I was going to continue derailing the other thread, but since one of the things I mentioned within my post was “One of these days the community will get the hang of ‘Reply as Linked Topic’…” well, I had to stop and actually use the tool instead of contribute to the problem.
I do like that the community is more like a giant cocktail party where we can flit from one discussion to another, often containing many of the same participants.
And of all the forum style communities, this is the one in which I feel the most comfortable performing thread necromancy. Conversations easily continue a month or more later when someone pops in with another piece to add to the discussion.
I can get that it makes the environment a little less friendly to those who are trying to get factual information and nothing more… but so what? That isn’t a service we offer very easily. But as long as such people make a post ASKING their question, answers are out there, and people will be along shortly to link you the relevant information.
Plus, we then have you hooked and since you already posted once, why not stick around and talk for a while…
it would be neat if there was a AI to cross link and show a graphical spider of where topics jump and move around. to pull the thread is it where and just see how things move around and continue else where.
This is the very much how an extrovert creates relationships in a new environment, by “working the room” with small talk.
Small talk can be a barrier to building relationships and can feel particularly disingenuous for introverts, who crave authenticity in their interactions.
(At least now I know how to use the ‘quote reply’ tool) I love that you said that…it was very funny. I also understand what you were getting at about how this community communicates…" like a giant cocktail party", and that the information people seek…plus even more…really is all in here. But I also can see this…[quote=“jdodds, post:3, topic:2173”]
Small talk can be a barrier to building relationships and can feel particularly disingenuous for introverts, who crave authenticity in their interactions.
[/quote]
as I have a little of both sides of the coin in me. I still love coming by to ‘see’ everyone, once in a while.
I do agree with you, “BIG introvert” is a small statement when it comes to my personality. I can see we are are community already, sharing a big passion. I believe we will grow even more, once we are all in full “production” exchanging even more practical ideas, brainstorming and trouble shooting
I’m sure you will find it hard to believe, but I am an introvert. Just not here.
Always have been. My Wife is opposite. Crowds recharge her batteries, they drain mine.
At her company Christmas party; “Where’s Dave?”
“Oh, he does that”.
I’ll be wandering around admiring the building architecture or looking at the stars. I am most comfortable with solitude.
Even though I am active here, as I type this I sit alone. There is a degree of anonymity online, so that helps. (beer helps to) However I assure you of my authenticity.
I think it’s a function of the atmosphere here, maybe because we all have a serious stake in this endeavor - but anybody that wants a glowforge is a friend of mine!
Being in the written world, and being non-temporal, allows me to play this version of the cocktail party more like an extrovert. Real life, also a giant introvert.
I sit in a comfortable spot and listen to all conversations in range. I will inject a comment here and there (usually to the reception of odd glances) in just about any conversation. But never do I actually then JOIN the conversation. I still sit on the outskirts.
But here… those random injections of a comment are a completely valid method of adding to any thread, and you have no obligation to hang around after
Interestingly, the vast majority of extroverts just don’t get that. In a room of new people I feel like there is this big black hole being created in my chest that can only be relieved by me getting out as soon as possible. An extremely high anxiety event for me. Like your wife, mine is also the opposite. She is energized by it.
Trying to figure out how an extrovert (me) should respond to you for posting. I’m glad you did! I keep reminding myself that there are many who follow all we say on the forum. What a great perspective you must have.
On here… I would say no call can be made. To keep the cocktail party analogy, he is the host… so goes where beckoned and does what is needed. Not much time for interaction. And since everyone is here as “his guest” he has a natural tie to them, so it would remain impossible to identify as introvert or extrovert, since in most interactions it is more of a 1 on 1 or a presentation, rather than a joining of a group.
In public… I don’t often bother to read people. But if I had to, then by mannerisms observed when he is talking in the presentations I have seen… Dan is a pretty hard and heavy introvert by natural inclination, but knows how to kick on the extrovert mode as required (which most introverts figure out, especially those who need to as a job)
I definitely agree with your observations. Introverts do not have to “dial it up” to speak to a group or one-on-one when it comes to a topic they are passionate about and where they are in control. The passion for the topic just spills over into the information exchange. In that situation the introvert looks like an extrovert.
Way back when I was still in public accounting with Ernst & Whinney (now KMPG) I taught the week long sessions about the firm’s audit approach to the juniors. During the sessions, my enthusiasm for the material just rollled out with animation and passion. However, in the daily end of day mixers, I was barely about to interact with these same people.
Hard to pin that guy. @dan comes off as extrovert, but I’m not sure that isn’t a practiced skill.
He has been dragged by his dreams down a long hard road where people skills are necessary to get directions. His book made it clear to me that he has been down that road and back.
Personally, I can’t imagine asking someone for millions of their dollars to back my idea, so it’s clear he wears the front-man hat well.
Please pardon us Dan while we entertain ourselves speculating on what makes you tick…
Unlike other online tests of this sort, there is no need to offer up any personal information, including an email address, to get results. The results, plus an explanation of them, are offered at the end of the test.
I just took the test, the results were accurate for me (I’ve taken this style of test many times before in line with my job).
At the end, there is a list of famous and fictitious people that share the same personality traits. That’s pretty fun.
Holy crap, I have taken many such tests before, but this one nailed me so perfectly it was kind of uncanny! Not sure if you went through the whole report (its 9 or 10 pages worth), I am what they call a Mediator (INFP), which I apparently share with William Shakespeare, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tom Hiddleston, Julia Roberts, Lisa Kudrow and Johnny Depp; I like that, because I respect and admire many of those folks!
I was going to ask if anyone else wanted to share their results, but am now thinking that a large outpouring of discussion on this test might be better suited for a new thread of its own.
Great topic, and I love the cocktail party analogy. Funny though, I don’t think of the Glowforge community site as even being old enough for necromancy (that is, reviving a long-dead thread). To me it’s not really even dead unless it hasn’t had any activity for a year or two.
Unlike a regular cocktail party, the cocktail party that is an online forum is one that goes on over long periods of time. Some might be pretty active and checking weekly or even daily, while others may only visit monthly… or every few months. And as you also mentioned, some people will only pop in when they’re looking for specific answers to specific questions.
I’m involved in a few other communities, and I don’t mind a mix of new and old discussions. I personally think that if an old discussion has run its natural course there’s nothing wrong with starting a new thread (especially considering many users won’t read the replies if there are many or most of what they see is old), but that’s just me. If I don’t have the time or I’m just popping in to find an answer, I’ll usually make use of search to find answers and don’t mind if someone answered it last week or last year.
