In your opinion, which are the most interesting topics?

[ArchiMotion]

Am doing some research on Architecture forums and what motivates designers, engineers, and the general public to participate in online design discussions.

In your opinion, which are the most interesting topics in this Architecture Forum?

Below are listed the top most visited posts in the Architecture Forum over the past year, with respective number of visitors and/or/clicks to each topic:

1. Sustainable Built Environment, Carbon neutral by 2030 - 55804

2. Concept in Architecture - 45507

3. Form Follows Function - 43792

4. World Trade Center - was building responsible for collapse? 42929

5. Arthur Erickson - 40988

6. Architecture - Commodity or Complex craft - 33806

7. Deconstruction Understanding Thought - 33029

8. Double wall construction techniques - 32788

9. thanks for stopping fight - 31742

10. What makes Dubai's architectural market so hot? 31589

11. Architectural History - 29927

12. Intelligent Design - 27808

13. WTC Conspiracy - 25799

14. Creativity in Architecture - 23477

15. Vertical Vs Horizontal Living another direction? 20479

16. Architecture for Poor - 20409

17. Where is the profession going ? - 20302

18. A Platform of Participation - 18023

19. Laboratory for the study of proportions - 16310

20. House on very steep land - 15955

21. Organic Architecture - 14097

22. Vapor Barrier Spokane - 13503

23. Best of Russin Architecture - 13228

24. On postmodernism - 18192

In your opinion, which of these was the best post?

Which is the best author of post?

Which author of post do you find most unique?

Which author do you find most interesting?

Which author of post do you miss most?

Which author of post is most insightful?

Which has contributed most significantly to the forum?

Which topic would you like to see come back into discussion?

If you had more time available, which topic would you comment more on?

Of the most visited topics, which do you feel are over-rated in clicks? If so, why?

Are there other topics which you believe merit more clicks, but are not getting them? If so, why?

What do you think drives people to view/comment on the topics? Self-interest, popularity/ group behavior, popular subjects, intriguing subjects, other?

Are there other interesting topics you have seen in online discussions and if so, where?

Your input will be helpful.

[djswan]

You can feel the eyes on this one.

[Architorture]

being familiar with several of those threads it would probably be helpful to also investigate how much of the content of the threads actually stayed anywhere near on topic... because alot of traffic can be generated very quickly when there is controversy...

also i think another thing to look at is the subject lines of the threads...2 in particular jump out of your list 'sustainable' and 'dubai' i can see that alot of the traffic in those threads may have come from outside of the forum from such places as google or other search engines...these views may not have resulted in any contribution from the visitors...

just some items to think about

[mx2]

[lekizz]

The number of visitors doesn't tell you a great deal, infact it is a very poor measurement of the popularity of a thread. The older threads will obviously have more visits, won't they! A better measure of popularity would be to count the (on topic) responses.

[csintexas]

Maybe even better would be to look at number of views in relation to number of responses.

The number of page views will probably be a good indicator of search engines queries hitting and actual responses a good indicator of how much interest there is within DC.

I doubt there is any real good data to be had there anyway. I would guess Google knows a lot about what people are looking for.

[Architorture]

i'm going to go out on a limb and say the thing that we like to talk about most is probably is probably Design...why, what and how...

i think the threads that get talking about styles and movements and why things are designed one way or another get the most thoughtful and truly construction discussion going...

there have been several conversations that have started or turned into discussions of 'blobitecture' most have been quite interesting and illuminating with contributions from many sides...

also discussions on how architecture is made seem to get alot of play... talks on theories of production and software etc etc get alot of good discussion going...

[ArchiMotion]

Some good points were made, thanks. This brings forth the need for further analysis of the data.

Certainly the issues of most concern, as Architorture has pointed out, are ones related to design, theory, practice, implementation of architecture. The who and why's for a particular style, philosopy of design and it's representation in the built environment, and the respective response designers display to the same. Engaging discussion should thus in some way, to draw more interest, be related to the trends of architecture, to current architectural thinking.

In response to the commentaries made, here below are the actual posts in order of appearance. This demonstrates how the most recent or the oldest may or may not have more or less clicks, depending on various factors, (not just how long they have been around). Some seem to incur clicks faster then others, even though they may be newer then older posts, they accumulate clicks at a faster rate. Many of the clicks most likely are coming from Google keyword searches, as some have suggested, as member participation in the posts, compared to the number of clicks, is actually quite low. And many replies to topics are indeed personal in nature, somewhat off-subject in many cases, and at times lack an understanding of the topics at hand. With this in mind, it is indeed very difficult to use this as a measure of community interest in these topics. But, the feedback given on what topics were the most interesting and why is indeed a good start at evaluating a general sense or feeling towards the most popular subjects.

Here are the posts, in the order of appearance, (most recent at the top) and also with the ratios of replies to clicks calculated:

Double wall - 32788 Sat /32946 Sunday - a large increase in visits, but no new responses, in one day. Actual number of responses = 81. Ratio of responses to clicks = 0.002458 - that is actually very bad, a very low ratio of responses compared to page visits.

Famous Architects - 8891 Sat / 8957 Sunday. Actual responses = 45. Ratio = 0.005024. Slightly bettere then Double wall, but still a very low amount of responses in relation to clicks.

Who is the best architect in the world - 10156 Sat / 10228 Sunday. Actual responses = 19. Ratio=0.0018576. Lower then Double wall. A very low ratio also.

De Maria Architect - 11453 Sat / 11487 Sunday. A very small increase in clicks from one day to the next. Actual responses = 17. Ratio = 0.0014799. The lowest response rate of all the above yet.

Best of Russin Architecture - 13228 / 13264 Sunday. Also a small increase in clicks, as compared to some of the posts at the top of the most recent list. Actual number of responses - 17. Ratio 0.00128166. The ratio of responses to clicks keeps dropping, as the posts receed back into cyberspace. This demonstrates also that it is the posts at the top always that are getting the most clicks, but also, as they receed back, they get a diminishing amount of responses as well.

House on very steep land - 15955 / 16056 Sunday. Actual number of responses = 124. Ratio = 0.00772286. The best ratio of responses to clicks, for the top subjects soo far...

Form Follows Function - 43792/ 43868 Sunday. A substantial increase in clicks from one day to the next. Actual responses = 229. Ratio = 0.0052202. A fairly good ration compared to many above. I suspect that as the adds age, the clicks continue but the responses remain zilch in many cases (unless an old post is resurected). Therefore, one could almost say that as they age, the ratios of responses to clicks will diminish..... the clicks will increase, but the ratios deteriorate... like any mortal material....

Architecture - Commodity or Complex craft - 33806 / 33821 - a very small increase from one day to the next. Obviously this post does not have the kewords Google searches are looking for....Actual responses = 96. Ratio = 0.00283847. As usual, a low response rate. One can begin to see the trend, if the posting has words with high Google search ranking, the ratios will deteriorate faster then older adds with low volume Google search contents.


What makes Dubai's architectural market so hot? 31589 / 31639. Actual responses = 44. Ratio = 0.001390688. A low response ratio as well.


M.I.T. Sues Frank Gehry - 10030 / 10045 Sunday. Low click increase. Actual responses 32. Ratio = 0.00318566.

The trend can be seen. One can almost suspect the ratios for most will be low...

From the list above, one can see it is not necessarily the oldest posts, the ones at the top or bottom of the list that have the most clicks, although the tendency is for the posts that slowly draw steady interest over a long period of time obviously will have the most clicks.

If we create a new list, based on the number of replies solely, we have -->>

1. Sustainable Built Environment, Carbon neutral by 2030 - 55804 - 146 replies. Ratio = 0.00261629. In the average of low response rate to number of visitors.

2. Concept in Architecture - 45507 - 207 replies. Ratio = 0.004548.

3. Form Follows Function - 43792. Ratio = 0.0052202.

4. World Trade Center - was building responsible for collapse? 42929 - 83 responses. Ratio = 0.00193342

5. Arthur Erickson - 40988. 269 replies. Ratio = 0.00656289.

6. Architecture - Commodity or Complex craft - 33806. Actual responses = 96. Ratio = 0.00283847.

7. Deconstruction Understanding Thought - 33029 - 134 replies. Ratio = 0.004057.

One can begin to see that the ratios are low for all the top seven and until now this demonstrates, that post relevancy to the topic at hand most likely will have a very small influence on the overall ratio, since across the board it is relatively low.

With the low response ratio across the board, and with response relevancy influencing little these figures, it follows that the topics with the most clicks or visits still seem to indicate to be the ones that have generated the most interest, independent of the responses, or at least that have a combination of interesting Google keywords, together with community views and interest.

For this reason, it would be more helpful to hear people's comments on issues they feel are most relevant and interesting, rather then on the nature of the statistics, since the response ratios are low.

Therefore, it would be nice to see more comments on the content of the posts each feels are most interesting, relevant, avant-garde and why. This would be a good start. Also, a response to some of the questions at the end of the first post would be helpful also. Feedback appreciated.

[lekizz]

In reality, the number of visits are high in comparison with the number of responses. I don't pretend to fully understand how the interweb works, but that could indicate there are a considerable number of 'lurkers' who don't participate, or it could be internet web bots or some other distortion of the figures. Anyway I got bored trying to count the decimal places in your tiny numbers, it's hardly a user friendly and informative way of presenting the figures

[csintexas]

It tells me that 4. World Trade Center and 1. Sustainable Built Environment, Carbon neutral by 2030 where probably the most popular search engine hits.


In your opinion, which of these was the best post?

no favorites

Which is the best author of post?

no favorites

Which author of post do you find most unique?

We've had a few crazy people around they are the most unique I suppose

Which author do you find most interesting?

no favorites

Which author of post do you miss most?

solidred could participate more

Which author of post is most insightful?

Generally I have been more impressed with people from the other side of the pond (the American educational system seems to suck)

Which has contributed most significantly to the forum?

well mx2 may have the highest post count and generally does a good job of starting interesting threads

Which topic would you like to see come back into discussion?

I like discussions along this line: Form Follows Function

If you had more time available, which topic would you comment more on?

I like discussions along this line: Form Follows Function

Of the most visited topics, which do you feel are over-rated in clicks? If so, why?

World Trade Center

Are there other topics which you believe merit more clicks, but are not getting them? If so, why?

Art in/of Architecture (back on page 25)

What do you think drives people to view/comment on the topics? Self-interest, popularity/ group behavior, popular subjects, intriguing subjects, other?

Well this is a small community, most people for unknown reasons will not participate on the internet. This is as much a social network as a technical
discussion forum. Search engines drives most of the page views. Whether or not the author participates is a big factor in how many replies a post gets.



Are there other interesting topics you have seen in online discussions and if so, where?

CORA and PPB2 often have interesting discussions

[djswan]

One question at a time for me. Start with the title of the thread.


Vapor barrier was a good one, I learned something new, I just lurked there till the end, and said thanks.

Intelligent design, helped me understand the big picture. I needed some answers and got them.

Stoners at MIT, Awesome, what time is it?

[Richard Haut]

you want to know how to get lots of clicks and responses ?

show some of Per's graphics.

"Hi all you fancy graphics lovers" got over 170,000 clicks, didn't it ?

[birgco]

[ArchiMotion]

Good responses, and good commentaries.

Now, to start, why would the World Trade Center post be over-rated? Is this somehow related to those conspiracy theories, and this seems to draw a lot of interest to anything related ? Or is it the technical considerations in which some blame the structure itself for the catastrophe ? Or, as the government and population has done, over-reacted..... thus all the hype has generated much interest in such subjects?

The sites CORA and PPB2 were mentioned. Can anyone think of good topics there which have driven much interesting discussion?

Which, of the sites at the top of the list above, seem to draw the most objective viewpoints in your opinion?

If lessons are learned on some threads, how could they be summed up as? (For example, on Form Follows Function, Vapor Barriers, Intelligent Design, Solidred posts, Art in/ of Architecture, Per graphics, fancy graphic lovers, or the Carbon Neutral post? (A few which seem to have been mentioned above).

It seems that if a poster replies successively to his own post when there are not many other responses from other members, and when those posts have much graphics, this could be misleading in the amount of actual visitors, as each response, graphic, or page displayed could count as a view and when there are hundreds of pages or graphics in a post, the same viewer viewing over and over the same images and pages will produce a high level of clicks and create distortions in the figures. Therefore, it seems we should not be concerned as much with the apparent popularity of posts, but in the actual relevant responses.

With this in mind, the most sober, enlightening, on track and relevant posts should be the ones considered to be the ones which are under-rated at times, when much attention is given to the controversy of statistics.

Therefore, if someone had the desire to classify the listed topics above in order of a feeling of most relevancy in terms of actual content, this may be helpful. Or could one say the posts already listed at the top, in many cases, are also the ones already with the most relevant content? Or are they simply there just because Google likes them ? It does seem, to some sense, that some seem to be expressing that many of the topics which appear with the most visits are also the topics which in general have attracted the most attention. This seems to confirm then that indeed the list reflects the topics which the community has found most relevant to discussion according to current trends of thinking.

Take the idea Form Follows Function, for example. A quite popular topic these days - and right at the top of the list in terms of clicks. Or take the Arthur Erickson article - it seems topics such as these, which apparently generate the most controversy, also are the ones that generate the most interest and comments, at least apparently from an initial analysis of some of these posts. It seems that many of the topics at the top of the click rates are also ones which have generated the most controversy and thus discussion.

One could say, in this light, that the topics which generate the most controversy, in which there is not a consensus, that are also the ones that many members will find interesting, thus driving the click rate up.

Some topics, as one member has suggested, seem to have been interesting up to a certain point, such as the one mentioned Vapor Barrier Spokane. What would be the reason for the demise of such posts? Does this reflect a somewhat inconsistency of interest, or simply the fact that those participating simply found other topics of more interest? Or they became too busy to continue? Or another reason? And it appears there are topics which many find interesting, such as this one, but apparently few are willing to comment and get engaged in the discussion, in relation to the number of viewers. So one could say there are many spectators in such cases, but actually few involved in doing the discussion. Could this be the case as well?

Setting all the data aside, really, from the list above, what were honestly the hottest topics and why? What lessons can be learned from those? Do people come to such places to learn, or simply to pass the time and engage themselves intellectually? Can new ideas and ways of viewing architecture result in some of these popular topics?

Again, many of the questions seem to get right back to the top, at the end of the initial post in this thread.

Responses, again, appreciated.

[csintexas]

I think there are a lot of searches that contain "Sustainable, Carbon neutral and a few years ago world trade center".

In general, the subjects at the top of the list are a pretty good indication of their interest.

I don't think anything can be resolved, there are usually no lessons learned (except on an individual basis) some places for example: http://answers.yahoo.com/ try to rate the quality of response.