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buehl

Getting more responses

Buehl
10 years ago

Recently, I have been asked by a couple of members how to go about getting more responses to threads - especially layout threads.

There are a few factors involved in getting responses:

  • Weekends, especially summer and holiday weekends, are usually not very active here - especially if it takes any time to respond. I recommend posting during the week and late afternoon/early evening Eastern time so your thread is on page 1 and will be seen by more people - especially those just stopping by for a few minutes after work and b/f making dinner or heading out for the evening. After dinner can also be a good time...

Layouts with dimensions that are difficult to read. This has become even more problematical since iVillage/GW made their so-called improvements to the site. It's now difficult to post a large enough layout that is easy to read. If I have to open a layout image in another window and fiddle with resizing and then still not be able to read the dimensions, I often bag it and move on.

Try uploading pictures (especially layouts) to Photobucket (or similar photohosting site) and posting the picture in the message from there instead of of using GW's image upload facility. Upload it to Photobucket in a bigger size and copy the "HTML Code" directly into the message.

There's more information in the FAQs about posting pictures. I've linked to the FAQs for the Kitchens Forum below.
Some people don't read the "Layout Help" topic (again, see the FAQs) and post asking for help without giving us very much information about the poster's goals, family composition, plans for using the space,etc. Trying to design a kitchen in a vacuum of knowledge can be frustrating and can lead to "generic" kitchens.
Often, layouts don't have enough information for us to work with. A full set of dimensions is very helpful! (See the "Layout Help" FAQs topic).
Another deterrent is a poster who does not at least acknowledge those who have responded. Even if you don't like the response, at least acknowledge it. There have been many times in the past when I spent a couple of hours (or more) working on a layout for someone and they never responded or responded to others and completely ignored what I did - no comments at all. While I don't expect (or want) gushing and over the top thank-yous, it would be nice to know (1) that the person read and reviewed what I did and (2) whether I produced something useful or if there were some things that I could change/tweak for them. "Silence is Golden" is definitely not a rule here!
Pictures! Pictures are definitely worth a thousand words around here! When asking for advice on layouts, color combinations, problems, or just about anything else that has a "visual", post one or more pictures. We often need to see what you're talking about.
Post pictures - not links to pictures. It's much more convenient and easier for us to see the picture in the...

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