So, I was just trying to kill time before I have to see the doctor today...and I noticed something odd. I seem to have fallen into an annoying little routine on Mene.

- Look at subscribed threads.
- Look at subscribed threads AGAIN.
- Repeat.
- Go to GD and poke around.
- Read any new threads.
- Post if you can think of anything (this is rare).
- Back to subscribed threads.
- Repeat process.

...I do believe I'm quite stuck. :sweat: Luckily, needless to say I'm deviating a little from my routine - yay!

So, what I'd like to ask of all of you is, do you have any little habits or routines that you've fallen into on Menewsha? Do they annoy you, like mine does to me, or do you find that they work for you? Do you have just one, or one for forum browsing, one for posting, one for avatars, etc.? (I know I can never make an avatar with the color scheme I set out to use - I wanted this one to be based around deep blue! Though that's probably due to my limited inventory...)

Enough of my rantings, I want your thoughts!

I've seen a few people say that the only places they look are their subscribed threads, that's a really bad habit to get into :sweat: How are you ever going to meet new people or find new places to hang out if you only ever stick to the same threads. Some people don't even seem to explore the forums much.

One of the reasons that we hid clues in the GBA and Quest Raffle threads during the last event was to draw people's attention to these features, and the amount who said they didn't even know they existed was a little scary. Because people just don't venture out of their hidey-holes and look in other forums. They don't even know of the existence of some sub-forums, because they've simply never looked around.

People should be braver and try some new places, if nothing else it would boost site activity!

You see people making threads saying things like, "There's 100 people online but no-one's posting, where are they all?" Is this because everyone's just sat there in their User CP, waiting for someone to post in their subscribed threads?

I just generally avoid places Jelly is, which leaves me still with quite a large number of forums and threads.

If I feel I have something to say on the subject, I'll comment. Or I'll reply to someone.
But I've been around since the beginning, and then if you wanted to make any money at all you'd have to go out of your comfort zone and post in certain places. The same had to be done when you first joined. Why would now be any different?

Hmm... lately, because university has started again for me and I've been preoccupied by it, I've only been sneaking Mene in during the few 10 minute or so breaks I give myself in between working (this being one such break, actually xDD). It's because of this that I have some sort of routine, because without this routine I would wander around the forums too much and get too distracted from what I'm supposed to be doing. xDD;;

My routine would mostly consist of just posting in my regular threads in the Quest and Avatar Chat forums, while checking/lurking in the Exchange if there's something good to buy/sell, and even more rarely now checking/lurking in the Art Shops, GD, and CD for good threads to look at. Oh, and games. :x I play as much as possible to max them out for gold (as I'm saving up for the event and future quests), although nowadays my brother's usually the one playing Tetris for me because he wants to play (which gives me more time for my assignments anyway). 8DD;;

And you know what? D: I wish I didn't have this small/regular of a routine. :x I mean, I remember when I would post at least 150 times a day because I explored a lot of threads and places. Nowadays I just post around 20 or so times (not sure, but this is a rough estimate). I wish I could be more active, but I sadly can't (and the main reason I'm online now is cause I gave up reading 100+ pages on speech communication @[email protected]). </3

What scares me more though is that while I'm not as active as I used to be, I seem to still be more active than a lot of people? o_O;; Can't say this for sure, because it could just be my limited exposure to the site lately, but, yeah, it's something I noticed. @[email protected];; But that's off-topic, so oh well. xDD;;


Jelly, I didn't know till now that a lot of people didn't know about the GBA and Quester's Raffle. :x Although, now that you mention it, it does seem to be the case. :x As for the subscribed threads issue, I guess it's sort of how people fall into their own respective niches, and then they just stay there. I agree, it's not a good way to meet new people, but if everyone seems to be busy lately (something I've also noticed, but again, it could just be because of my limited exposure to the site now), then it's easier for most people to just stick to their said niches. ^^;;

At the very least though, the upcoming event should boost the site's current's activity? xDD;; <3<3

I've been like that a lot myself but I've not the energy to do much else..

lmao. Just earlier, I subscribed to Randeh's birthday bash thread; so I would remember to post there. I then realized that it's the first time I've ever subscribed to a thread! I don't usually use that feature. I've always bookmarked threads on my browser; since it's just easier. Or I just go looking for them. I have a feeling I'll use the feature more often though.

I think my usual routine is just bumming around the exchange, refreshing the pages sometimes when it's going really slow. Ocasionally going to the GD (only to really look; too lazy to post), unless I find an interesting topic. Mostly though, I like to stick within the red area. Exchange, Charity, Quest, Avatar Chat. I've been lurking quite a lot lately, more than usual. And sometimes (I'll be very bad) and sort of avoid my exchange thread or just lurk it, even when it's really active. I'm SERIOUSLY LAZY. Too lazy to even post. :ninja:

Hehe, I just started subscribing to threads earlier today. ^^ I actually really like it, 'cause it saves time....which leaves me more time to wonder what to do next. xD

But, yes, I usually have a habit of browsing threads in the same order every time I come on Mene. =) I never really noticed it till you made this thread...lol, stop making me think! >.<

@Jelly - Luckily I'm not THAT far into my little rut - though I've never participated in the Giving Back Auction or the Questers' Raffle, at the very least I can say I know what and where both are. :sweat:

My problem isn't a comfort zone that I fear leaving (in public forums I'm just shy in general anyway, or at least I used to be - I've developed a bit more of a backbone lately) - just that I form habits without realizing I'm forming them. Luckily now that I've realized I've formed them I can begin to break them - and hey, maybe with my first step I'll be helping others do the same. ;)

@Rylynne: 150 posts a day!? O__O Damn. I wish I ever had that kind of run. XD But like I said, I used to be horribly shy in forums, and I'm just now pushing to break my old habits, so it's no surprise that even now you have me beat out.

Well, I see you pretty much everywhere anyway. XD;

@Jennifer: Seems we've both been a bit bad lately, then. :sweat: I've been neglecting to post lately except to vent my spleen here and there, so...I've kinda disappeared off the face of the earth for the most part. I've lately been more of a lurker than usual.
I think my nasty little rut is half the reason actually. All the more reason to break out of it!
...but unfortunately the other half is a combination of laziness and lack of Mene time between work and doctors. :sweat: Well, I can at least work on 75% of the problem...

@JeSsIcAtMeOwW: You might want to watch that habit of checking threads in order - it's useful at first, but eventually leads to ruts like mine. :gonk: Just a little tip. ;)

-Look at exchange.
-Look for my active threads.
-If I can't post in my active threads, (rare, cause it's usually when I'm not the last poster in the thread. XD)
-Look for interesting sales. (& Lurk previous posts to active threads.)
-Go to Information Desk & See if there's anything to answer/add support on.
-Go to community discussion and see if there are any new topics/replies (I'm here right now! :B)
-Go to site feedback and check on my threads, if any, and others' threads.
-(Spot sometimes ignored---check the art shops & auctions)
-Rinse, recycle, repeat.

But I do post, not too much in a rut except for when it's at night.

I suppose because I've got a lot going on right now, I'm in a temporary "pattern" (I can't call it a 'rut' yet)...

- Check the staff forums.
- Check them again after I've got through them.
- Check the green forums (ie: info desk)
- Check "Other Sites" sub-forum.
- Check Community Discussions.
- Check the stickies in Quest and Exchange.
- Tour the Avatar Chat forum.
- Check staff forums again.
- At this point I either repeat the process, or tour Fresh Meat, or look in the Exchange, or check my subscribed topics.

It depends on what I have time for. I may at this point have to go eat dinner, or be invited to watch a movie, or want to watch something on tv, or whatever. Most days, even if I log on several times, I don't actually manage to get to my subscribed topics. I haven't lost interest in them, it just doesn't occur to me to check them or I know they will take a little more time/alertness than I have at the moment.

I check my subscriptions a lot, but that's mostly because I have it set that any thread I post in automatically subscribes. I have 850 threads that I'm subscribed to (doesn't mean very many of them are active though). It's convenient for me since a lot of them are staff threads or threads I often frequent so it's an easy way for me to keep up.

I work from top to bottom and go through each forum, but usually don't post because if im in a bad mood it will show through my posts >.>;

Ahhh I have a routine. But I do with every website I go on lol. On this one, I first go to the Quest Forum, check my quest, see if theres any others that I'd like to post in.
Then go to my exchange thread, and check other threads see what they're selling.
Then I go to The Menewsha Nation in GD, look at the threads I've posted in and then go in Art Freebies. ~Then play a little bit on the Chopper game to get some gold.

Lol your routine is funny. You should add 'post around and annoy people' on there. XD

Well for me, whenever i log in, i first check my subscribed threads.
Then check the exchange to see if anything is nice for sale.
if not, i go lurk around threads to see what people are up to -im a creep i know
and if i find something interesting or a friend or two to bother i go bug them
XD


uhmmm that's it really. i dont do my daily gaming or go to my inventory and change my avatar. yeahhhh

Yes!
I'll go to the forums, find a place, look at a thread.
Decide, hey I'm gonna post here!
Then I wait.....
And wait....
And wait....
Until I decide, uhmm... maybe I'll try back later
I repeat this process, and revisit threads, only to see that they have now become inactive.
x' D;;
It's kind of sad really.
x' P
Also in there I tell myself I'll max out in the games, but then never really get around to it.


Yay for deviation from routine!

@ Amani : Lolz, that was only when I first started though. xDD;; Even think it was around 170-something posts a day too, but that one I'm not too sure of. ^^;;

It just so happened that I was on my sembreak when I first joined, and it was also my sembreak during the Halloween '08 event. =P So, that gave me lots of time to post and stuff. ^^;; I think that time period was what propelled my post count the most. 8DD;;

Originally Posted by jellysundae

You see people making threads saying things like, "There's 100 people online but no-one's posting, where are they all?" Is this because everyone's just sat there in their User CP, waiting for someone to post in their subscribed threads?

Yes. *raises hand slowly*

This made me feel slightly stupid. XD Oops.

My routine seems to be checking my subscribed threads, clicking on those that I find and then replying to those, checking the announcements, going BACK to subscribed threads, checking the Community Discussion and the Exchange, and going back to my subscribed threads again. Sometimes I go and check the Project Mene thread.

Er. One could call this a rut. :sweat:

I have a routine. xD Oh man, it's like the same all the time. But starting today, I've been posting in this forum, which is new for me. Usually, I log on, check my mail (if there is any), go to the Fresh Meat forum, welcome people, go to the General Discussion, go to Debates, go to Life Issues, go to Books, not post anything there xD, and go to Media and not post much there either... then I check out new posts and hit refresh a few times. I play Tetris for a few minutes and then repeat or just keep clicking new posts. xD

Sounds like OCD.....but maybe not. Maybe you're just bored and need to take a break from Mene, come back in a while, and you'll find something new. =)

Edit: I do have a habit of looking at the subscribed threads then posting in random places... >.>;

I don't use the subscriptions. I tend to drift in and out of topics as far as activity goes, and I don't think that a subscription would be enough to chain me down haha.

My routine is rather simple though.

Check Project Mene
Check User's Pick
Lurk through the exchange to see if there's anyone on I want to talk to.
Lurk CD
Lurk SF
Lurk ID
Lurk Books
Lurk Media

The lurking doesn't always occur in that order, its mainly in whatever I happen to be in the mood for really.

I'm in a rut, as well. I think I've been committing the crime of only checking my subscribed threads. -___-;; Bad Mai. But yeah. I've been trying to check out the actual forums. But even then, it's hard to find threads that I'm interested in posting in... I'd post in the Literature forum, but I'm scared of my stuff being stolen. >__>;;;

Should we make a support group or something? "Hi, my name is Mai, and I've slipped into a Mene rut..."

That's exactly how I am. I check my subscribed threads, announcements, and the art forums, then I usually leave. D; I reply to a couple of threads here from time to time and that's about it. I am in a rut, but I guess I don't post much because there aren't many motivating factors for me to do so. Dx

I check threads I'm active in and then run amok looking for someplace new. I usually end up reading posts in some other threads but not really posting myself. I used to play Snake everyday, but that got boring.

I've got a pretty set schedule, but I think that's mostly because I'm a staffer. XP

1) Check the staff forums.
2) Check Avatar Chat
3) Check Art Shops and its subforums.
4) Check GD and discuss other sites subforum.
5) Check Debates
6) Check Life Issues
7) Back to the staff room for more reading

Then in the afternoons, I'll just mosey around different forums to see what's going on. Like today for example. I don't come in CD much anymore because there aren't any new topics usually. But this is a new topic, so I had to post. XP

lol mine dont annoy me :) i just post on threads play games buy stuff and the keep posting threads :)