I Will Follow

[Oliver]

Not the opening track on U2's 1980 debut but a thread, my first creation, that asks about following people on the forum and people following you.

I now have a half dozen followers here on Christina's Forum.

On Twitter I have less than 200 followers I think, the majority are Shots fans or people who are to do with music in some way.

On a general purpose forum like this, if you do get a notification saying that X is now following you, what is the intention?

I mean, is it because they like you (clearly these are strangers) or does it mean they like your posts or find you interesting or entertaining in some way?

And do you follow them back?

I always do because I think it is polite.

On Twitter it works like an advertising agency, for example, will see your number if followers and start following you in the hope that you will follow them back simply to boost their figures 'n' Street cred, see?

On AV Forums which is a huge global audio-visual community that has, at a guess 400k members, I doubt whether I have six followers there!

So I'm interested in a discussion about this following phenomenon and the way YOU deal with it in regards to following them back right away out of courtesy OR do you investigate them thoroughly first before you let them in as it were.

This is my first created thread, I hope it is considered one of substance!

[Great Divide]

It's just to be friendly. You can follow if you want. You don't have to. The following purpose on the forum was never fully designed. So, before it gets fully developed, it's more or less just a buddy list.

[Rick]

You did make that thread on Duchess too. Both your threads were of value.

I think the friend list will be more functional when the forum's software upgrades. Right now, it's mostly a friend list. Whether or not you follow back is up to you.

[PunkChic4life22]

I don't keep track of the buddy list because it was never finished. I keep meaning to take a look and follow back everyone because that's what I do everywhere else, but then I always forget. I'm not sure if you end up with notifications of the person. I think it's mostly to keep track of your forum friends.

[xea989]

I think it's polite to follow back everyone. Then if it's a mutual follow you get a message that you became friends with the person. Right now, the follow function is mostly about making friendships. Then you have them all in one place if you need to contact anyone.

[bigballofyarn]

The intention of the person is most likely to tell you that they appreciate you and want to be your friend. It's similar to Twitter, but I don't think the friends/followers feature was ever fully developed within ProBoards software. So, you won't get status updates, but it is an easier way of keeping track of your forum friends. Some people choose to follow back everyone. Some people add everyone as a friend. The choice is 100% yours. A mutual follow triggers a notification that you are now "friends." However, that also doesn't affect your notifications. It's mostly a buddy list at this point. If you are interested, I can find out whether or not it will be fully developed when the forum's software upgrades.

[tofumix77]

I trust everyone here and I follow back every single person. I consider everyone to be a friend whether or not it appears in my profile.

[Javier9101983]

I think it's for fun and I will happily return the follow to any forum friend who follows me.

[Oliver]

Jun 7, 2020 5:22:07 GMT -5 Rick said:

You did make that thread on Duchess too. Both your threads were of value.

I think the friend list will be more functional when the forum's software upgrades. Right now, it's mostly a friend list. Whether or not you follow back is up to you.

I'd forgotten about that!

This is therefore my second thread.

In hindsight it would have been better titled Follow You Follow Me, after the Genesis song.

[Ignored]

Oliver,
I followed back every single person. This is a close-knit community, and you can always unfollow someone if you choose. It won't send them a notification that you unfollowed.

[xea989]

Jun 7, 2020 6:17:50 GMT -5 Oliver said:

Jun 7, 2020 5:22:07 GMT -5 Rick said:

You did make that thread on Duchess too. Both your threads were of value.

I think the friend list will be more functional when the forum's software upgrades. Right now, it's mostly a friend list. Whether or not you follow back is up to you.

I'd forgotten about that!

This is therefore my second thread.

In hindsight it would have been better titled Follow You Follow Me, after the Genesis song.

You can edit the topic title if you'd like, but it's not necessary.

I also can't wait to see your picture thread in The Darkroom. Your vacation adventures are quite fun.

[Biased]

It's just for fun. It doesn't do anything other than create a buddy list to my knowledge. The person can't see your information or anything. I follow back everyone who follows me.

[cherrydarlin999]

I actually never used it before. I will follow a few people right now and see what happens.

[bigballofyarn]

Oliver,

I forgot about something. If you go to your profile, and then click on the "following" tab, you can also see the forum activities of forum members you are following. These things shouldn't show up in your standard notifications. If you wanted, you could also edit your privacy settings to share your email address with your friends. Overall, this feature was never fully developed.

[Ruby White]

Jun 7, 2020 8:32:09 GMT -5 bigballofyarn said:

Oliver,

I forgot about something. If you go to your profile, and then click on the "following" tab, you can also see the forum activities of forum members you are following. These things shouldn't show up in your standard notifications. If you wanted, you could also edit your privacy settings to share your email address with your friends. Overall, this feature was never fully developed.

I don't think I ever realized that was an option.