Forum activity (or the lack of)

Bloody hell stan didnt think you missed my absence that much

things are as they are due to the lameness of the channels its like pro wrestling its a cyclical issue it will come around again

(17-07-2011 19:13 )chrislatimer Wrote:  Bloody hell stan didnt think you missed my absence that much

Always, Chris.

(17-07-2011 16:47 )Chilly Wrote:  admin creating a rival forum doesn't help this place much either.

Yeah, I know only too well how a rival forum can kill off another. I'm not bitter, though, and I still enjoy coming here.

To be honest I do think that the loss of some of the "stars" in the last few weeks has dampened activity. There was always an excitement around the shows of my favourite model who is now on the channel we can't discuss. I miss the banter and exchange of views. I assume I'm not alone.

There are only so many ways to castigate Ofcom and it seems to me that generally the serious contributors to the various threads have accepted that for the moment things are unlikely to change substantially.

The threads are a reflection, in my mind, of the lack of variety currently being broadcast.

It seems to me that if there are less posts it's just because there are less channels nowadays. Just recently we have lost the TVX channels and the Sport channels too, so it seems obvious to me that this is likely to have led to less posts in the forum. When I flick through the channels now all I go to are Babestation, Elite, Storm and Red Light, which is not so much compared to what's been on offer in the past. I'm not sure why nobody's mentioned the reduction in the channels before in this thread as surely it's obvious that the recent demise of some channels is likely to mean less posts in the forum overall. Why look for other reasons?

Yes that makes sense to me. Less channels we can comment on equals less posts in the forum. It's not rocket science!

The main reason is that people have a life outside of the forums.

We now have the record number of member and more joining every day
But there has been a drop in the number of guys & gals who visit the forum every day.

(17-07-2011 22:18 )rover Wrote:  The main reason is that people have a life outside of the forums.

And that just happens to have been the case in the last couple of months or so?? Are you suggesting there's been a mass realisation that life is short and can be spent better doing other things??

Personally speaking, and from what I have gathered from the opinion of those I have spoken to, one of the biggest problems isn't the state of the channels but rather the forum itself.

By all means, not all of these issues are wholly avoidable - but some of them are. For example, the increased censorship of this forum by certain channels as to what can/cannot be posted. This obviously creates a drain in posts due to the sanction stating things can't be posted. This is ostensibly unavoidable on the forums administrative front.
However, the equal 'censorship' (for want of a better word) by the moderating staff themselves is equally damaging to the forums activity. If people have topics they wish to discuss, but posts about it get removed, this is going to have an impact. Often this can be on the grounds that posts are 'offensive' etc, which is fair enough. But, equally, it can often be simply due to a moderators personal preference - which ultimitely leads to an incoherent inconsistency in the moderating process which has plagued this forum for quite some time. A lack of referencable forum 'rules' makes this increasingly difficult to maintain as there are very few actual 'rules' that forumites are knowingly expected to stick to. And those that are evident, are not neccessarily noticed by all those who use this place as there is no obvious place to see them. There are general expectations of decency etc, but that isn't the same as rules. So you end up with a situation where things that are permitted to be posted in one thread/section get removed elsewhere, and when that happens people are inevitably going to get less interested in posting if it's unlikely to remain.

But that's not to say the mods are wholly to blame either. You also have the situation where the 'fanboys' are so objectionable to anything even remotely resembling non worship/criticism (I'm looking at you wazo ) that they criticise and/or attack anyone who they feel deserving of their wrath. One flaming later, and all 'offensive' posts are removed, having been brought 'off topic' by the fanboy - the original post which was mere opinion being lumped in with it. It's become so common place that people know it will happen and use it to their advantage. Likewise, it happens so often that the manner in which it is dealt with has become widespread amongst the moderation process for ease of duty.

Furthermore, the forum has become increasingly fractious and 'political'. There are increasing 'gangs' of people (or at least the appearance of them), all conniving amongst themselves and plotting the 'downfall' of others. Be they recognised groups, or those perpetuated by those with a dislike of others lumping them all in to a neat and tidy little pocket. Or the easy to jump to conclusion being distributed as 'fact', paranoia, persecution complexes......all evidence of taking things far too seriously for your own good.

All of this hardly creates a welcoming forum on which to participate and post on. Add in the other already mentioned issues (holidays, busy life schedules, the general forum shelf life etc) and of course there's going to be a decrease in activity on here.