Is the Forum getting dull?

[JoeP 11]

Let's face it, the plug hole looms for Sheffield Forum.

 

Hmmm....I feel that Mr Wall may be someone who would like to see SF disappear....

[cloudybay 17]

Let's face it, the plug hole looms for Sheffield Forum.

 

Rather a strange thing to say for someone with only 8 posts to his name. Have we met you before in a previous life, Mr Wall????

[Swan_Vesta 11]

IMO the forum has tottered steadily down the hill of mundanity but that's only due to the quality of the posts. I myself have been logging on less and less due to a number of things going on in my life, I don't at present have the time to devote to my online community that I normally do. I am to blame as much as anyone.

 

There will always be permanent residents, stalwarts, floaters and those who sign up only to make one post but the interest is continually there, the quality of the content ebbs and flows.

 

The forum is what you make it.

[walter wall 10]

Hmmm....I feel that Mr Wall may be someone who would like to see SF disappear....

 

 

Not at all.

I was having a dig at the doom and gloom merchants and no offence was intended

[JoeP 11]

IMO the forum has tottered steadily down the hill of mundanity but that's only due to the quality of the posts. I myself have been logging on less and less due to a number of things going on in my life, I don't at present have the time to devote to my online community that I normally do. I am to blame as much as anyone.

 

There will always be permanent residents, stalwarts, floaters and those who sign up only to make one post but the interest is continually there, the quality of the content ebbs and flows.

 

The forum is what you make it.

 

Very true.

 

I mentioned early on in this thread that I had this discussion last year and certainly witnessed it the year before as well.

 

I think that this time of the year sees people doing real world stuff - combine good weather, the World Cup, holidays, etc. and it's inevitable that people will be doing other things.

 

There are lots of people on here who put in some great posts, although I do think we had a bit of a surfeit of more 'noise' to 'signal' for a couple of months around Christmas.

 

The Forum is what we all make it - I've spent a bit of time the last few days contributing to threads as a 'user' rather than as a Mod and have really enjoyed the experience.

 

[Cliff Clavin 10]

Cliff, if by 'juicy thread' you refer to your notorious 'Would it all be fine and dandy if the Third Reich had triumphed?' effort, I am not surprised that you received 'abuse'. You must have the naivety of a callow twelve-year old schoolboy if you expected anything else.

 

 

Why? Please explain.

 

Is it because your trying to say Sheffield Forumers can't deal with "What If" poser's? If not then maybe I am dealing with a group of callow twelve year olds and thus should leave myself to elsewere.

[EdnaKrabappe 14]

I'm never going to profess to joining in the heated debate threads, I have to be sensible enough at work so for me, Sheffield forum postings have tended to be about nice places to go, juicy gossip and what's my favourite lentil (or the like.) I don't mind the fact that people have little cliques - think it's quite endearing - and most of us now have people that we 'favour' or will address directly but it's not too cliquey that others won't answer.

 

I've just been coming on recently to find there is nothing i want to contribute to.

 

Also some of the threads that get merged have very tenuous links and therefore become a bit overlong and anything longer than about seven pages and I can't be bothered trawling. I hold up my recent Big brother one and i still maintain the celebrity will go in. (But now that's right at the front of the generic big brother thread and noone will read it)

 

I think getting rid of some of the more 'trivial' posts like 'what sort of colour are you?' and 'what your handbag says about you' has driven a lot of entertaining posters away. I'm not saying these posts in themselves were entertaining, but that it was a way to get people hooked on here. Rather than coming on to be a bit trivial on those and then posting the odd good thread, these people are coming on less and less or not at all and so the entertainment side dies.

[dibsy 10]

I'm never going to profess to joining in the heated debate threads, I have to be sensible enough at work so for me, Sheffield forum postings have tended to be about nice places to go, juicy gossip and what's my favourite lentil (or the like.) I don't mind the fact that people have little cliques - think it's quite endearing - and most of us now have people that we 'favour' or will address directly but it's not too cliquey that others won't answer.

 

 

I think getting rid of some of the more 'trivial' posts like 'what sort of colour are you?' and 'what your handbag says about you' has driven a lot of entertaining posters away. I'm not saying these posts in themselves were entertaining, but that it was a way to get people hooked on here. Rather than coming on to be a bit trivial on those and then posting the odd good thread, these people are coming on less and less or not at all and so the entertainment side dies.

 

You made some really good points here.

 

For the second part....I was one of the people that disappeared along with a few others for that same reason.......we particularly liked the games side of things but that soon got stopped and more threads were being closed down and deleted cos of the playful banter and chat that went on......isn't a forum all about being able to converse with other people though???

 

I must admit that most of my personal chatting is done in pm's so as not to 'clutter up the forum' so to speak as I hate the chat room.

 

I have returned however and do converse on a few threads every now and again.....and do admit to 'chatting' on the odd occassion

[JoeP 11]

Why? Please explain.

 

Is it because your trying to say Sheffield Forumers can't deal with "What If" poser's? If not then maybe I am dealing with a group of callow twelve year olds and thus should leave myself to elsewere.

 

Well, people on here CAN deal with all sorts of threads - just bear in mind that what works for some people won't work for others.

 

In terms of 'callow twelve year olds' - I think that's a little unfair. There are people who like 'light and fluffy', there are people who enjoy the more serious things. There are also people who try and turn every discussion on certain subjects in to a diatribe about, for example, why Islam will be the end of the world or that every thing that's wrong in the UK can be trced back to a Chav.

 

It's horses for courses.

[LordChaverly 10]

Hiya everyone who is making comments on this really important subject

 

There are lots of very nice,funny,witty,quirky,intelligent people on this forum that make it a pleasure for people like me who can never seem to think of any good threads to start!!! Like LordChaverly - he manages to stir things up but without offending or sticking the knife in. He has me laughing out loud sometimes!!! You have to have the ability to guess how people will react to do this.

 

I think because you cant actually tell the emotion behind what peeps are saying on here - the key to getting respect etc from other SF'errs is being able to write in a way that get your points across correctly......some people say things and whoever they are referring to reads it the wrong way and gets the nark on

 

Thank you Diamondrava for your kind comments - much appreciated.

[Tony 10]

Now to be honest LC, ( and I'm not picking on you as a particular case at all ) that sort of post is very nice and kind, but it does fall foul of the kind of things we are talking about.

 

In the strictest sense we could delete it because it "doesn't add anything to the thread" and it's really a PM that's of little or no interest to anyone else. The smart poster would make it the opening line of a post that contributed.

 

To use JoeP's phrase... "signal to noise"

[LordChaverly 10]

Now to be honest LC, ( and I'm not picking on you as a particular case at all ) that sort of post is very nice and kind, but it does fall foul of the kind of things we are talking about.

 

In the strictest sense we could delete it because it "doesn't add anything to the thread" and it's really a PM that's of little or no interest to anyone else. The smart poster would make it the opening line of a post that contributed.

 

To use JoeP's phrase... "signal to noise"

 

Well Tony, I would like to say that this is unusually churlish of you, but unfortunately it is all too characteristic of the petty and mean-spirited demeanour you frequently display on here. As for it being of no interest to anyone else, well, let other forumers decide. Moreover, if I need lessons in 'smart posting', I won't be taking any lessons from you any time soon.