle (5:30am). Even no postings there, maybe the world wide economic slump is dragging everyone down on the emotional rollercoaster of life. LOL

 

 

BTW I know one site that is much worse. Went there after a 2 year absence, no postings in a year for BC and the main forum had the same 3 people posting (arguing) absolute shit as usual.

[Olli]

I have the same outlook on the matter as OK_Dave. When I'm feeling particularly unwell because of this particular issue, I'm not really willing to post, because I know I just won't be able to say anything positive, and don't want to impose my bitterness on the others -even though I think it would be of some relief to me to rant sometimes...

 

I'm not very active as a whole either, because my situation growing up was rather peculiar, and I lack some of the experience most of the guys here seem to have and discuss -having been brought up more or less as a girl at first during childhood, and then being secluded from the other teenagers, I find my experience to differ quite a bit from the other guys' here, so I sometimes find myself at a loss as to what to say.

 

I don't post very often, but when I feel I have something to say that might contribute to a topic, I do not hesitate .

[Guest]

I think many issues have been hashed out rather fully and many of us have now come to terms with our anatomy though not all in the same way.

 

So, the old timers have less to say on the issue because it is settled one way or another in their own minds.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Guest

[Rick]

Well I know I stopped posting when I was down on myself and really didn't feel like I had anything uplifting to say. I come here to try to help out others and to reinforce who I want to be. I will work to post more and to stay in a good space so my posts are worthy of posting.

 

OK, Dave!

 

However, I beg to differ with you somewhat because ALL of your posts, past and present, have been exceedingly worthy, real gems of reality. I can not ever recall encountering a single one from you that wasn't absolutely invaluable.

 

I know you've had a number of issues, and perhaps still do, though possibly to a lesser degree than before, but to me, you're still Measurection.com's star Poster Child of precisely the type of guy who we seek to assist. So, whether you're down on yourself or not, it might be quite helpful and enlightening to others if you occasionally expressed more of that downside.

 

And btw, besides all of that, you're better-looking now than ever. :smirk:

 

Rick

 

 

[japanjf]

Most of us are not psychiatrists nor counselors.

 

We come here because of a need due to a real or perceived problem. If the site is useful, then we move on. Of course we throw in a few insights or factual information if we have it, but we then move on.

 

So for many of us, it is a sign of its success that we (nearly or totally) vanish from the site. Obviously I would not judge the success of a hospital or a car repair shop by the numbers of days we spend in it per year. Quite the opposite actually.

 

Of course if some people enjoy staying around and giving light non-professional advice: sure.

 

Steve

 

[Skwirl]

I've been painfully aware since I've come back to Measurection how dead the forums have become. Postings are now few and far between, and from only a handful of members.

 

I've been going through periods where I've checked this site near daily and thoughts to post, and other times where I feel indifferent towards this site. I just discovered this thread only a few minutes ago, before I might have been here right at the start.

 

Sometimes the lack of inactivity influences my own frequency of participation, and after a year and a half of membership sometimes I feel like "I've heard it all before". Despite all of this I'm not ready to say goodbye to it all yet.

 

On occasion I post on LPSG too, but less than I do here. Let's be frank, we know why it draws more people, but the amount of people posting there means less chances of a voice standing out. This site's been better than most in getting responses from fellow members, which is what LPSG can't match.

 

 

Oh wait! Maybe we just need Skwirl to auction off his best asset. That ought to provoke some serious action, and get everyone's blood stirring,-- keeping the posters posting. :waytogo:

 

Rick

 

 

Who? Me? What assets? Do you mean this?: :moon:

 

 

[Riftalope]

Ah, then there's Life happening. I've found out that part of my problem is that I've got Parkinson's Disease. Add in my nerve damaged orgasms, vascular leak, and lack of work... Let's just say it's all fucked up on my side of the keys. Hard to chime in often when you're in the city library on a timer.

[RoughPoint]

Damn, Rift! That sucks. I don't know what else to say. You're in my thoughts.

[Kirk]

I was a frequent and loyal poster to the site for the first few years of its existence (helll I was the original moderator of the Bathhouse forum). I reached a point where I achieved a new level of confidence and acceptance about my small dick, thanks to the input and comraderie (sp?) of the members, and at that point my participation started to wane.

 

My reasons for leaving Measurection were mainly selfish: I had become comfortable with my size for the first time in my life; and the site was attracting a LOT of str8 guys, which is wonderful for the site, but made it less "fun" for me.

 

I still continued to be an active member for quite a while after that, but eventually felt that I didn't have anything significant to contribute to the site, so drifted away.

 

The other feeling I had was that as the membership increased, it seemed like initiating a new post (for me) was being repititious since pretty much everything had already been discussed. This is not to say that topics aren't worth discussing, just that they had been brought up many times before.

 

So after that long-winded explanation, I guess I feel now that when a new member brings up a concern of theirs, I'll gladly add my two cents for whatever its worth, but I don't feel like I have any "new" topics to bring up since I did that so long ago.

 

Hope no one takes these comments the wrong way...just responding to the original point of this thread.

Edited April 20, 2010 by Guest

[Dreysek]

Right...

 

Get Tiny Jock removed from the sight.... J/k bud! Wouldn't be the same with out ya!

 

Get Jecko out of the jungle, or at least get it trimmed! :sneaky: :tongue2:

 

Olli, any input is better than nothing, bud. Like you said, ranting can help, just so long as we know it's what you are doing!

 

Get Skwirl working on some asset auctioning.

Which is sure to keep Rick glued (or at least it would be something sticky, anyway! :tongue2: ) to his monitor, breathlessly waiting to see if he won.

 

I suppose I could post some new pictures as well, so that mcstang isn't doing all the work.

 

Make sure canuck gets his meds on time. We've seen what happens when he doesn't. :roflmao:

 

Give some statistics for japanjif, to work on.

 

Make sure inchbear has plenty of clean jocks to work out in.

 

And last, but not least, make sure RP's interest is continually piqued, and, that he has an adequate supply of scotch on hand. :waytogo:

Did I miss anyone? :jester:

 

Sorry to hear about all your troubles, Rift. You're one of my favorite posters. I hope things turn around soon, bud!

 

I too, miss some of the banter, and goings-on, from the days when the sight had a lot more regular posters. I am guilty of not checking in frequently, as well, but I do try to welcome the new comers, when I see them.

 

Oh yeah! Welcome back Kirk! :wave:

Edited April 20, 2010 by Guest

[TinyJock]

The other feeling I had was that as the membership increased, it seemed like initiating a new post (for me) was being repititious since pretty much everything had already been discussed.

.

Yeah, that's why I always thought it might be better, from an active forum standpoint, if we purged threads after a year of inactivity. Give new people a chance to raise the question.

 

Plus, sometimes, if there have been more responses to a thread than Rick's had "house guests", it's kind of like "Who cares?" or "Who'd even notice? Just another leaf on the tree, a grain of sand on the beach, another house guest!"

 

Edited April 21, 2010 by Guest

[Cosmic]

The other feeling I had was that as the membership increased' date=' it seemed like initiating a new post (for me) was being repetitious since pretty much everything had already been discussed. [/i']

.

Yeah, that's why I always thought it might be better, from an active forum standpoint, if we purged threads after a year of inactivity. Give new people a chance to raise the question.

 

 

I disagree with the idea of purging threads as that action would do more harm than good. Repetitive questions are encountered, but disposing of pertinent threads would be nonsensical as they contain reference material from seasoned MR members useful to newbies and lurkers.

 

I think making an effort to befriend MR members, answer their questions and encourage them to post should be your objectives if you wish to see more posts here.

 

[TinyJock]

Yeah, it's a tricky question. Kinda like classical music. Should you purge Bach, Haydn, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wagner, Strauss (either Johanne or Richard), Stravinsky, Mahler, and all the other great classical composers, to make way for subsequent generations of composers?

 

But it's hard for anyone to follow after them. Even Brahms complained that he heard the giant footsteps of Beethoven always thundering in his ears. Not only is theirs the music everyone wants to hear, but, in order to be different, modern composers, with their atonalities and complex rhythms, have become more and more inaccessible to their audience.

 

Educated people of my grandparents' generation were familiar, for the most part, with the classical repertoire. To a lesser extent, so were people of my parents' age. But, by the time I came along, classical music was pretty much a thing of the past (as were the Beatles, for that matter), and my son thinks anything which doesn't contain a four-letter word and refer to the raping of women and the offing of policemen "old-fashioned."

 

Something similar's going on here. The forums are dying before our eyes. Do we purge all the great posts? Seems like such a waste. But who's gonna contribute anything new when it's all been said before. "Been there, done that."

 

Frankly, I doubt it'll ever happen. There are very few Alexanders to cut the Gordian Knot. And maybe it's not a serious suggestion on my part. But events overtake us whether we like it or not. The posting community at Measurection may be going the way of Bach, Brahms and Beethoven. "The sun never sets on the British Empire" it was said . . . but it has.

[RodEnuf]

OMG! They're not Old topics, they're Classic topics. :roflmao:

 

Alan G

[IoMFreak]

Am I alone in thinking that a decrease in posting numbers is a good thing?

 

I hang around here much less because I feel bad about my dick much less.

 

The other night I thought: "There have been millions of human beings who have lived their entire lives in slavery, poverty, and war, or with deadly, crippling diseases. I live a life of peace and prosperity and I am sad because I have a slightly below average penis? Come on."

[TinyJock]

Am I alone in thinking that a decrease in posting numbers is a good thing? I hang around here much less because I feel bad about my dick much less.

Well, maybe not alone. . .

 

But, seriously, are you suggesting, Io, that a decrease in posting on Measurection means that guys from Kalamazoo to the Khyber Pass have suddenly either gotten bigger penises or have stopped worrying about them? I don't think that'll happen until genetic engineering creates all men truly equal.*

 

Although I know it's true that a lot of guys have worked through their problems and have moved on, I'd suggest that the reason the number of postings has tanked is more likely due to something in the water here at Measurection, or, perhaps, that guys are going elsewhere for help and support.

 

 

* Frankly, I'm pushing for the standard to be four inches. . . just to piss off the dudes at LPSG!

[Kirk]

... I'd suggest that the reason the number of postings has tanked is more likely due to something in the water here at Measurection ...

TJ I always thought that that stuff in the water at Measurection made you gay...at least that's what I used to hear.

 

 

 

j/k

Edited April 26, 2010 by Guest
Merged Kirk's two consecutive replies.

[Big4SmallNKy]

* Frankly, I'm pushing for the standard to be four inches. . . just to piss off the dudes at LPSG!

 

Actually, from personal experience, I believe the average is closer to 4.5"...

[aussieguy]

Maybe we are just going through a period where people have other things to do. I know myself that I have stuff going on right now so I'm not popping in that often.

 

I also don't have a great deal to say at the moment about penises or much else, and rarely like looking at forums filled with single word and single line comments. I've been on discussion groups where those single word/line comments would be removed as they were seen to not add anything constructive to the discussion. Still sometimes a word is better than none and often is enough in my view.

 

I could make some political or politically incorrect comments but those usually get me into trouble so perhaps I'll abstain.

 

Maybe just to keep on topic I'll add that my penis and I are doing OK. Well alright I'm doing mostly OK at least anyway; my penis maybe not.

 

As Rick said, we might need a few good topics to get some noise happening in here but for now I'm not feeling terribly creative so such a topic eludes me.