Is forum participation changing?

[Arlequín]

Dear Lord man, are you condoning the use of a false date of birth online?! I'm outraged!

Who me?  

You would be surprised at how much anguish some people of a certain age experience when filling in false details. I'm sure they think the Internet Police will be giving them the three o'clock knock for it. Online daters cope better, as they are used to lopping ten years off their age.

[Marine0846]

My two cents, for what it is worth.
I love this forum, it is my number one place to go on the net.
People are helpful when asked.
Also very little backbiting.
As for Facebook I don't use it, never will.
If you make wargame stuff and use FB only to sell your stuff,
you will get any money from me.
Don't want to sound mean, that's the way it is.

[Inkpaduta]

Like an earlier poster I left TMP because of all the issues and nonsense.
I do not use facebook. However, I feel that I posted fairly regularly here
on LAF and love the site.

[tin shed gamer]

I'm not a fan of Facebook. I tend to find I get a lot of pm's (which is a function of this forum I really like.) from people asking for help or inquiring after other things I do.
Like most people this is my go to site these days.

[Yankeepedlar01]

Largely given up here, too few wargamers really, at least in my view. Facebook is much easier to use and generates far more interest in my experience.

[Norm]

Don't use FaceBook, so that world wargaming or otherwise is closed to me.

I have not posted at TMP in over a year and I was quite prolific there.

I do like here, The Wargames Website and Pendrakens Forum, Consimworld and BoardGameGeek because they are just comfortable places to visit, where people are generally friendly and polite.

I really like blogs, they are generally run by creative people wanting to share and you can follow blogs that match your own interests, so building up a sort of daily news read.

I do put up links here to my blog (and without pictures - shock horror!), but my blog articles are often running at 2000 - 5000 words, so are significant pieces and so need their own space and provide an archive, rather than posting in full on one chosen forum.

I have blog articles that have been hit several thousands of times (one has almost 12,000 visits), yet have just a couple of comments - that can be unrewarding and sends the message to the blogger / writer that either interest is low or their effort is being taken for granted - both demotivate and it may well be that general climate of not appreciating what we actually have here, that is evidencing itself in lower forum turnout generally.  

[Elk101]

I find that posts like Eric the Shed does get the balance right; there is enough information and photos to appreciate the subject at hand with a link to the greater detail for those interested. I don't mind that at all.

[Eric the Shed]

I find that posts like Eric the Shed does get the balance right; there is enough information and photos to appreciate the subject at hand with a link to the greater detail for those interested. I don't mind that at all.

I'm blushing now....

Your cheque is in the post...

[FramFramson]

I hate using Facebook - the interface is a jumbled mess. Plus I hate them as a company as well. The only reason I even have a Facebook (which has zero personal information at all and was instead set up as an adjunct to my website) is to view Facebook pages that require you to have an account to view them.

Twitter is easier to understand but can still be a mess, especially for multiperson conversations or anything long form (Twitter "threads" must be one of the worst formats for writing known to man).

At least forums are formatted so that people can have an actual proper conversation, in a clear, easy-to-follow manner. My posting goes up and down as my hobby interests are highly cyclical (and minis are at the nadir at the moment, sadly), but I don't think that overall the forums are suffering. LAF is still a large and healthy community.

[SABOT]

I agree with you about the format - I come here for a natter. This is a good place. Happy.

[Sbloom141]

I’m a solid lurker, I probably post now as much as I ever did, which is to say very infrequently. I visit at least twice a day, though. Just usually never log in.

I was active on a number of forums say 10-15 years ago, and I think in general they have slowed down significantly. I don’t think the medium appeals to a lot of the younger generation who are used to social media being much more instant. I like the slower pace of forums though.

I suppose after remembering all the flame wars and arguments of my internet-youth, I generally don’t get involved in much discussion but I’m happy to appreciate other people’s work.

[Drachenklinge]

I am more of a forum guy as well ... it seems more orderly put together. And with one login I can see everything.

I have been a while on FB, but there seemingly more and more groups were built. So you need to be invited, otherwise one did not see the content.

Private groups ... in the net ... invented for all mankind to share ... great. That is like private hobby groups. If you do not know it before hand, you cannot go there. Brilliant.
FB being for everyone, but then not without being in a 1000 little groups. Not my thing. Maybe to oldscool with that. Like whatsApp, if you do not know the people, you cannot talk to them. Nonsense.
So ... I need to get the contact from a website or a forum ... well ... then why not stay here in the first place?


Here so much is going on, that I enjoy "new post"-functions. Screening over every title of every post. If it catches my interest I lurk in at least  for looking.
However, since it is not my main forum, I am just looking in here every now and then. Sometimes more frequently.

[Sunjester]

I think others have already said it all for me.

I don't do FB, so that's not for me. Manufacturers who exclusively use it don't get my business, but that's not going to hurt anyone!

I daily visit LAF and the Pendraken forum, plus a couple of others I use regularly. TMP I look at occasionally but far less often than I did say 5 or 6 years ago, it goes in phases, I visit a few times in succession then remember just how many arseholes there are posting on it and drift off for a couple of months, then dip my toe in the water again.

As far as LAF goes, I post on threads that interest me, I don't always respond if my only comment is "Great", it depends how much time I have at that moment. I do regularly post links to my blog (sorry!), but try to give an indication of what it's about and at least one representative picture. I do that because it's easier than posting a long message and multiple pictures on 4 or 5 different fora. I do try to respond to anyone who comments on one of my threads.

[stone-cold-lead]

I have been a while on FB, but there seemingly more and more groups were built. So you need to be invited, otherwise one did not see the content.

Private groups ... in the net ... invented for all mankind to share ... great. That is like private hobby groups. If you do not know it before hand, you cannot go there. Brilliant.
FB being for everyone, but then not without being in a 1000 little groups. Not my thing. Maybe to oldscool with that. Like whatsApp, if you do not know the people, you cannot talk to them. Nonsense.
So ... I need to get the contact from a website or a forum ... well ... then why not stay here in the first place?

The whole 'private' thing is one of my bugbears too. It's not just FB either. I find it utterly obnoxious for some reason when a forum might have a private board or thread that only a select group can take part in. With FB groups I wish more would actually be viewable by non-members because at least then you could see whether the group is worth joining in the first place. It's not as if they're hiding porn!

[Dr. Zombie]

I see a tendency to more and more being moved to facebook. But I really really don't like it. Because as facebook is really a rotten media format for storing information and having longer discussions. Because once things get off your front page it is basically gone. It really takes some digging to find it again. Facebook really is only for a quick fix of someone falling down stairs or some video of a cat.

Forums on the other hand are virtual libraries of everything cool. I sometimes revisit threads that are several years old to find inspiration. They are easily found via the search function. Sometimes I even just travel down the rabbithole that is the related post at the bottom of the screen.