2021

[Corva]

Finally out of 2019 and into 2021! Anybody here?

[Tempest]

Even if I make a good impression of a mute, I am still around...

[Corva]

Good to know. You're the keystone of the whole forum.

[Sivert3]

I do occasionally, err, I mean take a peek here every once in a blue moon.

[Exanderous]

Believe it or not, I am still here! Thanks to Tempest, I got my old old old account back (I had two on here), and I am back in the fight.

.... or at least I will be once I am off these orders and returned from the deployment.

[Corva]

I wonder how much quietness here is due to people being either too busy or simply being unable to post. When I joined, I think a lot of the people here were teenagers? I know at least two regular posters back when I joined are three years older than me, and that was when I was thirteen (honestly my forum usernames from that time make me cringe). And even after adulthood, if you listen to the people telling you to continue being in school you could have plenty of free time for another several years. I would not be surprised if the decline happened around the time the majority of members hit their mid twenties. A fairly normal time for people to get married, start families, get busy careers... finally graduate from their overly extended education...

[Tempest]

People should be able to post as I don't see anything wrong with the captcha or the board acting up, at least nothing I am aware of.

I think it is safe to say that age played a significant part in the decline activity around here; people find different hobbies, interests and... responsibilities, which a normal part of life. The forum they were once active has thus become a place fondly remembered (I hope) while maybe raising an occasional sentimentality for the past. This is why a message board needs some new users to show up once in a while to fill the shoes of people who either moved on or are too busy with other things in RL.

But attracting news users has become difficult with large social media platforms. They are popular, they get a lot of visibility and they are intertwined with almost everything else. On the other hand, I usually see more thoughtful discourses and sense of nuance on smaller boards than on Facebook, Twitter or a Youtube comments section.

[Corva]

Honestly, I don't like big forums that much. Discussions run too fast to properly keep up and give a thought out response.

I definitely don't like Discord. Real time chat isn't conducive to group discussion, especially when you can't easily scroll through and see what's been written already. But then, it's not really designed for that, even if people use it in that way.

Re. Twitter it depends on where you are. The part of Twitter (TPoT) I spend most of my time isn't bad for that.

Heh, maybe my mutuals can invade this forum. I have a few who would possibly be up for RPing, and nowhere to do it...