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Top 10 posts of 2014 - they're GREAT!


roddy

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Once again, it's time for a quick review of the highlights of 2014 for the site - what posts did you, the users, enjoy most, as judged by your use of those little green buttons.

 

Starting off  in 10th place, it's a learning experience tale from 戴睿. Ever wondered how Mormons get their language skills up to speed to undertake overseas missions. Well,  wonder no more, as he tells us all about it.

 

For No. 9, Sima found a fascinating resource from some of the folk from the FSI and rather than just posting a link took the time to pick out a bunch of useful info for us. Thanks, Sima!

 

Now we have... oh my, I really didn't expect... folks really, you are too kind. It's too much, really. In 8th place, it's my "You'll never believe these 8 incredible signs your Chinese teacher isn't very good". I'm sure I meant to add another two... I really should write some more Reddit-bait in-depth articles. 

 

Next, we all love to have our progress benchmarked in terms of native speaker competence. "You write like a Chinese 5-year-old", "I'd say your reading ability is about junior middle school level", and "you talk like a CCTV newsreader. With a scalded tongue". So no wonder we so enjoyed reading Geraldc's story at 7

 

Sixth we have an excellent post by Yueni on the insides of Chinese families, prompted by a post about a mother unable to accept her daughter's interracial relationship. 

 

Bringing us into the top 5, we have some 喜事, as wedding bells ring for Xuefang and her now-husband. Xuefang's been a member for AGES, and it's been great fun seeing updates on what she's up to. Here's to more in 2015.

 

Fourth, MariaMaria. Maria actually got in touch with me asking if I could pass on her thanks to Tamu for a post he made (of which more later). I suggested she share her own experiences and despite initial reluctance she did. Thanks, Maria!

 

Third we have that above mentioned Tamu, though not the above-mentioned post: this one's on improving your accent. 

 

In second place is Character's index of graded readers - substantial amount of work, and hugely valuable.

 

I think probably most of you could guess what's at No. 1 - it is of course Tamu's epic write-up on his independent study experiences in Taiwan. I know this post has proven useful for many people, both in practical terms and just in plain old inspiration, as Maria's post demonstrates. 

 

Unfortunately Tamu hasn't been online for a while, and appears to have used a disposable email address so I haven't been able to pass on a couple of messages of thanks which have been emailed to me. If you know Tamu, or if you are Tamu, say hi from us. 

 

There's a huge amount of valuable content in there, and this is just a fraction of what the community has put together over the year. Here's to much more in 2015.

 

Quick note on methodology - these are the highest rated posts from the last year. Technically, I might have missed anything posted on Jan 1st last year, but never mind. I was also going to miss out a post by me as it was about the running of the forums, rather than actual content, but then Maria came in and knocked it out of the Top Ten, so again, thanks, Maria. Automatically generated lists for the day, week, month, year and all time are available via the 'Best' link in the header.

 

If you're reading this in the future - the ordering may not be correct, as posts can still be rated up or (if you're mean) down. And that 'Best' link might not be there any more.

 

Thanks, all! If there are any posts you would have liked to see in this list, tell us what they are, or send out some thanks to a poster who you've found particularly helpful in the last year. And if all that wasn't enough - check out last year's list
 

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Well, obviously the CTA one was my favourite :mrgreen:  Will have to try harder this year. 

 

In the top 10 though, probably #2 because I recommend it often and #10 because I thought it provided interesting insight on something I didn't know much about.

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Wow, I'm in Top5! 

 

Tamu's both posts are amazing, but personally I would choose the one about improving your accent as the Top1. I think I've never read such a detailed description about improving pronunciation, his post is really an inspiration for all of us.

 

Happy New Year Chinese-Forums! After almost 11 years, I'm still eager to see what the next 10 will look like :)

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In the top 10 though, probably #2 because I recommend it often [...]

Thanks for the kind words. If there was a top 10 list of best Chinese-Forums posters, you would be on it.

I'm glad I was able to give back in some way to this very valuable site.

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If you're reading this in the future - the ordering may not be correct, as posts can still be rated up or (if you're mean) down. And that 'Best' link might not be there any more.

 

I'm reading this in the past.

None of these posts have been written yet, so I can't comment on them, alas!

But I know what to watch out for now, thanks!

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Wow, I am in massive state of shock to be 4th place. This is first award I ever win for Chinese haha! :)

 

I'm on vacation with my family. My mum bought me a 4th place cake as prize. It was lemon. She said if I had won 1st place, she would have gotten chocolate! :)

 

Btw, @Roddy, I think you must have changed the order of the posts in your message, so "above" refers to "below"...??

 

It's interesting to me that top posts have so few likes. 36 likes is most of all time on this site? Wow, it's definitely not Facebook. But I know from personal experience, this forum has very many number of people who read the site but do not register or contribute. I've seen some posts here in completely different places (e.g., I know because @imron's greatest posts of advice get passed to students of Chinese language in Europe). So even if sometimes forum can seem like a lounge of old Oxford dons who know each other for decades, it really still is very great site and has given me lots of valuable informations and inspiration!! Thank you to all! :) :)

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Yes, Imron made me change the order, so blame him. And tell your mum you definitely deserved chocolate. 

 

We are a small site, and not everyone likes to use the reputation system. But last year the top post was 24 points, and this year it's 36, so I think things are moving in the right direction. 

 

That's an interesting description of us, as a lounge of old dons. But I'd like to think that new posters can contribute like you (and also Tamu and others) shows we're at least a little bit open and friendly...

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