Subj : Re: Housekeeping
To   : Thom Miller
From : Commodore Clifford
Date : Tue Apr 25 2023 08:28 pm

On 21 Apr 23  08:09:49 Thom Miller wrote...

TM>  > I just subscribed to 490ish that my hub carries, probably two
TM>  > thirds have 0 traffic. By the time you take away the echo's that
TM>  > are just robot posts there probably are only a handful that have
TM>  > actual human traffic. 
TM> 
TM> This is why I think it's a mistake for a network to have so many
TM> feeds, and for a bbs to carry so many feeds. I get that, from the
TM> perspective of the sysop, you feel like you're providing your
TM> potential users with a variety of choices. What you're really
TM> providing them is a ghost town, a sense of 'nobody uses this'. You're
TM> also providing a nice dose of decision fatigue for anyone who decides
TM> they *might* want to use it. "I just want to post a message and see
TM> how this works, but there are like...100 different places to post.
TM> Which one should I use?"
TM> 
TM> . In the old days, when there were 3000 boards with 300,000 callers,
TM> it made sense to spread the conversation out and keep echos more
TM> focused. Today, when there are 300 boards with 3000 callers, it just
TM> doesn't work. (I just made those numbers up, but I'd be surprised if
TM> the scale is that far off.) I'm a big advocate of less echoes with
TM> more conversation. I think it makes for a much healthier system.
TM> 
TM> ---  * Origin: WalledCTTY (21:2/145) 

To which Commodore Clifford replies...

Exactly... When I go to a PC BBS that has every net out there, it's
actually a struggle to find new active messages.  Especially for new
callers.  On top of that, there are people who are "serial net starters"
who literally start net after net... and you never hear from them.

Ogg... the "They" I was referring to are the echo moderators.  If they
can't promote and drive conversation to one echo why are you insisting
that I should be the one to do it for them?  I have my own things I'm
responsible for.  I don't feel sorry or bad about it.

And why not have hundreds of empty echo areas and newsgroups?  This is
why.  I don't want my users seeing tons of empty nothing.  On top of
that, I run on actual vintage Atari hardware (and have no intention of
changing that).  Having hundreds of useless echos bogs the system down.

So you're entitled to your opinion on the matter, just as I'm entitled to
mine.

--- RATSoft/FIDO v09.14.95 [JetMail 1.01]
 * Origin: STar Fleet HQ BBS - bbs.sfhqbbs.org:5983 (21:3/171)

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