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How to encourage members to post

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 433

Other members have provided great responses to your question. They have all made some very good points.   I'm not quite as elegant so I'll keep it brief.

Rock's point, in particular, hit home for me. The posts can quickly become monotone and dreary without having the punctuation of celebratory posts. It meant the world to me and kept my quit going. If DL, Jim, and all the rest hadn't cheered on my little cruise boat, I might not have made it to the beach. Mr. Ed's lists were invaluable to me. Every week was another week down, won, done!   Not to mention, it's a great way to cheer on the newbies.
Unsure of the SSC funding, budget or capabilities but isn't there a way for you to maintain Mr. Ed's lists??

ps. No, I'm not just trying to see men in Speedos and Crocs. (lol). The vision.

Best,

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 4/1/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 811
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 19,464
Amount Saved: $4,671.36
Life Gained:
Days: 107 Hrs: 9 Mins: 46 Seconds: 14

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Well, I’m trying this again a different way. We’ll see if a copy and paste from word document works! I had a good response going Friday, but got zapped by the recently imposed “time” limit and got logged off. Grrrr! Anyways, hopefully this works!

One thing to consider, first of all, is that it is summer time and it is historically a “slow” time of the year for activity on the forums because many members are away on vacation. Also, we all know that no one will probably come back to the forums forever, well maybe Tresa will! The question is, though, “How to encourage members to post?”

Tough question! I don’t need encouragement, because I’ll be here! The site has a great Program and my quit buddies here saved my life, as I know that I couldn’t have quit without everyone here. Other’s though, probably have their own reasons for remaining active members or for just moving on.

Some members get what they need from Program and possibly from just searching for the information they need and reading those posts. I know that they are here, as you can see when they are logged on. Some have been reading and learning for months and have great stats, but have never posted. Some actually did so great on their quit that they became inducted into the HOF! Some log in once and then they are gone. Some stay for months and months and are great supporters and then move on. Some have to step back for a while because they just need to not think about smoking to continue to be successful on their journey.

Some members are just here for themselves and are gone when they get their quit under their belts. Some relapse and are never seen again. Some move on because their best quit buddies no longer log in and post. Some move on because the place just isn’t the same as it was in the hay-day. Some think that the SSC needs a "shake-up" to get it back to where there are 80 new posts a day, but choose not to commit to assisting with the solution. Some do not post often, but when they do, it’s definitely worth the wait!!!

Some spent some quality time to welcome and provide excellent input and constructive criticism to “The MAN” himself on the Friends of SSC Facebook Group a few months back. Some became a bit miffed because “The Man” never provided a response and don’t know if any improvements were ever made!

But… how can we encourage members to post? You can beg and grovel, but in the end, only those who care and want to help our new quit buddies will be posting. Like I said, I post because someone cared enough about me to post when I needed them. And if I hadn’t quit, I am positive that I eventually would get lung cancer. I still may, but now I have a fighting chance! That’s why I’m here… to pay it forward.

At first, I thought that Ashley may have bitten off more than she could chew by asking this question, but as it turned out, the responses have been considerate. Good job quit buddies! Hopefully by asking these types of questions, we may get the answers we need to continue to provide quality support our fellow quit buddies!

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 838
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 20,950
Amount Saved: $3,456.75
Life Gained:
Days: 144 Hrs: 8 Mins: 42 Seconds: 56

Quit Meter

$44,272.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1059 Hours: 16

Minutes: 17 Seconds: 48

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5903

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

177,090

Cigarettes Not Smoked

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 382

Thanks Brenda.

No matter what is posted, I feel it is so important for members to post as much as they can without disturbing their lives. The only way the site can live and continue growing is with posts. It's interesting how one person may find help in a tough love post and others may find it too harsh. Just that interest may keep someone posting.

There is no easy answer, but we must keep open minds and be tolerant in order to work together. I've preached tolerance to everyone since I joined....to both members and MODS. Jumping to an immediate assumption and acting on it can cause so much bad feeling. (Better to sleep on it first.)

To keep this great site on the up! I surveyed many sites before finding this one, and here was the only place I found like-minded folk. Posting can help people in their quits in a myriad of ways and maybe some people have not found all those ways yet.

The site is like a quit.............it's a roller-coaster..............many diverse personalities, who change all the time, and who all have different views. The main topic must remain quitting smoking, though, I hope, not solely or the boredom factor will creep in.

Lolly.

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 11/25/2004
Smoke-Free Days: 2033
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 71,155
Amount Saved: �10,165.00
Life Gained:
Days: 269 Hrs: 20 Mins: 26 Seconds: 4

Quit Meter

$11,082.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 693 Hours: 11

Minutes: 17 Seconds: 50

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5541

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

110,820

Cigarettes Not Smoked

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Thank you for your post, Lolly. One of the reasons why we need a few people to comment on each post is that the comments tend to balance each other. My understanding of recovery from addictions is that people need both conditional and unconditional forms of support. I don't tend to be a coddler, either. However, if I have little good to say, I then try to say nothing at all. I'm not going to memorize what type of support each person needs. That is not my job, and I'm not interested in doing it. People are trained and paid to do that.

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 415
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 11,620
Amount Saved: $4,938.50
Life Gained:
Days: 46 Hrs: 16 Mins: 54 Seconds: 5

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 382

To all the quitters out there......................

For the past five and a half years on this site, I have been one of its staunchest allies. This site got me through my quit, and I dread to think where I would be without SSC.

The first thing I did was to commit to my quit 100%, then I asked people here tat SSC o help me. So many of them supported me with amazing commitment. No matter when I posted, someone replied. I may not always have liked the reply, but usually the reply ended up helping me anyway.

I decided to try to help other quitters through SSC. Most times I was very positive in my support, but sometimes, when a bit of criticism was needed, I ladled that out too! - A bit of 'Tough Love' if you like. The truth can hurt sometimes as long as it is not out and out rudeness. Now I post as often as I can, but, as I am using my positive spirit to fight my cancer, I do not have so much time.

If any negative criticism from me has stopped people from quitting or posting, I am sorry. None of it is personal, but directed to help people think differently about their quits. In quitting , as with all else, if we all cheered everything we see all the time, very little improvement in anything would take place.

Lolly.

Quit Meter

$11,082.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 693 Hours: 11

Minutes: 17 Seconds: 50

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5541

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

110,820

Cigarettes Not Smoked

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 134

I would encourage new members to feel free to post any questions they have and join in on discussions they find interesting. I think this site is a great place to receive support and hear from other people who understand what you are going through. Personally my closest family and friends are not smokers, so they didn't fully understand what I was going through. It was nice to read from other people who have walked in my shoes.. I may have not posted enough in the beginning, but I've been doing daily pledges as much as possible..and starting to post more..it takes some time....

Serenity

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 12/20/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 181
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 2,172
Amount Saved: $868.80
Life Gained:
Days: 16 Hrs: 9 Mins: 6 Seconds: 9

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 38

Rock, I like your idea of letting SSC members know when one of the others has reached a milestone so that person can be praised (I think the majority of people like to be cheered on for doing anything that is hard and takes commitment).

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 5/23/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 27
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 270
Amount Saved: $79.65
Life Gained:
Days: 1 Hrs: 21 Mins: 47 Seconds: 18

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 639

For me, posting is therapeutic. I came here 500+ days ago totally freaked out over the fear of quitting and all the unknown hardships it would bring. I needed, more that anything else, to 'hear' from and interact with people who could relate to my concerns. I was/am tired of the medical and family and other non-smoking communities touting there high-and-mighty reasons for quitting. We all understand that smoking is bad....the addiction is strong, however, and we chose to ignore the negative effects of smoking.

I attribute 95% of my progress-to-date, very simply, to the caring feedback that I received in the early days of my quit, to the ability to blog and post my thoughts, fears and concerns, and to the connection that is made when another quitter opens up a new door of observation for us all.....or we to them.....we are all on a magical journey of self-discovery to a new and healthy life!!!

Lurk or Lead, Post or Read. SSC can help rebuild a smoke-free life!!!

Keep the Quit,

Dave

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 1/19/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 515
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 15,450
Amount Saved: $4,055.63
Life Gained:
Days: 87 Hrs: 8 Mins: 49 Seconds: 41

Quit Meter

$50,489.19

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1124 Hours: 20

Minutes: 53 Seconds: 20

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5582

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

167,460

Cigarettes Not Smoked

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 984

It may be that our new friends have been around the likes of Tripadvisor and similar too long...what I mean is, I've gone on some sites and god forbid you ask the same questions others have asked, when the answer can be found by a search. I was researching a trip to Vegas a while back and wanted to scream at how rude the respondents were when a question was asked that had been asked before.

Although the idea of forums is a great one, it seems to me that so many can be so rude and it's a bit offputting to say the least.

So I'd say to all our new friends, don't worry if you think it's been asked before, don't worry if you feel silly asking. We've all been there. And that's god's honest truth. You will ask no question of anyone who understands you better than you will here. Don't worry if few people answer, or if replies are slow. Stick around, ask what you need do, read alot and bond with all of us.

Oldies are involved in new lives, take brief silence as encouraging that you too some day can find that smoking is so insignificant that you only think about it once a week (or less!!!)

x T

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 1264
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 29,072
Amount Saved: �7,994.80
Life Gained:
Days: 112 Hrs: 19 Mins: 25 Seconds: 23

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2508

If you are just thinking about quiting smoking or using nicotine are you are getting ready to start a quit or a seasoned ex smoker and trying to keep your quit. Posting can help you and others on this road to recovery. You can post every day or just when you can. The idea is to post it can help you with your quit. Before you use nicotine again please post first and wait for 5 replies. This could say your life and your quit.

Rose

P.S. Ashley please quote me if it will help someone elses quit.

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 5/30/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 19
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 760
Amount Saved: $228.00
Life Gained:
Days: 2 Hrs: 17 Mins: 17 Seconds: 25

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