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| No, this isn't about Lovecraft |
We have noticed that the amount of readers of the blog has grown, but the amount of commenters not so much. Because we are always eager to have more friends of adventure games share their thoughts with the community and wish that every reader would feel welcome in our midst, we are interested to find out what are the reasons for readers remaining lurkers and whether we as a community could do something to make you feel more welcome.
We've set up for the next two weeks a poll to find out in more detail what's the biggest reason holding people back from commenting. In addition, we've also opened up the comments section for anonymous writers, in case that's what has been bothering you. We try to allow anonymous commenting at least for the duration of the poll, but if the number of spammers and trolls grows unmanagebale, we will have to break the test earlier. Then again, if all goes well, we might continue allowing anonymous commenting longer.
"You do not allow commenting anonymously"
ReplyDeleteA thousand times this. There is imho no reason for a persistant identity, I much prefer the addict's way: Don't post as 'anonymous' and choose a nick, but don't enforce a login.
And your poll should be have one more option: Blogspot eats too many comments. :)
We'll see if this test goes well, and we might constantly allow anonymous commenting!
DeleteWhen I was a lurker here I was in the "too much effort to create an account just to comment" basket, with a bit of "don't have much to add to the discussion" thrown in.
ReplyDeleteditto
DeleteYeah, we should allow Anonymous commentors.
DeleteThe increase in comments and spam are usually proportional.
I have been a lurker from the very start. The reason for this: english is not my native language. I dont have time to read all of the post. I am lazy. ....
ReplyDeleteBut that does not mean I dont like the blog.
- rodrigo
Good to hear you like the blog! I think you shouldn't be afraid to comment just because English isn't your native language - there's plenty of non-English commenters and even reviewers in the community.
DeleteI didn't start commenting until Canageek convinced me that, yes, people do read comments on posts that are three years old. :P Since I do comment, should I fill out the lurker survey to say so?
ReplyDeleteYes, please do so. That way we can try to determine the ratio between active commenters and lurkers.
DeleteI was a lurker here for a long time before posting; in fact, I didn't really start commenting much until after we switched out of the Trickster era. There's a nice community here and if you are one of those that are just watching along, welcome! We don't bite often.
ReplyDeleteWell, since you ask so nicely! Of course, I've only been reading this blog for 4 months (I think) so first I just read the posts from start to finish to reach "the end" and when I finally comes through I don't have much to say or add to the discussions since I mostly haven't heard of the games you play or have nothing to add since I didn't play those I know about. I expected I could add some comment to Monkey Island 2 or King's Quest VI when those came along, but this is probably for the better.
ReplyDeleteAnd I should probably introduce myself, Niklas Andersson from Sweden. Stumbled upon this blog by chance and I think it was due to me trying to play Loom. I stayed since I found this site rather interesting and due to me playing some of the Lucasarts and Sierra games without being able to solve them as a kid due to the languish barrier I find it rather inspiring to read about you playing these games and finish them without walkthroughs. Why I didn't play like that myself is since I lost my patience trying to solve obscure riddles or languish idioms so I tend to go with a walkthrough, but you (or in that case Trickster) inspired me to do Loom legit and it was very rewarding to me... well, besides the part I looked up to get the game going that is. The rest was pen and paper and my own head.
It's lovely to meet you, Niklas! Don't worry about not knowing anything about the games--I know even less about adventure gaming than you do, and I've found this blog a wonderful place to ask questions.
DeleteWell, thank you! And you are right, as far as I can see, about this blog being a very good place to ask questions... a pity I'm very bad at asking. And this reminds me, I should probably lay my vote to the poll so it's "official".
DeleteNice to hear from you Niklas! Like Mara said, don't be afraid to ask.
DeleteThanks to you to, and I will ask if there is anything!
DeleteIf anything, the reply would be funny... if not informative.
DeleteI mainly read blog through RSS feed.
ReplyDeleteStill, good to know you are reading!
DeleteThis is pretty much the case for me too. I will come read the comments if I'm curious to see what other people have to say - especially if there's a good chance that the original developer (or one of their contemporaries) has something to say.
DeleteI'm not likely to comment unless the article poster is asking for help in figuring something out, or if a game being reviewed is something I have played and have my own opinions of.
Also, Blogger/Blogspot seems to depend on too many third-party sites and wacky frame stuff for logging in and posting, which seems to always run afoul of my employer's corporate network stuff, so I've learned to never bother trying to comment on a Blogger/Blogspot blog from work.
Ye darn Lurkers! Please don't kill me!
ReplyDeleteKenny, I think there's something wrong with your link, it doesn't lead anywhere.
DeleteThe link is broken, and besides, I think he really meant to link here: Lurkers
DeleteSorry. Actually it's for this one.
DeleteAdventure game sale for lurkers and non-lurkers alike...
ReplyDeleteSyberias, Broken Swords and Atlantises? Atlantes? Atlanti? are on sale on GOG
http://www.gog.com/promo/revolution_software_25_anniversary_bundle_210915
http://www.gog.com/promo/weekly_staff_pick_anuman_adventure_210915
I use my phone to read the blog, which I'm not overly fond of using to leaving comments with.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is a difficulty, which we cannot easily help. Still, thanks for making at least this comment!
Delete...just antisocial :)
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that make you wanna scream and shout at everybody here then?
DeleteSee, that's what i get when I talk to people.
DeleteMiroz, thanks at least for this comment, and Kenny, try to be more civil!
DeleteMy dad used to tell me not to be antisocial when I'd prefer to stay home playing computer games rather than go on a family picnic.
DeleteIt was many years before I finally found out that the official definition of antisocial is actually what my dad would refer to as "being a dickhead"
You're right, Ilmari. Sorry, miroz. I'm the antisocial one - I can't wait to see society burn. XD
DeleteWhereas I'm just countersocial.
ReplyDeleteToo much trouble, creating new accounts everywhere... although I was tempted to do so even if just to thank Reiko for the excellent and analytical Timequest playthrough. Not that others aren't good too.
Yes, I can understand the feeling and hopefully the possibility of anonymous commenting helps a bit.
DeleteThank you! Glad to hear from you!
DeleteVery interested to see the responses here. I've got a small readership on my blog, and have had barely any comments in it's entire history. Nice to know that people are reading and enjoying the content, even if they're not necessarily commenting.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the percentage of commenters is probably quite low as a proportion of total readers, but there's probably not an easy way to get a good figure on that.
It is relatively easy to leave a comment here though, compared to other sites. You can log in with a google account, or various others rather than making a specific account for just this site. Perhaps things would be helped if you could also use a Twitter or Facebook account to post (as I've seen in other places).
I have the same challenge on my blogs. Google tells me that lots of people visit, but only a handful ever say anything. It is quite a joy to be involved in a more active community here.
Delete(Even if you guys are going to miss out on my upcoming series on Doctor Who's "Marco Polo" and a 9-part series I'm working on about Disney's "Fantasia"...)
Thanks for this invitation. I´m a long-time reader and admirer of this blog (and CRPGs roleplaying blog, too), but actually never thought about commenting myself, a little bit like reading a favourite newspaper column. But now I´m feeling encouraged to end my read-only stance and would like to involve myself more with this glorious blog. But I´m not quite sure where and how to register. Do I need a Google-Account?
ReplyDeleteReally, mate, have you ever read an article and exclaim, "WTF?! More taxes again?! Do you not know when to quit, ?!" on the newspaper?
DeleteWell, you can treat this as a platform to express your bewilderment, shock or (in my case) just generally trolling the article's author.
Yeah, but we also accept positive comments ;) Just "great article!" is also good - at least we know we aren't doing anything wrong.
DeleteOh, answered above;)
ReplyDeleteI have a few reasons for not commenting, but only one matches up well with the poll options. For what it's worth, I have been following this blog off-and-on since sometime in late 2012 or into 2013. I never did anything to encourage him, but I'm amazed that Trickster stuck with this project as long as he did, and I'm really glad he allowed the site to transition to a community-driven format. This is a really fun project to follow.
ReplyDelete1. I have very young children, and only get to read sporadically. That makes it difficult to feel much urge to really participate much. It also means that I'm often reading posts long after they were made.
2. I feel like I'd have liked to have gotten into the CAPS system, but now it's too late since it's a game that has been going on for years. I'd never make the leader board. Of course, I've never read the specifics or followed the comments, so it's possible I'm bringing mistaken assumptions to the table.
3. I don't feel like I have a whole lot of good stuff to contribute. Honestly, the folks playing the games have a lot more good insights than I do.
I do really enjoy the blog, though. I know the lack of visible feedback probably doesn't do a whole lot to encourage those who are playing.
The CAPs are a bit about the leaderboard, but mostly I think of them as currency to convince the writers to play certain games that they otherwise wouldn't play. You can add a game to the playlist with them.
DeletePerhaps we should find other similar ways to play with CAPs? (I would, for example, be up for doing a "Missed Classic" for CAPs, but I'm not sure what other writers would.)
I've got small kids and a full-time job too, and it's definitely hard to find time to keep up with Internet goings-on. I follow this blog via RSS, and trim out the articles I'm not interested enough in, then try to read the rest on the weekends.
DeleteI also feel dis-incentivized to participate in the CAPs thing. I could have tried to participate from more or less the beginning, but I just didn't have the energy :p
I thought I would take this opportunity to speak up for the first time in a while. This was a great idea, and reading comments from "lurkers" that have followed the blog since close to the beginning gives me warm fuzzy feelings. :)
ReplyDeleteIt has been a challenge for me to consistently keep up with all posts since I moved on, for no other reason than RetroSmack takes up so much of my time. I do read the majority of comments though as they pass through my email, and get a general feel for how things are going through that. I particularly enjoyed reading all of The Mara's comments as she worked her way from start to finish. It was very interesting to get the perspective of a non-adventure gamer, particularly one that wasn't even around when these games were made.
A huge thanks to all the admins and contributors that keep The Adventurer Gamer going strong.
I'm glad I've been interesting and useful :D
DeleteI mostly read from a news feed on my phone which makes it hard to comment. Definitely paying attention though!
DeleteMy main reason for not commenting much is that I'm 7+ years behind and few would read such late comments.
ReplyDeleteSome of us do read them!
Delete