New Posters With All The Social Issues?

[Prudie]

Firstly before anyone comments these don't bother me but has anyone else noticed how many new posters come on here with quite a wide range of social issues, many are teen angst but no all. It's been happening much more in the last few months and agreed it gives the armchair counsellors an interesting topic to comment on (have often joined in myself). How do these people find this site to pour out their hearts and also seem to know to post in B&S or society? How come so many seem to be in US? We don't get new posters from US in News do we. Do we all think they are real people?
It just interests me.

[davebro]

I guess with millions of internet users in the USA and billions worldwide a few are bound to land up here.

I only came for a crossword answer! I'll get me coat.

[ladybirder]

I agree Prudie, I had noticed the same. They seem a bit iffy to me.

[anneasquith]

What I find more odd is that some abers actually respond / give advice to some of them.

[Ellipsis]

It's since the demise of Yahoo Answers ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Answers

[naomi24]

Quite a few 'new' posters seem to have registered years ago. Perhaps admin has done a major 'mailshot' to encourage people back and hence. generate more business. Considering this place is haemorrhaging members at a rate of knots, it's probably not a bad idea.

[johnny.5]

yeah and I've noticed that none of the so called "new users" have ever requested information on where to buy an orange bucket

Am I Right ?
I'm Not Wrong !

[calmck]

If they all sign up later in the evening probably from different time zones. A lot sound like the younger generation.

[AuntPG]

I don't think Yahoo has much to do with it. AB is a miniscule Question Answer site compared with the big boys such as Answers.com. AB is run as a platform for selling advertising, as many are, and relies on footfall and people accessing the site to check in on replies to their questions and answers. No, I dont think all the questions posted relate to personal experiences of the posters, but they do cover situations that someone may experience in real life so serve a purpose. Posting controversial or seemingly 'wind -up' posts often get more responses -go figure.

[naomi24]

A lot sound made up too. Maybe someone's been trawling the Agony Aunt pages.

[Prudie]

I remember the suggestion they may have come from yahoo but I don't think that's an entirely logical explanation. Why don't we get new posters joining in with news for example? There must be a vast number of US citizens who could have commented intelligently on Trump threads or asking something sensible in Science? Such newcomers are few and far between but it's almost daily in B&S and Society re relationship or sex issues. If you haven't noticed just look at those sections for this last week alone.

[Sqad]

Absolutely spot on and this has been going on in B&S for at least 10 years.

Problem is 2 fold:
Firstly AB is a site for "easy meat".......suckers to be precise and secondly Site Rules feeds these trolls by insisting that they should be treated as bona fida posters.

It will never change and by and large AB is not worth the attention.

[AuntPG]

Sqad: AB is not a private club (though treated as such by some). The only way AB will keep going is by advertising revenue, which will diminish if footfall diminishes. So does it really matter? I would assume half the stories in Agony columns in newspapers are made up anyway.

[johnny.5]

apg
"Posting controversial or seemingly 'wind -up' posts often get more responses -go figure"

whatever can you mean ?

[Ellipsis]

> It's been happening much more in the last few months

>> It's since the demise of Yahoo Answers [On April 5, 2021, Yahoo! announced that Yahoo! Answers would be shutting down.On April 20, 2021, the website switched to read-only and users were no longer able to ask or answer questions. The site ceased operations in most languages on May 4, 2021 ...]

> I remember the suggestion they may have come from yahoo but I don't think that's an entirely logical explanation.

Seems entirely logical to me!

[Sqad]

APG.
Correct. It has become increasingly popular with the mediocrity and hence a fertile feeding ground for the "insincere ".
No, it doesn't matter, except that the reputation of AB has suffered a significant fall.

[gulliver1]

I Like Answer Bank it's a very good and fair site,...... very well managed.
I have made lots of friends on this site.

[Prudie]

So Ellipsis was yahoo answers just about young people and their social worries? If that was the only subject matter then maybe...

[AuntPG]

Gully me too, and with friends like that who needs enemies lol!

[andy-hughes]

naomi - // Considering this place is haemorrhaging members at a rate of knots, it's probably not a bad idea. //

Do you have any evidence to back up your observation?

[Sqad]

A-H........I think that naomi meant "posters" rather than members.