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  • The "typical evolution" of discussion forums

    Found this on the web. It's a classic characterization of what happens to web sites and their discussion forums.

    Every list seems to go through the same cycle:

    1. Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves, and gush a lot about how wonderful it is to find kindred souls).

    2. Evangelism (people moan about how few folks are posting to the list, and brainstorm recruitment strategies).

    3. Growth (more and more people join, more and more lengthy threads develop, occasional off-topic threads pop up).

    4. Community (lots of threads, some more relevant than others; lots of information and advice is exchanged; experts help other experts as well as less experienced colleagues; friendships develop; people tease each other; newcomers are welcomed with generosity and patience; everyone -- newbie and expert alike -- feels comfortable asking questions, suggesting answers, and sharing opinions).

    5. Discomfort with diversity (the number of messages increases dramatically; not every thread is fascinating to every reader; people start complaining about the signal-to-noise ratio; person 1 threatens to quit if *other* people don't limit discussion to person 1's pet topic; person 2 agrees with person 1; person 3 tells 1 & 2 to lighten up; more bandwidth is wasted complaining about off-topic threads than is used for the threads themselves; everyone gets annoyed).

    6. Finally:

    6(a). Smug complacency and stagnation (the purists flame everyone who asks an 'old' question or responds with humor to a serious post; newbies are rebuffed; traffic drops to a doze-producing level of a few minor issues; all interesting discussions happen by private email and are limited to a few participants; the purists spend lots of time self-righteously congratulating each other on keeping off-topic threads off the list).

    OR

    6(b). Maturity (a few people quit in a huff; the rest of the participants stay near stage 4, with stage 5 popping up briefly every few weeks; many people wear out their second or third 'delete' key, but the list lives contentedly ever after).
    I'm having trouble, after the eight or so years that this site has been in existance, figuring out where we are....
    Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

    "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

    (more comments in my User Profile)
    russbo.com



  • #2
    Right. No off-topic threads here.

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    • #3
      A blend between 4-6, I'd say.
      Becoming what I've dreamed about.

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      • #4
        I feel like the whole shaolin community is in a lull right now....nothing to gossip about that already hasn't been covered...I agree with Lei Yun somedays a 4 and others a 6
        "What is barely legal?" - Ali G

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        • #5
          Well, I sometimes felt like...though necessary, the site updates did a lot in terms of displacing many of the members throughout the years. The continuity was interrupted. Perhaps we've been up and down the list a few times... who knows..
          ZhongwenMovies.com

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          • #6
            I say 6b, go russbo!
            "Life is a run. In attack we run, in defense we run. When you can no longer run, time to die" - Shichiroji "Seven samurai"

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            • #7
              Why did the site updates displace members? Just curious. Should I have kept the site and forums in their original state??

              OH, just FYI, I'm setting up an ARCHIVE of the various russbo.com sites. From years past. You can see the "old discussion forums" in those complete sites. I'll get it finished, soon.
              Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

              "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

              (more comments in my User Profile)
              russbo.com


              Comment


              • #8
                No, I think it's much more interactive, sporting and just down right fun. Of course. Everytime, in fact, and that's why I come back. But it seems that there is a kind of after effect, no? you're well versed in the site's stats, I'm sure. What's the reality?
                ZhongwenMovies.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  There is an Invites system, whereby you can send emails to your friends to invite them to join. And, you get reputation points (and I think docdollars) for everyone that does. Look in your USER CP.

                  As for visitation, things were down in January. But, remember, the forums were down a lot, just about every day, due to my internet line not functioning, in November and December, and, the site was gone for a good part of December/January whilst I was moving all the forums and site to new faster servers. January had only about 10000 visitors to russbo.com (with around 70000 page views), the forums only had 5000 visitors.

                  We used to get about thirty thousand visitors a month. But, as I've said, there was a lot of down time these past few months, which threw a lot of people off.

                  It will pick up again.
                  Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                  "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                  (more comments in my User Profile)
                  russbo.com


                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I probably should have said when the site was moved to new servers or when they were down, not updated.

                    So 13 days to thailand, huh? I'm jealous. Maybe I should start my countdown to taiwan/china...either have a few months or a year and a few months. Plan is still in the works. Damn you. But seriusly, have a safe ... fun trip ....

                    g
                    ZhongwenMovies.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The countdown timer can be found in your USER CP / edit options / miscellaneous options.

                      People never look in their USER CP's. I've added lots of stuff...
                      Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                      "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                      (more comments in my User Profile)
                      russbo.com


                      Comment


                      • #12
                        BTW doc, and I just noticed this, but the countdown is wrong. The Phillies open at 3:05 p.m., on April 3rd, and at 4:10 today it said they would be starting in 49 days, 0 hours and 55 minutes, as if they were starting at 5:05 p.m., instead. I checked the user CP to make sure, and yep, all my settings are for EDT and the countdown option says 15:05 for the target time. Maybe the site just has its clock set wrong.

                        If this isn't fixed, I... I just don't know what I'll do.

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                        • #13
                          You actually counted all those hours?

                          As for getting my toes sucked on a Thai beach, I'm approximating. Not sure when it's gonna happen, but it will, and she's gonna be cute.
                          Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                          "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                          (more comments in my User Profile)
                          russbo.com


                          Comment


                          • #14
                            LOL, I didn't count the hours, I just noted that 3:05 p.m. does not typically occur 55 minutes later than 4:10 p.m. But as they say, times are a-changin.

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                            • #15
                              ......I think you need to think that through one more time.

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