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IJBM - is it in decline?

edited 2011-12-18 08:56:04 in IJBM meta

Spun off from an earlier discussion based on my perception that fewer people are posting here less often.


1. Is this true? Why?


2.Does it really matter?


3. Is there anything to do about it?


I think it is probably true, partly for "good" reasons i.e. the banning of some major drama-magnets. I think it matters in that I would rather have IJBM than not, but if people have found better things to do, then fine - I'll just have to do the same. What to do about it is difficult given that we're a spin-off of TV Tropes and most of us came from there, so it's hard to see an obvious non-TVT source of new members. However, if everyone does just want to let things go, it'd be nice to know that this is happening.

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Comments

  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    I think it's declined a bit in terms of pure activity, but I don't think that should necessarily be taken as an overall decline in terms of quality.

    I really would like some new faces, though.
  • edited 2011-12-18 09:14:43
    Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day.
    1. Yes. I think a big part of it is that pretty much all of the problem users have left/been banned, so I'm pretty sure I'd rather have less activity than any of them back here.

    Also Bob and Vorpy are gone. :(

    2. I really wish we had some new blood. Non-TvT exclusive, drama-free blood.

    3. hell if I know
  • Give us fire! Give us ruin! Give us our glory!
    1. No, precisely because we've gotten rid of the terrible people.

    2. As long as the core don't leave, no.

    3. Nothing other than ban people who act up. Same old, same old.
  • Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day.
    I'm defining decline as a decline in activity, not quality.

    Because seriously, it's so much less annoying here now that USERS WHO WILL NOT BE NAMED BUT IT'S KIND OF OBVIOUS WHO are not here anymore.
  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    it's so much less annoying here now that USERS WHO WILL NOT BE NAMED BUT IT'S KIND OF OBVIOUS WHO are not here anymore.

    :<
  • You can change. You can.
    You should post more, Cygan. I miss arguing with you.  :<
  • If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    Dude

    I'm like

    right there on IRC and everything

    every day

    i talk to you

    you know this
  • You can change. You can.
    butbutbut

    it's not the same

    :<
  • 1. Activity has gone down, but not quality. The reason is that the high volume posters have been banned. I also blame the recent lull on the time of year. 

    2.  Hell if I know, it does not matter to me. 

    3. Some new drama-free blood would be nice. 
  • Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day.
    Cygan do not be silly, you are not one of these users
  • I am Dr. Ned who is totally not Dr. Zed in disguise.
    Well if you post in other forums why not put a link in your signature or something like that in case anyone might join through that.
  • You can change. You can.
    Only other forums I post in are this one and another one that is aware of IJBM's existence and isn't interested.
  • Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day.
    Yeah, this is really the only place I post on the Internet anymore.
  • OOOooooOoOoOOoo, I'm a ghoOooOooOOOost!
    I post a little on TV Tropes. But mostly here.
  • edited 2011-12-18 10:10:11
    Has friends besides tanks now
    The only other place I frequent at the moment is Giant in the Playground, but that place is chock-full of tropers.

    For answers to the OP:

    1. Definitely, and it's because we've gotten rid of the shockingly high number of bad people who've shown up and because others have lost interest when it started dying down.

    2. Definitely not.

    3. Sure. Not much in my case, though.
  • edited 2011-12-18 10:24:01

    " Activity has gone down, but not quality. The reason is that the high volume posters have been banned. I also blame the recent lull on the time of year."

    Hmm...that explains some things.

    I will reiterate a point about new blood: this site looks so bland to a new user that it turns them off. We don't even have a home page or "About" statement explaining why we exist. Without these minimal standards, we guarantee that only the insular community will know or care about it.

    1. Is this true? Why?

    On one hand, he who must not be named is finally banned. On the other hand, well, see next question.

    2.Does it really matter?

    Yes. The place now has such a narrow view of opinions and perspectives that it's hard to get a variety of good discussions going. If we still had Khwarizmi and such around, things might be more interesting, but it's concerning when we end up scaring potential posters off.

    3. Is there anything to do about it?

    The administration really ought to put more effort into making this site presentable. But for now, the site has become boring for me.

  • You can change. You can.
    Do really any of the big forums have such a thing as an "About" page? 
  • Admittedly, I've mostly visited forums that were supplementary to another site, even if it was a blog site. There, their purpose becomes evident from the main site.
  • I think Abyss_Worm's second point about having a narrow range of perspectives is important. It is starting to get like that.


    Also, I'm less worried about the people who got themselves banned, entertaining though some of them were, and more worried about the rather large number who don't post any more, or not as much. The first is inevitable, the second isn't - it suggests a drop in enthusiasm which can't all be due to the fall in drama.

  • You can change. You can.
     it suggests a drop in enthusiasm which can't all be due to the fall in drama.

    As much as I don't like drama, you have to admit that we had most activity when he was being an idiot and we all replied to his stupidity. Now there isn't much to argue about as none of us are as particularly stupid as he is.
  • edited 2011-12-18 12:00:13
    Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human
    > about page

    I found myself looking at animescores.com last night and wondering just how the website worked, as it seemed to have no front page other than a redirect to the forums.  So yeah, "about us" pages are useful.

    Though I'm not quite sure what to put for us.  I guess we can introduce ourselves as:

    We're a forum of people who like to discuss things.  We like to complain about things, too, and we discuss the contents of those complaints.

    Yes, we originated as a spin-off from TV Tropes's "It Just Bugs Me" subforum, but we welcome new members with open arms (as long as they aren't spammers or ban-evaders).

    One note: You have to request membership.  This isn't because we want to keep you out, but because we get a lot of spammers and we haven't figured out a better way to keep them out.  Your membership will be approved in a day or so at most.


    I should also put a note into the rules saying that everyone is welcome to join and the applican done

    As much as I don't like drama, you have to admit that we had most
    activity when he was being an idiot and we all replied to his stupidity.
    Now there isn't much to argue about as none of us are as particularly
    stupid as he is.

    Interesting thought.
  • 1. Yes, because the aforementioned reasons as well as the self-perpetuating cycle of forum disillusionment of which this thread is a symptom.

    2. Yes and no. Less users means a higher risk of circlejerks, but also makes it easier to keep up with who is who.

    3. No. The more you try to find methods to overcome this phenomenon, the more potential users the undertone of desperation scares off.
  • You can change. You can.
    3. No. The more you try to find methods to overcome this phenomenon, the more potential users the undertone of desperation scares off. 

    This. Pressuring people into posting will not make them post. 

    Personally, I'm happy with the cozy, casual environment. I wish there was more people to meet and talk to, of course, but forcing the matter will only exarcebate the problem.
  • edited 2011-12-18 13:06:22
    Likes cheesecake unironically.
    I guess, I'm one of the people who don't post much anymore. Hard to tell, considering that I never posted much in the first place. But I'm not much on TV Tropes either (only really visited it again yesterday).

    A larger userbase usually means more... undesirable elements. Any community with many members have quite a large amount of douchebags of various kinds. I'm a bit wary to the idea of drawing new members in. Of course, a userbase shouldn't become too small either and there don't seem to be that many people here.
  • ^ Agreed. I'm all for a small userbase, but I just worry it's getting to the point here where it's too small to be sustainable for long.
  • Eh. I'd rather have a small, but pretty cool community than a large community with people like INSERT OBVIOUS ANNOYING USER HERE. 
  • You can change. You can.
    Why is it a matter of just those two options?
  • I am Dr. Ned who is totally not Dr. Zed in disguise.
    Also if anyone has any blogs or website or anything you could always mention the forum casually there.
  • edited 2011-12-18 14:04:00
    Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the last Day.
    ^^ Yeah, there's stuff in between huge site full of jackasses and too small to support itself for long.
  • Whenever I've felt that there's a decline to worry about, IJBM has proven to be more resilient than I thought.


     


    Nonetheless I'd like new (and non-dramy) blood, too.

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