Has GD had it's day?

natty_noo

Following on from this thread;

https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Contribute/The-sad-demise-of-GD/m-p/20561296#M504483

General Discussion is getting harder to visit, i struggle to find anything at all to post on, and believe me, i do try. There are a few that dominate it, but i feel it's to the detriment of it.

It's as if giffgaff actually like it being dumbed down for some reason, because when certain threads are made by the same people over and over again, and then continually bumped by the op, we're told that some people enjoy those type of threads.

But that's not the case as i see it. Most times those threads do fall off page one, and would carry on falling, except the op comes back and bumps it with "i do" or "i don't know", just to get it back on the first page. Yes, reporting them is the thing to do, but as i said, i'm told people like them.

I'm at a loss as to why some are being indulged in this way. I suppose we should be very thankful that H&S is on a separate board, because if it was me looking in to a combined H&S/GD before joining, and seeing some of that stuff, i definitely wouldn't bother.

GD needs a huge overhaul/clean up asap, before it dies a death. It's halfway there already.

Or shut it completely and put it out of it's misery.

shabazmoqsud

@natty_noo dont think so

Remember there are many topics not giffgaff related that we can only discuss on GD forum if they got rid of that where would we discuss the general everyday topics that we cannot discuss in any other section

General Discussion forum is very relevant and informative

natty_noo

@shabazmoqsud

There are hardly any topics anymore, it's pointless prolific thread making by a few members. If there were half decent threads i wouldn't be saying this in the first place.

And GD is not particularly relevant, and definitely not informative.

giffgaffprepper

@natty_noo

why not create some of your own? why expect others to be doing the hard work?

t_will

For me, 'people like these threads' has been a response to why GD has the culture it has, and not necessarily specific posts. If someone's bumping up a thread unnecessarily then that's something we should be dealing with.

However before this gets too far into the discussion I'd like to ask that we focus on specific change. It'd be very easy for this thread, like so many others, to have a vague sense of 'things are broken and they should be fixed', and for that then to boil into annoyance when it's not 'fixed' at some future point down the road - without anyone having the same understanding on what the fix should have been.

What I'd love to see is people talking about specific behaviours that they think would lead to improvement. Frame a problem with the change you would like to make that would make you want to visit the forum, rather than what puts you off. That way, we can more clearly see what's missing, and what would appeal to people.

natty_noo

@giffgaffprepper

Tried it, doesn't work. The prolific will always supersede the 'normal' posters.

And i'm not expecting anyone to do the'hard work', because it's hardly work and it's definitely not hard. Is it?

natty_noo

@t_will

There are at least 5 members on here right now that behave in that way. Make a thread, make another, then another, etc. Then systematically bump them when they drop down the pages.

I've highlighted it before, nothing gets said to them. I'd like to see a time limit of sorts, where only a certain amount of threads can be made per person per day. That might stop some of the prolific thread makers, because come on, making a thread that says "it's warm today" isn't a discussion, it's a statement, which means it doesn't need it's own thread.

sasha_t

I haven't posted since the beginning of February for this very reason. Don't get me wrong, i've browsed to see if there was anything worth logging in for, but unfortunately there hasn't been.

I'd like it pushed more towards discussion threads rather than what's out there atm. It's very disheartening to see it in such decline, because that's exactly what's happening to it.

I've been here nearly 3 years, and i have to say it's the worst i've ever seen it.

natty_noo

Well i'm glad that this thread was enough motivation for you to log in for @sasha_t , nice to see you back.

endorphin

It does seem to me, and do correct me if I'm wrong @t_will, that giffgaff are happy with the way GD is as it drives traffic to the site. The plethora of subjects and external links posted, which are usually topical, are picked up by search engines and promote giffgaff's pages' listings in the search results.

However as a forum to attract and retain members it, for me anyway, does not seem fit for purpose. In my view the behaviours that contribute to this are:

cliquey or long running threads where a group of members continually post meaning it's difficult for new posters to participate

fire and forget threads where the OP does not interact with the thread leaving it to wander aimlessly

the "which do you prefer?" threads which provoke little interaction apart from a single response

the threads which are obviously posted to just to increase the poster's thread/post count and in which they have no real interest apart from seeing how long they can keep the thread going

There are some members who post great threads there but these are in the minority. GD should be a fun, inviting, interesting and inclusive but it is rarely so nowadays.

kath72

@endorphin you have nicely summed up the behaviours which mostly keep me away from GD

I popped in just now but...

Sadly to some degree it it a forum wide issue ... the tips forum also has many ‘simple’ tip threads which keep getting bumped while those with quality tips often dink without trace. I have also reported multiple tip makers in contribute

The solution ? I stay away from GD mostly so it doesn’t annoy me 😉

endorphin

@kath72 I seem to recall that giffgaff were going to overhaul Tips IIRC but as you say it's more of an exercise to increase one's thread/post count at the moment.

natty_noo

Thank you @endorphin , you set out those behaviours perfectly. The problem being, as we've both said, that giffgaff seem very happy with those threads.

Not fit for purpose is summed up nicely.

endorphin

And here's one I prepared earlier, 2 years ago:

https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Contribute/Does-General-Discussion-work/m-p/18298700

t_will

Okay, so we've identified some things that you think shouldn't be there. I'm of the mind that all content brings people to the community - but the type of content dictates the type of people. If a forum has a lot of a particular type of content, it will only attract people who enjoy that content. The only way to attract people who enjoy different things is for those different things to be there for them to enjoy.

So, at the risk of repeating myself, what would be the content that drew you to a general discussion forum? Even if we got rid of everything you didn't like, what are the things you'd like to see there in its place?

natty_noo

@endorphin

It looks like change is definitely not going to happen any time soon then, especially as you made that one just over 2 years ago.

Sad times for GD as it just declines even further.

t_will

endorphin wrote:

It does seem to me, and do correct me if I'm wrong @t_will, that giffgaff are happy with the way GD is as it drives traffic to the site. The plethora of subjects and external links posted, which are usually topical, are picked up by search engines and promote giffgaff's pages' listings in the search results.

Missed this in my initial post, sorry - yes, I'm sure traffic gets driven to the site. But sheer volume of traffic isn't a good thing - the content that draws people to the site needs to be engaging and make people interested and want to stay. We're not in the business of just putting any old crap up just because it gets clicks - the businesses that are set up that way do it because it gets eyeballs on their adverts, and even they don't do very well if people don't stick around.

Also - what's with the doom and gloom attitude, folks? I've been in this thread asking for more information and trying to work with you and you're already resigned to thinking change won't happen? Come on, I want substantive content as much as you do, but it's not going to happen if all we do is sit around and say 'it won't happen' 😛

natty_noo

@t_will

Firstly, i'm not all doom and gloom.......just on a weekday 😛

I think the need is there to educate more members on the type of threads they make. I've reported over and over only to be told that others like those sort of threads. No, that's not true, they do actually fall by the wayside but the op bumps them. I'm talking about long term members here as well, not newbies who may just be getting used to how it works.

Those long running cliquey threads, (because that's what they are) are mostly filled with the same people, so surely one thread should be enough for them to either say hello, show their food, tell each other what they're doing, who's bored, etc.

And a few members have their own individual long running threads, more than one in some cases. What if we all did that and bumped them every day? There wouldn't be any new content at all then.

nominate

I gave up on GD when a staff member commented the following about those threads:

".. the topics themselves is nothing bad, in fact it's great that someone is opening up these kind of discussions to get to know the community at large. Having a different variety of topics for people to choose what to talk about is what the GD board is all about."

and

"....they have replied to their threads, which is a good thing. It keeps the conversation alive and kicking."

moominpappa

General discussion has been a bit of a weird place for several years. I've not visited it for months because I couldn't be bothered trawling through "what's your favourite flavour of crisp" threads to find something worth reading and discussing.

We all know that the allure of payback gets people posting, so some (many) people head to general discussion simply to boost their post count/activity on this site.

I for one will be keeping away from general discussion because it's not interested me for a long time, and by the sounds of it, it's got worse! ☹