Am I the only one who notices that forum discussion has really fallen off recently? What happened?

It's Summertime in the States. That means a lot of people are on vacation, away from their computers, or mowing the lawn, or enduring the wonder that is "cookout" in their back yards with three dozen family members that they never thought they'd have to see again.

Well, I can't say why for everyone but as for myself, I've been under doctor's orders to remain in bed 24/7 so I haven't been downstairs at the computer much for a couple weeks (though 3 of the last 4 days I've been out of bed far, far too much).

Take care,

Jason

Medievia.

I wasn't being facetious. Several of the more active posters left after Synozeer allowed Medievia back, and without them most threads don't reach critical mass. It's the simplest explanation for the phenomenon.

I'd say it wasn't the people leaving that was the result of Medievia, rather I would say that Medieivia resulted in a sort of overload on the forum in which there was more conversation than there had ever been.  Shortly after it was accepted the overload stopped completely and the forum is sort of like a bombed out wasteland right now, the big issue many people started posting for is now gone, and the lurkers who came out of their caves retreated back into the abyss until the next controversy unfolds.  Maybe I should pull another "Achaea sucks" in the flames thread just to liven things up a bit!

Frankly, I don't think anything is different.

There are periodic surges of traffic, and then there will be barely anything for days or weeks. It has been like that for years.

I'd just like to see idiot admins stop posting identical threads in "Looking for Players" and "Looking for Coders."

Which is it?

If you need coders, it ain't time for players yet.

I don't mind the players/coders adverts, it's the two threads that are IDENTICAL IN EVERY WAY and both get bumped at the same time, as if the person WANTED to post two threads that are exactly the same and take up two slots in the recent discussion list.

I dislike seeing that too.

I'll add one more to the list: posters who bump their post without any content.

If you're going to add another reply, at least have something to say other than "Bumped". If it's an advertisement, I personally don't want to see it bumped for at least a few months or until major differences have occured in the month (and posting a general advertisement and then another the next day to announce an event is just as annoying...any degree of organization would allow an admin to avoid such frivolity by simply combining the post). You had your chance, you posted, now it's done. It's still on the forums even if it's not on the recent postings list. But if every MUD posted as often, it'd get pretty outrageous.

Take care,

Jason

That's the problem. The threads this mythical "he" bumped were NOT important. Thus, he shouldn't have been bumping them.

The reality of the TMS forums is that the majority of readers only notice topics on the front page. If 2 of the 7 are basically the same thread, that is a huge waste, and it also means at least one thread that MIGHT have interested someone is not listed there.

I actually think it would be a great idea if the "Advertising for..." forums were excluded from being included in the front page of "recent discussions."

If someone is looking for a mud, they can easily seek out those forums directly.

Sending your fanbois to bump it every 2-3 weeks sounds like spam to me.

There are actual discussions someone might find more interesting than someone's purely self-interested self-promotion thread getting bumped just out of habit.

Earthmother; July 18 2005,02:44
It is true that people come and go in any forum, and it is also true that the activity in discussion forums as well as in muds usually goes down during summertime, for many reasons.

Still, you need a 'critical mass' of posters with both interesting things to say and differing opinions for a forum to stay alive. (The failure of the closed 'Mind's Eye' Forum shows that). If most of the oldtime posters leave a forum, or stay silent in protest, the valid discussions about interesting subjects will dwindle down to almost nothing, leaving only the drab promotion and asking- for-coders/builders spam. And the odd interesting subject that still may be raised often drowns in that spam.

This is what this forum has been reduced to lately, and most of us are aware of the reason why so many of the oldtime posters left in protest.

Perhaps the discussions will pick up in time, but that doesn't change the fact that the unfortunate decision regarding Medievia has tapped it of much of its lifeblood.

In time new posters may replace the ones that left and perhaps some of them will be as interesting as the old ones. But in any case that will be a slow process, especially if there are more interesting discussions to be found elsewhere.

And that is why most of the more experienced developers of free games left. Forum readers are pragmatical, they don't just 'come and go'. Serious mud developers have their beliefs and principles, some of them very strong, and they will act in accordance with their principles. If people don't like the general atmosphere or the topics in a forum, they are likely to take their business elsewhere and be gone for good.

Personally, I found the hostility and nastiness rather offputting and decided to give this forum a rest. However, I am pleased to note that I posted a topic elsewhere on the site recently and it has received nice and interesting discussion on a timely issue.

Everyone has their passions, but when it becomes uncivilized and cruel a lot of people are put off by it. It drives folks away. Sadly, I think THAT is the kind of thing the admin should be moderating, and is not.

Well, you really started up posting in "Conflict: Medievia", so it is understandable why many people were on edge.

Numerous people left after Molly from 4D did. Her comments about Tyche and others were carefully weighed, and many people do not want to be involved in a community associated with him.

Er, what comments about Tyche? He left at the same time Molly did, for pretty much the same reason...