Slowing down - Why we don't post like we used to...

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Well, speaking personally, I used to look at a year as another 10000 posts.

These days? I just barely post on the forum like I did.

For me, it came down to work, university and my writing taking up my energy to goof off here. That and a lot of my oldest friends aren't around anymore. I'd never leave but I'm hard pressed to think of me going back to how I was when I first joined (a Highschool student).

Anyway, why aren't you here as much as you were (real life or otherwise)?

Or maybe you're new and full of that forum energy. Or you're [user]Sassafrass[/user].

[small]Sassafrass.....[/small]​

 

[Marter]

Employment, social media largely taking over forum use, and lots of the people with whom I used to speak have now left.

But I can still get first post if I want to, Redlin. ;-D

 

[Barbas]

It's because you're growing older and getting a job and life is becoming harder and taking up more of your time. Things just aren't fun like they were when you were in your late teens and the world almost revolved around you. That one also handily explains the negativity, because we all know that life becomes a bigger pain in the ass the older you get.

And yes, social media continues to drag its ass across the face of the internet, leaving nought but destruction and poo in its wake. The horror.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I think it was when the flow of forum posts stopped being as unique and interesting as it was maybe a year or two ago. I simply didn't have much interest in what was being talked about, as it all seemed to be the same crap repeated time and again. My energy simply went to other places, and there was a long gap where I posted maybe 1-3 times a month. I seem to be quite active this month though, so I don't know what's changed. Especially since the flow of interesting posts is smaller than ever

 

[Catfood220]

I think I post as much as I ever did. That being maybe a few posts here and there when I saw something that interested me and mostly lurking.

 

[Rip Van Rabbit]

I don't post in the main subforums all too often. With the exception of the Wild Wasteland RP.
Usergroups though? That's my bread & butter! Buuuut, life and responsibilities has gotten in the way of that as well. The EUNOPF [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/The-Escapist-United-Nations-of-Pure-Fun] in particular --- the very usergroup that kept me from leaving the Escapist a long time ago --- seems have been shot with a crossbow since my most recent departure. It was once a group of chaos/jubilation and confetti. :'(

I adore the Escapist, there's a lot of personal history here and interesting opinions from a variety of perspectives all around. Sure, things tend to lean heavily towards the critical, and while that can become exhausting to read, it does have its place.

~Sigh~

Gamergate happened.
That repugnant cesspool of stupidity brought out the worst in a lot of users. Drove many regulars away. Attracted a litany of shitheads and created a dividing line of pro & anti stances. Those that were neutral/didn't give a fuck had a hard time having their subforum of choice being flooded with a slightly-reworded-thread-with-a-new-axe-to-grind. The Gaming Industry Forum served as a decent enough dumping ground.
All in all, I'm extremely bitter about how "the debate" fractured the userbase. There was a long period of time where it was just unpleasant to look at the forums. Still, to this day, I have no idea what either side's clearly defined goals even were. (And no, I don't want to know.)
I just hate what that did to the climate of the forums.

The Escapist was also poorly handled on a staff level, yet I still strongly believe that the moderation pulled their weight and went the extra mile, especially with the history of absentee community managers. Content creators left for other avenues, don't blame 'em, still sad to see them go. There's no way to compete with something like Youtube or Social Media with regards to video content, but I feel that written columns could have been given a greater focus to fill those holes, perhaps the site could have served as a platform for even more webcomics? I dunno.

...

This, uhh, seems more like a terrible history lesson and I apologise. But there's a lot of factors behind why forum traffic has slowed to a crawl.

Anyway, I'm pretty much here because of two usergroups, two members and the lurking material.

 

[Baffle]

Too much negativity, sniping and seriousness. Not enough fun.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I have far too much going on at the moment.

I'm finishing up my undergrad and I'm graduating in a little over a month.

Then I'm gathering things together to apply into grad school in another country, so that has been taking up my time. Then I have four jobs, but two of them are at the university that I'm at, so they will go away when I graduate. Then I will be back at two.

By the time I have some free time I just want to exist, and maybe catch up on a game or two.

I have zero time and patience for forum drama anymore, so if I see it I will not even bother since I have long since stopped caring.

So, yeah, timing man. It's ain't great at the moment.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

I've not been around as long as some others, but for me it's just not really as fun talking to people here. Fewer people to have a real discussion with and not just get back raving lunacy or purposeful distortion. Nothing fun about it. Nowadays my forum life is playing mafia/werewolf elsewhere. Like the people there and they're cool to chat with, though lacking in chat about anything more serious. Not much for me here except checking for anything worth talking about when I'm bored

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I don't think I post any more or less than I ever have. It's just that I've never posted much at all.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

Because I'm an emotionally dead husk of a human

or something like that

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Because I'm an emotionally dead husk of a human

or something like that

If that was a barrier for internet forum posts, there wouldn't be a single post anywhere on the internet.

And I miss your stories...

I remember suggesting giant alien crabs were responsible for GamerGate and you ran with it. And it was amazing.

 

[balladbird]

I post with about the same frequency I ever have, I imagine. I've been here for almost five years, and my post count is still below 1000, so I've never been a heavy talker.

Can't deny things are pretty dead this past year or so, though. I make it a rule to never post in emotionally charged or controversial threads, and for a long time such threads were so common that that rule made it impossible to have much to stay in general here.

That said, people have been predicting the site would vanish since early this year. Personally I'm glad to see it persist, if a few trump bots/trolls worse for wear.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Because GamerGate. Yes, I'm pulling that card. Now, I know there's a lot of eye-rolling going on because of the first 2 words of my post. But ever since that huge rift caused the traffic and number of members to dwindle, there's less people on the forum. Less people means less sharing, joking, arguing, and simply less people reading your posts. Which means you aren't as inclined to put as much effort into them, or even write. Plus all that other shit about getting older. Heck, I'm getting close to 35, I post about as much as I ever have, probably not as much as I would if I was in my teens and had more time, but I been pretty consisted ever since I properly joined and didn't just lurk around.

So whatever it was, I'd say that's why this website and even all the subforums except for Gaming and Off-Topic are all but dead. Hell, the Tech forum seems to be just Gorfias and me trading feedback on builds every few days.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Because I'm an emotionally dead husk of a human taco

or something like that

I never posted that much in comparison to others. When I wasn't convinced I had nothing to add, the tone of the argument was so hostile that it wasn't worth saying anything and painting a target on my back. I'm sure I'm on ignore lists anyways.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Those that were neutral/didn't give a fuck had a hard time having their subforum of choice being flooded with a slightly-reworded-thread-with-a-new-axe-to-grind.

To be fair, though, while GG amplified all the worst aspects of the forums, it's not as if those aspects weren't already there. The topic of feminism has been the hot button from before my join date and the site was consumed by it for as long as I can remember.

 

[Zhukov]

a) Reduced traffic

Less posts means less things to comment on and less replies to my posts to reply to. So I post less. Which contributes to dwindling traffic. And so the majestic cycle of forum death continues.

b) Clientele

Most of the people who were thought-provoking to read or fun to interact with have either left or only rarely post.

c) Age

7-years-younger me would happily argue your face off for days or jump down your throat for daring to malign his favourite game. Present day me couldn't really give a shit and the thought of arguing over whether or not a particular video game is good or not just makes me sleepy.

d) Gamergate

GG brought a severe **** plague upon the forums. Or it exacerbated a dormant **** infestation. Probably a combination of the two. The ravages of time and attrition by moderation have mostly cleared it up, but lingering traces of poisonous **** still remain.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

d) Gamergate

GG brought a severe **** plague upon the forums. Or it exacerbated a dormant **** infestation. Probably a combination of the two. The ravages of time and attrition by moderation have mostly cleared it up, but lingering traces of poisonous **** still remain.

I can actually agree with this. I mean, we basically had a guy saying how people who carry opinions he disagreed with should be culled. Like, legit murdered for having opinions he disagreed with. I can't really see that sort of thing happening back in the old days.

If anything though, I'd say GG just brought it to the surface. It brought a LOT of things to the surface.

 

[Saelune]

d) Gamergate

GG brought a severe **** plague upon the forums. Or it exacerbated a dormant **** infestation. Probably a combination of the two. The ravages of time and attrition by moderation have mostly cleared it up, but lingering traces of poisonous **** still remain.

I can actually agree with this. I mean, we basically had a guy saying how people who carry opinions he disagreed with should be culled. Like, legit murdered for having opinions he disagreed with. I can't really see that sort of thing happening back in the old days.

If anything though, I'd say GG just brought it to the surface. It brought a LOT of things to the surface.

Being a racist bigot isnt the same as thinking Skyrim is better than Morrowind. But who gives a fuck about context, right?