Community Survey 2023 results

[cm-soupsipper]

In December of 2023, a forum-wide survey was offered as part of a community audit. It asked questions about the community culture and sought to understand what keeps the community coming back, and what were the biggest pain points of its members. There were many heartful answers on what keeps the community coming back. Here's a summary of the key points:

Appreciation for Historical TV Show Forums: Members express gratitude for forums dedicated to TV shows from the past, appreciating the opportunity to deepen their understanding of episodes through discussions with fellow forum participants.

Civility and Articulate Communication: The civility of the Primetimer community and the preference for complete sentences over text-speak are valued. This reflects a high standard of discourse within the community.

Diverse and Engaging Community: The forums are recognized as a place to connect with people worldwide on various topics, fostering positive social interactions and friendships not possible on larger platforms.

Moderation for Constructive Discussion: There is a call for clear rules for moderators to ensure decisions are based on objective criteria rather than personal opinions. This suggests a desire for fairness and transparency in moderation.

Feedback on Ads: While there's an understanding that ads are necessary for revenue, there's a call for more "polite" ads that don't obstruct content or disrupt the user experience. This includes suggestions for reducing intrusive ads and video ads.

Recommendations for Forum Improvements: Suggestions include reducing redundant threads to stimulate conversation, addressing monopolization by forum cliques, and making the site more Intuitive for mobile devices.

Support for DEI and Respectful Discussions: Feedback highlights the importance of allowing diverse opinions and fostering a space where disagreement is not immediately considered bullying or harassment. There's a strong call for ensuring discussions remain respectful, even when opinions diverge.

Gratitude for the Community: Many respondents express thanks for the community and the moderators, appreciating the forum as a place for meaningful engagement across a wide range of interests.

Growth Edges: 

The community survey revealed some key findings that confirmed many of the trends we were seeing across the board of polarizing views in this community forum. To be blunt, somewhere along the way, much of the snark had turned to bullying and outright hate-speech in multiple forums and threads. The “be civil” rule was followed less and less in the spirit and more and more to not get caught. 

Demographics: The majority of the community members that filled out the survey were white women over the age of 50 with a graduate education. While we are grateful for each one of you, we had to ask ourselves, where all the other diverse voices are, and what about this community did not motivate them to fill out the survey or were they even still in the community at all? This is part of why we are focusing so heavily on building a culture of inclusivity. Every post, and every conversation, is a statement to the rest of the world on who is welcome here.

Overall, the feedback underscores a community that values respectful dialogue, diverse opinions, and the opportunity to connect over shared interests. There's a clear desire for improvements that enhance the member experience and ensure that discussions remain inclusive and constructive.

Culture Check: What do your posts say about who will be welcome and celebrated here? 

DEI Resources - Introducing a new Primetimer resource! When forums or threads are Red-lit or Green-lit, this document will be a resource to improve the forum culture.