BootsnAll Travel Community

ATM there are 27 Booties logged in and 282 sightseers on the boards...this number of sightseers actually stays pretty constant which leads me to two conclusions:

1. People are at work and cannot officially login but can peruse the boards.

2. People are not signing up to be members of Boots but are using the resources of the website.

I wonder, why aren't these people joining the boards? There is no harm by signing up. It is not like we all get bombarded by BnA with annoying spam. Heck if you want you can never receive any email from them period.

So why aren't people officially signing up for the site and boards?

Perhaps they find one certain member objectionable?

Or, perhaps they see no benefit in joining. I can't remember what it was like to be a sightseer, so I can't remember what motivated me to join.

This is the first site where I have actively participated in the boards. Sightseeing is convenient. Most people do a long-tail google search (a very specific search) and end up in a particular discussion that relates to their research. They read it, become enlightened and move on to their next question. I, myself, passively read the board for weeks while gathering info for a trip - when one day someone asked a question that I knew I would have a very helpful answer to..so I gave in and signed up. (I did begin to feel guilty to not contributing to most helpful travel site I had ever encountered)

I have never contributed to tripadvisor or thorn tree, although I scan them from time to time. I also sometimes read threads on political forums. A couple years ago I was really into the show "Lost" and scanned forums - but I never took the time to contribute.

They don't know about the free toaster offer?

I wonder what all these sightseers make of us and all our funny/random postings.

The sightseers are here because they really like Photos Of The Day.

I'm actually one of THEM. I look around, read what interests me and only when I feel I can add to a topic I sign in, then I become "Faun". If there's nothing I can add to, I remain a "number" among the sightseers. Climbing up the hierarchy ladder is a secondary objective...

I often wonder if people think we all look like our avatars.

Perhaps they're not actually sightseeing, but rubber-necking, watching the disasters unfold on these pages.

...don't have a avatar yet

quote:

Originally posted by Faun:
...don't have a avatar yet

Just click on your name as it appears on the left hand side of any post you've made. When the menu comes up, choose "view Faun's profile". You'll then find the option to edit your profile -- on that page you should find something giving you the option to upload a picture. It only takes a minute.

quote:

Originally posted by Haci Richard:
I often wonder if people think we all look like our avatars.

That's right everyone, I look exactly like my favorite Springsteen album cover.

On just about every web board out there, the ratio of people reading only to the number of people commenting is between 10:1 and 25:1. Nothing unusual here.

quote:

Originally posted by Haci Richard:
Perhaps they're not actually sightseeing, but rubber-necking, watching the disasters unfold on these pages.

Yeah, at least they don't have access to the "Chit-Chat" forum.

it's because the sign-up process isn't automated enough. the idea that someone's going to actually read what you write is scary. D:
welcome to digital-land. i don't wanna talk to no one!

You would be amazed on how many try to sneak by and don't make it. There are real people reading each and every application.

that is scary for the people reading them

No, not at all. What is real scary is that none of them wear pants, ever.

I only sign in if I want to respond to something or if I want to read the chit-chat forum, otherwise, there's no need. I think that may account for some of the sightseers...