Saber Forum

Is it like this every raffle? +10 new Saberforum members everyday, who join solely to enter the raffle, and then you never hear from them again? I only joined last October, so this is the first raffle I've weathered, and I've done some comparing of how many new members we get. Pre-March 2^nd you have maybe 10 - 15 new members a week. Post-March 2^nd up to today we've gotten around 10 -15 new members A DAY. And many of them are admittedly joining just to enter the raffle. Why don't we ever hear from  half of these guys?




Iram

Because they don't hang around long enough to discover how awesome the community is?

I'm a noob here but I plan on sticking around. There are too many sabers to be collected and a wealth of advice as to how I should use them!

This forum has a lot of useful information and is a meeting place for like minded people.

That's why I joined. And this was before the raffle. It's also how I chose my first saber..

That's what I'm thinking too. Maybe it's a little bit to egoistic to think about what chances we lose just because people joining the forum for raffle and not participating in "forum's life"... but then again, we are the community now, so let's celebrate those who make an effort here :)

A jump in membership during the raffles is pretty normal - I think this one might be larger than in the past though.
A lot of people join the forum, ask their questions, and then take off into the galaxy - which is fine.

Perhaps because of its proximity to the release of a Star Wars movie.

I have been cruising  the Internet trying to find different parts for a custom saber I have been trying to make.

Just about everything I have tried to order from the 3 big guys is out of stock. All since just before the new movie up until now.

I am not surprised at all. I have only been a member for a short time.  But the info and ideas (love the mop clips) have been invaluable.


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I don't think it's so okay. I feel used and thrown out when that happens.....

Everyone expects different things from the forum and are free to have the opinions they have.
I don't really take any of it in at a personal level where id feel used.
US making it inclusive rather than exclusive just makes sense from a business standpoint.

And though most newcomers don't stay, the few that do are always a welcome addition.

Yeah, but it would be nice to have a more exclusive raffle from time to time. Say at least 100 posts, or 90 days registered.

I'd be totally in support of that so long as they maintain the current one too.

Absolutely understanding and backing up your opinion, TJ.

I joined last February to enter the raffle then.  It took me awhile, like 6 months, before I really got into the community.  Mostly it happened because I had answers to questions people were asking, and apparently I like helping people.


Yes, but unfortunately you feel that way about a lot of things that happen, not just when people suck you dry of your knowledge and opinions.

Yeah, just one raffle every couple of years as a "thanks for your loyalty" kinda thing...



This is true. It's still kinda annoying though. lol

I have yet to ever be run out of opinions!  😉


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I completely agree with both of those.


Yes, but a least two thirds of mine violate at least one, usually three or four, of the forum rules.  I should probably head over to the venting thread to finish up this thought....

This needs to happen.

I'm happy to have joined before the raffle. 

I did notice the exponential increase in forum membership after its announcement though (of course). 
I do welcome people when I can, and the ones that don't reply are the ones I figure won't be around next month.

I fully intend on sticking around afterwards, and contributing whatever I can.

This place is awesome, I love it here, and I feel like I've already won the best possible prize (not to say that another wicked saber would be disliked).

That is all.

OK, just so it's been said, I joined the forum and purchased my first saber before I even knew US ran a raffle. When the raffle was announced it just gave me motivation to buy my other sabers now instead of waiting.


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I'm the same.

I'm not here because of raffles, but wanted more sabers anyway...

I don't think that they meant you after all, you are participating in forum's life (I also just joined rather recently before ordring my first saber in january)

Thank you for noticing ...lol

I don't doubt anyone's sincerity actually.  Even the ones who are here solely for the raffle. 

It's pretty obvious who actually cares about this forum, by what they do here.  :)

Personally I don't mind if people join the forum just for the raffle. The raffle is a part of the business plan for US to drive sales. the forum is a community and information resource. If someone is only interested in winning a prize, then so be it.

When i first jojned the forum in November, it was purely just to find out a bit more information about Ultrasabers products. However, i kept coming back as I liked the community, and look at me now! Lol

Ovviously, everyone is entitled to their opinion and that many really active and longe term members feel a degree of ownership and loyalty to the forum (i do too). But not everyone feels the same way as we do, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Not everyone you meet in life should be a part of your life forever (and that's ok).The same can be said for newbies on the forum. :)

I'm on the same boat, if doing something is really good for business, why not do it?

I'm completely in support of this! Maybe in even go as far as Knight Commander's only? :-\

Even if they make one prize tier available to only Commanders, or actual members of the community, and left the other prizes open to everyone....

 Very well rounded attitude.  I commend you.  This was a statement Way better than i could have ever come up with. almost feels wrong to give you a DS point

 @ TJ   this falls into the category  of  " It is what it is. "  Do, yourself a favor  though don't click on their names for stats  on the top winners  cause i did, and it gave me a sigh.   a raffle/ lottery is just that a chance .Life will never be fair, its what your willing to fight for. You decide each morning how your Life will go mentally  despite good or bad

it does bring new business in for them understandable , Look at me only came here last Oct. lots of questions learned , had my own ideas, customized stuff , shared , started answering questions ,  etc have bought 5 over that time frame  But in the end I will always be new to alot of you guys and gals.   Its what i have taken and have given back as i can to this community that keeps me here. Common interest
                      And i noticed your  vent on the job situation, I'm sorry man keep the faith , I was there at one point  in my Life once upon a time due to losing my job because of nasty motorcyle accidnt in which i was laid - up and many surgeries for close to 2 years

That'd be cool.

Thank you kindly.  :)

Yeah, that's basically what I'm saying, I think it's great when people join and become active members in the community. I just think It's kinda selfish when they join solely for the purpose of entering the raffle (Which like Jack said, kind of lowers our -loyal members- odds of winning ;) ) and then we never hear about them again.


Love this, and the minimum post idea.

I really don't see it as selfish. It is one of the rules of the raffle.

Like, for example, only Commanders can win a First Prize?

I'm no commander (yet) and I would even support that now.

Yeah, no, I didn't mean for it to sound quite like that, I just think that if you join the forums you should be active.

can't we all just be happy with having the same chance as winning as everyone else?

i'm a commander and use that status to set a certain tone of behaviour and language that I hope those newer to the forum will follow. however, i don't need any perks or rewards for being a commander. i think having a raffle or prizes that only commanders are eligible for would just lead to some people feeling excluded. that would go against the whole nature of the inclusive nature of the community that has developed on the forum.

obviously, this is just my opinion on the matter. as most of you are aware, i lost my job at the beginning of february and only recently got a new job. therefore I wasn't even able to enter the raffle. i don't feel the situation is unfair. that's just life. the raffle is just a fun thing that ultrasabers do. yes, it is a strategy to drive sales, because they are a business after all. there's an old saying "you can't please all the people all the time". i amend that to "you can't please all the people all the time, and it's mistake to try, for if you do you'll end up pleasing nobody".

I don't want it to sound as though i am annoyed. far from it. but let's remember that ultrsabers are under no obligation to ever do a raffle. let's just be happy that they currently do.

 :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

Sorry Knox. Didn't mean to come off as ungrateful and selfish. Wasn't trying to.
 

I just wish people would be committed

Knox: yeah you're right, on the other hand: just see what Drahcir's idea did... it's not quite the same but the same direction and the "older members" just love it. I totally understand them (and I am lucky to qualify there, too)

as i said in one of my earlier posts, some people just view the forum as an information resource. they come to find out information, learn what they need and then leave. is there anything wrong with that?

There are those who come for information but then discover the awesome social side to the forum and the great community we have here and decide to stay longer. but it is not one of the rules of the forum that when you sign up (whatever your reason for coming here) you have to be active.

can you explain why you think people should be active if they join the forum?

don't get me wrong. i think it is INCREDIBLY generous, beautiful and wonderful thing that Drahcir is doing. however, i don't think it should be expected. I would prefer people to stay here because they want to, not because they think there is something in it for them (other than the pleasure of the company and shenanigans of the forum community).

Just thinking back a few weeks ago when we had a massive influx of new people on the forum waiting for their orders. the friendly and fun tone of forum was in danger of being crushed by new people who were frustrated and angry because they hadn't received their orders yet (even though it was still within the stated waiting time). i think most of those people have no disappeared since their sabers were delivered.

i love this forum, and am quite active on here, but the borderline bad blood that was being posted at that time almost made me decide to take a break from posting on here. i'm glad i didn't though

and you're not coming across as ungrateful or selfish. we can't make people stay on here. everyone has their reasons for signing up and if they only want to do it on the off chance they can win something, then so be it. that's just the way i see it (not that i'm the authority on these things!  ;D)

Wow, sorry. Didn't mean to incite a quarrel. I didn't mean it like that. I'll literally go and cry now, if it'll make you happy, Knox :(.

You're totally right. I only thought that people who join the forums JUST so they can qualify to enter the raffle seemed a little wrong. It's sorta like making an account to use a service that you'll only use once.



Again, sorry to create such an argument ??? ???

I didn't read that at all as "we WANT to have something EXTRA for us being there", more like: "if you join the forum, you may consider to make an effort here, even if you're just entering because of the raffle". There is and will always be a bitter aftertaste, not because someone really expects something, but it's just human and natural to ask why there is no nothing to separate active users from those just joining to win something. So it's quite the contrary, the active members stay here not because of the raffle, but because of the community, they don't expect anything, so it's bitter to see those that are expecting to win and nothing more. :)

Knox, you're brought up some good "arguments". Now I'm not sure what I'd like more. I think I'd still support the rare Commander only raffle though. :)

I think the rewards for active forum members are things like the forum only colors, finding Drahcir's weathering service, Sedsti's shop, and such.  Sure you can see them if your only lurking, but chances are you're not doing that thorough of a search. Oh, and it's the active forum members that tend to get the new hilt designs when they're given as raffle prizes.

I have no problem with folks joining solely for the raffle.  It's what I did.  In fact, I don't think I even came back to the forums after I won for about 3 months, and even then it was a post here, a post there.  I didn't really begin to be active, probably until about 6 months after I joined, and even then most of my interaction was merely answering questions, and usually being corrected by Dauntless Seven.  I've seen people like Darth Knox, Darth Justicar, and Lord Rapine hit 500 posts and way way beyond in just a few months, where it took me almost a year.  They're simply more social people than I am, and it took me a while to become comfortable enough to be more social, and not just a question answering machine.

So yes, there will be people who signed up for the raffle that we'LE never hear from again, and there are people who are instantly active.  But there's probably a few more that we'll hear from sporadically and then see more and more.

Everyone needs to feel welcome, no matter how active they are.

i'm really sorry if you felt as though I was arguing against you. that was never my intention. i was just putting my point across (in many MANY words). and it is just MY opinion. there is no "right" or "wrong'.

as i said before, it is one of the rules of the raffle that they HAVE to join the forum. i suppose that is why i ultimately don't have a problem with it. for those who join and are never active, it is their loss, because WE'RE AWESOME!!!!

WORD :D

I was just reading the thoughts on this thread.  I almost added something, but changed my mind. 

I was thinking about what Knox said, but I was also thinking about how it feels when you love something; when you think it's the greatest, and somebody else just comes along and takes it for granted.  That bites.

Then I read Vivectius' post.  It made me think.  Not everyone is just "using" this forum for a entry (some are), but just because they aren't posting machines, doesn't automatically make them "takers".  The people who feel used are "givers".  They make a daily contribution to this forum, and think about it nearly constantly.  Others, like Vivectius for example, may take months to contribute the same amount, but that doesn't make them less important.

I went over to the "raffle winners" thread, and saw this:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=29192.msg440610#msg440610 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=29192.msg440610#msg440610)
It showed me that even though someone new has won a prize, we can all benefit.

How? Ask him next month.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful that US does raffles at all. Even though I've never been able to enter due to financial reasons.

I think I have a unique perspective though, as I am the oldest active member. I followed US even before they had their own forum, back when they were still members of another one that incorporated the custom saber community as a whole. I bought my first, a PVC Malice grab bag, back then. I was one of the first to sign up. When you guys go read older threads, many of you see faceless users, who have been inactive for years, posting in these threads. I see old friends that I wish were still here. Kham likely feels the same, as does Duff and even Nero.

I don't mean to be rude, or sound ungrateful, or that I don't still enjoy this forum. I'm not, and I still do. I've just seen too much member turn over these past 5 or 6 years. I'm saddened ever time a once valuable member of this community drops off the face of the galaxy. Moderator Manroon, Darth Wraith, Qui-Tom Helms, Master Rel, RLHYPERGUY, srams, and many others were(and still are) VERY good friends of mine. I have contact with some through Facebook, but none are still active here, for various reasons. Many you have never interacted with these users, but I did, I have fond memories of that.

I can't fault someone for joining just to enter a raffle as they are playing within the rules. The fact that it irks me doesn't change that.

It is what it is. If US likes my idea and implements it, then I think that's awesome. If they don't then that's fine too. I'll still be here, waiting for the day when I can actually enter a raffle, and possibly win something....

Been bouncing around forums lately trying to get help for my first build. Haven't been as active here in a while.

I didn't know about the raffle .... come to think of it, I still don't.

Well, I think I can match you in time, but you are waaay more active than me. Well, I'm more of a lurker than poster ;)
My first US was a PVC Dominix, ordered (and shipped) a few days before they presented the 'new stainless steel standard edition'. Darn. I gave that Dominix to a friend's son some years ago, but I'd still love to have one of those steel sabers (especially with gunmetal finish)...

Quoted for truth :'(


PS: I'd love to see some forum statistics: Oldest active members, oldest & youngest members (of those with known birthday), most active members, ...