What do you hope for when opening a discussion?

I can tell you I have almost 900 listed friends. When I started here I thought it was okay to add anyone who requested me. I could not bring myself to say no. I get loads and loads of email notifiers, for which I created a filter and my email box stays clean. Not all my listed friends are active at the same time and lots are not active at all. My responses do come from "some" of the listed friends but mostly from non-listed friends, oddly enough. Many here do not want to be bombarded with email notifiers so they turn them off. So that causes them to miss out on discussions, especially from someone like me who does not start very many. Sure they can go to the friends listed started tab, but how many of them actually go through page by page to find their friends discussions. But on average I do get the same listed friends continuously responding to my discussions. When I first started here I was told by many veterans that if we respond to a great many of others discussions, they will remember our interactions and that prompts them to respond to our own. This has helped me a great deal and believe it is why I do get many responses.

I guess I get the most responses from my listed friends, and if some members give me good responses, I will usually add them as my friends, as I want them to be notified whenever I start a discussion and I will get meaningful responses once again. I have also noticed what you wrote in your the last part of your comment, that I will get comments from the users who's discussions I respond.

The highest number of responses which I have got was 40, I believe, and I remember how satisfied I was then and I had lots of fun responding and furthering. But this was too long ago, and I am glad that this discussion has generated more than 20 responses. BTW, do you have lots of friends, so there are more people who will get an email notification whenever you start a new discussion?

Maybe you are right, but if one gets many responses, there is a higher chance to get more quality responses and then a long discussion can be made on that. It is easier for me to concentrate on a single line of things, and to further a discussion, than to answer multiple discussions.

I understand your reasoning and providing you get responses that relate well to your topic then I think a long discussion would work well. I can see as well that bouncing around into multiple discussions could be distracting something like multitasking. I guess it depends on the topic a bunch and where it goes eh?

You are completely right. It is a lot better if I can further one or two discussions, rather than posting on several ones. This way I can concentrate better and I think I can contribute with better quality posting.

You are right rappeter13, it's hard to start a new discussion if out of inspiration. And the phobia of worrying about the number of responses would make one to retreat too. No matter how it would be a great pleasure if any of our discussion started would receive many responses. One can realize such great pleasure only if he doesn't scare to open new discussion. Hoping to see your dream comes true very soon I understand that we will earn more if posting a new discussion and comment back to all the responses received. If having considerable time I still would like to write new discussion for sure. Anyway I'm quite busy and could hardly spare any free time to open and to comment back in my own discussion. I'm contented I still could eke out one or two posts here frequently. I just wish to be an active member here and doesn't matter how much the earning made here

I am also the type who prefers to respond to other discussions, and this happens from more reasons: firstly, because there are days when I lack of inspiration and I don't know what discussion to start. Second, because I hate it when I am starting a discussion with enthusiasm and I don't get too many responses. Third, because there are days when I see many good discussions which my friends have started and I don't have the physical time to open a discussion and to respond, as I don't like to leave answers without response, just when I don't know what to write back.

Yes, we do earn more if we further a discussion, but I prefer to let a discussion ended, if I cannot contribute with a meaningful response. I am also concentrated on being an active here, because I enjoy my time here, and I like the fact that I also get rewarded for this.

Oh I see, so when you said "open" a discussion it actually meant "starting" a discussion...... my bad for not reading your discussion correctly too because I could have noticed what you were referring to if I have read it more attentively! Anyway, I don't start many discussions, but when I do, like everyone else I hope that there will be many responses; doesn't have to all be quality and long responses, as long as there is a response I'm happy and contented!

I was curious about what do you feel when you create a discussion, rather than responding to one, but I guess I wasn't clear enough. But it is interesting to read this also, and I have to say that there are many times when I read a good discussion, which I find really interesting, but I don't know what to answer and that way maybe a good debate won't start. And of course, there are discussion which I don't understand either, and then it is logical not to write any response to it.

It happens with everybody not to get the point of a discussion right away and I was a bit ambiguous too. Now I know what your expectations are whenever you start a new discussion and I guess you are a bit like me, you love to see a high number next to your discussion

So you like more to share your experiences and problems and expect to see how others who have had the same experience as you did, have solved their problems and got a solution? I like all type of discussions those which help me solve a problem or those which include thinking and philosophy.

Hi sgain rappeter13, sorry i had a bad connection and I just saw your comment back on my response, well Im happy to find mylot because i can seek advices and yes my problem is solved, I feel so much better by reading the words from mylot members who responded to my discussion. I feel a big change in me and its happen since I join mylot.

If I were the admin of Mylot and I would read what you just wrote here, I would be very proud of myself. I guess he never imagined how great impact this great site has had on many people.

Yes, this is a great feeling whenever somebody responds to my discussion and when I can discuss a bit more with everybody. This way I feel that I am doing a good job and I also can express myself more.

It is great. It is like a reward, an acknowledge that I have done a good job, that I have opened an interesting discussion which moves the users and makes them answer.

Yes true ,you are happy that because you got the response from other. good job fr you because you did start the interesting topics that let any one read it and gives comments to you.. keep up the good work.

It is important to keep everything in a reasonable context, and that is why things which are against rules or ethics cannot be tolerated. I like nice debates also, that is what I am looking for, to have a nice exchange of different points of view, with the condition that those views to be genuine.

You'll get disappointed every once in a while here. Just remember, users don't respond to discussions because it's boring. Users don't respond to them because most of the time these discussions need a lot of thinking.

Yes, there are plenty of intelligent users and the majority try to give the best responses they can. Mostly, I am more a person who responds to others discussion, because it is easier a bit, and whenever I start a new discussion I am full of hope that it will be a great one. And when I realize that it wasn't, it makes me feel very disappointed.

@petersum: I guess you have a much better observation ability than I do. According to you, if you start a general discussion, more people would have something to say to it? In that case, I will have to start more general discussions, but I like specific discussions more. Maybe that was the reason that I have got less answers to the majority of the topics, but I guess they were meaningful ones.

petersum: yes sir. this is an important point. The discussion should not disappear from the latest page for a long time. In that case we may have more responses. Also a general discussion might bring more responses. You are rather clear in your ideas. thanks.

So do you meditate a bit before starting a new discussion? Where do you get the inspiration from?

Yes, it is a positive attitude, because this way you won't feel the frustration which I feel when I have high expectations and don't get too much responses. There are times when I know that I will get only a few responses, like the discussions about soccer, but I know that my friends from that interest will provide me good answers and that I can debate a lot with them. Maybe those users who have 20 posts or more have several discussions opened with many responses and they don't have the physical time to respond to all responses, and maybe they are not arrogant at all. I try to do my best to answer to the responses of my discussions and to comment on my responses to other discussions, but because I don't get a notification by email, I won't know that there are comments to what I have responded.

Of course, everybody like to have fun and to laugh and that is why funny discussions generate lots of comments. But I am person who has fun in real life more, as I can make fun of situations and in my native language. There are things which are funny in Hungarian, but can be considered weird when writing it in English and comic situations need a certain previous experience from others. That is why I write about other issues here. But of course, I always appreciate funny discussions and responses.

I agree that there are users who post just for the money, especially the newbies, because this is the reason why the majority, if not all of the members came here. I think as time passes, they will get addicted to this site, they start to learn, they improve their English knowledge, get friends and then the quality of their posts will improve also. Maybe if the newbies would read the guidelines and some FAQs from the beginning, they would start off better than they do. I remember I had some difficulties at the beginning also, but now I feel that this is a site which I have to log in daily.

I'm sorry but I do disagree with you. You are a good writer and able to express an opinion well. I agree posting simply to make money would be boring if not insane? Unless that is too strong a word I think there has to be at the very least a few reasons for writing and you have listed a couple of good ones. Any world that might be common place to you might well be new to another person.

You will see, as time passes by, you will have more experience with mylot, you will know more people from here and you will be able to open great discussions also. What you need is to have lots of friends, so they can get an email notification whenever you start a new discussion, so the probability to have more responses is higher.

It is true, it depends mostly on the topic. But there are times when I open a discussion about something that is very interesting for me, and I find out later, when I see only a few responses, that it wasn't so interesting after all.

It seems that you are an enthusiastic person, who has a high hope of getting many and quality responses. Whenever I start a discussion, I do the same as you do, I check back as often as I can to see if there are new responses, new comments. Usually, I log in to mylot at night and whenever I start a discussion, there are only a few comments or none. Like it was with this question also. When I went to sleep, I had 4 responses only, and today when I opened mylot, I have seen 17 and later 21 responses. It is great, I believe. It is just fantastic when I see how many people have something to say with an issue which concerns me.

But when you post off topic responses, you are not getting paid for that, and maybe the admin will even delete your question. For me it is very frustrating when I open a new discussion with high hopes, when I seek for lots of quality answers and I only get a few, and maybe only 1 is a meaningful one. I have this thought many time: "This is going to be the best discussion on Mylot so far", but I am very disappointed after seeing that it wasn't so interesting after all.

It happens to me too when I read a good discussion that I want to share so many things and when I finish what I wanted to write, I realize that the answer is way too long. But I like to be as exhaustive as I can, although there are times when I can summarize in a few lines all I want to share. I have to say that I like the most discussions about soccer, because it is my major interest, but I like other type of questions as well, such as philosophical ones, or about religion or many other social matters.

Good point! You are doing what every newbie should do, make a solid base: gathering friends, making some research about the interests and you will see what moves the people. But there are interests where are many users, there is a lot of activity, but I cannot find inspiration neither to respond to those discussions nor to open new ones. But if you can, you will have plenty of discussions with lots of good answers.