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Journal subgeek's Journal: getting responses 10

Journal by subgeek

just an observation. if i try to engage in conversation on slashdot outside of journals, i rarely get replies. apparently the key for me to getting the big +5 score and lots of replies is to quite trying to converse. just post something silly and meaningless in a poll without really giving the comment much thought.

maybe people just like me better when i don't try to think ;)

somewhere deep down i think it is learning to talk about things that other people care about. that i can't help. i could, but then i'd just be a slashbot begging for responses.

what works for you all to get more replies? i'm not interested in gaming for replies, just conversation. (though i am not opposed to an on-topic troll once in a while, just not all the time.)

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getting responses

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  • what works for you all to get more replies?
    There are far too many people posting to stories to expect a conversation to be had. Add to that all the many posts to stories that convey the same sentiment, and how it seems that *somewhere* in each story, someone has already posted something close to what anyone (read: me) wanted to say (of course, I think *my* idea would have been more eloquent and thought provoking, but the gist is already up there). Then there are the stupid posts, the 'me too's, and all, so the signal-to-noise ratio makes it near impossible to expect stories to be a good place for conversation.

    Forget all that.

    I think you've hit upon the best way to converse with other /.ers. Post a JE that asks a question! Alternately, answer a JE that asks a question. The author is probably interested, or it wouldn't be there.

    Personally, I frequently make JEs without questions that are there just to organize some links or thoughts. I don't expect replies to those. When I do post a question, I invariably make it about something general instead of tech-specific. I have NGs for my work-related questions, and /. is so diverse that I'd rather hear what the community has to say about things that have no set answers.
  • ...I tend to find that the (non-funny) "funny" comments I make get modded up... tho I don't often get modded at all.

    Tip: To avoid getting modded down, make sure you don't mention anything slightly bad about Linux. ;)
    • it's wierd, but i've actually gotten "insightful" mods for criticism of linux fanaticism. i am not really concerned about down mods. when i first became aware of karma, i cared. not anymore. even if i weren't capped it wouldn't matter. if i started posting at -1 or something i might care just because even fewer people would read my words. you can game the system by saying certain things at certain times, but then you are posting based on how others will react to a statement instead of honest conversation. i'm more interested in interaction than up mods. honest conversation requires one to speak their mind.

      i like the way subtle sarcasm and irony can evoke knee-jerk reactionary responses, taking a joke seriously. then stuff i say that i don't think is that funny gets modded way up. it all contributes to the evidence that karma doesn't mean much other than you can post higher once you get enough of it.

      yes, i do realize your karma tip was a joke, i just went out into a tangent.
      • Yeah; whenever I've mentioned anything remotely bad about Linux I've been modded down... At one point I was at "negative" karma and posted at 0 which was annoying.
        • the subject has to be approached with a lot of diplomacy for two reasons. first so there is a chance they will read and understand instead of react. second so moderators will do the same and not just mod you down because you offended them.

          slashdot is a great place to study the idiosyncrasies of human nature. apparently i haven't studied will enough to get good discussions outside of journals that often.
  • Talking in the main messages is like being at a town hall meeting. Journals are more like the smoke filled back rooms:)

    I think the main messages devolved when the numbers of users skyrocketed. There's just too many people to have deep conversations with.

    Although I'm not sure that my post in CVR's latest JE qualifies as 'deep':)
  • If I have something to say that I think is important, I'll first go through the comments. (Nothing like what I want to say? OK, good.) Then I find something near the top that's related. (I.e. won't be offtopic.) That's the comment I reply to.

    That's why you'll usually see my comments near the top of the responses. (If the story is slightly old.) (I organise my comments as, "nested, oldest first.")

    If the story is new (i.e. 0-4 comments), I immediately reply to the article, since most of the comments already there are usually offtopic or trolls, and get modded away quickly. (Except for the obligatory gem of humor that someone came up with on the spot.) This way, a lot of people see my comment, and I'm much more likely to get responses, or at least people thinking about what I'm saying. (Moderations aren't a big deal to me. Normally my posts are such that the people who respond to me get modded up.)

    Note that I never intentionally troll or post flamebait. And If I realize what I'm typing is offtopic or pointless, I cancel the post. I'm interested in intelligent conversation, which is why I'll usually even respond to ACs who respond to my comments.
    • this won't last forever, but i just looked at your user page and saw that i can read the 24 most recent of your 666 comments. if you have anything to say about that, you'll move off of that number. i feel honored that your 666th comment is in my journal.

      btw, i don't really believe in the significance of numbers like that. it's just amusing to me.
  • Sadly, I get the most responses by far when I post something inaccurate. People love to correct. I was just in an extended /. conversation with a physics grad student after I posted a link to a site with a faulty interpretation of quantum mechanics. I guess I should stick to what I know.
    • that's not the kind of response i was looking for, but i get those sometimes, too. more often i post what i think is a joke and people who take it too seriously "correct" it.

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