Are things slower around here?

[Koopaul]

So is it just me or has this place been... less active lately? It seems like there's less goings on than there used to. Members (including myself) are less active. Topics that should be buzzing with activity are kind of slow. The Fun-o-Meter is reading a 2 out of 10 here.

Is it just me? I mean it might be just me because I'm kind of a nut, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[Vipershark]

You're a few years late realizing this, dude.

A lack of (meaningful) new members plus everyone being in college and having less free time and/or interest in spriting makes for a slow-moving spriting forum.

[Koopaul]

Hm it seemed like last year things were a little more active than they are now.

[Ton]

Submissions are still high, but activities on the forums aren't. It comes in cycles. School, work, etc.

[Koh]

Also, sometimes there's not much else to say in the existing threads, like right now, and not much news going around for new threads to exist. Basically, a stalemate. There could be something like "A sprite a day!" thread, where people are encouraged to post a sprite they've drawn that day there daily.

[Garamonde]

There could be something like "A sprite a day!" thread, where people are encouraged to post a sprite they've drawn that day there daily.

This has already been tried a few times, and quite frankly it doesn't work too well.

[Codestar]

Really it seems that internet forums as a whole seem to be on a downwards crawl. More fast paced forms of social interaction have come into play like twitter and people just don't seem to want to post on forums anymore. At least that's what I've experienced.

[Koopaul]

Also, sometimes there's not much else to say in the existing threads, like right now, and not much news going around for new threads to exist. Basically, a stalemate. There could be something like "A sprite a day!" thread, where people are encouraged to post a sprite they've drawn that day there daily.

Yeah but not just for sprites, I'd expect more talk in the Gaming section. After all, there's always something new to discuss regarding video games.

But yeah that whole college / real life stuff seems to be what's slowing things down. What's odd is while I was at college, I was more active here on these forums than I am now that I'm done!

College kind of motivated me to sprite more , now that I'm done, I have no motivation. I guess it depends on the person.

[Kriven]

I've noticed more truth in what Codestar has said than anything else. Message boards are on a general downwards trend. They've largely been replaced by Facebook and websites which utilize a Facebook-enabled (or similar) comments system, with the hosted articles being the OPs and the comments being the threads (and sometimes containing side-thread features).

[Gors]

Behold guys, im developing The facebooks resource

[Koopaul]

Eh but forums are better for having discussions. Which is what I love. Social networking is more for "Hey buddy, how was your day?" kind of stuff. I'm kind of a discussion guy, even in real life.

I go to a party and I'm super quiet and antisocial, but the moment someone starts a discussion about a particular topic, I'm the most talkative one there! You should see how loud and enthusiastic I get when talking about cinematography!

So having things like Facebook and Twitter destroy forums is not good for me because I HATE idle chit-chat.

[Kriven]

I get that, I'm like that too. Actually, I suspect that anybody still skulking around message boards are that kind of person, or they at least have that quality in common. But it seems like the larger population aren't particularly interested in a meaningful of discussion. Not that they can't be had in popular digital spots (like YouTube, etc.) but that they are so rare and are often disrupted by casual potshots. It just seems like our culture, globally, has taken more of an interest in running its mouth without bothering to take in what anyone else is saying. The comments system is very open to drive-by opinions, and that seems to appeal to a lot of people.

The slow down of activity on forums by their regulared userbase probably also has to do with this, as a side or direct effect. Naturally, those of us who've been here for a while are getting older and have less general time to spend online or may have moved into an area of our lives where message boards just don't fill the same niche they used to. This will cause regular users to drift away over time, and the comment-generation has no interest in signing up.

In short: the regulars are getting too old to spend too much time on the Internet, and the younger generation is not interested in what they see as an antiquated form of communication.

[Koopaul]

Dang. That's another thing about me that's sad. I'm not busy at all!

Now what the hell am I supposed to do? Get a life?

...

Naaaaaah...

[Gors]

the thing is that sitting and wondering will not revitalize the board, or anything in particular. As I always try to do, I try making the experience of being in tsr the best for everyone. And I don't mean banning bad members or closing bumped threads: I do contribute to the board by coming up with events and activities, and general topic making/drawing/stuff.

if the board is interested in doing something collaborative, post here, in this thread, and I'll try whipping up for everyone to enjoy.

[Koopaul]

Well me too. I thought my Pokedex Project would liven things up.