Suggestion: Higher post count "points" for TR's

[haydensydney]

I'm a big fan of reading TR's and I read them across AFF, FT and A.net (almost religiously). Those who write TR's know that it takes heaps of time to:

1. Take pics before, during and after the trip
2. Mentally store info (or take notes) during the trip
3. Upload pics to a webservice like Picassa
4. Compose the TR

Often this is done without much feedback from the viewers and it's pretty much a thankless task, but people like me quite enjoy doing so. What I'm suggesting is perhaps (if possible) could it be an idea to post a higher number of "post count points" for an OP (original post) in the Trip Reports forum. Instead of the "1", perhaps we could allocate "5" or "10" post points for the efforts involved in posting a TR.

I don't think this would devalue the count system, but could help TR writers attain quicker respect within the community for their contributions. I know this may not be a overly popular idea with some or there may not even be a way to do this from a forum config perspective - regardless I thought of putting this out for consideration and feedback.

Thoughts?

 

[casanovawa]

We're a competitive lot on here aren't we...

I still haven't gotten around to posting anything on my RTW trip from earlier in the year... Most of the photos from it are over 5 mb i think which makes it problematic for posting on here doesn't it???

 

[haydensydney]

We're a competitive lot on here aren't we...

I still haven't gotten around to posting anything on my RTW trip from earlier in the year... Most of the photos from it are over 5 mb i think which makes it problematic for posting on here doesn't it???

LOL it's all about status isn't it?

Perhaps instead of the "Member", "Established Member" etc levels we could have bronze, silver, gold and plat? :mrgreen: I would be supportive of that and it would definitely fit the theme of AFF!

See - if you were to do a TR with your 5MB pics, you would need to spend additional time resizing the images so therefore you should expect extra recognition right?

 

[djfuzz]

I can appreciate the sentiment as I've written TRs myself that have received nary a whisper of feedback and have also been directly influenced by some of the quality TRs by yourself, anat0l, drron and others, but I don't know how this would make much difference practically. Part of the reward of writing a trip report is simply the pleasure of being able to share your enjoyment of the trip itself.

I do like the 'status' suggestions, but what criteria would you apply to earning and maintaining it?

 

[casanovawa]

Oh definitely need a lot of work to resize the 9,000 photos or so i took, which has kept me uhhming and ahhing a bit...

And by about the 10k post mark, i reckon an "All kneel before me" status should probably pop up or tick over...

Edit: Although now that i think about it, a lot of posts over a lot of years is only to be expected... There is maybe the issue of posts in total vs rate of posts... I mean QF and others do make you maintain that status thing eh...

 

[medhead]

Of course, the person writing the trip report can end up doing heaps of posts in the TR thread. Doesn't that make up for it. There are also the uncompleted TRs, I can think at least one TR that I'm hanging to read the finish.

 

[moa999]

I agree the posts take longer to prepare, but couldn't really care about the post count.
In any event due to photo restrictions, most trips end up being 10-20 posts.

Whilst more destination than travel related, must also commend savydog's (an Aussie and infrequent poster here) posts on MiP to you - latest instalment "Buddhas, Pandas and River Cruises" is awesome (and only part complete) and would be very time consuming to put together.

 

[RB]

Part of the reward of writing a trip report is simply the pleasure of being able to share your enjoyment of the trip itself.

I agree the posts take longer to prepare, but couldn't really care about the post count.

Having written a few reports, I must say I agree with the above sentiments. I guess I am more interested in the quality of posts rather than volume & post counts.
On the subject of TR's I would like to see a sticky outlining the best way to post a TR with plenty of relevant photos without exceeding the space limits of AFF- I know I have sent a pm previously to drron to work out how he overcomes the space restricions in his excellent Tr's

 

[simongr]

I have posted some well received TRs but I didn't do that for any other reason than to share my experience with people who had made it possible.

For me no post is more important than another.

 

[munitalP]

I've written quite a number of trip reports, and yes, it's hard work. I have had some great times writing them, my fav being writing "2 weeks in the life of" where I chronicled my crazy domestic travel (here)

I enjoy writing them, but the feature I would like to see, not so much extra points, rather an index on ones profile of trip reports.

It can be quite disheartening though when you put in a heap of effort to write a trip report and having few comments - it happens, but wouldn't stop me writing more.


munitalP (AKA Mr! in TR's)

 

[haydensydney]

Sure... but what can we do to get more TR's on here - surely there is something we can do to inspire people to write up a TR? Having an added points bonus wouldn't hurt. I see a lot of people on here that tell the board about that awesome trip in F, but fairly few actually write a TR. Would be good for more people to share their experiences and some incentive couldn't go astray.

I find that there is a delicate balance between content & photos... there are some TR's on A/net that are just hundreds of pics dumped into a thread... yawn... it's nice when people add commentary. Theres one guy on a.net who writes the most balanced, thorough TR's - he ranks them and he is the idol of all trip report-ers. Will try to find a link to his profile.

 

[anat0l]

Of course, the person writing the trip report can end up doing heaps of posts in the TR thread. Doesn't that make up for it. There are also the uncompleted TRs, I can think at least one TR that I'm hanging to read the finish.

Better not be mine! Else, damn....


I voted "no", and resoundingly at that. Notwithstanding that we do not give any merit for Playground (of which the merit to the forum of such posts is debatable, a la OMNI on FT) - and this is not an argument I want here! - I feel that all posts should be treated the same.

TRs are not the only kinds of posts that necessitate time and effort. Some people here have gone to lengths on some of the question topics that require a bit of research or Googling. We do not want to create unnecessary precedent in having to then account for those, and then we end up with an ultimately unhappy situation.

TRs are unique in that I do not believe it is the prerogative of the author to seek attention. They are sharing a story. The effort is non-trivial, but if one did not want to share the story then one would not go to that effort. Moreover, some TR writers do not go at some lengths. I certainly try, because I take some pride in my sharing my experiences. I don't expect a lot of comment on them - in fact, the first TR I ever wrote (in 2007) was not long nor had many pictures, and to cap it all off I was just another lowly QF NB flying discount economy! I was just surprised that anyone posted back to thank me for sharing my experiences. I wasn't out there for the attention.

TRs themselves occupy many posts, so it kind of balances out if post count is what you are looking for. But once again, I don't see that as the point.

If you aren't willing to share your story in a TR now, it is unlikely that a post count incentive will push that significantly. For me, it would not, because I still see the same proposition of investing the time and effort required to share my story anyway. That proposition of time and effort alone must be overcome without even thinking about the post count that the TR will provide, if even that is supposed to be an aim of AFF (which I don't see it as).

It should also be noted that "respect" in this forum is not very well coupled (albeit can be very, very roughly correlated) to post count. This argument is perhaps more concentrated when one considers discrete circles of AFF members. On top of this, you do not want to inflate TR post counts such that one starts to equate "respect" to those who must publish of their travel experiences. I know this sounds like an extreme situation, but the perception is possible and it's not one we want to toe with.

Maybe the only thing I could ask as a TR writer is perhaps better support for uploading photos within AFF, or with an external picture host. Some TR writers use the attachment system here, which is fine for small photos, but not big ones. AFF has a galleries system, but it can only support 2 x 100 photos. I used to use the Galleries system hosted by Flyertalk, but there is a bug in the software which stops me from uploading new photos and no one - not Flyertalk nor the Galleries software team - has or will solve the problem. My last TR on my VA transcon was uploaded to Skydrive, which is slightly more coughbersome, but saves me from having to sign up for a new and possibly inferior (free) picture hosting account.

 

[k_sheep]

I never look at post count - beyond reading something silly or inflammatory to have a look to see if it's a first post troll. So I don't really see the point of randomly assigning higher post counts.

 

[drron]

I have voted no.Recognition really is not important.I just enjoy doing TRs.Always used to have boxes of photos of past trips which I enjoy looking through.In this new age the TR makes it much easier for me to remember my travels.
An added bonus if someone else gets enjoyment or some tips.
I remain grateful that life has given me the opportunity to be able to travel as much as we do.The TR is hopefully giving a little back.
As to the techniques I now take notes.The photos I have always taken.I downsize them on picassa and upload them to Picassaweb.My TRs usually get copied to Milepoint for a wider audience.Different name,same avatar.For reasons quite beyond me i can not get pictures to stick on FT so they dont occur there.
I also enjoy reading others TRs.It is amazing the variety of travel experiences you can read about and learn from.

 

[clifford]

I never look at post count - beyond reading something silly or inflammatory to have a look to see if it's a first post troll. So I don't really see the point of randomly assigning higher post counts.

Hell0 K_sheep,

I know we've had a couple of run-ins in the past, but I'm completely with you on this.
...

 

[haydensydney]

I voted "no", and resoundingly at that.

Thanks for your thoughts of which many are valid.

We all should try to come up with different and unique ways to encourage the site to grow and for us to be a great travel resource for the public, hence this thread.

Perhaps we could have a thread/sticky called "Short Reports" where users fill in basic info about their trip - I've seen a similar one for Hilton (?) on here which is quite effective...

 

[medhead]

Better not be mine! Else, damn....

no not one of yours. A very senior member, but they are also very busy. So I won't say anything else.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[kpc]

I know a lot of people have read my TRs based on the number of views; I do get satisfaction when someone posts a note regarding the report. Don't seek any other reward to be honest; I do it as much as to remind myself about trips which I really enjoyed as after a few months the trip becomes very hazy in the memory especially if there has been an intervening trip. My TR to the Galapagos below, IIRC, took about a week to write, each day spending 2-3 hours on it to give those that don't write TRs an idea.

 

[haydensydney]

I really liked munitalP's suggestion of having a link somewhere (profile? or under avatar on posts) with a list of the members TR's...

 

[TonyHancock]

I'm not bothered one way or another. I have really enjoyed the TR's here, and have taken plenty of good tips from them. It is good fun putting a TR together so I took a fair degree of pleasure from being able to contribute, and will do so again when my travel takes me somewhere different from my usual routine!!!