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We Miss Banninations: Or, Reddit killed the Bulletin Boards... (Page 2)
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: UKland
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Originally Posted by Laminar
I'd be floored to find a traditional-style forum that's actually growing. It has nothing to do with moderation and everything to do with a broader cultural shift.
I believe you'll be checking out the retro-rides forum then.
Despite being resolutely stuck on ProBoards it really does thrive and has infact been central to the creation of the whole retro scene in the UK (and beyond). An inspirational forum that works because the creator and mods really put the hours in and the community pays therm back.
http://forum.retro-rides.org
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This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
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Originally Posted by Chongo
AVS forum is going strong. .
For now... In the "Receivers, Amps, and Processors" subforum, there have been 125,802 threads since the section's inception in 2000, that's 6621 threads per year on average. In the last year it's had 4053 threads. That's a 30% reduction in the last year from the average, noting that the years of highest traffic will have been more than the average, meaning current traffic is probably half what it was at its peak, maybe even less?
I believe you'll be checking out the retro-rides forum then.
Likewise - the General forum has 1949 pages of threads, but only 24 pages of threads from the last year.
They're still active, sure, but the activity is dropping, and I bet if you saw a trend of posts per day and signups per day, those lines would make nice ski slopes.
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Administrator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_admin.png)
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: California
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Most of the tech forums I visit are very slow today. Exceptions are MacRumors and DSLReports (support forums for ISP customers). I figure the sad state of direct ISP support in the US drives the one forum, and MacRumors inherited most of the Mac forum traffic.
I've done plenty of tech research on MacRumors, but never felt comfortable hanging out. No reason I can put my finger on - maybe it's just that I don't know anyone there.
Oh yeah, AI forums are still going, though I feel they're slower today. But I'm put off by their comments on news articles. Too many Apple apologists, when I'm of the opinion Apple has gone too thin, too against expandability. And yes, there be touchbar lovers over there.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
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Well, speaking of dead forums, every year or so I check if Lifeboat is still around. It’s still there, but a complete wasteland.
-t
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Moderator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_moderator.png)
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: UKland
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Originally Posted by Laminar
They're still active, sure, but the activity is dropping, and I bet if you saw a trend of posts per day and signups per day, those lines would make nice ski slopes.
I'm not SO sure. Its difficult to tell but previously the forum was resolute that it was only two main sections, General and something I cant remember but its now fragmented across multiple sections so the post rate in general is way down but spread over 10 sections now...
Although once logged in the most users online stat says that was in 2010 so I would say you are correct.
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This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Originally Posted by turtle777
Well, speaking of dead forums, every year or so I check if Lifeboat is still around. It’s still there, but a complete wasteland.
We're all friends on Facebook, so the Lifeboat forum is kinda redundant.
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Administrator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_admin.png)
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
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Tech forums, in general, not just audio/computer/AV/electronics tech, seem to be overall pretty darn slow. I follow a few technical boards related to firearms, and most of them are snooze city as well.
Some forums aren't quite as dead. There's one for the GIMP that's often pretty darn busy, but mostly in the "I don't understand what the documentation means when it says X!!??!!!" forums. I know this because I've posted there with pretty much that subject. (Documentors, note: a chapter or index or just glossary that defines your unique and specific terms is a Very Good Idea, especially if you expect users to "just play with it and they'll pick it up fine, even if they never played with Photoshop".)
Another technical board I've seen that is relatively busy is Oracle's VirtualBox board. While not entirely "what do I do?!!!!????!", their forums have plenty of that. But forum members and staff are pretty easy on folks who just didn't know how to find the documentation. It's interesting when someone tries something "quirky," like "can I run High Sierra as a guest OS on VB running on Yosemite?"
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Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Southern California
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Originally Posted by Laminar
No, this forum died because every forum died. The early to mid '00s were they heyday of forums. People came for technical assistance and stayed for the community and to waste time. People grew up and moved on, and with the rise of social media, people have found community and time wasting other places, so with no members to replace the natural attrition, forums are dying.
Every car, motorcycle, and technical forum I'm on is a ghost of what it used to be. I can go any any subsection and see just a few threads from the past year. A lot of technical questions are answered with "check the Facebook group, you'll get more answers there."
I'd be floored to find a traditional-style forum that's actually growing. It has nothing to do with moderation and everything to do with a broader cultural shift.
Unfortunately, FB groups are a crappy replacement. There’s no permanence to anything there. Posts more than a day or two old - poof. Gone.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
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Yeah, FB is worthless for things like build threads and long-form conversations, which are the two things I visit forums for.
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Moderator ![](stars/star_5_hbar_blue.png)
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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Originally Posted by turtle777
Curiously, MacRumors forum is going very strong.
The sub forums I read (mostly Photography) has slowed down quite a bit, too. The only exception I am involved in is the TrainerRoad forum (an app/platform for structured training on the bike), but a lot of the traffic is driven by support-related questions. There is no lounge. Another one, which is relatively small, but active, is a forum for expat cyclists. Compared to MacNN in its heyday, both are tiny — which isn’t a bad thing.
I think Luminar is right: my generation (and older) used forums when OS X came around, but anything younger than a Millenial hasn’t grown up around them. There has been no fresh blood in these forums (and the others I follow). I joined as an undergraduate and now I am a professor with a budding family. Us staffers having had a heavy hand some years ago has little to do with it.
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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
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Moderator ![](stars/star_5_hbar_blue.png)
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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Originally Posted by Laminar
Yeah, FB is worthless for things like build threads and long-form conversations, which are the two things I visit forums for.
I detest FaceBook, but I need to use it for certain things. Zuckerberg’s vision of FaceBook is diametrically opposed to mine. My cycling team uses it to organize our trips to races and the like, though, so I need to continue to use it.
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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
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Moderator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_moderator.png)
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
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Some groups I belong to use facebook to share info, but because of lack of threading or moderation, what you have is a bunch of posts with similar topics being shuffled about with everyone asking every question on every post, off topic or not, so it becomes a sea of meaningless posts. Also a curse on anyone who posts "following" to a post, thus bumping it for everyone, just to find out someone "followed."
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
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We’re talking about how Reddit and Facebook are a downgrade for the type of discussion we want, but the funny thing is I’ve always thought this place was a downgrade from Usenet for not being multithreaded.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Apr 2001
Status:
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(
Last edited by el chupacabra; Jan 5, 2024 at 03:10 AM.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
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Originally Posted by el chupacabra
In the past people lost touch with most their friends/acquaintances when they moved. New generations never experienced this. They've been able to keep exponentially more IRL friends which means spending more time with them. It's overwhelming to an extent...
Wait, you think people now have more IRL friends?
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Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
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Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2020
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Originally Posted by turtle777
Ah, it’s too late.
The heavy-handed approach in the late 2000s got rid of the members that made this forum entertaining. Now it’s just old, boring people conversing. I’m looking at myself.
****, it’s hard to even get a temp ban these days. ;-)
-t
It's almost like I said that exact same sentiment, 20 years ago. Eliminate controversy. Create conformity and boringness. Great job dudes. This place is a shell of what it used to be.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
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Yes, unlike all of those other '90s tech forums that are BOOMING right now.
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Administrator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_admin.png)
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Land of the Easily Amused
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Administrator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_admin.png)
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: California
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I miss Demon. Whatever happened to that guy? Off partying with Dakar probably.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: The Rock
Status:
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Whoa. I just realized that Dakar is gone. He ok?
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Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status:
Online
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Someone in the gaming crew mentioned him still gaming after he stopped posting, but that was awhile back, so I have nothing current.
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Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2020
Status:
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How many people are active here, a day?
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status:
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One more than there needs to be.
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Moderator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_moderator.png)
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
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If you're just here to snark, well, what's the point?
On the other hand, if you want to tell us what is up, that'd be cool. Still have that awesome boat? I remember that build.
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Moderator ![](stars/star_5_hbar_blue.png)
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
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Originally Posted by MacNNFamous
It's almost like I said that exact same sentiment, 20 years ago. Eliminate controversy. Create conformity and boringness. Great job dudes. This place is a shell of what it used to be.
Yeah, or like the evident decline and eventual death of the Roman Empire. It just took 400 years, and eventually we were right. Forums were the initial watering hole of the web where discussions happened, but a lot of that activity has shifted. A lot of it to Twitter, Facebook, Youtube (comments) and Instagram. And I'm quite sure the death of the actual website this forum is attached to also has something to do with it. The remaining spaces where thoughtful discussion is thriving are those that are well-moderated. (That's why Facebook and Twitter are often just a cesspool.)
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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
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Originally Posted by MacNNFamous
It's almost like I said that exact same sentiment, 20 years ago. Eliminate controversy. Create conformity and boringness. Great job dudes. This place is a shell of what it used to be.
So who were you, back in the day?
Still waiting on Cipher13 to renege on his assertion that the iPod mini would bomb and destroy Apple's iPod business...
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status:
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Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot
So who were you, back in the day?
Someone who thinks being an asshole = personality? Someone who's been playing the victim for 20 years? Someone who can't connect the dots between his own toxic behavior and the negative reactions of those around him? Gee who could that ever be?
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
Status:
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We had plenty of interesting members who weren't getting their asses banned fifteen times in a row.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
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Correct. And then to come back and try to take a victory lap claiming that the current state of the forum has anything to do with the moderators from 15 years ago and not the state of internet forums in general...never change.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Status:
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Dakar is alive and well, he and I still game out from time to time.
Originally Posted by Laminar
Yes, unlike all of those other '90s tech forums that are BOOMING right now.
Once Deadspin got the axe I pretty much gave up hope for my daily clicking. The internet, as I used to use it, is dead.
But what I really miss were all those threads where two or three members argued with each other for 13 pages.... no wait that sucked too.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status:
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Originally Posted by sek929
Dakar is alive and well, he and I still game out from time to time.
Tell him hi for me. I know he had health issues a while back and I was scared something had happened...
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Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2020
Status:
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More like I got banned ONE time for utter bullshit, but then Wlonh or whatever decided that I should be banned for all eternity. It was a bullshit reason, so I just kept making new usernames. Once you have a reputation, total dickheads like Railroader and Laminar would just pick fights to provoke, just like Laminar is doing now. Glad you haven't changed buddy! Eat a dick!
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Moderator ![](https://forums.macnn.com/_gb_images/_img_ranks/star_5_moderator.png)
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: inside 128, north of 90
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Way to show you've grown above it.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: 888500128, C3, 2nd soft.
Status:
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Bang! Bang!
Status:
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Iowa, how long can this be? Does it really ruin the left column spacing?
Status:
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Originally Posted by MacNNFamous
Eat a dick!
That's homophobic.
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Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2020
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Originally Posted by Laminar
That's homophobic.
More cannibalphobic. Or cannibalist?
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Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2020
Status:
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Originally Posted by andi*pandi
If you're just here to snark, well, what's the point?
On the other hand, if you want to tell us what is up, that'd be cool. Still have that awesome boat? I remember that build.
Yup! Picked up another one, too. Just started on it last weekend.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status:
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Who is this Miss Bannination ?
Pictures, please.
-t
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