Has GD had it's day?

[#1]

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.

[#2]

@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 

[#3]

@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.

[#4]

@natty_noo

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

[#5]

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.

[#6]

@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?

[#7]

@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.

[#8]

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.

[#9]

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

[#10]

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.