nandacavalieri wow! Nice article and I agree (not with everything though)! I think new fanpoppers should be treat well and be motivated to stay in Fanpop. Get to know how awesome this place is and how amazing people are ;] Once again, great article! p.s - I just don't know how to do such thing

IsisRain You bring up some great points here! Great article!

astroasis *standing ovation* Brilliant article! I would give it 6 stars if I could! I keep seeing the same tired names and the same tired "in-jokes" in picks and even in other submissions. I don't fault the "popular users" for having their fun. But when that fun starts making new users feel automatically ostracized, that's no longer okay. The goal of ANY website should be to make users who joined today enjoy the site just as much as users who have been around from the very beginning. Sadly, that's not the case here. New users get criticized rudely for their content (doubles, image credit, keywords) and yet I see old content submitted by "power users" that suffer from the same mistakes. Have we all forgotten that we were once new, too? That maybe we didn't show up on Fanpop automatically knowing everything about everything? Apparently, many of us have. As for picks... too often what's considered a "great pick" in this spot is one that is little more than a popularity contest. And you know what? I used to laugh at people who added themselves to those kind of picks... but I don't anymore. Because if they didn't add themselves, NO ONE ELSE WOULD. Each and every one of those self-insertions is one more Fanpopper saying, "I'd like to be part of the fun, too..." and getting soundly IGNORED. What Fanpop doesn't need is the millionth pick about the same ten "popular" users. It needs some fresh, NEW picks that really invite EVERYONE to join in and have fun with everyone else. We need picks and content that tell even the newest of users, "Hey, we're having fun here... and you're just as welcome as everyone else!" not picks that ask them, "Which of these users you don't know (and who haven't even been on the site in months) would you rather be on a deserted island with?" In short, Fanpoppers who complain about the community dying need to open their eyes and see that the community isn't DYING at all. It's CHANGING. For those who want to ignore the changes and the new faces and live on in the "glory days" of their Fanpop experience, I can see that being quite a disappointment. For the rest of Fanpop... I see this change as a good thing. A chance for new friends and new jokes and new FUN for everybody. Again, BRAVO on your article.

Cammie Hmmm, I don't exactly agree with what you've written but I DO respect and understand what you're saying,lloyd2. I don't think anyone is placing more importance on long-time users than newer ones, I think many of us (myself included) are just wondering why some of the more active users are disappearing. The pick you mention at the beginning of your article which was posted by tush_tush was a "sequel" to a pick I had posted myself. I named some active users that just seemed to not be here anymore or as much. Included in my pick was a fairly new user - coolguy11606. He'd only been fanpopping for a short time but he was a great contributor and very active. Then *poof* gone! For myself, I'm just interested in knowing why active users (older or newer) just lose interest in the site. Good article though,lloyd2. It's always interesting and, I think, beneficial to see different view points from the users. Edit: had to edit coolguy's name.

tushtush Lloyd2, I completely agree with what you're saying, there's always room for new users. :D It's just that, at the moment, people don't seem to be talking as much because we don't really know each other yet. Then again, I remember when Cammie joined and she was instantly 'known' because she contributed and was nice to everyone, just generally Camtastic. I don't think time really matters on here, it's just having the confidence to jump into the conversations and talk to other fanpoppers. New users just don't seem to be hanging around these spots, though. :/ Cammie: There's no underscore in my name. Bahahaha. :D

Cammie Hmmm tushtush, thank you for the nice comments. I'm not so sure that the reasons you've given are correct though. I think the reason many users were familiar with me was because I have a bloody big mouth and I was in everyone's face with my Bewitched obsesssion. Btw, I am still totally Bewitched obsessed but I think the users are used to my fanaticism by now. tushtush, please note that there is no underscore in your name now,lol! EDIT: why? typos. whatelse is new?!

misanthrope86 astroasis said - "[i]The goal of ANY website should be to make users who joined today enjoy the site just as much as users who have been around from the very beginning.[/i]" Absolutely great point. The site is definately changing. But I agree more with Cammie I guess. If the changing nature of Fanpop pushes older users to leave, then what astroasis said about everyone enjoying Fanpop probably isn't happening.

astroasis I don't think it's the changing nature of the Fanpop community that's making older users leave. Possibly the changing nature of Fanpop ITSELF could make some leave, but I doubt it would be the new faces and new interactions that would be doing it. And honestly, if older users ARE leaving because they have to share the "spotlight" with newer users, then I wouldn't miss people like that! XD P.S. I also don't include the recent "meanness" as being part of the changing Fanpop community. I think the "meanness" has no place here and should be stamped out entirely, be it new or old users taking part in it. Just so you know I wasn't talking about that part of the community! :)

IsisRain I just think it would be really nice to see new users welcomed more, included more and not chased off by being jumped on for making a mistake.

dazl As an old, decrepit user (so old), I will edumicate you youngsters. Its like a tide, people who were incredibly active when I joined are forgotten. People rise and fall, and some groups disappear. Anyone remember pirateoro, or Greedo? I rest my case. The picks about older users with the injokes, well, we knew each other really well. Now I can honestly say I know a lot fewer of you now, just because I don't have the time I had back then.

astroasis There's a good example right there.

tushtush I remember pirateroro and Greedo! (It's my two year fanniversary. :D) Astroasis, the reason we all knew each other wasn't because the main fanpoppers of that time were excluding everyone else, but because that fanpop community was so much smaller. It was impossible not to become good friends with everyone as the same people were everywhere. Now there are so many of us that it's impossible to include every new user in each pick. Also, there hasn't been a 'popularity contest' pick in so long, as everyone is so spread out. I completely agree with you about the unnecessary rudeness when pointing out repeat picks etc. , though that's the only way that I can see that you would take as excluding new users. Otherwise, I think everyone is included equally. :D

astroasis I see new users being excluded any time something is said somewhere that would make a new user feel intimidated or unwelcome on the site. Just as an example, Dazl's joking about ritually sacrificing new users in the Fanpop Luau pick is the kind of thing a new user would see and immediately assume that this site's "regulars" aren't too open to befriending new users. It's less of an active excluding and more of a subtle "We prefer established users" mentality that ends up achieving the same thing: making new users feel unwelcome simply because they're new. I've also seen a lot of examples of newer users' comments/content being ignored while other "popular" users' comments/content are raved about. And maybe the best example... I've been on this site for 8 months and I still feel unwelcome here sometimes. Not on Fanpop itself, mind you, but on this particular spot.

tushtush I still feel that way, too. It's nothing to do with the time you've spent on fanpop though, as I would be considered a veteran by those standards though I'm pretty much unknown and completely unbothered by that, it's just about your activity. Another example is HUmperdicken, who was active around these spots from the moment he joined and was 'accepted' as part o' the family form the beginning. You don't have to be included in picks to be a celebrated member of the community, you just have to have a gimmick to be in those. :D

germany123 i remember pirateroro!! :D [i]It's nothing to do with the time you've spent on fanpop though, as I would be considered a veteran by those standards though I'm pretty much unknown and completely unbothered by that, it's just about your activity.[/i] exactly!(well..not that youre unknown..the other part of that comment :)) no one is keeping anyone from making fun picks aboot users or random fanpop stuff. id answer anyones pick. i dont check how long they have been active. if its a fun pick i will answer and comment. heck even debs was fairly "new" when i joined. of course you will make the options aboot people you know rather than people you dont. and i was new i remember- i wasnt a part of the picks either but it never bothered me at all cause i had fun answering and commenting.

tushtush Exactly. :D I remember when Debs first joined and I was like, "Woah, she's nice!" Hehe. :D

housekid45 Well I'm new and I don't really feel welcome in the house or scrubs clubs. however the shonen jump spot is really homely, for a spot with a decent amount of content, i'm suprised to see it's only got about 20 fans. btw did lloyd create the shonen jump spot?

harold lloyd2: just a few comments about your article. It is a shame that anyone should feel excluded when coming to the site, and you're right, we should continue to work to help people feel welcome. I have a number of theories for the phenomena you mention that I'd like to present here. 1. (somewhat echoing tushtush's point): Even with a site that was originally about cataloging great content on different topics, it's natural for people to group together on any site, especially when so many social networking features have been added to Fanpop since its inception (props, chat, emotes...even the "word balloon" comment formatting which I personally despise). People "play" on the site together, they naturally get to know one another and start associating with one another. This forms bonds and social groups...cliques, if you like. 2. People are naturally intimidated by existing social groups when they see them from the outside. While not being expressly excluded in a conversation between multiple users making ribald jokes about johnminh and whatever costume he's supposed to be wearing this week, a new user naturally feels alienated because he/she is not [i]in[/i]cluded. It's like coming late to a party: you have a while to get the feel of the room and figure out what the people are discussing in the little groups that have formed. Should you get upset that conversations have started before you arrived? 3. You lament the 5% of fans that are active on the site. That's actually a pretty high number for a web site, if true. There's a long-standing formula in the web publishing industry that only 10% of users provide any content, and 90% of all content/effort is provided by 1% or less of the user base. This, too, is human nature: just about everybody is going to be a consumer of goods most of the time. It's not that users are being suppressed; it's much more likely that the rate of new users who create a lot of content or are particularly active will continue to be low (1 in 100 or less). Each person has to choose where to expend their energy, and online, that usually works out to be about 1% of the users (or at least, 1% of the users doing [b]most[/b] of the work). 4. An aside about people leaving the site: Fanpop doesn't provide this granularity in its online statistics (nor have I seen it in reporting web sites like Alexa), but my observation is that the vast majority of Fanpop's users are teens (and, contrary to the Terms of Service, many many pre-teens). Why is that? Is there something about the idea of cataloging good content on the web that only appeals to teens? I suggest not. I think rather that teens have the most time to spend on casual web sites. Most of the people who have "left" the site (or drastically curtailed their use) I believe have done so for at least one of two reasons: a) Beta has ended. Let's face it: a lot of early users were recruited as testers for the site, scouring the site for bugs and usability issues, and called upon to act as early adopters of various features. That period ended on January 1st when the site officially went live. b) They got old enough for other things (usually responsibilities) to take time away from Fanpop. Almost all of the people that get lamented as leaving the site have hit 18 years, and found that they need to work, to leave for university. That, I think, is the majority, though others have had to work on their marriages, their existing jobs, new kids, etc. 5. I feel very strongly that we should all continue to work to make new users feel welcome. Does that mean we should stop making picks that talk about select users? No, that'd be like people at a party having to stop and reset their conversations every time somebody new entered. But picks that do include new users - such as the semi-regular [url=http://www.fanpop.com/spots/fanpop-users/picks/show/230846]Fan of the Fortnight[/url] should be promoted and advertised. In particular, for that pick you are strongly encouraged to both submit your choices to PkmnTrainerJ before the next one starts AND to add your choice to the current one. Sometimes those picks go toward people who are longtime users, but often they go to new users. There's also clubs like the [url=http://www.fanpop.com/spots/new-fanpop-users]New Fanpop Users[/url] club, dedicated to meeting new users, providing them introductory information, and helping them get connected to others on the site. That could definitely be promoted more.

harold Now to comment on the thread: The site is definitely changing. It is becoming more and more of a social networking site, for good and ill. This means both that people are coming to the site to make friends, and that people so coming to the site are feeling ostracized when they aren't accepted as such. In case it isn't obvious, that's an HUGE change in the user mindset for the site. Users with the mindset that the site is about coming together to share content on particular topics won't even be able to understand the gripes of users come to make friends, since their value system is based on the quality of contributions, and users coming to make friends are going to feel alienated when such users explain how the features of the site differentiate from each other. "Using props to simply say "HI!" to your friends is an abuse of the feature" one group would say, and the other would say "There shouldn't be any restriction on how we use the site at all." [b]Both views are equally valid.[/b] It only becomes a problem when you expect them to be reconciled somehow. In that case, the "content" users will invariably see the "social" users as the basest kind of troll, and the "social" users see the "content" users as authoritarian jerks. And that invariably leads to rounds of ranting articles and reckless user reporting, which really is inappropriate from either side.