How to make RC more active

[Scrubber_steve]

IMO many forums are slowing down simply because more people are learning to just search the internet and read to get the information they want instantly...
While I am active on this site I never post questions because I don't have the patience to wait for an answer.

Everyone can surf to get answers to most questions, the basics, but I believe most people just like to interact with other people who share the same interest

 

[Nanook]

The traffic here does appear to be way down. Many reasons I'm sure and most are out of our control I do like posting questions still to see what people say to me personally, I'm also pretty adept at searching

Forums have a wealth of knowledge unlike FB and other popular sites. Everything goes full circle and I'm pretty sure forums are here to stay.

 

[D-Nak]

If RC would host photos so that they show in the actual post (instead of clicking on the thumbnail), I know I'd post a lot more. I no longer have the patience to use a third party site to host my photos. I was planning to start a build thread then remembered how much of a PITA is it to post photos. I'm still feeling the sting of using Photobucket.

 

[Louis Z]

Yes the photo bucket thing just caused a loss of valuable information in the old threads . When I do a search for answers I am lost because many of the diy info is destroyed due to missing pictures . There are still old timers here that have a wealth of information that I still seek . I only know about 25% of the hobby and still rely upon everyone else's input . I also see it as a duty to newer members to answer their questions for I was once there and was helped by many others that took time to answer . Yes I wish that some older members didn't leave cause I still need their input . I have been away for awhile and came back to see that many questions in the disease treatment section were going unanswered. Yes I want to say do a search to the posters but then again parasites don't wait a few days to kill off the fish while they are searching thru old posts

 

[mcgyvr]

Yes the photo bucket thing just caused a loss of valuable information in the old threads . When I do a search for answers I am lost because many of the diy info is destroyed due to missing pictures .

Those photos are not totally missing... Just being blocked..
There is a simple fix to return them.. One being a browser extension for the Chrome browser (probably one for Firefox too) that does it automatically the other simply appending ~original to the URL

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I'd rather have low traffic than vendor and "live sale" background noise all the time. I tried to get active in a local reef Facebook group but the traffic was 90% fly by night chop shops yelling about live frag sales of whatever the hottest trend coral was. "THIS FRIDAY ONLY THE FIRST EVER RELEASE OF ATOMIC SUPERMAN DONKEYNIPPLES!!!!!" followed by a dozen Instagram-filtered photos of a sad looking frag plug with a freshly cut coral glued to it. To each his own, but I have no interest in that. I'm here to build a little reef, not pursue money or bragging rights based on a tank stuffed with frags someone else has decided are popular or rare. These are living creatures to me, not pokemon cards.

Meanwhile I can come To RC and occasionally stumble into a debate between actual marine biologists about how nutrient ratios impact bacterial populations, or a DIY thread a hundred pages long showing off arduino projects or 3D printing.

At one point I was of the opinion that forums should focus on traffic and should do everything they can to retain and engage members. Now I feel like a more organic approach where you let a community find its own focus, regardless of size, is much more interesting and effective.

 

[alton]

I belong to three forums one being my local club. There are probably only 3 to 4 members that now post on our website, Of course two of the four post on here also. On the FB page of the same club it is booming. I was on FB until the day I spotted a picture that came from my phone, that I did not post. Seeing that I removed everything and deleted FB from my life. I have enjoyed RC for many years, and will continue

 

[Member No. 1]

Going to other sites is like spending the summer at your aunt's house.
Fun and exciting at first, but you can't wait to go home.

I have ventured over the fence, got some information, don't care for the format, I'll stay here thank you.

 

[reefgeezer]

I do miss the monster threads debating the value or this or that and TOTM threads to provide goals and inspiration.

Maybe a "Guided Discussion" forum would spark some interest. In this type of forum, a moderator or guide kicks off a thread focused on a particular topic and keeps the posts relevant and helpful. I don't know what sort of permissions might be required or if it's even possible, but something new like that might spur some interest. Maybe "guides" would have to have provided a minimum number of posts or something.

 

[2_zoa]

I do miss the monster threads debating the value or this or that and TOTM threads to provide goals and inspiration.

Maybe a "Guided Discussion" forum would spark some interest. In this type of forum, a moderator or guide kicks off a thread focused on a particular topic and keeps the posts relevant and helpful. I don't know what sort of permissions might be required or if it's even possible, but something new like that might spur some interest. Maybe "guides" would have to have provided a minimum number of posts or something.

That could be cool. Like a mentor section where people would know who was going to respond.

 

[TheCamaroShow]

I do miss the monster threads debating the value or this or that and TOTM threads to provide goals and inspiration.

Maybe a "Guided Discussion" forum would spark some interest. In this type of forum, a moderator or guide kicks off a thread focused on a particular topic and keeps the posts relevant and helpful. I don't know what sort of permissions might be required or if it's even possible, but something new like that might spur some interest. Maybe "guides" would have to have provided a minimum number of posts or something.

This is really good!

 

[Louis Z]

The guided forum would shorten the length of many of these threads . In order to have information readily accessible. Something to pull information from without having to go thru each page of a long thread . And if someone needs to read the whole thread they can as. It is referenced or linked

 

[ca1ore]

As folks have noted, many factors in play. Easy to search for something rather than posting a new question. More competition for eyeballs. The photobucket thing - a lot of my old threads are completely pointless now, and I have no interest in investing the time to fix them.

 

[albano]

I was on FB until the day I spotted a picture that came from my phone, that I did not post.

I'm not on FB but a lot of friends and family are... do they access your entire library when you post there?

 

[TheCamaroShow]

seems like some clubs are very active on here

 

[alton]

I'm not on FB but a lot of friends and family are... do they access your entire library when you post there?

Sent a pm

 

[TheCamaroShow]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Steveb]

Good read. This was the first forum I joined when I got back into saltwater.

I love the info here.

I think its good to discuss ways to drive traffic back within the boundaries and mission of RC.

I admin our local clubs site and we have seen the decline in traffic as well. I am also on a couple of forums related to forum admin and all seem to conclude that fb and other social media are a big driver in that traffic decline.

I guess I am old and cantankerous... I don't like fb. never have never will, but I get the instant gratification thing.

And.. greedy photobucket sucks.. yes they did destroy tons of how to threads/articles with their thoughtless policy change.

 

[D-Nak]

If there's any good that's come out of this, it feels like there's a lot less bickering with threads getting shut down a lot less than a few years ago. Even though the traffic may have gone down, I do think the quality of posts has gone up.

I think people are also being more respectful in that they're searching for information before posting a question. Many start with "I've searched for [blank] and can't find the any info. so I'm creating a new thread..." This in itself leads to less posting than in the past.

 

[alton]

If there's any good that's come out of this, it feels like there's a lot less bickering with threads getting shut down a lot less than a few years ago. Even though the traffic may have gone down, I do think the quality of posts has gone up.

I think people are also being more respectful in that they're searching for information before posting a question. Many start with "I've searched for [blank] and can't find the any info. so I'm creating a new thread..." This in itself leads to less posting than in the past.

I agree 10 fold. I laugh every time I hear my wife while she is on FB complain what some one is posting about some one else. This song to me covers online post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE6iAjEv9dQ