This is an important issue so let me try to explain my view point on this - many of the senior members I've had direct interactions with will agree that this has remained consistent over the last 7 years that this community has been online.
1) We have to look at the interactions from the point of view of a novice, as well as an experienced professional. An HR professional who has just joined a job or a professional who has some HR issues, when they come in, they have to be given a conducive environment to help them open up. This currently happens because many of our senior members are very open, welcoming and approachable. One of our core goals is to nurture professionals and professionalism - this includes the novices.
- The issue of repeat posting: this is a problem we face because the demographic we serve are not very conversant with how to use a website like this. That, you should first search for any material already available. The issue of old members repeatedly getting exposed to the same types of questions is a serious matter and we have been trying to control the home page / recent page behaviour to make sure those areas are free of repetitions.
- We need to remain open and approachable - that is one of our core values and a primary reason why so many people make this place their home. In their welcome email, they are assured by us that they will not be ridiculed or talked down upon - even if they post something repeated by mistake. People need that assurance to make this place their own.
- We will be including a way for users to share outside content in a "newsroom" area - this will allow the community to get exposed to a lot of fresh material on a daily basis. This will be deployed in a couple of weeks.
2) There are two ways of running a community - one where everything is moderated, two where almost nothing is. We run the second kind (minimal moderation) - this allows us to keep costs low, allows for diversity to prosper and often brings forth interesting discussions you can't find elsewhere. While we are trying to make the experience better for our old members who want to be exposed only to the best material and discussions - there is an inherent value this chaos brings which cannot be replicated by pressing rules. We will continue to work on the filters to the home/recent page so only the best material surfaces there.
3) Members loosing interest - yes, there is a always a churn rate and our most active members 7 years ago no longer have time to devote to this community but that is an accepted fact. The value these members create while they are here, lives on for the generations ahead. Having said that, we do want these old members to return and we are trying to build a better front page so people find value in visiting this network repeatedly on a daily basis. This will be created on our base domain Cite.Co and also linked to all home pages.
4) It's important to follow the senior members as "recommendations" of threads is an important tool with which you can identify interesting discussions.
5) The top discussions are listed here:
CiteHR - Top HR Discussions This Month and I do find that there are some great discussions going on at present. There are limits to how interesting management discussions can be, but I assure you that we have some of the best material existing in today's world. Again, I request senior members to try to start new discussions which may add value for everyone.
6) Answers on management issues are often a debate (unless its about a certain law) - and debates can often take a direction that you don't agree with. Which is why we add the words "Keep your conduct polite and professional" above the comment posting form - maintaining a healthy debate requires that some semblance of professionalism and detachment is maintained.
We will continue to work towards improving the experience for our members.
Regards,
Sid