Light Speed!!! It is nice to see you

Hey Light Speed. Good suggestions.

I've been thinking of shutting down half the forum--we don't actually need so many split topics when we have such low posting activity.

The idea about INFP-specific articles is also very good, though we're going to need some INFPs to take that on. Realistically, I don't think that will happen. Most of our members appear to have moved on from the initial joys of discovery and just don't really want to talk about it anymore.

Pipster, you're correct that there are two issues causing the slowdown, but I think the latter point is the more important one. Taking the analogy of a picnic on a warm summer's day, if there is plenty of food and conversation, people will want to join in and probably ask to be invited. Inviting people to a picnic where people are kind of sitting around and occasionally saying the odd sentence won't achieve any results. The guests will leave, and tell others not to bother.

So we need to warm this place up before we invite any guests, and I would actually suggest we do not invite any more people here until there's something here for them to see. After all, would you (speaking as an introvert) keep attending a gathering where the person who invited you expected you to arrange the activities and bring the food? That's effectively what's happening here.

To some extent, I feel responsible to 'arrange activities and bring food' seeing as I'm the admin, but I also think that anybody who is concerned would really be able to help by committing to doing something. If that means making a self-promise to post one new topic a week, and reply two topics a week, then so be it. Of course none of this is obligatory or mandatory... but it all helps.

I will do my part and remove some forums as I see fit.

One thought that has been going through my mind--INFPs often quote the phrase 'Be the change you want to see in this world'. In this tiny little INFP universe, we need our members to do exactly that--be the change, not just talk about what we can do to change things. And I'm sorry, but we also have to stop just feeling sad or concerned that things are slowing down, and take action. I'm not saying that the feelings are bad.. in fact, they are very good. What I'm saying is to let the feeling motivate action. That's when INFPs really, really shine in my experience.

Multi-thought post coming up:

Is it possible to see 'the silence of the forum' as something to solve? That would be quite cool. I liked Light Speed's suggestions about ways to increase forum activity. More please.

And is it possible to view contributing more to the general forum as another way to help others? Even if it means just talking generally about your experience as an INFP. I'm just throwing some ideas around...

(I'm trying to reframe the issue, not challenge you in case my tone is reading incorrectly).

BTW, I want to emphasise that I really appreciate how you are still blogging, so I do see you as contributing to the forum plenty! It's one of the reasons I'm still around regularly.

~

I guess my previous post was saying--in my patented long-winded soapboxy kind of way--that if nothing changes, nothing will change... the result is that we may conceivably never really get any more active members--and is everyone okay with that? And if we're not okay with that, what can we do about it that would not make our members feel uncomfortable?

~

Okay, here's a slightly more productive train of thought: Thus far we've had lots of suggestions for things that our members don't want to/care to talk about, debates being primary among them. Can we try flipping the question and coming up with suggestions for things (preferably specific things) that our members do want to talk about?

~

Finally, I apologise if I come across as accusatory, ranty or overly cranky (I certainly feel that way, but it's partly due to hormones, insomnia, heartburn and an unfortunate situation with a friend that roughly parallels what's happening here, and there too I seem powerless to help). I know that a lot of you made a good effort to increase the activity the last time this conversation popped up and like with Alchemiss, I do appreciate those efforts and they helped at the time.

Unfortunately, I've also been blessed with a Leo nature (passionate and loud when roused) so I can come across more strongly than is comfortable for people. I care about this forum so it's hard when I can't seem to do anything to help it.

Haha, typical INFP's. We know what we don't want, but don't have a clue on what we do want

_________________
~I'll think of a witty comment later, or not. Maybe something to do with clouds?!~

Noooo, I was worried that would be the answer!

Though it's true of most people I'd say... it's often way easier to say what we categorically do not like (DO NOT WANT! to lapse into Lolcat speak) than what we do like. Still, I'm going to ask again... what do we all want to talk about? I used to think it was personality theory, but that was shot down, so I'm at a bit of a loss.

High fives!

I'm glad you don't see it as a problem. It really helps, actually.

One's a 'shadow topic' - it's basically a link to the real topic except that the forum it's in doesn't 'recognise' when there's been a new post (you know how when you make a post in a topic it bumps it to the top of the thread? Well that bumping doesn't happen with the shadow topic, just the real one). We usually leave the shadow topic lying around for a few weeks/months so people can still find the topic easily, but also get used to where it's been moved to.

_________________
What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet. - Gerard Manley Hopkins

Thanks DC, I've moved a bunch of threads over to the Outside World forum. Some of the older ones are still in the Heart forum, but they probably won't be necromancied at this stage. If you want to keep things neat and tidy though, feel free to move threads back and forth--I wasn't entirely sure what should go in what, which probably indicates that the division of forum topics still needs work.

Thanks Sciski.

_________________
What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet. - Gerard Manley Hopkins