There is a need for a more comprehensive 'Help' section on the site.

I absolutely love this site and it's layout. Vastly superior to many of the sites one finds on the web. Easy to navigate and the content is relevant and entertaining. However, I am constantly left bemused and frustrated in my attempts to understand the workings of it.

What triggers what? eg. My message tally hardly ever increases regardless of how many conversations I start and engage in, how many comments I make, how many postings I make, how many threads I contribute to and how many status updates I post.

I can find no definition of what constitutes a 'message'. Is my message tally that of received messages or sent ones?

I am fairly active on the site but my advancement in terms of 'trophy points' is very minimal, largely because I must be missing something and groping in the dark. The rather limited 'help' section, in it's current format, fails to turn on many lights.

Whilst the people at the top of the Mansion hierarchy are to be rightfully applauded and appreciated for their excellent site AND their dedicated hard work in making it what it is, I have to say that the 'help' facility doesn't reflect the otherwise high standard of presentation on the remaining 99% of the site.

I feel if new members spend a week or two trying to comprehend the workings of the site and find it confusing, then they will just move on to somewhere else. Which would be a shame.

 

Well the above posting just increased my 'message' tally by one, so I have part of the answer to my question already. Lol.

 

Thanks Carrie for your informative and helpful reply. As you can see I am full of praise for the site and it's content. I am extremely impressed with it and members like yourself, who have helped me on a number of occasions.

I find the standard of it's content to be mostly high and thoughtfully composed. Many members contribute very significantly to the lively and and ever changing Forum threads. The Forums are excellent and vast in the topics they cover. I am hooked without doubt and look forward to many happy hours interacting with other likeminded members.

I do agree with you that the 'Trophy' system is distracting, but it does give an indication of a member's commitment and contribution to the site. It helps me to target the more 'experienced' contributors who have perhaps more depth to their wisdom.

Thanks again for your reply and help.