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I fear the stagnation of terraforums

Finch

Whats it to ya?
Iv been here a year. Over the past half year, i have noticed old members leavin, and few new members coming in to take their place in the forum. The Frewuency of posts has gone ||
                                                                                                  \/


So muchso that i fear that if we dont see a re-emergence of old members or a signifigent influx of new members, terraforums will become as stagnant as a bucket of water left out for a month. This is the fate of the previous forum i frequented as well...

And the worst part is theres no way to stop the slow, inexerable decline of activity.


That is how i feel, and this is what it looks like to me. I hope i am wrong, but i have seen it happen before elsewhere.
 
Thats the kind of talk that will kill a forum.Most people dont post as much as others,seams like some people just post stuff to get as many posts as possible.Most people have other things to do than be on their cpu most of the day.It always slows down in the fall/winter.Come spring people will be posting like crazy!

Jerry
 
the forum seems busier than ever to me!
I have been here several years..I notice no decline at all..
IMO there is no problem at all..
Scot
 
I haven't been here long, but it seems like i always get a reply to something.
 
no its not the number of posts replyed to each day, schotty, but how many reply posts are in a given topic each day.
 
Yeah, I do agree we all just need to post alot more to keep this place alive. Though, I don't have any questions to ask. The only questions I have to ask are kind of dumb since they've been anserwed before.
But, I don't really see a decline in the forums too much. It's just that winter is coming and a majority of the plants are asleep. I see alot more talk in the spring and summer.
 
I don't know if it's really people leaving but rather once we've all figured out how to grow our little pretties (if only our school teachers ever knew how hard we worked at these plants we'd all be getting A's in science and horticulture classes!) there's no need to post the same questions and answers again and again.
We get involved in other stuff. I myself still read the newest topics each day but my post quantity has gone down due to other activities. If someone asks a question and 5 people give the same answer then repeating the info isn't necessary so I don't post a lot anymore but I still enjoy my visits everyday and help out where I can if no one's answered a question on Nepenthes that I somehow feel qualified to answer.
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Swords baisically summed up what I had to say
 
also -- some of the prolific posters have found other things to do ... etc.


It is what it is! so if the forusm sorta peter out... they just do. These things have cycles...

Think about it = we are catering to a small niche of people... and we've probably reached a huge percentage of them on this forum...

So only as new people discover this place... will new poosts happen... and it'll probably be posts like "how do I grow my flytrap"

heh
 
  • #10
Yeah, my opinion is the number of posts isn't that important. This is a forum for our hobby, and not the sum total of our social lives. I'll be here as long as I can see photos of nepenthes from Tony or Jeremiah or Borneo, or soak up wisdom on drosera from Tamlin and pings from Pinguiculaman, and if I don't have much to add, or questions to ask, it's still a big net positive. These are things that you can't find anywhere else.

And beyond that, it's a strangely benevolent and lucid community.

Capslock
 
  • #11
Swords & Peter expressed it well. The only thing I can add is that students, in particular, are swamped with schoolwork. Two students were spread out too thinly and they had to give up the hobby for a time. One regular poster has been very ill. Another is divided between college and a p/t job. A couple others left for life changing reasons. Finch, you came in when these people were posting all the time. There will always be new people with questions about soil, water, dormancy, feeding , light, etc....
 
  • #12
Yes, swords is right.... also, gotta remember that the plants are largely cyclical, too, so is nature.... when I first joined this forum, it was in the warm months, lots of folks were posting trades of plants, seeds were being produced etc
Now that our assorted "Stickies" (as I call em) are sleeping, and the window of good weather for shipping live stuff has kinda closed, you can expect a little bit of a slowdown, I figure....
And also when I joined I was totally in the dark and didn't know ANYTHING... I read all I could find, and made a few friends in tthe process, asking questions of folks who had posted information... in doing this, I forged relationships such that I have made a couple of trades that never made the main boards and were handled exclusively through PMs... in the same manner, I will usually PM specific people with specific questions rather than start threads like my regrettable "how to sow D.indica" thread (like any other drosera, only a bit warmer, BTW)..... ahhh, the old days
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  • #13
Ah, its winter.
Every CP forum(CPUK and TF) have slowed down because of dormacy.
Just you wat till spring, TF and CPUK will be extremely active.
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  • #14
Yes...these things are true. The forums tend to be cyclic. People get busy, plants go dormant, kids get tied up with school and activities, our regular lives come first and bad things happen that take us away at times. And sometimes people just need a break. It is no reflection on the quality of the forum or its members.

Winter is always a slower time since some CPs are dormant and not much you can say about them or do with them. Come spring there will be influx of new members and more questions.
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So don't worry. This is a close community and most of the dedicated folks will not stray far.
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It is a great place to meet and stay in touch with like-minded growers.
 
  • #15
It has been very slow lately. Maybe we need more controversial issues LOL
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That sure gets things exciting...
 
  • #16
It is dormancy season. It always slows down now. I use this time to work on other aspects of my life and of planting cps. We are here. Sometimes it is nice just to sit back and enjoy the silence.
 
  • #17
Well my posting behavior goes in cycles as well. Perhaps (like the revolutions of planets) others take more or less time to complete a cycle. I was recently entering a cycle of incresed posting frequency, but there was no one to talk to (i shoukd stop visiting wikies, my luanguage is starting to get stiff and proper) But other discusson forums have never recoverd from a low posting cycle, and just look at some stagnant discussion areas here.
 
  • #18
I think Laura has infused a lot of energy over the past month. Just wait 'till Pond Boy is much more healthy. There will be 20 in a row! Maybe Darcie will return and that will be 15 in a row! Flytrapgurl is always a hoot! Remember Wolfpackgurl and Butthead? Bugweed (or is that Bigweed?) is funny to read. Tamlin provides with much educational, and anectdotal material. Then there's the "Mad Scientist"... We're (collectively) okay!!! Not to worry!
 
  • #19
Now is the time to post your spring, summer and fall pics...

D_spatulata06_web.jpg


Grasshopper_web.jpg


Green_dragon4_web.jpg


N_bicalcarata05_web.jpg


N_dashy_koto11_web.jpg


That should suffice for now. There, I posted.
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  • #20
Ahh...this forum is for people like me who
1. live in a tropical country, so plants that I grow will grow year round. Thus...many questions.
2. is terribly forgetful; will be back asking the same question, paraphrased

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