Kiva Participation

[Guest]

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[saabnet]

I apparently missed the thread this was linked??? to/from.  And I still don't spot the link.  Try reading this thread from Post # 1 if you didn't know where it came from. 

The very first post has no links - it's just this: 
Thanks Dan, You summed it up very well!

Henry!! In any message in any post where you quote someone, you can always click on the green quote and it links back to the original message you were quoting for handy reference.

-Scott

[Henry]

Thanks Scott - I did not know that!    Feeling pretty 'newbie' at the moment!  ok - did anyone else know that?
Learn something new everyday!

[KivanSteven]

Holy crapoli...I didnt know that either!!!...add me to the newbie list...anyone else want to join Henry and I...there's plenty of room. 

[Jan & John]

d'oh (teehee Steve and Henry  you guys always know everything... so I feel pretty proud that I did know that about the link

however - Scott's quoting of Dagfinn's comment did make me think about just how much we expect from Kiva staff...
after all, we are really - hee - an insignificant number compared to the total number of Kiva lenders ...
...and we do manage to go on and on and on...  so why would Kiva staff read it all?

I've only been on KF for 5 months and have seen the threads explode so it's hard for me to keep up.  I have no idea how it is for a moderator. 

I have only had to use the contactus email twice and both times Kiva replied fairly soon so they do want to answer the lender questions. 

Do you think having such a liaison might be helpful in alleviating this concern?  If so, I'll drop her another email today and see if we can schedule something. 

--DIane.

Diane - this sounds like a good idea - if we could somehow streamline what KF 'thinks' Kiva needs to deal with - maybe they would also respond.  I used to think that was the Suggestion Box but now I don't know.  Once in a while a staffer has posted but they seem to have stopped.  Gee, maybe they are even on vacation   (or in some home recovering from overwork and burn-out)

jan

[KivanSteven]

Their posts seem pretty consistent to me in number at least...I know they went out of their way in the past to make us well aware that they do follow the threads pretty diligently for a busy group of people trying to change the world, but I dont ever remember them posting too often in the 12 months Ive been here.  Do we have reason to believe they don't read up anymore if in fact their posts haven't waned any?

Anyhow, if the other ideas fall through, what about a thread on KF that can be added to by a moderator which can list links to threads or posts pertinent to the folks at Kiva?  It wouldnt be open to forum posts, similar to the "Announcements" thread that only allows Kiva.org staff to post news for Kiva Friends.  This would better enable Kiva folks to immediately find what they need to see rather than having to turn over a few coins in a thousand acre field.

http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/board,36.0.html

Im sure the moderators are busy enough so if they do like the idea but dont have the extra time to head this up, then disregard the thought.  If moderators cant do this, I would scrap the idea.  Leaving the thread open to anyone would eventually lead to far too much generalized or unnecessary information I think, rendering it obsolete.

[RichardF]

My impression is that Kiva staffers really don't have all that much trouble finding topics that interest them.

[saabnet]

Their posts seem pretty consistent to me in number at least...Do we have reason to believe they don't read up anymore if in fact their posts haven't waned any?

I agree with you, Steve, and that was the gist of my reponse to Dagfinn when he brought up that it didn't seem like Kiva was participating here on KivaFriends anymore. I have absolutely no reason to believe their posts have waned.

It was pure future speculation on my part. I also thought I noticed Jan's explosion of threads (not really posts) here in July, but after Richard's post:

My impression is that Kiva staffers really don't have all that much trouble finding topics that interest them.

I thought some more about it and I think I realize that obviously, Kiva wouldn't read the site the same way I do, using things like the Recent Posts shortcut, but rather would target just relevant threads, so I remain optimistic about their continued participation.

-Scott

[KivanSteven]

But with as often as the threads change and move and get pushed up and down, in addition to all the new threads that constantly pop up, usually over 100 per month, they obviously have to read the new ones to determine if there is an interest for them or if something was said that requires their attention or interest.

It might not save them a lot of time, but I think they would like the convenience of it.  And then with the feature Scott just pointed out to some of us "newbies" they could immediately locate the quoted material in the actual thread and reply to it directly should they want to correspond.  But you might still be right Richard--just my hunch that they dont see everything and do miss some important material.  A lot of us do, so how can we expect them not to as well?

Edit:  I do see where you guys are coming from now due to Scott's last post...I still think they can easily miss things they need to know and hear about, but that which they do or want to follow they can easily bookmark into a favorites folder for example for quick and immediate access.  In fact now that I think of it, I think Henry already started an "earth to Kiva" type of thread where everyone could post some brief ideas or thoughts for the Kiva folks.  Do they still use that Henry?

[RichardF]

If someone wants to suggest to Kiva staffers they pay attention to something important, I suggest they post it in the Suggestion Box.

[KivanSteven]

Actually when it comes to suggestions you're right--that is the best place for them as far as I know...as for more detailed discussions and topics youll just have to hope they cross paths with them.