Thread: Has anyone else noticed this?

Originally Posted by Orville

Like Mike, I just drop by to post my whisky reviews, and check in on some old friends. Sadly, I am getting rid of my straights due to lack of use. An ongoing shoulder issue makes using straights more of a chore now than the pleasure it once was. So I am back with Safety Razors for my moments of zen-like reflection.

Sorry about the shoulder problems but it's great that you get a zen-like reflection no matter the razor.

I personally like whisky reviews although I am pretty happy with unreviewed whisky as well as long as it's in my glass

Originally Posted by dimab

Williams and Holland's Law:
If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by statistical methods.

Below is some statistics I could gather by somewhat limited "Advanced search" of our members list: I looked for semiannual number of active (10+ posts in my definition) users that have posted their first or their last post during each period. The 10+ limit I took to drop all the one-time posters (valuation requests etc.), and also I didn't include H2 2018 - as we still couldn't say with all certainty that whoever hasn't posted since then has quitted (I hope not ).
Attachment 300944
I'm sure the moderators, probably having more direct access to forums' database, could have made more detailed analysis - based on total post counts, posts per user etc. etc., but judging from the graph above I wouldn't say there was a significant change in the last year or two - just a continuation of previously established tendency. On the other hand, remembering the law I cited in the beginning, your conclusions may vary

That's pretty cool!!!

I've looked at different measures in the past and the overall picture is what I mentioned earlier. My best measure ended up the visitors which is different than the forum activity though they're strongly correlated. The former is larger than the later so less noise and also I think it is more representative of the forum impact which to me is more important than the size or activity.
As far as cut-out time frame, some time ago when I analyzed the data I found that 3 months of inactivity is where people basically drop off long term. Of course that's statistical and there are plenty of exceptions plus personally I look at every individual as unique and interesting completely unrelated to anything statistic.

As a three month dropout, at least twice...Thank you

Originally Posted by gugi

That's pretty cool!!!

I've looked at different measures in the past and the overall picture is what I mentioned earlier. My measure ended up the visitors which is different than the forum activity though they're strongly correlated. The former is larger than the later so less noise and also I think it is more representative of the forum impact which to me is more important than the size or activity.
As far as cut-out time frame, some time ago when I analyzed the data I found that 3 months of inactivity is where people basically drop off long term. Of course that's statistical and there are plenty of exceptions plus personally I look at every individual as unique and interesting completely unrelated to anything statistic.

Still here and part of a well-respected forum.
cheers to all of you!

Badger

verb transitive
badgered; badgering; badgers
Definition of badger (Entry 2 of 2)

: to harass or annoy persistently
… the mill foreman so taunted the workers, so badgered them and told them that they dared not quit …
— Sinclair Lewis

Badgered by Blustering Blades

Originally Posted by Orville

Like Mike, I just drop by to post my whisky reviews, and check in on some old friends. Sadly, I am getting rid of my straights due to lack of use. An ongoing shoulder issue makes using straights more of a chore now than the pleasure it once was. So I am back with Safety Razors for my moments of zen-like reflection. I have always preferred this place to the "Rodent and Razor" site with it's overly restrictive policies, and almost maniacal adherence to same. Fortunately for me, a banning means I no longer need worry about them.

Sorry to hear about the shoulder problems. That is great your still able to get some enjoyment out of the shVe though. My Dad has said he is too shaky to try a straight. Got him a Merkur a few years ago and a Gillette Slim last year. He seems to like them. Need to get him a better brush and soap though.

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

As a three month dropout, at least twice...Thank you

Little known fact: the song Hotel California was written about our forum

Originally Posted by gugi

Little known fact: the song Hotel California was written about our forum

Must be true-I've checked out a couple of time, "but I can never leave."

hahahahahaha

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

It will take time to build the site up again.

It will. I was around when the last big push in terms of content, and content presentation, happened. Since then, the site has lost a few things which, I believe, are essential.

1. Reviews: There used to be a really great review section. Many, if not most, people are attracted to niche sites such as this by high quality reviews. Those are gone. I understand that there is a technical problem that prevents you guys from putting the review section, and maybe even the old reviews, back up. But it is a fact that they are missing - badly.
2. Mentoring: Maybe the idea was good, but putting it to work was too resource intensive. But I still believe that if it had worked, the mentoring programme would have attracted a significant number of recurring, active contributors.
3. Buy/Sell/Trade: Like the reviews section, this section used to be easily accessible, functional, and offered the opportunity to leave constructive feedback. Again, as far as I understand, there is a technical problem preventing you from bringing back the old system. But, again, the current system is simply worse, and far less functional, and therefore unattractive.
4. Wiki: My pet peeve. It took several man months to build. After the guys who built it retired, someone messed it up badly. While it sill contains valuable information, it is partly broken, and now also contains subjective, badly written opinion pieces.
5. The forum itself: When I joined ten or so years back, it was difficult to search, and lots of good information was buried under sycophantic chatter (which is why the Wiki was built, remember?). Well, ten years later, there is still good information there (because, let us be frank, shaving is not rocket science, and the amount of salient information is not very big). But the line noise has got even worse. Clearly, this is a highly subjective opinion, and I appreciate that there is a conflict of interest: some people love the chatter, not least because it gives them the opportunity to provide the same morsels of wisdom again, and again, and again. Personally, I am more of a "give me the facts, and I might look at the chatter later" kind of guy. Setting the minimum amount of characters required to be able to publish a post to 1,000 might actually help.

I spoke to Ivan about this in private. My personal opinion is that the best way to save the site is to archive it, and start from scratch with contemporary software that offers solutions for all of the above issues. Joomla, Typo3, Drupal - there are lots of options (and we discussed this many years ago already). But in its current form, the site is technically inferior to most of its competitors, finding good content is still a nightmare, and the fun bits like reviews and B/S/T are gone, or dysfunctional.

Just sayin'.