Homeless,

I always enjoyed your posts. It would be great to see more of them.

About this part of your post:

The magic was lost somewhat when there were few, if any, responses to a question thread, and many of those were just links to a past thread or other websites.

It IS a bit too Googly, isn't it?

But the old threads ARE an ever-growing resource. Is it the personal touch that you miss, as a learner-- knowing that a specific someone is in it with you? Would it be a better approach, I am wondering, if a suggestion to review a particular past thread were done with more personal input? Such as, "You might find [member name]'s post of [date/time] helpful in [thread link]."

Would that link you more effectively to the person whose post is recommended? Would it encourage you to not only look at that thread, but particpate in it actively?

Sometimes posts like you describe are made by a member who does not share your instrument, who just is trying to be helpful in a more general way (who may also be or feel ill-equipped to talk music).

Another approach would be for you to see the recommended thread, choose the post in it that most closely addresses your interest, and PM that post's contributor to request renewed discussion in the thread. Something like, "I was looking at your post in the old [thread name], and I'd like to discuss it further-- could you look at my post of [date] in that thread?"

Sometimes a thread lacks replies just because it isn't seen when someone with a similar interest happens to come in to look at the day's thread list-- so a PM would help in that regard. And, that way the thread continues to hold information that might help others later, and it builds community too.


What do you think?

~Susan