Number envy; some ins and outs

[Jim Poor]

First a funny:
A while back I got a PM saying that there had been an error in handing out BPN numbers. Mine was a dupe with someone else and I had been temporarily assigned a higher number. Some lower numbers were held in reserve and I would get one once things settled.

My reply was "Ask Artie if I can have #1, barring that, 1.5 would do." Of course this was a joke and I don't really care about how low my BPN number is. Others, apparently have more invested in numbers though.

Some recent comments have got me thinking about who gets what level of response to their posts.

That in mind, I did a little playing with numbers and Excel.

I looked at my total number of image related threads started and the total number of replies. I then averaged it out. So, on average I have been getting about 5.2 replies per image posted.

While I was totaling up the numbers, I noticed that some images received a LOT of replies while others received relatively few. In fact, I have one image up for a LONG time now with zero replies but my own " I hear crickets." I wondered why it would be this way.

I looked at the images and noticed that the more impact the image has, the more replies I got, imagine that ;)

Then I looked at stats for Artie. He averages about 11.35 replies. Go figure. It might have something to do with the fact that his images, on average, have a lot more visual impact than mine. Add to that, the fact that many of us look up to him as a role model of sorts, and it is no wonder people visit his threads more than mine.


The same things apply to varying degrees to many of the staff and well known, highly skilled members / contributors.

In fact, at least once a day I go to the member list and hit a few prominent profiles and search for all their posts to see what those individuals are up to.

I'm rambling on like this because there are apparently folks that feel slighted by the fact that certain people get more replies than others. If you ask me, things are exactly as they should be. Though our value as humans is all equal, we are not all equal in our photography skills or the attention levels that go along with high level photography. Basically, if you're feelings are hurt because you get few replies, do some digging to find out why that may be.


Ways to increase the number of replies that you get to your threads:

Post images with high visual impact (even in the thumbnail version).

Comment on other peoples' images. I like to go check out the work of people who are critiquing mine and as a result usually comment on their work too. At least some others do pretty much the same thing.

Ask for help in the subject if you really need it. One of my posts that go the most replies specifically asked for advice in the title.

Revisit your posts to discuss feedback. I am often amazed that people never seem to return to their threads to agree, disagree or say "hey, thanks for the tips."

I'm sure there are more, but my rambling engine is running out of steam.

[Alfred Forns]

Jim...... I think you should have a long talk with Vern :D :cool:

You make some excellent points The more you comment the more you will get In our site things are a little different since we are looking for quality responses not quantity

James have saved some numbers but not many Other than staff the lowest number is 30 which belongs to Szimi !!!!!!!! I have not been involved in the number assignment Have been doing the changes from Internet names to actual names

Also we don't have a 1.5 number but we do have our Mascot with number "Pi" So he is member #3.1415296 :eek: :)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I think it is 3.1415926, just to avoid another identity crisis. :)

[Jim Poor]

Pi LoL, I love it.

[Arthur Morris]

I like my number and l really like the contributions that Jim Poor has made to BPN. And the contributions of lots of others too.

And please don't forget my comments to images posted ratio of about 57 to 1 :)

Later and love, artie

ps: folks who are enjoying this thread should be sure to check this one out: http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ead.php?t=4081