Bumping Messages

R

roe

Cathlete
I put this here because I would like Cathe to see it and add her feedback, as well as others.

Does anyone agree with me that bumping posts is discourteous? Cathe is a busy lady running her own business and taking care of a family, and this forum is designed for us to flag and see new posts to read/reply to. Several posts contain numerous bump replies, giving the impression (at least to me) that she is being rushed to answer.

I don't post many questions here, but when I do I don't mind patiently waiting for Cathe to answer. However, at least once (in the old forum) one of my posts went unanswered, to no fault of Cathe, due to so many others bumping their posts to the top of the queue.

Please don't take this down a rathole, but might we consider allowing Cathe to answer posts in the order in which they are posted?

Best,
Roe
 
I personally have bumped a couple of my questions because I saw them going down and down the list while others were being answered. I think rather than not bumping at all, it is courteous to allow a couple of days to go by before bumping. And on the weekends, when Cathe perhaps posts less often?, don't bump until Monday.
 
I don't mind the bumping.

There are a lot of members in these forums and at the speed we post, most posts are pushed down a page or two rather quickly and Cathe may miss them by the time she is able to sign on. :eek:

Bumping gives forum members the opportunity to bring up posts of interest so that Cathe does not go "fishing" for subjects a few pages down. I believe this actually saves Cathe time.

...just the way I see it. ;)

Blessings from our home to yours...Runathon
 
I agree that bumping has its place when done courteously/conservatively. I do think bumping a question once a day is ok especially when there seems to be a lot of interest from many forum members. JMHO,

Beth
 
I do not believe bumping posts is discourteous. I am hoping for an answer to my question. From the responses to my particular post, other are interested in an answer too.

I understand Cathe is busy. We are all busy. I am not a chronic "bumper" but in this particular situation this is a question I considered important enough to find out about so that I might continue using the workout in question.

Other times I have let my post fall off the page and not given it a second thought. If this particular post (PUB - sore hands) falls off the page again, I'll let it go away. If I am not fortunate to get an answer, I'll just have to be disappointed.

It depends on the question, I guess, whether or not to bump.

Susan G.
 
I totally agree with you. Unfortunately, I'm guilty of the doing it. It's a shame though that we (myself included) also feel the need to go in & say "I've wondered, too." This also gives the impression that someone has answered. Maybe we should come to some common sense on this one--don't bump more than once every couple of days. If you are curious about a subject don't post that you've wondered, too. If you've wondered, leave the post alone & Cathe will answer when she has a chance.

I'm talking to myself here as much as anyone else that cares. I think Roe has a valid question & I hope my suggestions are not taken as an attack because I am guilty of this myself. There are several thousand of us that visit here (some more regularly than others) & only one Cathe.

Also, having just been to the studio, I know that she is absolutely swamped getting those new DVD's out. I'll bet you didn't realize that she has a VERY small staff & the mailing came right out of her gym, not some warehouse somewhere. I know I didn't. So, yes we are all busy, but sometimes Cathe is a little more busy than we would know.
 
I think if Cathe thought it to be discourteous, she would let us know, it is her forum after all. Several people are obviously interested in the answer and I think it is just a way to keep it near the top where she has a better chance of seeing it. Out of sight, out of mind.
 
I personally don't see any problem with occasional bumping, especially when a topic has generated considerable interest among posters but Cathe and/or SNM simply hasn't been able to get around to responding to it yet. If a subject has gotten pushed down two or three pages, you certainly wouldn't expect Cathe to fish down that far just to see what's there, even when lots of her fans are waiting on baited breath for a reply.

Also, I really don't see how it could possibly be considered rude to add one's interest to a topic, "I was also wondering..." because Cathe ought to be able to see which subjects are generating the most interest among her loyal admirers and respond to those as a priority. After all, she is in the habit of asking our opinion about so many different things so I guess she's just conditioned us to go ahead and offer what we have to say. Besides, who wants to feel like they're the only one who's interested in the answer to a specific question, it's such a lonely feeling and making people feel lonely and left out isn't supposed to be what this forum is all about.
 
I understand all of your points of views and appreciate this post remaining a calm voicing of opinions. If Cathe's PC is set up to view only the posts she hasn't seen/answered since her last visit, then she might not have to scroll down through pages of posts to determine which have and have not been addressed. Since I am not a bumper, and I suspect there are others who aren't as well, our posts will always be lost in the queue as others get bumped to the top.

Seeing all the bump messages can be distracting, and as previously mentioned, disappointing to the readers who think the new message is a reply from Cathe, only to click on it and see "bumping". I have been reading this forum since it's inception and have always thought Cathe does a terrific job in answering as many posts as her schedule permits which is why I choose not to bump.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

:7

-Roe
 
I am sure if it was problematic Cathe or SNM would let us know for sure.

Over at VF bumping is not allowed and they will let anyone who does it know, in a nice way of course, but they let them know.

I see no problem with it myself.

Edith
 
WOW !
I have never thought of bumping as a bad thing?
I guess everyone has a different point of view, I guess I never looked at it that way! :)

I totally understand (now) what you are saying about bumping. I think of it more as a "I am getting lost in the shuffle" thing, where it could disappear into thin air w/o getting anyone to reply. Sometimes, I see a great great thread, but no one has seen it yet, and I will bump it up to try to "help" it get answered, especially if I don't know the answer myself, and it is a question that is new and not talked about and very valid

Also, I see bumping as a "I am interested too" thing-alot of people will bump a question that they think is very interesting for Cathe to see.
 
Well, Roe, I absolutely see your point. Gosh I just never saw it as discourteous. Like Jaime, I thought it was more like, I'm interested too, and don't know the answer.

But I do feel bad now that I bumped a question of mine a lot of times, I never did get an answer though! LOL! Unless Cathe specifically says that she doesn't mind bumping, I will refrain.

Thanks for pointing this out to me!
 
Roe - I do see your point. However, I would like to add that just because there isn't a "bump" doesn't mean that questions are not getting bumped as well. As you know every question that gets a response from anyone other than Cathe automatically gets bumped ahead of the others. Then, those left without responses from other forum readers are left on the bottom or on the next pages.

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with bumping unless Cathe states so. I know she always states reminders that she should be the only one responding to questions. We know we are all guilty of that too. To be honest... if we quit answering questions intended for Cathe the bumps probably wouldn't be necessary as all would stay in the order intended.

I think that is why Cathe has this board... to ask and answer questions. To me, bumping the question that gets pushed to the bottom of the list is no different than to ask the same question again, trying to get an answer. In the end all we are trying to do is get the most of the Cathe workouts! I think everyone's objectives come from good intentions:)

I also agree with the other posters that sometimes a "bump" from other users shows interest in the question and an intelligent answer from Cathe. I would think Cathe would like this, maybe? This way she know what question her users are most interesed in. It shoud be easier to respond to one question with a lot of bumps versus many questions of a similar or identical topic!

I have seen quite a few posts recently of people complaining of behavior on the board. To be honest it is kind of annoying. I think maybe we should lighten up a bit LOL... this is just a FORUM about FITNESS. Let's have some fun and keep this forum light hearted.... please :+
 
> I know she always states reminders
>that she should be the only one responding to questions. We
>know we are all guilty of that too. To be honest... if we
>quit answering questions intended for Cathe the bumps probably
>wouldn't be necessary as all would stay in the order intended.

Actually, I've just seen reminders that this forum is for questions to Cathe (emphasis on "questions" , not necessarily on the " to Cathe") and not for other miscellaneous " stuff" .

More than bumping, I am annoyed by people answering questions to Cathe when she hasn't even had time to answer! Especially when they aren't the "here's my experience, maybe it could help" type of answer, but rather a "This is what Cathe probably thinks" answer--which I saw just today. A question is up for no more than an hour or so, and someone else pops in with an answer. As with bumping, I think there should be a wait period (ie: don't bump for at least two days and don't answer a question for Cathe without giving her two days to answer it.
 
I don't think Cathe objects to others answering questions. I always appreciate seeing what others have to say, whether or not Cathe has had time to answer. There are many experts on this forum who have as much, or almost as much, expertise as Cathe. As Kathryn states, the reminders we have seen are that the forum is for questions. I have often seen Cathe thank other posters who have replied; often she has nothing to add and it saves her some time.

I have made a few posts that Cathe never got around to answering. I was glad when others with the requisite knowledge gave me an answer, whether they did so within 5 minutes or several days after my post. If there were a two-day rule, a lot of people might never get answers to their questions because the questions would get lost! Anyway, I respect others' opinions, but personally, it doesn't bother me when someone else answers my posts.
 
Stebby - I also agree with you. I have no problem with bumps OR others posting to my questions. I am with you in that I LIKE to hear other's comments.

Okay.... I"ll shut up now! I've said enough on this topic.

I just couldn't help myself as all this complaining I have seen on board behavior was just gettin' to me ;)
 
Hi Roe (and others)! Thanks for your concern regarding this matter. I appreciate what all of you have contributed. Actually, bumping a thread does not make me get to it any sooner or later. It all comes down to a matter of time and how long I have to spend on the forums per day.

The ideal situation would be to answer all of the questions in the order they were received and eventually get to them one by one. I would LOVE to be able to do this. Unfortunately, I simply can't.

With this in mind, what I do is answer questions that fit into the time frame of how long I am able to spend on the forums that given day. It may take me longer to get to a rotation question or a question along those lines for this reason. And, yes, it may turn out that I actually don't get to it at all, not because I don't want to answer, but simply because I am not able to answer every question.

Thanks for being so understanding.


:) :)
 
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