i was wondering if we could all come up with some ideas to boost member participation in the forums..i notice we have something like 147,000 members..and only a handful of regulars in the forums...it would be fun to see more threads from skilled artist to help beginners..(which might lead to a bunch of dead threads i know, but perhaps after a week of no signs of life from the person who started the thread a moderator could take it down)
i just find it strange that for a site boasting 147,000 members that there is not more participation..and was kind of wondering how come?
Full Version: boost member participation
I agree with you Kay.
Maybe you have noticed also , that there are many many many members that don't have nothing in their gallery eighter, and los of them haven't even logged in for a LONG time. I think lots of people register and then never come back again.
But still there are many that upload to their gallery but do not participate in the forums...wonder why, some may not speak english well enought to do so, but still I don't understand why most don't participate.
Maybe you have noticed also , that there are many many many members that don't have nothing in their gallery eighter, and los of them haven't even logged in for a LONG time. I think lots of people register and then never come back again.
But still there are many that upload to their gallery but do not participate in the forums...wonder why, some may not speak english well enought to do so, but still I don't understand why most don't participate.
hmmm...interesting..the language part is true..that probably is a big barrier..but we are lucky to have members like you and elena and others that may be able to help translate..it would be interesting to see how many actual members the site has..of active albums etc..and how many are just simply gone..
i was just curious..
i was just curious..
QUOTE (oliverandjazz @ Oct 3 2008, 06:18 PM) 
hmmm...interesting..the language part is true..that probably is a big barrier..but we are lucky to have members like you and elena and others that may be able to help translate..it would be interesting to see how many actual members the site has..of active albums etc..and how many are just simply gone..
i was just curious..
i was just curious..
Ok, im a lurker sinds 4 weeks, i think you know that, but im struggling with the language and with the technic of my computer. I tried the whole day to get some of my picture into this machine but i lost the fight. i will try it again in the future. this is my first post and i hope you can read and understand it. i wanted to draw something for the challenge, but to translate all the interesting posts is very time consuming.
Hi Goldlaus - its very friendly here, so please do join in 
Kay, Clara - I drop in on quite a few sites (I'm admin on a couple of small painting forum sites), and from about 5 years involvement in online art forums, I can tell you that DS is fairly typical, in that a very small proportion of members post most of the content, a larger number post occasionally, and generally, well over half never post at all. There's also generally quite a bit of turnover on such sites, with only the most dedicated core-members remaining active over a timescale of more than about 1.5-2 years. I'm not sure that there's a lot one can do to change that. If a board's informative, friendly, and well-moderated (all three of which certainly apply here at DS), I'm not sure what else one can do to raise participation.
Tutorial-type threads tend to involve a lot of work for the person writing them. It can be very difficult trying to decide what information needs to be conveyed, and how to best do so. Often there's also the problem of targeting the audience - some will see the tutorial as over-simplified, while others will complain that they couldn't understand a word of what was presented. What's worse, those groups who feel they have not been addressed may then feel excluded. Getting it right's not easy!
Dave
Kay, Clara - I drop in on quite a few sites (I'm admin on a couple of small painting forum sites), and from about 5 years involvement in online art forums, I can tell you that DS is fairly typical, in that a very small proportion of members post most of the content, a larger number post occasionally, and generally, well over half never post at all. There's also generally quite a bit of turnover on such sites, with only the most dedicated core-members remaining active over a timescale of more than about 1.5-2 years. I'm not sure that there's a lot one can do to change that. If a board's informative, friendly, and well-moderated (all three of which certainly apply here at DS), I'm not sure what else one can do to raise participation.
QUOTE
it would be fun to see more threads from skilled artist to help beginners
Tutorial-type threads tend to involve a lot of work for the person writing them. It can be very difficult trying to decide what information needs to be conveyed, and how to best do so. Often there's also the problem of targeting the audience - some will see the tutorial as over-simplified, while others will complain that they couldn't understand a word of what was presented. What's worse, those groups who feel they have not been addressed may then feel excluded. Getting it right's not easy!
Dave
Forum activity is time consuming. There are many beginners or seasoned artists who just want to showcase their work.
Many administrators /moderators should do more than they actually do; I am not speaking only of art, I have been in poetry or philosophy or cooking forums when the adminiatrators do only the sanctioning of rude behavior, never come up with ideas and activities and are trully irritated when the members do; I got into many fights with administrators who thought I wanted to replace them or jeopardize their authority; I had iniatiative for many topics, or giving suggestions on how to manage the site for better use.I wasn't and I am never interested in leadership of the administrative kind.In domains in which I have expertise i wasn't welcome in two Romanian forums, so i had to quit.
I guess Dave is partially right about the fact people don't want to bother with the responsability of iniatiating a thread that can drawn criticism and dissatifaction. I say partially because it can be done if one is brave to take the responsability and is a born giver.let's not forget the saying Time is money. For many this would mean a sacrifice.Many also don't have the gift of explaining things, they can draw or paint but can't explain. I had teachers who were good mathematicians but couldn't teach math.
The way I view the problem is that people with an interest in teaching and love for their skill are more likely to drop by and give a handful of tips.It has to be spontaneous not organized at the site level.What the site and the administrators can do is to encourage iniatiative for monthly/seasonal activities but this requires from the people in charge to live the life of forums not just manage it.Aren't we asking too much?
Many administrators /moderators should do more than they actually do; I am not speaking only of art, I have been in poetry or philosophy or cooking forums when the adminiatrators do only the sanctioning of rude behavior, never come up with ideas and activities and are trully irritated when the members do; I got into many fights with administrators who thought I wanted to replace them or jeopardize their authority; I had iniatiative for many topics, or giving suggestions on how to manage the site for better use.I wasn't and I am never interested in leadership of the administrative kind.In domains in which I have expertise i wasn't welcome in two Romanian forums, so i had to quit.
I guess Dave is partially right about the fact people don't want to bother with the responsability of iniatiating a thread that can drawn criticism and dissatifaction. I say partially because it can be done if one is brave to take the responsability and is a born giver.let's not forget the saying Time is money. For many this would mean a sacrifice.Many also don't have the gift of explaining things, they can draw or paint but can't explain. I had teachers who were good mathematicians but couldn't teach math.
The way I view the problem is that people with an interest in teaching and love for their skill are more likely to drop by and give a handful of tips.It has to be spontaneous not organized at the site level.What the site and the administrators can do is to encourage iniatiative for monthly/seasonal activities but this requires from the people in charge to live the life of forums not just manage it.Aren't we asking too much?
QUOTE (oliverandjazz @ Oct 3 2008, 04:21 PM)
i was wondering if we could all come up with some ideas to boost member participation in the forums..i notice we have something like 147,000 members..and only a handful of regulars in the forums...it would be fun to see more threads from skilled artist to help beginners..(which might lead to a bunch of dead threads i know, but perhaps after a week of no signs of life from the person who started the thread a moderator could take it down)
i just find it strange that for a site boasting 147,000 members that there is not more participation..and was kind of wondering how come?
i just find it strange that for a site boasting 147,000 members that there is not more participation..and was kind of wondering how come?
Would a live chat room help any, allowing people to discuss topics in real time? As regards the language barrier, there are a lot of pretty good online translators into which you can paste a whole chunk of text and get a translation.
Mind you I do not think these would actually encourage participation, maybe just help to facilitate it. I think all sites suffer from people signing up then doing little or nothing, or losing interest. Perhaps all users inactive for more than a specified period should be automatically deleted, which would give a better indication of real membership levels. The people who are interested in participating will do so anyway, I guess you can't push a piece of string.
What one needs (speaking from my experience elsewhere) from Mods/Admins is for them to be a steady hand on the rudder. They don't necessarily need to be very active, but to have good steady even-handed judgement - also, I think most members who haven't been Mods/Admins often have little insight into how much work can be involved behind the scenes. If they are good teachers and community leaders too, then that's the icing on the cake, but they shouldn't be antagonistic to members who show initiative.
One needs not to be too thin-skinned, its true. It can feel like a very thankless task to have put a lot of time and effort into organising something, only to have it criticised (and, in an ill-informed way) by someone else who's never contributed anything of any note themselves. On the other hand, usually if one is knowledgable about something and shares the information, others are grateful, both people actively participating and those just reading along.
It can also be more productive to answer specific problems people are having - they can then see the relevance of the points being made, whereas the same info presented as a tutorial might seem too "dry" and "academic". The downside to presenting general-concept material in this way is that it gets buried in the middle of a thread, and possibly effectively lost, as a resource.
On the two sites I admin, I set up a wiki linked to the forums on each of them, in the hope that this would allow us to accumulate informative posts, and get people to write articles, but again, the level of involvement has been low.
ConceptArt, another large site, has text-chat and audio-chat facilities - but my experience is that they are used by a small subset of those already active on the forums, and mostly for general chat/gossip, rather than discussion of art.
Yes, possibly - and another problem is that if one leads too much, that is seen as setting an agenda - for example, I'm interested in traditional representational art, I have little interest in abstraction - but I'm happy for others to post abstract work - I'm not against it, I'm just not much interested in it - but if I'm an admin, and I write about what interests me, that sets an agenda, possibly abstract artists don't feel welcome?
This is very true.
I don't have a good answer to this problem of participation levels, I wish I did.
Dave
QUOTE (ElenaM)
I guess Dave is partially right about the fact people don't want to bother with the responsability of iniatiating a thread that can drawn criticism and dissatifaction. I say partially because it can be done if one is brave to take the responsability and is a born giver.
One needs not to be too thin-skinned, its true. It can feel like a very thankless task to have put a lot of time and effort into organising something, only to have it criticised (and, in an ill-informed way) by someone else who's never contributed anything of any note themselves. On the other hand, usually if one is knowledgable about something and shares the information, others are grateful, both people actively participating and those just reading along.
QUOTE (ElenaM)
people with an interest in teaching and love for their skill are more likely to drop by and give a handful of tips
It can also be more productive to answer specific problems people are having - they can then see the relevance of the points being made, whereas the same info presented as a tutorial might seem too "dry" and "academic". The downside to presenting general-concept material in this way is that it gets buried in the middle of a thread, and possibly effectively lost, as a resource.
On the two sites I admin, I set up a wiki linked to the forums on each of them, in the hope that this would allow us to accumulate informative posts, and get people to write articles, but again, the level of involvement has been low.
QUOTE (colnago)
Would a live chat room help any, allowing people to discuss topics in real time?
ConceptArt, another large site, has text-chat and audio-chat facilities - but my experience is that they are used by a small subset of those already active on the forums, and mostly for general chat/gossip, rather than discussion of art.
QUOTE
What the site and the administrators can do is to encourage iniatiative for monthly/seasonal activities but this requires from the people in charge to live the life of forums not just manage it.Aren't we asking too much?
Yes, possibly - and another problem is that if one leads too much, that is seen as setting an agenda - for example, I'm interested in traditional representational art, I have little interest in abstraction - but I'm happy for others to post abstract work - I'm not against it, I'm just not much interested in it - but if I'm an admin, and I write about what interests me, that sets an agenda, possibly abstract artists don't feel welcome?
QUOTE (colnago)
The people who are interested in participating will do so anyway, I guess you can't push a piece of string.
This is very true.
I don't have a good answer to this problem of participation levels, I wish I did.
Dave
QUOTE (dcorc @ Oct 3 2008, 07:37 PM)
What one needs (speaking from my experience elsewhere) from Mods/Admins is for them to be a steady hand on the rudder. They don't necessarily need to be very active, but to have good steady even-handed judgement - also, I think most members who haven't been Mods/Admins often have little insight into how much work can be involved behind the scenes. If they are good teachers and community leaders too, then that's the icing on the cake, but they shouldn't be antagonistic to members who show initiative.
One needs not to be too thin-skinned, its true. It can feel like a very thankless task to have put a lot of time and effort into organising something, only to have it criticised (and, in an ill-informed way) by someone else who's never contributed anything of any note themselves. On the other hand, usually if one is knowledgable about something and shares the information, others are grateful, both people actively participating and those just reading along.
It can also be more productive to answer specific problems people are having - they can then see the relevance of the points being made, whereas the same info presented as a tutorial might seem too "dry" and "academic". The downside to presenting general-concept material in this way is that it gets buried in the middle of a thread, and possibly effectively lost, as a resource.
On the two sites I admin, I set up a wiki linked to the forums on each of them, in the hope that this would allow us to accumulate informative posts, and get people to write articles, but again, the level of involvement has been low.
ConceptArt, another large site, has text-chat and audio-chat facilities - but my experience is that they are used by a small subset of those already active on the forums, and mostly for general chat/gossip, rather than discussion of art.
Yes, possibly - and another problem is that if one leads too much, that is seen as setting an agenda - for example, I'm interested in traditional representational art, I have little interest in abstraction - but I'm happy for others to post abstract work - I'm not against it, I'm just not much interested in it - but if I'm an admin, and I write about what interests me, that sets an agenda, possibly abstract artists don't feel welcome?
This is very true.
I don't have a good answer to this problem of participation levels, I wish I did.
Dave
One needs not to be too thin-skinned, its true. It can feel like a very thankless task to have put a lot of time and effort into organising something, only to have it criticised (and, in an ill-informed way) by someone else who's never contributed anything of any note themselves. On the other hand, usually if one is knowledgable about something and shares the information, others are grateful, both people actively participating and those just reading along.
It can also be more productive to answer specific problems people are having - they can then see the relevance of the points being made, whereas the same info presented as a tutorial might seem too "dry" and "academic". The downside to presenting general-concept material in this way is that it gets buried in the middle of a thread, and possibly effectively lost, as a resource.
On the two sites I admin, I set up a wiki linked to the forums on each of them, in the hope that this would allow us to accumulate informative posts, and get people to write articles, but again, the level of involvement has been low.
ConceptArt, another large site, has text-chat and audio-chat facilities - but my experience is that they are used by a small subset of those already active on the forums, and mostly for general chat/gossip, rather than discussion of art.
Yes, possibly - and another problem is that if one leads too much, that is seen as setting an agenda - for example, I'm interested in traditional representational art, I have little interest in abstraction - but I'm happy for others to post abstract work - I'm not against it, I'm just not much interested in it - but if I'm an admin, and I write about what interests me, that sets an agenda, possibly abstract artists don't feel welcome?
This is very true.
I don't have a good answer to this problem of participation levels, I wish I did.
Dave
hmm..much to take into account..but at least we are discussing it..i like that..i would post more step by step of HOW I DID SOMETHING..but i am no teacher and i may be doing something the wrong way..and i wouldnt want to set someone in the wrong direction..that is what stops me from doing more..that and the fear of the rejection, harsh criticism etc..there is a lot involved in creating a thread like that and trying to convey the correct info at the correct time
but i appreciate all the thought going into it anyway..i would not like to see live chat here because it would not be used for art talk but trash talk..so i dont like the idea of a chat room..
and we certainly wouldnt want artist to feel excluded either because of a particular style or type of artwork..
i also feel that members who havent been active in some form, be it posting work, participation in forum, or just dropping in to encourage within a certain amt of time should be pulled to give us a more accurate membership count..
but i like that we are discussing it
Perhaps we could discuss starting a thread or topic asking questions. A few questions could be, "Why did you visit Drawspace for the first time?" "If you joined do you mostly view the lessons and very seldom look at the forum topics?" "If you only view the forums occasionally what would you like to see discussed that is not being discussed that would inspire you to become more involved in forums?" "If you joined and created a gallery and do not participate in forums would you like to give a reason why you don't?" "If you created a gallery what did you hope to achieve?" etc.
Someone may have some better questions. Getting feedback from members who occasionally visit the forums but do not participate may help get more involvement.
Bobby.
Someone may have some better questions. Getting feedback from members who occasionally visit the forums but do not participate may help get more involvement.
Bobby.
Yes, it is very dificult to balance everything.
Bobby, That is a very good idea, I just hope poeple will actualy post the answers to these questions,I mean besides the members that already are active in the forums, but I think it would be nice to give it a try.
I also do not agree on a chat room, I also think it would be used the wrong way. If members want to speak to each other online there are other ways to do so.
Bobby, That is a very good idea, I just hope poeple will actualy post the answers to these questions,I mean besides the members that already are active in the forums, but I think it would be nice to give it a try.
I also do not agree on a chat room, I also think it would be used the wrong way. If members want to speak to each other online there are other ways to do so.
I would assume some people come here just to learn from Brenda's great lessons. Touching on something Dave said about tutorials I think if you have access to a computer now-a-days you can find tutuorials on most any asspect of art. I think when someone is working on something and they share and ask for critique and some of our talented artist give of their time to give honest tips and help with it then we learn so much more. You kind of take it in even if you are not working on the same thing at the time as it makes it easy to understand what the teacher is trying to convey . Such as Kays post with the wrinkles, I followed that one and absorbed the advice and learned from it but at the time didn't have time to work on it, but I have had the same problem so I feel like I took enough from the info in that thread that I will use it at some point. I think as far as participation a lot of times people are very interested in subjects like art and come to forums to learn but they don't always have time to devote to everything that interest them but like to drop in and lurk when time allows. There are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes having other things we must do takes us from what we would like to be doing.
As far as the language thing can't you set your computer to translate to your language?? May be wrong about that but I thought you could.
As far as the language thing can't you set your computer to translate to your language?? May be wrong about that but I thought you could.
QUOTE (Nancy B @ Oct 4 2008, 04:03 AM)
Such as Kays post with the wrinkles, I followed that one and absorbed the advice and learned from it but at the time didn't have time to work on it, but I have had the same problem so I feel like I took enough from the info in that thread that I will use it at some point.
nancy, the idea is that it takes two minutes to use the fast reply feature and say:
"Hi, Kay, I find this thread very useful, I don't have time to work now but I am following the topic. Thanks."
It is nice for those contributing not to feel that they are just typing off into the void, its true. On the other hand, threads can get swamped with "thanks" posts - it's finding the right balance.
Its particularly good if people don't feel they're being ignored, so if you are looking at a thread that hasn't had many responses, or where someone's contributed and doesn't seem to have been acknowledged by anyone, those are certainly good times to post something quick in support, just to say that at least you've looked in, as Elena's suggested
Dave
Its particularly good if people don't feel they're being ignored, so if you are looking at a thread that hasn't had many responses, or where someone's contributed and doesn't seem to have been acknowledged by anyone, those are certainly good times to post something quick in support, just to say that at least you've looked in, as Elena's suggested
Dave
Kay - this is an excellent discussion to bring up and I have wondered the same thing.
A few thoughts, when I first joined I only went to the lesson section and very rarely even looked in the forum. After working my way through the beginner portion of the lessons I then started looking in the forum and reading the threads.
To put it quite bluntly it was very intimidating.
I don't really remember with complete accuracy how long it was after I joined that I made my first post (maybe someone knows how to look this up) - but I think it is safe to say that it was at least three months.
The first post I made was to one of Elena's weekly challenges. Very shortly after that she sent me a pm that encouraged me to start posting in my gallery. The encouragement from her was just what I needed to move forward and participate more.
Clara - I agree with you that language is probably an obstacle for alot of members.
Dave - As usual you are very well spoken and informative, you have knowledge and are willing to share with everyone - it is very much appreciated.
Kay - Your charcoal wolf thread was very informative and I read and absorbed alot from it. If I didn't comment on that my apologies. I hope you know that your kindness and honest way on this forum is very refreshing and enjoyed.
Bobby - I think that type of thread would be excellent to read. It would be interesting to see what people have to say, I hope you have the time to set it up.
Nancy - I am very much the same, I read all the threads and learn alot - but I don't always post a reply. Sometimes due to limited time, but for the most part I find the drawspace site extremely slow to load up, download, upload, add a reply, and this is very frustrating for me. As an example - the Flintstone Cartoon Challenge thread took me almost 45 minutes to create and post. (this is not an issue on my end as I have a recently up to date computer)
Elena - You are so completely right about this. Last week I had no time to participate or submit anything to what was going on in the forums - but I still followed what was happening. Why didn't I comment? I guess that I feel if I can't submit perhaps I shouldn't comment. I now see that this is wrong. You bring alot of unique and creative ideas to this forum - keep it up.
A few thoughts, when I first joined I only went to the lesson section and very rarely even looked in the forum. After working my way through the beginner portion of the lessons I then started looking in the forum and reading the threads.
To put it quite bluntly it was very intimidating.
I don't really remember with complete accuracy how long it was after I joined that I made my first post (maybe someone knows how to look this up) - but I think it is safe to say that it was at least three months.
The first post I made was to one of Elena's weekly challenges. Very shortly after that she sent me a pm that encouraged me to start posting in my gallery. The encouragement from her was just what I needed to move forward and participate more.
Clara - I agree with you that language is probably an obstacle for alot of members.
Dave - As usual you are very well spoken and informative, you have knowledge and are willing to share with everyone - it is very much appreciated.
Kay - Your charcoal wolf thread was very informative and I read and absorbed alot from it. If I didn't comment on that my apologies. I hope you know that your kindness and honest way on this forum is very refreshing and enjoyed.
Bobby - I think that type of thread would be excellent to read. It would be interesting to see what people have to say, I hope you have the time to set it up.
Nancy - I am very much the same, I read all the threads and learn alot - but I don't always post a reply. Sometimes due to limited time, but for the most part I find the drawspace site extremely slow to load up, download, upload, add a reply, and this is very frustrating for me. As an example - the Flintstone Cartoon Challenge thread took me almost 45 minutes to create and post. (this is not an issue on my end as I have a recently up to date computer)
Elena - You are so completely right about this. Last week I had no time to participate or submit anything to what was going on in the forums - but I still followed what was happening. Why didn't I comment? I guess that I feel if I can't submit perhaps I shouldn't comment. I now see that this is wrong. You bring alot of unique and creative ideas to this forum - keep it up.
Hi Tam, here is your data:
"Jun 13 2008, 01:15 PM Post #197
Aficionado
Group: Members
Posts: 366
Joined: 13-February 08
From: Calgary, Alberta, CAN
Member No.: 101,743
Hello All,
Great challenge Elena...it encouraged me to attempt my first challenge at drawspace and make my first post. Thank you for that."
So it took you some time
"Jun 13 2008, 01:15 PM Post #197
Aficionado
Group: Members
Posts: 366
Joined: 13-February 08
From: Calgary, Alberta, CAN
Member No.: 101,743
Hello All,
Great challenge Elena...it encouraged me to attempt my first challenge at drawspace and make my first post. Thank you for that."
So it took you some time
Kay
What a great thread. I understand your comments fully but cannot think of a way in which to boost the participation. In my case i was very much a behind the scenes guy looking and completing the lessons in my own time and enjoying every minute of it. This is exactly what i was looking for, somewhere i can use reference material and gain knowledge and training at the same time.
As with Tammy and Elena, it was Tammy who introduced me to the Snoopy 101 challenges and i have to admit i was scared sh**less as i knew and had seen the caliber of the members posting on these threads and you (me) always think that people will think the worst of your drawings, but i have had nothing but praise and positive comments from all my piers and i love it so much.
On a similar point though my comfort zone is animation, character type drawings and to be fair i have been tempted to try other challenges but as of yet i haven't. Time is also a great factor for some people, especially me. I have a very young family and a lot of commitments so it is hard to spend the quality time i have left between relaxing after the kids go to bed, socialising with my wife and joining in with the forums, but as Tammy says i do keep up to date with what is going on but sometimes don't have the time to get involved.
This could be true of a lot of the members and i know that if Tammy hadn't invited me to the challenges i would probably still be lurking. I do agree that there are probably a lot who join but do nothing with the forums, galleries and anyone who visits my gallery or profile i try and send a little "thanks for visiting" message, with some words of encouragement (if they have a gallery) to try and tice them out of the woodwork.
In short... I think it is basically down to peoples comfort zones whether they interact or not but remember we are dealing with some serious artists on this website and sometimes a "novice" like me doesn't feel quite qualified enough to offer an opinion on certain subjects. I do look at the galleries often and try and comment where i can, as i know how i feel when i get praise and comments on my work.
That's my take on the subject...
Mart
What a great thread. I understand your comments fully but cannot think of a way in which to boost the participation. In my case i was very much a behind the scenes guy looking and completing the lessons in my own time and enjoying every minute of it. This is exactly what i was looking for, somewhere i can use reference material and gain knowledge and training at the same time.
As with Tammy and Elena, it was Tammy who introduced me to the Snoopy 101 challenges and i have to admit i was scared sh**less as i knew and had seen the caliber of the members posting on these threads and you (me) always think that people will think the worst of your drawings, but i have had nothing but praise and positive comments from all my piers and i love it so much.
On a similar point though my comfort zone is animation, character type drawings and to be fair i have been tempted to try other challenges but as of yet i haven't. Time is also a great factor for some people, especially me. I have a very young family and a lot of commitments so it is hard to spend the quality time i have left between relaxing after the kids go to bed, socialising with my wife and joining in with the forums, but as Tammy says i do keep up to date with what is going on but sometimes don't have the time to get involved.
This could be true of a lot of the members and i know that if Tammy hadn't invited me to the challenges i would probably still be lurking. I do agree that there are probably a lot who join but do nothing with the forums, galleries and anyone who visits my gallery or profile i try and send a little "thanks for visiting" message, with some words of encouragement (if they have a gallery) to try and tice them out of the woodwork.
In short... I think it is basically down to peoples comfort zones whether they interact or not but remember we are dealing with some serious artists on this website and sometimes a "novice" like me doesn't feel quite qualified enough to offer an opinion on certain subjects. I do look at the galleries often and try and comment where i can, as i know how i feel when i get praise and comments on my work.
That's my take on the subject...
Mart
Lots of different views expressed here and interesting to read. From my own point of view, I started drawing for the first time ever (properly - i.e. not a doodle) when I was on holiday last month and when I came back was desperate to learn more. Brenda's dummies guide book led me to this site and between the book and a few lessons viewed on line I really got into it. I always read the forums when I am here as it's interesting to see what other people are doing and pick up some tips. I've not brave enough yet to add anything to my own gallery but in time I'm sure I will venture forth.
I would love to spend more time on line doing some of the lessons but there are practical limitations to this for me personally. Firstly, I work at home via a PC that is my employers. My working life is ruled by the clock, working 9 hour days, my email, my desk phone, my mobile phone and my blackberry device and all in all what I actually have to do for a living. My visits to drawspace are mainly to have a little break with my cup of coffee or my lunch before starting the next task of the day. To make this easier lunch tends to be something quickly prepared and edible using only one hand so the other is free for the mouse!! My life is so regimented that when I finish work I shut the door to my office and leave it all behind. I have no personal PC through choice (lack of need until now) and I don't have satellite TV or an answerring machine. I'm very low tech all round as I like a simple life outside of work (to strike the balance really). I also want to spend time with my partner in the evenings and at weekends and although she is very complimentary and supportive of me drawing I can become so absorbed that she feels ignored. So I usually spend time on it (not every day) while she fixes dinner and maybe for half an hour or so after or if she is watching a programme I'm not interested in. At the moment she has a cross between a cold and the flu and is quite poorly so hasn't minded me sitting away from her and doing this to relax after working, cooking, cleaning and nursing. Most of me wants her better as we're off to Bruges at the weekend but (being naughty) the other is enjoying the freedom to draw.
So all in all I don't have as much free time as some but perhaps more than others. I don't always participate in activity but I do enjoy reading them. Maybe measuring the amount of viewings made by people who are not actively posting would give a fairer reflection of interest? I work in statistics for a living - numbers can say anything you want them to - depends how you look at them!!!
As you may have gathered, this visit must have been more than a coffee break - yes it was lunch and lunch was a sandwich cut in quarters. Plus women are better at multi-tasking!! Perhaps I shouldnt have said that - it may spark a whole other heated debate!!! LOL
I would love to spend more time on line doing some of the lessons but there are practical limitations to this for me personally. Firstly, I work at home via a PC that is my employers. My working life is ruled by the clock, working 9 hour days, my email, my desk phone, my mobile phone and my blackberry device and all in all what I actually have to do for a living. My visits to drawspace are mainly to have a little break with my cup of coffee or my lunch before starting the next task of the day. To make this easier lunch tends to be something quickly prepared and edible using only one hand so the other is free for the mouse!! My life is so regimented that when I finish work I shut the door to my office and leave it all behind. I have no personal PC through choice (lack of need until now) and I don't have satellite TV or an answerring machine. I'm very low tech all round as I like a simple life outside of work (to strike the balance really). I also want to spend time with my partner in the evenings and at weekends and although she is very complimentary and supportive of me drawing I can become so absorbed that she feels ignored. So I usually spend time on it (not every day) while she fixes dinner and maybe for half an hour or so after or if she is watching a programme I'm not interested in. At the moment she has a cross between a cold and the flu and is quite poorly so hasn't minded me sitting away from her and doing this to relax after working, cooking, cleaning and nursing. Most of me wants her better as we're off to Bruges at the weekend but (being naughty) the other is enjoying the freedom to draw.
So all in all I don't have as much free time as some but perhaps more than others. I don't always participate in activity but I do enjoy reading them. Maybe measuring the amount of viewings made by people who are not actively posting would give a fairer reflection of interest? I work in statistics for a living - numbers can say anything you want them to - depends how you look at them!!!
As you may have gathered, this visit must have been more than a coffee break - yes it was lunch and lunch was a sandwich cut in quarters. Plus women are better at multi-tasking!! Perhaps I shouldnt have said that - it may spark a whole other heated debate!!! LOL
QUOTE (Kaly @ Oct 3 2008, 04:14 PM)
I agree with you Kay.
Maybe you have noticed also , that there are many many many members that don't have nothing in their gallery eighter, and los of them haven't even logged in for a LONG time. I think lots of people register and then never come back again.
But still there are many that upload to their gallery but do not participate in the forums...wonder why, some may not speak english well enought to do so, but still I don't understand why most don't participate.
Maybe you have noticed also , that there are many many many members that don't have nothing in their gallery eighter, and los of them haven't even logged in for a LONG time. I think lots of people register and then never come back again.
But still there are many that upload to their gallery but do not participate in the forums...wonder why, some may not speak english well enought to do so, but still I don't understand why most don't participate.
I know that this is the second time that I have made any kinda of reply since I have been a member. I do not know how to download my pictures, which really keep me at a disadvantage from the rest of you. I have not been drawing for while and just picked it back up but I don't have a lot of time on the computer other than to do a class of two.
But this is the best web site and love what they are doing so I will do my part of being an active member.
You could do some kind of points system, so whenever you post you get a point and this could lead onto something else
QUOTE (Philippa(: @ Nov 13 2008, 11:27 AM)
You could do some kind of points system, so whenever you post you get a point and this could lead onto something else
I really like this idea. We already have a rating based on number of posts but this may could be expanded to include other types of participation or even based on information in member's profiles, like gallery visits, friends, comments, etc. It would also be nice if member with a growing rating could be rewarded some way.
I think the idea of Q & A as Bobby suggested is a good one. I know from my own experience, I came to drawspace mainly for the forums. I very seldom, no offense to anyone intended here, use the lessons. I think, perhaps people are not all that familiar with how to follow threads, are unsure how to upload pictures, and some, again, no offense intended, are not that computer savvy. Sometimes being artistic, leaves you technically challenged. When I first signed up, I spent a lot of time browsing the galleries, but didn't realize that I could comment on each picture or send a message to make a general comment on all of the pictures.
I agree that language is possibly part of the problem, but there have been so very few occasions that I can remember, when I could not understand what the person was trying to say. I find most of the participants try very hard to deal with people with limited language skills. I hope that would never stop someone from posting here.
I know this time of year is usually busy for people doing things in the REAL WORLD, and do not have time for on line activity.
An idea I have tried to implement on my own, if a person does summon up the courage to make that first post, I try to reply and welcome them to Drawspace and encourage them to participate in the weekly drawing challenge.
I know I have not been as active lately because of personal problems here at home. I try to check in at least once a day, and I do that by subscribing to forums, tracking topics, using the tools available in the forums. Maybe this feature needs to be explained to new people.
I am a member of another site, where your participation in certain things ex. ATC swap, is based on the number of posts you have. I don't think I would like to see that implemented here. If anything, it discourages participation in site activities.
These are just a few of my opinions/experiences.
I agree that language is possibly part of the problem, but there have been so very few occasions that I can remember, when I could not understand what the person was trying to say. I find most of the participants try very hard to deal with people with limited language skills. I hope that would never stop someone from posting here.
I know this time of year is usually busy for people doing things in the REAL WORLD, and do not have time for on line activity.
An idea I have tried to implement on my own, if a person does summon up the courage to make that first post, I try to reply and welcome them to Drawspace and encourage them to participate in the weekly drawing challenge.
I know I have not been as active lately because of personal problems here at home. I try to check in at least once a day, and I do that by subscribing to forums, tracking topics, using the tools available in the forums. Maybe this feature needs to be explained to new people.
I am a member of another site, where your participation in certain things ex. ATC swap, is based on the number of posts you have. I don't think I would like to see that implemented here. If anything, it discourages participation in site activities.
These are just a few of my opinions/experiences.
QUOTE (oliverandjazz @ Oct 3 2008, 10:18 AM)
hmmm...interesting..the language part is true..that probably is a big barrier..but we are lucky to have members like you and elena and others that may be able to help translate..it would be interesting to see how many actual members the site has..of active albums etc..and how many are just simply gone..
i was just curious..
i was just curious..
When I receive a comment in another language I use Babelfish to translate .. may want to add this in somewhere as a tool to use in communicating ?
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt
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