An Observation

[Riklaa]

To all,

I usually do not say much in the line of what is done and what is not done.  I go by a usually hands-off  kind of site meaning that unless there is a gross problem I usually do not intervene.  Once in awhile my pet peeve gets the best of me and I have to open my big mouth.

As many old-timers on the site know the one thing that I cannot keep my mouth shut on is Thank Yous for what you take.  We have a bevy of posters that slow down posting when they are not appreciated.  I know because i am one of them.  We all enjoy this site an would not want it to disappear due to lack of material.  It is an easy matter to give thanks, even a canned thank you note saved in 1 meg or much less space on your computers will do.  I am finding a very disheartening ratio of downloads to thank yous.  I have one fairly new post with 29 downloads and 2 thank yous. another of 163 downloads and 4 thank yous and so on.  This is quite disheartening as I for one have put a lot of work into making this site and it seems like the higher our number of members rises the more the  ratio goes asunder.  We have a fairly loyal base of members who always give thanks for what they take and I commend them.  I am sure that others wonder why the amount of material that is new has lowered.  Well this is your answer.  There is not ratios or anything like it on Times Past, we are on an honor system so to speak.  The only incentive I can give is that if you want more to download and more people to upload more material then start saying thanks for what you take.  No one likes to be taken for granted.  You and I both know that this site is different from any other on the net and that is worth a lot.  You know who you are that do not say Thanks and you who do say thanks everyone knows who you are and we thank you back wholeheartedly. All replies are welcome.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Rick (Administrator Times Past)

[Steve Kostelecky]

I agree, Rick. Expressing gratitude is important--and I am truly grateful for the sharing spirit of this site.

[Riklaa]

Steve, I know that you are.  You always say Thanks and are truly grateful by the content of your Thank Yous.  The membership of the site is growing in leaps and bounds, but neither the posts nor the Thank Yous are.  The number of posts is usually in direct proportion to the number of Thank Yous.  We who post do not do it because we have to, nor do we do it because it is expected.  We do it because we want to share with those who are members of our site.  This site belongs to all of us, but only a minority of the members act that way.  There is a lot of WOW, I found a great place to get stuff.  That is not the spirit of this site.  We have a core few that realize the hard work and conviction it has taken to insure that this site is still here.  I have asked several times to the Owner of the site to close down open membership and his faith in his fellow man is not shaken so he keeps it open.  It appears that we are now attracting the " I want it for Nothing" Crowd along with some genuine new members of this community.  I still do not care whether you post or not, but I do care about the core of this site who interact and say thanks for what they take.  What would happen if this core group said "The Hell With it, no one appreciates us any more"  and say I for one left or any of the other posters left or just stopped posting because there is very little gratitude for what we do.  How about starting an insiders group, as others have asked me, who just share among themselves in private and said the hell with those who are ungrateful.  Let them be selfish and don't give them anything.  I cannot do that, although I am close to changing my mind.  The more the numbers tell me that there is a widening discrepancy between those that download my stuff and those that thank me, the closer I get to this point.  I am not a quid pro quo kind of person but i do need to know that i am appreciated by more than one in 100 members who download my posts.  I thank you Steve and I had a bet with myself who would answer first and I won my bet.  Thank You Steve!  ------------------------------  Rick 

[Steve Kostelecky]

I'm sincere--and predictable. You're most welcome, Rick.

[Mike Hobart]

Yes, it's true.    Any discussion board that shows you the number who have read a post and the number who have added something themselves will prove it.

Somebody once said that only 10% of people actually interact with the media -- they write a letter to the editor, phone a radio station or post a comment on a website.    The other 90% seem content to just sit there and be passive consumers.

[Dave Gibson]

Totally with you on this, Rick. In terms of a quick (and sincere) thank you in ratio to a download, the thanks will cross the line first every time. It's simply a pity that you had to remind us. Keep up the good work and my thanks will always be with you and all the other great people on this site. Cheers, Dave. As we in Australia say to those who don't do the decent thing, "Have a go you mugs.".

[semoshorts]

 As an infrequent uploader, a ``thank you`` is the only gauge I have to tell if anyone else out there is actually interested in the thing I was posting.  To me a `thank you` translates as  `Please sir, could I have more` of this sort of material.  To this end I would encourage everyone to add a thank you when you come across material, old or new, that you`re actually thankful for. You may find you`ll get more.

[Riklaa]

Thank You all.  So far my replies have been from those that do express their gratitude in writing and the sincerity rings true.  Even though I have not and probably will not get any "gee, I never thought of it that way" notes, hopefully those that need to have also read "My Pet Peeve" and will act accordingly from now on.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Rick

[jay briggs]

Rick, when I listen to a show is that "taking" it? I see that it is a download so it must be counted somewhere, but I don't listen to all the downloads sometimes they were not what I was looking for. Also, on your analysis of different shows, history etc., can I find the full show somewhere? Being new I am just getting used to everything. Just came across a notice about how much you can download per month and looked at the bandwidth meter: it costs over 900 bucks, is that the one you were referring to? That's out of my league. I sure don't want to get kicked off. But browsing around is probably costing me time. Please advise. And thank you very much!

Best regards,

Jay

[Riklaa]

Hi Jay,

Well Jay let's take your questions 1 by one.  If you listen to a show is that taking it.  Yes, but only if you have a conscience.  The people who post do so because they want to share with their peers, but if you don't feel that their efforts are worth anything it is your prerogative to not thank them. You are right it is counted somewhere, my storage has a download counter, but it only tells me how many, not who.  The next question is a stumper.  After my analysis, can you find the complete show somewhere?  That depends on whether you know what a link is and can find it at the bottom of the page. The printing is a different color and if you click on it you will be taken to the complete show so you can download it. Many posts are in RAR format so you do have to download them and then use winrar to open the file and get the mp3s.

The next question about the notice on how much you can download per month and it would cost you $900.  The next time you reference something on the site could you please give me a link to it so I can see what you are referring to because i have no idea what you are talking about.  About getting kicked off, there are no rules that say you have to pay anything.  The only thing we ask is for a small donation if you can afford it.  If you can't then you can't and no one knows who donates except the owner of the site and that is not me.  I hope that I have answered all you questions.  If not feel free to PM either myself or the owner of the site and ask.  -------  Rick  

[Mike Hobart]

Could that be a reference to the amount of money we have to pay for the annual fee for the whole website?

 

[Riklaa]

Hi Mike,

I'm not sure Mike, but I don't think so.  I am pretty sure that the total is much less than that.  I hope he gives me the location where he read that.  It's the only way I can clarify.  ---------------------  Rick

[jay briggs]

Rick, I just read one of your prior posts and must say I believe you and the cause you represent. Let me give you a hearty "Thank You" and keep on providing us with great materiel.