FOFC Posting Activity (Other Discussions Merged)

[digamma]

There's been a noticeable drop in posting activity very recently. Just spit balling some possible reasons. What do you think?

[B & B]

Ive been on FOFC for 15 years with less than 2k posts.

For obvious reasons, I blame the ice weasels.

[Subby]

Big fan of the ROFLHOUSE component. That's why I'm here, really.

[Radii]

The dress is blue, and anyone who suggests otherwise is blind and/or wrong. What's that about posts now?

[Ben E Lou]

There was a jump in posts per month in the run-up to FOF7's release, and then a drop back to basically where things were before that. There has actually been a bit of an upswing in the last couple of months.

June 2013

[Kodos]

I'm keeping up my part of the bargain!

[digamma]

Heh, so maybe the dress is blue and the assumption of my post is incorrect.

So, is it a megathread issue?

[Ben E Lou]

New user registrations in that same time: FOF7 and Steam release definitely had big impacts on these:

July 2013

[Grover]

I'd guess the return of Werewolf is helping the post counts.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by digamma

Heh, so maybe the dress is blue and the assumption of my post is incorrect.

So, is it a megathread issue?

Yeah...I guess that's my first thought. Sure, we have a lot more new users and the FOF7 forum has more activity than in a long time, but I don't think it's enough to explain all of the uptick.

[Izulde]

I think it's a case of Off Topic being far less active than it used to be, but we're seeing an uptick in other sections, particularly the Dynasty forum, which seems to have had a major spike the last couple months.

[Logan]

What are the OT metrics?

I post here less because others seem to post here less.

[Kodos]

Each of us should endeavour to bring one old poster back into the fold. I'll take Godzilla Blitz.

[Logan]

I'll take Pumpy.

Alllllllll night.

[Kodos]

You are a lucky man, Logan.

[Chief Rum]

I voted the Trout option because I post here as often as I ever did (or I feel I do).

I am surprised to see that people base their posting on if others are posting. I don't really care what the rest of you punks do!

[Alan T]

I voted for the I'm 40 option since ironically I turn 40 in 2 weeks. Honestly though, its not that I have less time for posting (I work from home and am pretty much on the forum all day here), I think I just have less interests on here than I did 10+ years ago.

I don't play as many video games any more, I seem to watch less sports than I used to. I never really enjoyed getting into the debates on here where everyone already have their minds made up anyways..

I guess the main interests that I share with others on this forum these days are either movies or health/fitness and most of that seems contained in a very few threads.

I really probably still come here every day because many of the people on this forum feel like an extended family to me. People I played online sports leagues with 15 years ago, or we have seen each other's families grow up.

So just like when visiting a brother-in-law, I'll listen to your conversations about things that I don't care about just because you're family.

[Pumpy Tudors]

As much as I love some of you guys, the chances of me ever being fully active here again are basically somewhere between 31% and hell no. Some of you guys are still great, though.

[SackAttack]

I don't think there's any way it ends well if I answer that question honestly.

[Schmidty]

Health issues.

[Ironhead]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

As much as I love some of you guys, the chances of me ever being fully active here again are basically somewhere between 31% and hell no. Some of you guys are still great, though.

[Logan]

As I visit this site from my laptop at home for the first time in months (because I have my laptop out to transfer a bunch of pics/videos off my phone), I realize another reason why I post here less...I browse the internet from my phone almost exclusively during non-work hours (the remaining 5% is on an iPad and I don't think I have FOFC bookmarked there). And unless something has changed recently, not having a mobile version of this site makes it a pain to view on a phone. I know people have used Tapatalk, but I've heard of problems with that app. I very rarely visit here on the weekends either, because again, I'm not at work and therefore not in front of a laptop.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Ironhead

You were watching Mike and Alex this morning?

[cuervo72]

I can't visit at work anymore. I'm online all the damn time, but that's a good blackout stretch.

[Suicane75]

When this all started I thought I had found my Eden. Laughter, comradeship, sports, friendships. Then it slowly started to turn. Some of you disappeared like fireflies at dawn, others slowly faded from memory like Pumpkins on the side of the road in November. The foul stench a hideous reminder of what once was, not that long ago. Something beautiful turned gross and rotting, just waiting to be disposed of, meanwhile left there as a cruel reminder of yesterdays reverie. Now I just wake up every morning, happy for the briefest moment before the soul crushing reality of what is sets in. I get up and try to act like a normal person, post. But as the hours click by I'm resigned to this fate, and so instead I whither into tomorrow, never hopeful, but only trying to hope nobody sees through the contempt as I wear this fake smile like armor so nobody burdens me with a question like "what's wrong"? When the answer is everything. Everything's wrong.

[Suicane75]

Maybe I just miss Pumpy.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I am surprised to see that people base their posting on if others are posting. I don't really care what the rest of you punks do!

Fewer posts = fewer prompts to post.

That's kinda how I interpreted the "I don't post unless others post" thing. I don't think it's anybody being bashful, just that there's less reason to post.

[JonInMiddleGA]

We've looked at both post count & new users, but what about "new threads" (or even "active threads") per day?

That feels like an area that cuts back on my posting, ties to the option about megathreads in a way I guess. Whatever the post count total is, it definitely feels like there are considerably fewer new threads or even threads that have been active in a day/week, especially in the past 3-6 months.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Fewer posts = fewer prompts to post.

Yes. I typically post in response to things (except in the mega threads, where I just post random stuff).

[Neuqua]

I really only visit the OT forum, and activity has really gone down as of late. Not sure why really, but if there's any uptick in numbers I'm sure it has to do with reasons outside OT.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

When this all started I thought I had found my Eden. Laughter, comradeship, sports, friendships. Then it slowly started to turn. Some of you disappeared like fireflies at dawn, others slowly faded from memory like Pumpkins on the side of the road in November. The foul stench a hideous reminder of what once was, not that long ago. Something beautiful turned gross and rotting, just waiting to be disposed of, meanwhile left there as a cruel reminder of yesterdays reverie. Now I just wake up every morning, happy for the briefest moment before the soul crushing reality of what is sets in. I get up and try to act like a normal person, post. But as the hours click by I'm resigned to this fate, and so instead I whither into tomorrow, never hopeful, but only trying to hope nobody sees through the contempt as I wear this fake smile like armor so nobody burdens me with a question like "what's wrong"? When the answer is everything. Everything's wrong.

Didn't see this option in the poll so just went with trout instead.

On a marginally more serious note, I'd be even less inclined to post here if there were a few dozen threads ("Official 2015 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 thread") with 3-4 posts each and very fragmented discussions knocking stuff off the front page rather than a megathread.

[QuikSand]

Got it, thanks.

[ColtCrazy]

And here I was thinking that our wives/gfs were the ones that snipped us.

[Ryno]

I like eggs

[Edward64]

In before the lock.

[Toddzilla]

Posting in an epic thread.

Also, no shit.

[Dutch]

This is exactly why we can't have nice things. Way to go, Schmidty...

[Pyser]

thanks obama

[jeff061]

Yep, nothing to do with the irrelevancy of FOF in 2015 and the existance of millions of other sports forums out there.

Ben killed off some obnoxious posters, but if attention whores are whats needed to keep a forum alive, it was already dead.

[cuervo72]

Again, I would ask - whose presence are we missing?

If your FOFC experience was ruined because you miss, say, DaddyTorgo - ok, go ahead and blame Ben.

[Alf]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

And here I was thinking that our wives/gfs were the ones that snipped us.

Wifes/GFs/Kids and ageing did all that to me

[Dutch]

We are a bunch of old irrelevant fucks though, so I do agree with that!

[Abe Sargent]

I think one of the things that happened is simple:

The people on this board have tended to be extremely similar from a demographical perspective. They have tended towards certain genders, ages, etc.

That demographic, as it has aged, has gotten married. Had kids. Gotten promotions at work. Changed jobs. And as a result, they have had less time for posting and reading stuff on a Internet forum.

Meanwhile, modern tech has followed them, so they can post away on Facebook or Twitter and group texts, snapchats, and so forth. All of these are easily accessed and used on mobile device,s and thus if you got any major friends from your FOFC Experience, then you can add them in to your Facebook and keep on.

And the people who lack time have slowly ebbed away.


Perfect example:

Go to the Members List, and sort everyone by posts.

I have the 12th most posts of anyone on the board!

How does that happen? I was never more than like 30th for a long time. But others have slowed down with real life hitting them, and I'm never getting married or having kids. And I've invested wayyy too much of my time into FOFC to slow down now! So I am now the 12th highest poster in FOFC history, which is just odd.

[Izulde]

I'm still in the bottom rung of the top 50.

[molson]

It's not the only factor, but it's a big one. The board was going to decline anyway, but the mods insistence on creating hostility served no positive purpose, and has driven off many posters. At this stage of the board's existence (and over the last few years), we didn't need mods to protect us from each other, we need mods that support and promote and encourage posters and posting, not pick fights with people and inconsistently take random sides and put grown-ups in time out.

[molson]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Again, I would ask - whose presence are we missing?

If your FOFC experience was ruined because you miss, say, DaddyTorgo - ok, go ahead and blame Ben.

I don't think you can argue the board is better without say, DaddyTorgo, Ksryup, Blacklader, and Crimson Fox collectively. You could throw in more controversial names that weren't everybody's cup of tea, but I personally liked when the board had more diversity and more weirdos running around. Now, only the most boring survive (myself included).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Somewhat oddly, I figure there is some truth in the o.p.

On the one hand, it's becoming uncommonly rare for me to bother with sticking anybody on ignore. And the urge to kill is considerably less frequent, so that's a plus I suppose.

On the other hand, even the minor occasional stress of trying to parse out "oh dear, what bit of honesty might set some mod off today" simply reached the point to where it's not really worth it to me to post that much any more.

Coming here used to be a pleasure at times. Now? It's heavily weighted toward simple boredom.

[Kodos]

I blame John Travolta.

[Radii]

Did I miss some drama that stirred this up? Or is this out of the blue and this IS the drama? Either way, I got my popcorn ready to go. Or, whtever the low carb equivalent of that is, pork rinds I guess!

[Radii]

Also, to the best of my knowledge DaddyTorgo is unbanned and welcome to post here, right? Every time there is a gun related tragedy, or (on the opposite end of the spectrum) if he feels his Patriots or Celtics are being slighted, he is very quick to just start going after people individually. He gets banned for it for awhile. Isn't this standard?

Did I miss something?