*Important* If you''re on the LIW List.....

[~*Alexis*~]

LP and I are cleanin'' house....(ever seen that show? I love it...)

Ok, back to the thread...

LP and myself have been going through a list of names of people who have not posted in quite some time...

I am asking for your thoughts on this...

There are ppl on the list who have only post a few times ( ie >20 times or so) and they are on the list.

I know the "rule" is that we give them 6 months. However, I think if you are on the list, you should be somewhat active. I am not talking if you miss posting a couple weeks your out, but at least let us know yours still alive.

So LP and I were thinking if you are over a certain amount then you would get a longer period of time before you are asked to post again.

I think this will allow the list keepers (now and in the future) to have a better handle on the list and allow the people who are on it to move up faster.

I wanted your opinions on it....so voice it here.

Thanks for listening!!

 

[Lauren8211]

I prefer to have regular posters on the list only, so I would be content with 100+ (maybe 500?) posters, you have 3 months. If they *really* want to stay on the list that badly, they can throw up a "Hey, I''m still alive/here" post once every 3 months, IMO.

Less than 100, I say a month sounds good. A lot of times people post for a week, join the list, and then disappear forever.

I like the list kept short and neat.

 

[~*Alexis*~]

Thats the basic thought behind it...the list hovers around 125 people and at times, I have never heard from these ppl on the board for over the amount of time...

We can discuss the times and the limit.

ElleDizzy for shizzy...(I am in a strange mood tonight...forgive my spunkiness) what would you consider "regulars"?

 

[Lauren8211]

LOL. For shizzy!

I don''t really think it''s super strict, but it would be nice if people checked in at least once a month. That''s not too much to ask, is it?

I like to know who these LIW are when I''m congratulating them!

 

[CNYHopeful]

Sounds good to me.

I suggest maybe something like 2 months for under 500 posters & 4 months for 500+

 

[ladypirate]

It had been 3 months for posters less than a hundred and 6 months for posters over 100, but I would be fine with changing it if it''s what everyone wants to do. Maybe 2 months for under 500 and 4 months for over 500?

 

[~*Alexis*~]

I will give this thread a few days for people to pop on and let us know what their thoughts are on it. So far I think we all agree.

 

[BlueSki231]

Date: 1/8/2009 12:05:38 AM
Author: ladypirate
It had been 3 months for posters less than a hundred and 6 months for posters over 100, but I would be fine with changing it if it's what everyone wants to do. Maybe 2 months for under 500 and 4 months for over 500?

I think this sounds good to me! What's the point of being on the list if you aren't even somewhat active in the "community" - at least check in once in a while!

I think 2 months and 4 months are extremely reasonable.

 

[FrekeChild]

Lol. I so wanted to change that while I was listkeeper! The list is SO LONG!

This is what I would have done if I had had a longer time as listkeeper:

over 1,000 posts, 6 months
over 500 posts, 3 months
under 500 posts, 2 months
under 20 posts, 1 month

But that's kind of complicated...

The under 20 posts are for all of the newbies who find PS, sign up, join the list, and then never post again.
With the over 1,000 posts, I'm specifically thinking Galateia. I don't know that she's gone for good and it would be a shame for her to get kicked off the list after being so high on the list for so long, and then rejoin it to start at the bottom once again.

My $.02.

 

[Sparkalicious]

Ideal Rocks - indefinitely??
Under 500 - 6 months??

I agree that it''s impt for people to be active in the community but if you are at the top of the list and have been quite active but aren''t able to be for 6 mos to a year or so ... I don''t think that it necessarily "feels" right to be removed, right??? because at some point you "earned" your ideal rock status and contributed significantly ... Does that make sense?

 

[Cosmo_Gal]

Maybe it''s just me, but I''m a little offended. I don''t have all the time in the world to be posting 10 times a day. I have a job that has me working 15 hours a day and when I come home I''m beat. I spend most of my time on here on my days off. A lot of the time I read what others have written and if I don''t find anything I want to add or put my 2 cents into, I don''t. I don''t think I should be taken off the list just because i don''t post every day..I just can''t do that.

 

[FrekeChild]

Thats the thing though, no one is asking for you to post everyday (like I do, seeing as I have no life) but I think once a month isn't really that much to ask. And it's not just posting on LIW, it's posting on PS in general. It's the last post on PS. Period.

There are A LOT of posters who come across PS on a random diamond search, see the LIW forum, post a request to be added to the list, and are never seen again. Not only is it tedious for the listkeeper to deal with, but it makes the list move MUCH slower. Those drive-by posters are I'd say 95% of the time, the ones who are coming off.

And I've been there and done the listkeeping, albeit not for long, but I helped numerous ladies clean up the list once a month, and guess what? IT'S NOT FUN. It would take a couple hours out of my day once or twice a month, and search for every single LIW's name, except for those that are frequent posters and whose names I knew I saw on a regular basis. Then I kept track of them in an excel file with their name, the date of their last post, and how many posts they had. Imagine the mess when there was a spelling error, or a username that is a common word, for instance, "pickles" or "PostIt". Finding them to find out the last time they posted was NOT an easy task. Or if their usernames were missing an underscore and had a space instead. Or if they had changed their username!

Now, I did this because I wanted to, and because I felt like it would help out the listkeepers who had better things to do with their time, and weren't trying to avoid schoolwork like myself. Plus I'm OCD, and I figured this was something I could do that would be productive and cater to the OCD.

Housecleaning ISN'T meant to offend anyone. Believe me. It's meant to make the listkeeper's job easier (seeing as how they don't get paid for it in any way) and to make the list go faster. If I hadn't been doing the housecleaning for the past few months (as well as whoever was the listkeeper at the time), I guarantee you that it would be up to 200 ladies by now.

So hats off to Alexis and LadyPirate, and every single other person who has done this. There isn't exactly a lot of reward that goes into doing it, besides getting engaged and coming off of the list and no longer having to take care of it. And thats to not even mention bee* who is a rockstar for keeping up with the BIW list, which is incredibly long.

I really don't think it's all that much to ask to post once a month. At one point I was even thinking of a certain number of posts to be required to get on the list. Because those posters that do a driveby--they are dead weight, and they are the ones that come off the list every month. Taking a page from medicine: might as well prevent it before you have to cure it, right?

If no one cleans it, it will reach 200 in no time. And only 75% or so of those posters will be contributing anything. That's not very nice to those who are actually contributing, is it?

My $0.02.

ETA: and I'm with Sparkalicious on the Ideal Rock status thing.

ETAA: I think Sunnyd and I were following the plan that over 100 posts got you a 6 month stay and under that, you got taken off the list at 3 months. But it's now 5am, and my brain hardly works, so I'm not even sure I'm making any sense...

 

[Cosmo_Gal]

Excuse my ignorance, I must apologize for being so hasty in my response. I guess i'm just misunderstanding the time limit to post. I don't think 1 post per month is too much to ask at all and I agree with your idea of having so many posts before you can be added to the list. So, as I may not be a "regular" poster I still do enjoy coming on here to read all the ladies' posts and to be able to vent my frustrations as well. Being able to post here has done a number for my sanity. I would like to be more involved, believe me, I just don't have a whole lot of time these days. I don't know how some of these ladies do it sometimes..being able to have a full time job AND manage a household. Maybe I could stand learn a thing or two from them. Anyway, I apologize again for letting my early AM grumpiness get the best of me. Hope everyone has a great day, as for me I'm going back to sleep with my sleeping beauty.

Oh, and I almost forgot..thank you to the LP and Alexis who are take the time out to maintain the list and keep things enjoyable for all of us on the list.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Hey girlies...I am also off to my incredibly hectic job where I read pricescope on my blackberry and only get to post during my free minutes of me time. I''ve been on ps for over 2 years now and personally it took me a long time to hit 100 posts when I first joined. For a number of reasons but mainly because I was reading a lot! Honeslty, for the list keeper, is keeping up with 125 names all that bad? I mean if it gets to 300 then maybe put in some stricter rules. I have to imagine that there are people on the list like me that spend a lot of their free time on here but dont have alll that time to post every day. Look, in May I will have been here 3 years and I''m just getting to 1000 posts. My fiance thinks I love PS more than him. Just because you don''t post everyday doesn''t mean you aren''t an active member.

Just from a simple math perspective. If you post everyday for 3 months then that would be 90 posts with just one post a day. So...if the person is inactive for 3 months they still spent equal amount of time posting here. That is where the under one hundred posts with no activity for 3 months came from. No posting for 6 months is just time for anyone to come off the list IMHO...

Also, there are people on the list that never post in LIW but are still on pricescope.

In the future my suggestion would be for the old list keeper to pass on whatever instructions/suggestions you have for updating mainting the list. It''ll probably make it easier than reviewing the topic every few months.

BTW...this forum is incredibly fortunate to have posters that are so active. However, not everyone can be but that doesn''t mean they aren''t here.

I hope my input helps. Have a great day ladies!

 

[LDubs]

Just my two cents, but I tend to agree with CosmoGal and EM1. I''ve been reading PS for over a year, registered for almost a year - and I read it EVERY DAY, including all the LIW posts. BUT! I only have 100-ish posts. If I don''t find anything that truly catches my eye to respond to, then I''m just quiet. I still look forward to getting off the list soon (I''ve gone from #114 to #20!) - but personally - I enjoyed the "moving up" part.

I think if you start trimming the list down to a few, then it takes away the suspense and fun of creeping up towards #1.

That being said, if someone has obviously been off PS for a while - it only makes sense. But I like the rules as they are.

 

[fieryred33143]

Even though I''m not an LIW anymore I think the 6 month rule should still stand. A lot of times those girls that only post 20 times or so still come back to update all of us about their engagement. If you''re not used to seeing them on the thread, its nice to look at the list and see where they were. I think it helps connect with them a little more. At least it did for me.

Plus leaving the list for "regulars" only makes it seem like the only engagements that are important are those that post here regularly which isn''t true. We all show love to anyone that gets engaged, regular or not.

 

[KatM]

Date: 1/7/2009 11:31:33 PM
Author: CNYHopeful
Sounds good to me.

I suggest maybe something like 2 months for under 500 posters & 4 months for 500+

That seems fair to me. Honestly, the forum is open even to unregistered people and people are free to post and receive as much support as they need. To me, the forum offers just as much support to those on the list as those who are not.


ETA: I'm not on the list. If this was just asking people who are, then just ignore me.

 

[mrscushion]

To throw in my $0.02, I wouldn''t have a problem with the under-500-every-2-months and over-500-every-4-months rules, but it does sound like that there are several ladies who only read and do not necessarily post unless a topic really speaks to them, so with that in mind, I''d probably vote to keep the rules as they are. I''m also not sure that clean-up time will be reduced that much if you change the rules -- sure, the list may be a bit shorter, but you''ll still have those "fly-by" ladies who''ll come only once and need to be removed every x months and you''ll still need to go through the list one by one to check the ladies'' last posting dates. But that said, as list keepers you probably know better than me how much time changing the rules would save you. In any case, a huge shout-out and thanks to our present and former list keepers for putting in hours of their free time!!!

 

[Lauren8211]

This is going to be a hard one to figure out. lol

I don''t ever expect anyone to post 10 times a day. But, if we''re all under the understanding that we''d like people to pop in once a month-ish, I don''t think that''s too much? Just to jump in on the actual list thread and say "Hey, I''m here!" and maybe update us on proposal progress?

Keeping people on the lists for months on end just seems like a lot of work for the listkeepers. The listkeepers are generally people who are very involved on the board, and I think their feelings should come first. If the once-every-6-months posters are making their job harder, that should be taken into consideration. If they don''t mind, then sure, keep it at 6 months.

The more I type this out, the more I realize maybe we''re putting too much thought into this.

 

[Dreamgirl]

Date: 1/8/2009 3:15:16 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Lol. I so wanted to change that while I was listkeeper! The list is SO LONG!

This is what I would have done if I had had a longer time as listkeeper:

over 1,000 posts, 6 months
over 500 posts, 3 months
under 500 posts, 2 months
under 20 posts, 1 month

But that''s kind of complicated...

The under 20 posts are for all of the newbies who find PS, sign up, join the list, and then never post again.
With the over 1,000 posts, I''m specifically thinking Galateia. I don''t know that she''s gone for good and it would be a shame for her to get kicked off the list after being so high on the list for so long, and then rejoin it to start at the bottom once again.

My $.02.

Tough question.

I agree with freke. There are so many people on the list that I don''t even remember ever seeing before. Seems like so many find PS and think "This is great!" and want on the list but then forget about it (or what not) and then don''t come back or only come around every now and then. I think for these people, they should be active to be on the list. As in, the ''under 20 posts'' Otherwise, they shouldn''t be on the list because that prevents others from moving up on the list.

As far as over 1,000 posts...well, if someone is over 1,000 then you''d think they would come around every now and then at least because they have posted so much in the past. But I wouldn''t think they need to be as active as the ''under 20 posts'' per say because they have posted so much. You know?

I can see how people are offended by the rules but there have to be some sort of rules. I work too. I have a full time job but still post. Maybe I post more than I should but I can''t help myself

Perhaps
over 1,000 posts, 1 year
over 500 posts, 6 months
under 100 posts, 4 months
under 20 posts, 1 month

 

[Dreamgirl]

Date: 1/8/2009 11:46:25 AM
Author: elledizzy5
This is going to be a hard one to figure out. lol

I don't ever expect anyone to post 10 times a day. But, if we're all under the understanding that we'd like people to pop in once a month-ish, I don't think that's too much? Just to jump in on the actual list thread and say 'Hey, I'm here!' and maybe update us on proposal progress?

Keeping people on the lists for months on end just seems like a lot of work for the listkeepers. The listkeepers are generally people who are very involved on the board, and I think their feelings should come first. If the once-every-6-months posters are making their job harder, that should be taken into consideration. If they don't mind, then sure, keep it at 6 months.

The more I type this out, the more I realize maybe we're putting too much thought into this.

I think that's a good idea! Maybe you should put a rule at the beginning of the list that says something in the form of "If you would like to be on the list, you must check in AT LEAST once a month or you will be removed from the list"

or does that sound rude?

(not meant to sound rude.) Also not meant to sound too rule-ish. Hmmm this is tough.

 

[SuiteLady]

I am actually stringent guidelines for EVERYONE on the list because subgroups such as LIW seem to have revolving doors and a high turnover of "members".

But let me ask this. What is the intrinsic value of the list? I am asking because it requires a lot of upkeep and maintenance. I would receive more value if there was an indicator of the length of time that people have been on the list.

Is it possible to do away with the list and possibly have some sort of identifier/picture/smilie in our signatures that signifies the Lady In Waiting status? In doing so it get rid of some of the hours of maintenance for the listkeeper.

 

[BlueSki231]

I have to agree with Elle and Freke..

I know I said before that I think that LIWs should at least be somewhat active on PS, but in no way did I mean they had to be posting every single day!

I understand that people work, and things get busy, and that sometimes you''re just reading posts and have nothing to say. But as others have said before I think one post a month is a pretty reasonable request! And it doesn''t even have to be in the LIW thread! Go to SMTR, find a ring that someone posted that you think is gorgeous and say so!! And there are a lot of interesting topics on Diamond Hangout fyi.. I''m just sayin.. once in a while make it known you''re still around - even if you ARE mainly lurking.

So I hope no one gets offended and feels like you''re being excluded cause you got bigger things going on in your life than an internet forum. SERIOUSLY understandable!!

It''s just nice to know that you''re on the list with people who are AROUND - whether they''re posting 20x a day or mainly lurking with 1 post a month - and not just someone who signed up and took off.

I like the 2 mo / 4 mo change but if things stay the same as they are right now I won''t be upset either

No biggie!

 

[ladypirate]

Slight aside, Alexis I am WITH you on loving Clean House. Kris can''t stand the main woman--he thinks she looks like a man. LOL


CLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN House....


Anyhow, I think the system we have going now isn''t too bad--the only thing I might be up for changing is to up the number of posts you need for having a 6 month grace period to 500. Other than that, I think 3 months is fair. A lot of times I''ve noticed that people will come back and post after 2 and a half months or so when I wasn''t expecting them to. Also, we do warn people before we do the housecleaning so that they have time to post and let us know they''re still around. If you missed the list of ladies who are in danger, here it is:

End of January Housecleaning:
27. TryingAgain; 41 Posts; Last Post: 10/3/2008
30. LiveLaughLove; 369 Posts; Last Post: 7/25/2008
33. oceanlove; 22 Posts; Last Post: 10/2/2008
36. PawnShopHustler; 48 Posts; Last Post: 10/19/2008
44. StarBright; 38 Posts; Last Post: 10/30/2008
49. aggal06; 29 Posts; Last Post: 10/15/2008
57. anxiousbee; 3 Posts; Last Post: 10/15/2008
69. lilyanne; 4 Posts; Last Post: 10/21/2008
75. missbunnie66; 6 Posts; Last Post: 10/29/2008
76. Jasy82; 1 Post; Last Post: 10/29/2008

 

[that_someone_special]

Getting to 500+ posts took forever and I know I''ve wasted too many hours here just lurking and reading! I think anyone with under 20ish posts should be taken off in 2 months or so.. but other people that are trying to post, should be given IMO 4 months. 6 months is too long to me

 

[~*Alexis*~]

I never thought I would get this reaction.

I was not referring to just the amount of posts but their last post date.

There are a few people that are on there and have not posted over 500 posts but still at least post once a month.

I understand the lurking here....i am at almost 1500 posts and I have been her for almost 3 years. I am also on here...EVERY DAY.

I would just ask that you post at least once a month or so... I don''t care if you post in the liw thread list with just:

Thats it, no words. Just a

to signal that you are still around and not ignoring the community.


It was not meant to offend, or exclude people, but being list keeper and dealing with it, spending time going through user names is time consuming and FWIW, we do not get fabulous diamonds or gift certificates to a ps vendor.

I also think its beneficial to the people on the list who have been active and truly deserve to move up on the list rather than having a "phisher" come in add to the list and disappear.

It just helps with matinence, thats all.


No hard feelings guyz!! I swear!!!! I love ya all!!

 

[Erin]

When Goldengirl was running the show we cleaned up the list by eliminating anyone who hadn''t posted in 6 months. It IS a lot of work - considering you''re searching all these people who you''ve heard of maybe once. Kudos again to everyone who has done it.

In my humble opinion, however, one post in the last two months unless you''re an ideal rock. Otherwise, why are you on the list? It sounded like a cute idea when you stumbled upon it but don''t really bother to post when other''s are engaged or talking about Obama or your puppy or your opinion on someone else''s Christmas bracelet? Eh, cut em loose

 

[sammyj]

No worries Alexis...as a somewhat newer member, I wasn''t offended!

First, I don''t think the expectation of one post per month is too much. I think it''s a realistic expectation and it will discourage the ''drive by'' LIWs.

Second, I like Dreamgirl''s suggestion that there should be some sort of disclaimer stating the rules and expectations of a LIW in the main thread. That way people may think twice about adding their name ''just for fun'' and the listkeeper will feel less of a burden.

 

[ladypirate]

So how about this:

3 months if you have 1-499 posts
6 months if you have 500+ posts (aka ideal rock status)

Sound good to everyone?

 

[~*Alexis*~]

Works for me.....

Speak now or forever hold your peace....