Gemmel Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 I had this discussion years ago (Pre Wilde, Crouch et all) when the general concenus of the forum was support for Lowe and someone argued that wasn't the real feeling amoungst Saints fans. Now obvioulsy some can't comprehend the fact that anyone could have a different view and therefore they must be wrong, but from the (Little) marketing knowledge I have, the size of the membership (8,500, of which there are 3,500 active memers) in relation to the customer base, of potentially around 30,000, it would indeed meet general marketing criteria of claiming to "representative". Given most houses now have internet or certainly access to the internet, i don't think we can all be passed off as "Internet geeks" (Although many can). So when we run polls and things like that, are the results a true reflection of what Saints fans in general think? The reason i ask, is based on the responses to a certain thread, which I personally find quite staggering and are certainly the opposite that i would expect to hear from the people that I go to football with and wondering if that made us or forum, more or less "representative" of the general Saints fans views.
Saint_clark Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 The only way it would be a true representation is if at least 3000 people voted on the polls.
Puddings and Monkeys Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 By strict statistical definition it can't be representative. It is representative of SFC fans who join web groups probably though; and certainly representative of losers, weirdos and freaks.
Deppo Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 There is not a chance that this place is representative of Saints fans.
Dave Benson Phillips Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 No, it is not representative of the majority of Saints fans.
Gemmel Posted 29 July, 2010 Author Posted 29 July, 2010 It is representative of SFC fans who join web groups probably though; and certainly representative of losers, weirdos and freaks. :lol::lol: Agreed, but isnt the accepted formula for marketing (Or to allow them to say things 80% of customers, or 9 out of ten people would recommend it blah blah blah) only a couple of hundred people or a very small percentage.
Dave Benson Phillips Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 :lol::lol: Agreed, but isnt the accepted formula for marketing (Or to allow them to say things 80% of customers, or 9 out of ten people would recommend it blah blah blah) only a couple of hundred people or a very small percentage. No, definately not.
shurlock Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 No, it is not representative of the majority of Saints fans. Whys that Dave? Are you an outlier, a statistical abnormality?
Judge_B Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Representative or not a thread about the lack of signings, the perceived wrong turns taken by both the club and the chairman or how the pre-season results aren't good enough are going to attract more attention than a thread that says the signings so far have been pretty good, that the club are working behind the scenes to attract players despite the lack of any pointers, or that the club is being run in the manner that it needs to be run by people that know their business having very recently nearly gone to the wall. The fanbase here may be representative but in my opinion not of the mood. If you took the news at 10 to be representative of what is going on in the world you'd come away with a pretty bleak picture, seeing as a story about how things are mostly ok wouldn't really interest anyone
The boy done well Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 As will always be the case with a forum such as this the small minority with alternative views post over and over again making it appear by sheer volume that their views are popularly held. The silent majority are beaten into submission, give up and put the "disaffected" on ignore. Much the same applies in public life with small vocal pressure groups given disproportionate media attention and publicity because they make themselves heard. As mentioned by Saint clark voting would normally give a more representatative view as long as enough people vote.
once_bitterne Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Nope! This forum caters for the nerdy obsessive minority of Saints fan. Do you think the more balanced majority of Saints fans would spend time on a 16 page thread about Illingsworth's s/t (or lack thereof) or a multi-page thread about car parking at SMS?
Yorkshire Saint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Not a hope in hell ..... I used to enjoy these forums for Saints related footie gossip chat etc ...now we have 16 pages about Nick bloody Illingsworth,that sort of says it all....it has become a shop window for people to actually believe they are involved directly with the running of the club when in fact like me they are customers so just go enjoy the football. Losers weirdos and freaks in a nut shell
Dave Benson Phillips Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Whys that Dave? Are you an outlier, a statistical abnormality? Because the vast majority on this forum are in the core of our support, the sort that will renew at any cost, want Premiership football and don't mind paying over the odds to achieve it etc etc. So, as a result this forum will always give a more positive view on things than what you might expect if you surveyed the less ardent fans.
Puddings and Monkeys Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 :lol::lol: Agreed, but isnt the accepted formula for marketing (Or to allow them to say things 80% of customers, or 9 out of ten people would recommend it blah blah blah) only a couple of hundred people or a very small percentage. Yes, but that sample would have to be across the whole customer base...not just a sub section, which is what this house of freaks is.
saint_bert Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 I really only use the forum as something to switch to when FM is processing. Am I in the mjority/minority?
amsterdam Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 "Statistical representativeness" depends on the homogeneity of the of the universe you are testing, not the sample size... However, I believe Puddings is right! One of the issues with using the forum as a guide to opinion is that it allows/encourages some (many?) posters to express views that are more extreme than they would normally have - e.g. a player can be either a "Donkey" or a "Genius"; very rarely something in between! There are also some posters who appear to love to argue (debate?) and thus will deliberately mis-read statements issued by the club, for example, simply to spark a heated discussion. Having said that, there is the "Wisdom Of The Crowd" theory (can't remember the author) where on "major" issues, MOST people would agree, and the forum could be regarded as representative - honouring Ted Bates, for example, or accepting that we "deserved" to punished for going into admin like we did (compare that to Pompey's response), moving from the Dell, etc.
trousers Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Is The Forum Representative Of Saints Fans In General ? No. Hurrah, at last a topic everyone can agree on. Lush.
Saint-Fred Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 It cannot be representative as a sample as people choose to post on a thread. Therefore it is not a fair sample of views, usually just the extremes. To get a representative sample you need to pick 100 people or 200 or 3000 and get all their views- even if it's I don't want to comment.
manji Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 No, it is not representative of the majority of Saints fans. You would say that wouldnt you considering the pasting you have had on the N.I. thread......
Dave Benson Phillips Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 You would say that wouldnt you considering the pasting you have had on the N.I. thread...... Let's not troll this one as well eh? It's not representative of Saints fans as a whole and you would never market based on the opinions on this forum.
GenevaSaint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 It's a reasonable sample size, given they forecast elections on the opinions of around 1,200 people in polls. The difference being though I'm pretty sure our demographics are skewed. 90% Male for a start.
SaintDonkey Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 I think the readership on here is possibly representative, but the majority of posts are not. Yes we have 16 pages of posts on Nick Illingsworth but the majority of posts on there are from the same half dozen posters. So the views expressed on here are not representative, but it is possible that the people reading those posts does give a fair cross-section of fans. The OP is actually quite telling in itself with the ascertation that the "general concenus of the forum was support for Lowe". I'm not sure that's true - more the case that if one did not cast Lowe as the devil incarnate then one was labelled a 'Lowe-luvvie'. Most fans did not 'support' Lowe - they just didn't care about him one way or the other. The majority of fans just care about what's happening on the football pitch - the hyper active posters on here seem to just care about the board room.
Bucks Saint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Disappointed that you did not start a poll to answer this
Hatch Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 By strict statistical definition it can't be representative. It is representative of SFC fans who join web groups probably though; and certainly representative of losers, weirdos and freaks. Not too different to what you get at St Marys on A Saturday afternoon then
Gingeletiss Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Is The Forum Representative Of Saints Fans In General ? No! If you take into account the number of posts by certain individuals, I'd say that 50% of the posts are made by 1% of the membership on this forum. Just an opinion.
DS Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 ....it has become a shop window for people to actually believe they are involved directly with the running of the club when in fact like me they are customers so just go enjoy the football.l The majority of fans just care about what's happening on the football pitch - the hyper active posters on here seem to just care about the board room. The difference on here is, we get real obsessives who seem to want to be well known on the forum. It's probably representative of most internet forums in that way. These three quotes sum this place up. Some posters on here need to get over themselves.
Torrent Of Abuse Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 It's very representative of Saints fans who don't leave the house, who spend far too much time on the computer (probably naked), who enjoy South American monkey porn and who wet the bed regularly. Beyond that niche group, no it's not representative.
thesaint sfc Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 By strict statistical definition it can't be representative. It is representative of SFC fans who join web groups probably though; and certainly representative of losers, weirdos and freaks. Agreed.
Marsdinho Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 These three quotes sum this place up. Some posters on here need to get over themselves. Totally agree.
alpine_saint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 If I recall the last time I looked around me when sat on the Kingsland, I would argue that this site is NOT representative and if anything paints a rosy picture of the average Saints fan. We have some real whinging old codgers and neanderthals amongst or fan base, and this was the Kingsland. And I will never get this leaving 5mins before the end of the game for as long as I have a hole in my arse.
holepuncture Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Is The Forum Representative Of Saints Fans In General ? No! If you take into account the number of posts by certain individuals, I'd say that 50% of the posts are made by 1% of the membership on this forum. Just an opinion. Sounds about right! I think the polls provide pretty decent representation. The 'manager in/out', 'like/dislike the new shirt' type polls that reach 1000+ votes are good indicators of supporter opinion. the forum posts themselves are very diverse, although you could try and segment certain types of poster over another, engage and tailor your communications to each segment respectively. Categories could include, overseas, ubers, installment planners, angry alpines, dbp, the muppet show etc
thefunkygibbons Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Possibly not To read this forum would have led one to imagine that SFC would be lucky to sell even one ST without the installment plan, and yet sales took off
alpine_saint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Possibly not To read this forum would have led one to imagine that SFC would be lucky to sell even one ST without the installment plan, and yet sales took off Lol
Rut Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Is The Forum Representative Of Saints Fans In General ? No! If you take into account the number of posts by certain individuals, I'd say that 50% of the posts are made by 1% of the membership on this forum. Nail on the head I'd say. Most threads do seem to have multiple postings by the same 10 or 20 people. Even if this isn't statistically true then that is what a lot of people think about this forum - 'It used to be good but now it's just the same old handful of people throwing handbags at each other on every thread'. I read quite a lot of other team's forums. It is the same on a lot of them. There is some stuff worth reading but it's a bit like shopping at 99p store. You have to weed out a hell of a lot of crap to find something good. It was not just this forum that went into a flap because we didn't beat some lower team 10-0 in a pre-season friendly. Each team seems to have it's major drama queens calling for the managers head because his players didn't tackle much away at Working Man's Club Rovers in the middle of July. It's 2010. It seems to be the way it is nowadays. Representative? Slightly.
sadoldgit Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 A guy I know who goes to several games a year does not go online to read this stuff and has a completely different viewpoint to those found on here. He tends to me more player/perfmormance/manager focus and has no interest in the Cortese/Lowe/ Wilde/Crouch stuff (which is probably no bad thing). He always talks about the last game he saw and about the good and bad points. Maybe a triffle simplistic for the likes of us sophisticates!
Victor Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 How many replies to this thread would you need to consider that you had got a representative answer to your question?
Village Saint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 I think the readership on here is possibly representative, but the majority of posts are not. Yes we have 16 pages of posts on Nick Illingsworth but the majority of posts on there are from the same half dozen posters. So the views expressed on here are not representative, but it is possible that the people reading those posts does give a fair cross-section of fans. The OP is actually quite telling in itself with the ascertation that the "general concenus of the forum was support for Lowe". I'm not sure that's true - more the case that if one did not cast Lowe as the devil incarnate then one was labelled a 'Lowe-luvvie'. Most fans did not 'support' Lowe - they just didn't care about him one way or the other. The majority of fans just care about what's happening on the football pitch - the hyper active posters on here seem to just care about the board room. I actually presumed that that was some sort of absurdist joke. Having been an avid reader since the Forum's inception I think it pretty safe to say that there has never been a consensus in favour of Lowe - the very idea that there was one anywhere (except perhaps in the Lowe household) is itself absurd. As for whether it is 'representative' or not does it actually matter?
Thedelldays Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 not a chance..if you read this at the mo, you could possibly think cortese is plotting the 4th reich and we could not possibly sell a season ticket at all
dune Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 I think the forum is representative of fans, but I don't think the forum is representative of supporters.
Brussels Saint Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 I think the readership on here is possibly representative, but the majority of posts are not. Yes we have 16 pages of posts on Nick Illingsworth but the majority of posts on there are from the same half dozen posters. So the views expressed on here are not representative, but it is possible that the people reading those posts does give a fair cross-section of fans. The OP is actually quite telling in itself with the ascertation that the "general concenus of the forum was support for Lowe". I'm not sure that's true - more the case that if one did not cast Lowe as the devil incarnate then one was labelled a 'Lowe-luvvie'. Most fans did not 'support' Lowe - they just didn't care about him one way or the other. The majority of fans just care about what's happening on the football pitch - the hyper active posters on here seem to just care about the board room. This. Very few non obsessive supporters care about anything other than the football. We are just the obsessives, who dissect everything in it's minutiae.
Deppo Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Dave Benson Phillips is representative of Saints fans in general.
Junction 9 Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 Absolutely no way and thank f*ck for that. Most Saints fans I know have never posted on here. It's the same few people posting the same old stuff every day. How many people are on the SFC database? How many separate people have posted on the main board in the last week?
Deppo Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 how many separate people have posted on the main board in the last week? 8. Fact.
Micky Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 A guy I know who goes to several games a year does not go online to read this stuff and has a completely different viewpoint to those found on here. He tends to me more player/perfmormance/manager focus and has no interest in the Cortese/Lowe/ Wilde/Crouch stuff (which is probably no bad thing). He always talks about the last game he saw and about the good and bad points. Maybe a triffle simplistic for the likes of us sophisticates! Not really - this is how I find most fans as well. The only people that I ever hear talking about the politics of the club are on this forum, and rarely are the comments positive. However, those fans that I know who don't post here have absolutely no interest in the off field goings on within the club. Like your mate - they only want to talk about the games, players and goals. Thinking about it now - I actually feel quite jealous of them, I need to get off of here and get a life...!
EastleighSoulBoy Posted 29 July, 2010 Posted 29 July, 2010 No, it is not representative of the majority of Saints fans. This.
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