Bryan
02-17-2008, 01:19 PM
Hopefully this will clear up some of the issues about sub-forum usage. :)
What threads qualify for Grassroots Central?
The defined standard to post in Grassroots Central is that the topic must "Discuss, analyze, share, plan, collaborate and report on the latest happenings and other important topics affecting the grassroots side of the Ron Paul 2008 race." and with current traffic levels it's important to keep this so. (Note system announcement like this have traditionally gone in Grassroots Central so that's why this is here, we don't want another sub-forum for our occasional announcements. :))
If you are posting some peripheral news such as the resignation of David Walker as the Comptroller General of the United States the correct sub-forum to post this in will depend upon how the topic starter intends to focus the direction of the conversation, if they are merely posting this as a news event then it does not belong in Grassroots Central (but instead likely in "Economics & Sound Money"). However, if the topic starter posts the news and at least asks how this can be leveraged to the benefit of the campaign then the discussion should focus on that, using the event to further the bid for the White House and thus qualifies to be posted in Grassroots Central.
Please note, the tie-in to the campaign must be legitimate, don't expect a thread saying that some other candidate blinks a lot and conclude with "I wonder what Ron Paul thinks about this?" That certainly doesn't qualify as "important".
Where is best?
The perception that posts will receive more attention being put in Grassroots Central and arguably both correct and incorrect. To understand this, it's important to note that there are two type of forum users, those that are here enough to use "New Posts" to review all thread activity and those that may use New Posts in conjunction with visiting various sub-forums of particular interest, such as "Bearing Arms" which is actually quite popular.
A few things to consider:
While there are more people in Grassroots Central it is in part due to there being more active threads there since there is more real world activity here, but one must keep in mind that those viewers are spread out over many different topics. Exclusive users of "New Post" will naturally be in Grassroots Central more often since there is more activity. Still, it is understood that there are more sub-forum visiting users here as well since there is more going on. As a result of this, there can be some short term benefit to posting your thread in Grassroots Central, it gets more immediate attention.
There are significant downsides to posting in Grassroots Central in that threads posted their which do not receive a post after 8 hours are often unlikely to ever get attention from a new participant. That means that you or someone else has to be around being active in the thread a good deal for it to stay current- and over bumping is discouraged.
The desire to always post in Grassroots Central creates a chicken and egg problem, no one will go to the other sub-forums (either directly or with "New Posts") if there are no new topics there.
Posting in the correct topical sub-forum can have long term benefits in that it can stay on the front page for a much longer time and receive new attention for days after its last posting by more casual users who view (or search) by sub-forum topics of interest.
There are many threads in Grassroots Central that receive very little attention (no replies and only a few views) so posting in Grassroots Central is no guarantee of activity anyway.
Given this, if your thread fits the criteria to be posted in Grassroots Central it may be beneficial for the short term, do it if that's what's desired, but for the long haul, it may be better in a more dedicated sub-forum.
A final note, if you aren't using the "New Posts" feature (found in the top blue bar) you should be, if there are sub-forums you're not interested in it's possible to configure its function to only report threads from a select group of sub-forums of your interest- see this thread for more details:
Managing posts on RPFs.com - how to get the most from the forums
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=53504
Please respect other users time by posting in the correct sub-forum, per the forum guidelines. Keep in mind, the sub-forum structure is always open for debate and change.
What threads qualify for Grassroots Central?
The defined standard to post in Grassroots Central is that the topic must "Discuss, analyze, share, plan, collaborate and report on the latest happenings and other important topics affecting the grassroots side of the Ron Paul 2008 race." and with current traffic levels it's important to keep this so. (Note system announcement like this have traditionally gone in Grassroots Central so that's why this is here, we don't want another sub-forum for our occasional announcements. :))
If you are posting some peripheral news such as the resignation of David Walker as the Comptroller General of the United States the correct sub-forum to post this in will depend upon how the topic starter intends to focus the direction of the conversation, if they are merely posting this as a news event then it does not belong in Grassroots Central (but instead likely in "Economics & Sound Money"). However, if the topic starter posts the news and at least asks how this can be leveraged to the benefit of the campaign then the discussion should focus on that, using the event to further the bid for the White House and thus qualifies to be posted in Grassroots Central.
Please note, the tie-in to the campaign must be legitimate, don't expect a thread saying that some other candidate blinks a lot and conclude with "I wonder what Ron Paul thinks about this?" That certainly doesn't qualify as "important".
Where is best?
The perception that posts will receive more attention being put in Grassroots Central and arguably both correct and incorrect. To understand this, it's important to note that there are two type of forum users, those that are here enough to use "New Posts" to review all thread activity and those that may use New Posts in conjunction with visiting various sub-forums of particular interest, such as "Bearing Arms" which is actually quite popular.
A few things to consider:
While there are more people in Grassroots Central it is in part due to there being more active threads there since there is more real world activity here, but one must keep in mind that those viewers are spread out over many different topics. Exclusive users of "New Post" will naturally be in Grassroots Central more often since there is more activity. Still, it is understood that there are more sub-forum visiting users here as well since there is more going on. As a result of this, there can be some short term benefit to posting your thread in Grassroots Central, it gets more immediate attention.
There are significant downsides to posting in Grassroots Central in that threads posted their which do not receive a post after 8 hours are often unlikely to ever get attention from a new participant. That means that you or someone else has to be around being active in the thread a good deal for it to stay current- and over bumping is discouraged.
The desire to always post in Grassroots Central creates a chicken and egg problem, no one will go to the other sub-forums (either directly or with "New Posts") if there are no new topics there.
Posting in the correct topical sub-forum can have long term benefits in that it can stay on the front page for a much longer time and receive new attention for days after its last posting by more casual users who view (or search) by sub-forum topics of interest.
There are many threads in Grassroots Central that receive very little attention (no replies and only a few views) so posting in Grassroots Central is no guarantee of activity anyway.
Given this, if your thread fits the criteria to be posted in Grassroots Central it may be beneficial for the short term, do it if that's what's desired, but for the long haul, it may be better in a more dedicated sub-forum.
A final note, if you aren't using the "New Posts" feature (found in the top blue bar) you should be, if there are sub-forums you're not interested in it's possible to configure its function to only report threads from a select group of sub-forums of your interest- see this thread for more details:
Managing posts on RPFs.com - how to get the most from the forums
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=53504
Please respect other users time by posting in the correct sub-forum, per the forum guidelines. Keep in mind, the sub-forum structure is always open for debate and change.