Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post

Sinuhe · 07-18-2005, 05:31 AM

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.

07-18-2005, 05:31 AM	#15
Sinuhe Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 55	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.