Is it just me or does this forum not seem to be as busy anymore?

:huh:

I think you may be right Binty, but I'm sure things will soon change - like the British weather, they usually do.

I've pretty much completely given up on it.

I've pretty much completely given up on it.

I did for a while.

Oooh someones moved and renamed me....whoops :hihi:

I gave up for a while, just got back on... I'm noticing an upward surge in the presence of regular trolls, and thats more worrying I think...

i must admit i dont post as much as i once did and when i do theres not so many enjoyable topics cos it seems a lot of new users cant laugh and joke about anything its all a bit too serious and a lot seem overly defensive and are too quick to miss understand and/or attack. im very VERY VERY carefull about what i post these days. :|

i must admit i dont post as much as i once did and when i do theres not so many enjoyable topics cos it seems a lot of new users cant laugh and joke about anything its all a bit too serious and a lot seem overly defensive and are too quick to miss understand and/or attack. im very VERY VERY carefull about what i post these days. :|

Ahh someone else who thinks the same way i do! :hihi:

I hardly ever come on anymore. It used to be a bit of a laugh, now people are all serious and slate you for anything it seems.

i must admit i dont post as much as i once did and when i do theres not so many enjoyable topics cos it seems a lot of new users cant laugh and joke about anything its all a bit too serious and a lot seem overly defensive and are too quick to miss understand and/or attack. im very VERY VERY carefull about what i post these days. :|

Similar to what I was going to say. Except I'm not careful about what I post.

It is way too serious on here. Many people don't seem to be able to grasp the concept of sarcasm and humour.

EDIT: Maybe it has something to do with the average age of forum members being 74?

hello all, I'm new on here and tend to find certain people are up for a laugh which is great, i try and include myself with those.
When i spoke to my friends about my new SF addiction most said they used to be on here but got bored of all the arguing, shame really.

I gave up for a while, just got back on... I'm noticing an upward surge in the presence of regular trolls, and thats more worrying I think...

Yep. There's one who is really bugging me at the moment. Tempted to see if he's going to any forum meets and then lamp him one. Mature I know, but probably very satisfying.

Yep. There's one who is really bugging me at the moment. Tempted to see if he's going to any forum meets and then lamp him one. Mature I know, but probably very satisfying.


I think names should be named :hihi:

I think names should be named :hihi:

Ah, but then he'll know not to turn up - hence foiling my own cunning plan! :hihi:

Yep. There's one who is really bugging me at the moment. Tempted to see if he's going to any forum meets and then lamp him one. Mature I know, but probably very satisfying.

Lol. I can think of a couple off the top of my head.

Yep. There's one who is really bugging me at the moment. Tempted to see if he's going to any forum meets and then lamp him one. Mature I know, but probably very satisfying.

:wave: .

:wave: .

Ha ha! Nope - it's not you...!

Fisticuffs are commonplace at SF meets anyhow. You will fit right in.

It does feel a bit quieter; some people are losing their motivation to post it would seem (I know I'm not as interested in the forum as I once was). But it'll soon pick up again, and there are some great people here, so I'll stay put. :thumbsup:

I'm gradually upping my postage as I get braver. Have been a watcher for a while though and its slacker of late. Only worth a visit every few hours rather than few minutes at times

the signal to noise ratio has dropped below one

I'm deliberating becoming a regular poster elsewhere - or perhaps I should give up and blog instead... or maybe I should just get a life and log off completely :P

its just as busy, but more posts are being deleted

its just as busy, but more posts are being deleted

Reckon? I think it's that SF has been a victim (in some eyes) of its own success - when it was smaller, it was perhaps more under the radar and we could have some good scraps (BNP thread, anyone?!) and heated exchanges of opinion but when it became larger, it had to be seen to maintain a greater amount of control.

Or maybe that, having built up a certain level of membership, it became attractive to advertisers who (rightly) expect a level of decorum.

Or maybe it's just that people have engaged once, voiced their views, and now can't be bothered to do it again?

Or maybe it's that times have moved on, and current forum users are just more placid?

Who knows?! :suspect:

Not nearly as busy .... or as fun as it once was. I seldom come on these days, i used to spend many an evening on here, joking, bantering etc, now i come to ask questions relating to practical help, .... but certainly not for fun, shame really

I have nothing to compare as I've been absent for 9 months but I have returneth... It certainly doesn't seem as lively as it once was :suspect:

Some things people selectively ignore. I have had times when I won't post for months etc.
Some threads I'll avoid.

Megathreads especially. I curse the MOD who moves any of my posts into one of them :hihi:

I might wish to debate a minor detail wrt muslims/bnp/bus drivers, not a bloody megathread which makes no sense whatsover as it is a mish mash of 10s of threads all put together and ordered accorded to time of post in megathread when it was in context pre merger.

I have to agree with the megathread point. Megathreads are absolutely pointless most of the time. Who needs a massive thread anyway. Just because the topic is the same, it doesn't mean the issue or question will be the same. Maybe we should just have one megathread for the whole forum, called the 'Stuff' megathread.

I don't think there's as much fun on here as there used to be. At the slightest sign of humour a post will either get deleted or shoved into the idiots section they call "I'm Bored".

Here's an example of what I mean. This was a really funny thread with lots of silly puns about fish. Then some spoilsport moderator waded in, deleted all the fun stuff and the thread died.
http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=468181

No wonder there aren't as many funny posters on here as there used to be.

I have to agree with the megathread point. Megathreads are absolutely pointless most of the time. Who needs a massive thread anyway.

I agree. I used to like debating on the BNP threads with people who used to slate the BNP, but conveniently ignore the "sins" of their own parties! And I see more racism from posters who aren't even connected with or support the BNP.

But now it looks like it's too big to debate on unless you've completely studied every post.

I agree. I used to like debating on the BNP threads with people who used to slate the BNP, but conveniently ignore the "sins" of their own parties! And I see more racism from posters who aren't even connected with or support the BNP.

But now it looks like it's too big to debate on unless you've completely studied every post.

my bold.

I sometimes find that. There's a lot of threads that I have strong opinions on, but I don't really want to post because of the 6000 other posts, because I like to read through a thread before I post and some of the megathreads make very little sense, being an amalgamation of about 25 other threads..

my bold.

I sometimes find that. There's a lot of threads that I have strong opinions on, but I don't really want to post because of the 6000 other posts, because I like to read through a thread before I post and some of the megathreads make very little sense, being an amalgamation of about 25 other threads..

Yep. The megathreads are dull. I find they close off proper debate and only attract dull or idiotic posts. The megathreads aren't partuclarly helpful in creating/maintaining a lively forum.

Yep. The megathreads are dull. I find they close off proper debate and only attract dull or idiotic posts. The megathreads aren't partuclarly helpful in creating/maintaining a lively forum.

It does have a tendency to keep me from posting, as I can't be bothered to wade through everything, but everything seems to have a megathread now. I understand they're probably easier to mod etc, but we can't be the only ones that get put off by 100 pages of posts, surely.

Its a shame, cos I like to be opinionated :hihi:

r.i.p old forum some one make new sheffield forum as old one was and we all join and dump this dull e-bay wana-be money making new style advert page orientated fourum wanabe rant rant rant

I think more posts and entire threads are being deleted. I was having a good discussion with BoyFriday on a thread regarding a vicious beating in Rotherham. Went to reply and all of a sudden the thread dissapeared without a trace.

It's very frustrating, and wouldn't be surprised if people stopped using the forum and use one that's less representative of the nanny state we now live in!

r.i.p old forum some one make new sheffield forum as old one was and we all join and dump this dull e-bay wana-be money making new style advert page orientated fourum wanabe rant rant rant

I think you've got a point. I wonder if it's the advertisers who now decide what we're allowed to talk about on here?

I think you've got a point. I wonder if it's the advertisers who now decide what we're allowed to talk about on here?

I think the "family friendly" ethos is a lot more apparent these days, whether this is since the increased corporate advertising or since SF became a Ltd company is open to debate. Certainly there is a very tight reign on any risque posts nowadays, which has meant certain posters stopped having fun on SF and either went elsewhere or just stopped posting.

As to whether the forum is less busy - well that depends where you look. I suspect the for sale section has never been busier but it's not somewhere I've ever taken an interest in.

Some posters were banned for silly reasons :(

Totally agree re not seeing the point of the megathreads. No fun at all, nothing interesting or vibrant to engage with any more.

I'm not at all sure tbh why we have to have them. Wasn't there a poll somewhere that indicated that loads of people dislike them?

Are there still regular posters? I've decided to stop posting as much, there's next to no point trying to help people or have a bit of banter.

Are there still regular posters? I've decided to stop posting as much, there's next to no point trying to help people or have a bit of banter.

What annoys me is that this is a good forum but not a great forum. What stops it being great is that the moderators come across as unfriendly and unhelpful, even if they may have good intentions. Instead of deleting threads (and posts) why not just put a note at the bottom of it explaining why they're locking it and then leave it there?

Also I can't be the only person hacked off with the old "If you have any issues, contact the help desk" standard response. I'd prefer the mods to explain their decisions in the public domain, where their explanations can be read by hundreds of people rather than just one.

And yes, I have noticed a lot of the "fun" posters seem to have either left or been banned.

Also I can't be the only person hacked off with the old "If you have any issues, contact the help desk" standard response. I'd prefer the mods to explain their decisions in the public domain, where their explanations can be read by hundreds of people rather than just one.



That bugs the hell out of me. Perhaps every time a thread is locked or deleted we should all contact the helpdesk and ask why. That way, they may come to their senses and post the reasons upfront...

well well the thread survives another day ??

Had it occurred to anyone that for the majority of the time by giving you reasons that a thread was removed would be breaking our own rules on invading others' privacy?

The mods only remove threads when they break forum rules. For the most part it is easy to work out which forum rule has been broken and there should be no need to contact the Helpdesk.

With the level of work involved with posting a new thread to discuss or inform why another thread has been removed, this just isn't viable with the level of traffic on the forum. It's not going to happen, just like it's not going to be acceptable for users to break forum rules on family friendly posting.

And with that, I think that this thread has run its course. Yet again a normal discussion has turned into a rant against the site.

Closing.