Forum Health

[Apech]

Hi,

 

This is mainly for the mods.  Does anyone keep a track of forum stats like numbers of members, active member posts and newcomers?  As I am supposed to be a Buddhist I did a check on the Buddhism sub and it seemed very low in activity - while it used to be quite active.  I wondered if this place is healthy or dying down compared to yesteryear???  

 

 

[doc benway]

2 hours ago, Apech said:

Hi,

 

This is mainly for the mods.  Does anyone keep a track of forum stats like numbers of members, active member posts and newcomers?  As I am supposed to be a Buddhist I did a check on the Buddhism sub and it seemed very low in activity - while it used to be quite active.  I wondered if this place is healthy or dying down compared to yesteryear???  

 

 

 

I don’t look at stats but activity is clearly down. Sean’s intervention slashed active membership by perhaps half. Does that sound right? Another handful were ejected by Trunk. Yet another when mods returned and began enforcing rules.

 

We’ve a quite small active group here now. I guess practitioners don’t like it here when asked to be polite. I find that interesting. I think they need a place to blow off steam, like the pit.

[liminal_luke]

I notice my own desire to participate has waned a bit, but I´m not sure that´s a bad thing.  Part of it is a reaction to Covid and this particular time we´re living in -- the forum just doesn´t have the same pull for me.  In my view, the mods job is to enforce the rules and create, insomuch as possible, a welcoming environment for conversation.  We can´t control whether or not people want to participate.

 

Activity may be down but there´s still opportunity here for spiritual friendship.  It´s easy to focus on all the negative interactions that take place, especially with a mod job.  What often goes unseen are the connections we make in spite of it all.  

[Cleansox]

Other forums covering similar stuff like this also have a decline in posts, maybe we are a dying breed? 

[Apech]

9 hours ago, steve said:

 

I don’t look at stats but activity is clearly down. Sean’s intervention slashed active membership by perhaps half. Does that sound right? Another handful were ejected by Trunk. Yet another when mods returned and began enforcing rules.

 

We’ve a quite small active group here now. I guess practitioners don’t like it here when asked to be polite. I find that interesting. I think they need a place to blow off steam, like the pit.

 

Seems to be lacking some of the zest it used to have.  I hope it is not dwindling into inactivity.  I would miss it.

[silent thunder]

To me it seems like the pause after a long exhale.

 

[doc benway]

I love how Luke puts it - opportunity for spiritual friendship.

Seems like it's a choice between a small, relatively quite group of polite, considered, quality seekers or a lively and offensive array of political extremists, energy hoarders, and self-proclaimed masters of this, that, or the other.

Is there no middle ground?

I guess we need to decide what we want to be and be it, unapologetically.

 

[thelerner]

I see some dwindling, but thats not all that unusual, the site always has periods of general quiet.  It's also up to us to create the good topics that create interest. 

 

To see the new topics get involved and create new ones. Life, forum and otherwise is a participation sport.