Post rarely or not at all? - Page 3

Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.
SL28ave
Posts: 127
Joined: 18 years ago

#21: Post by SL28ave »

It's a sad fact of life that I lack an espresso machine right now. That's why I don't post much.

I have cool memorabilia though! :P -> :( -> :cry:

I thought 20 times about not posting this and once about posting it.
"Few, but ripe." -Carl Friedrich Gauss

User avatar
Marshall
Posts: 3444
Joined: 19 years ago

#22: Post by Marshall »

TeMpTiN wrote:Andy,
Do they have one those over at portafilter.net?
:)

I did not think about this post nearly long enough
Yes, but it works in reverse.
Marshall
Los Angeles

ManSeekingCoffee
Posts: 38
Joined: 16 years ago

#23: Post by ManSeekingCoffee »

TeMpTiN wrote: while i have been a member of HB for two year i was reading here and over at CG for a bit before that. Both are good resources but i believe that this board is a a bit more focused and because many of the people here are not the type to compromise on quality this drives up the costs involved, as well as average age experience of the people who afford to maintain this kind of hobby. To me this helps keep things civil and the high school politics to a minimum. If i had the kind of money i have spent and am looking to spend on coffee equipment in high school or college,............ well some things should just be left to the imagination.
I think this is exactly right. The audience - I think mostly by design - has a pretty high degree of coffee experience/enthusiasm, a pretty high standard for what constitutes "entry level" equipment and is mostly around recreational espresso (i.e. not professional), AND wants to be part of a community like this. When you plug in all the variables, I just don't think there are that many of us out there.

For better or for worse, CG is more entry level. HB is more focused. People are going to lurk longer to make sure they are up to speed before they start contributing and there are simply fewer of these people to begin with.

I'm curious, is there some kind of stat for lurkers? I know I was for a long time. In a way, I think HB's mission is being served if a lot of people are lurking. That's a lot of information dissemination going on.

User avatar
HB
Admin
Posts: 21983
Joined: 19 years ago

#24: Post by HB »

ManSeekingCoffee wrote:I'm curious, is there some kind of stat for lurkers? I know I was for a long time. In a way, I think HB's mission is being served if a lot of people are lurking. That's a lot of information dissemination going on.
I haven't tracked it regularly, but last I checked, lurkers outnumbered regular (logged in) members 15 to 1. The number of non-posting members versus regularly posting members is another order of magnitude.
Dan Kehn

zin1953
Posts: 2523
Joined: 18 years ago

#25: Post by zin1953 replying to HB »

This makes absolute sense. Many people will lurk, and that's a good thing. Some will post once or twice perhaps and, having received an answer to their question, may move on . . .
A morning without coffee is sleep. -- Anon.

Ken Fox
Posts: 2447
Joined: 18 years ago

#26: Post by Ken Fox »

HB wrote:I haven't tracked it regularly, but last I checked, lurkers outnumbered regular (logged in) members 15 to 1. The number of non-posting members versus regularly posting members is another order of magnitude.
Are they "non-posting members" or are they "regularly posting members" who are scanning the board without logging in?

Some people clean out all their browser cookies regularly, or refuse to accept cookies in the first place, or log in and out only when they intend to post. I do that here and on the other (non-coffee related) board in which I participate. Some people use multiple computers, at home and at work, and the ones at work may be set up that way, or the users may not wish to have their employers track their online activity.

I would be willing to bet that your ratio of 15-1 does not take this into consideration, and that the true ratio is a whole lot less.

ken
What, me worry?

Alfred E. Neuman, 1955

User avatar
cafeIKE
Posts: 4704
Joined: 18 years ago

#27: Post by cafeIKE »

OT: Could go either way. If it were my board, I'd be logging IP's so whether you logged in or not, I'd know it was you... except for poor buggers with dddddial-up :cry:

Endo
Posts: 337
Joined: 16 years ago

#28: Post by Endo »

HB wrote: Here's an interesting statistic on infrequent posters: More than 15% of the FAQ-worthy threads were initiated by those with 10 or less posts. Approximately 35% of the FAQ-worthy threads were initiated by members with less than 40 posts.
And here's another interesting one:

I have over 100 posts and I didn't even know this "FAQ-worthy threads" page existed. :lol:

(Time for some reading......)
"Disclaimer: All troll-like comments are my way of discussing"

User avatar
HB
Admin
Posts: 21983
Joined: 19 years ago

#29: Post by HB »

Ken Fox wrote:I would be willing to bet that your ratio of 15-1 does not take this into consideration, and that the true ratio is a whole lot less.
The "WHO IS ONLINE" list at the bottom of the forum index includes who logged in over the past 24 hours. The rest of the site statistics are collected using Google Analytics. It's presumably smart enough to filter IP information like those from bots, absolute visitors, return visitors, etc. Trust me, the 15-to-1 ratio of logged in users to lurkers is accurate enough for the purpose of this discussion.
Dan Kehn

User avatar
another_jim (original poster)
Team HB
Posts: 13872
Joined: 19 years ago

#30: Post by another_jim (original poster) »

The ratio makes sense since HB is first page google for a lot of home espresso questions. Therefore, one would expect several thousand people researching their purchases to pass through each day. However, given the market, it seems likely that the vast majority would be looking for information on a Krups versus a Capresso, or something like that, and won't really be lurking in the traditional sense. My guess is that true lurkers, those interested in and reading the content, but not posting, are nowhere close to outnumbering steady posters 15 to 1. It would be a very pleasant surprise if I were wrong.
Jim Schulman