Less People Posting?

LightPhoenix · Jun 21, 2009

It seems to me there are less people posting on ENWorld these days. Is this really the case?

Piratecat · Jun 21, 2009

We've been steady at 42-50K posts a month for the last year. That's down a little from 2+ years ago; possibly those are Pathfinder fans who have moved primarily to Paizo's boards.

Odhanan · Jun 21, 2009

I was personally a very regular poster and community supporter a few years ago.

I am now flabbergasted at the way this site has morphed into a clique of people who can't stand disagreement, argument, and which promote the idea of licking WotC's (and other VIPs') boots at every turn.

When I see threads closed with comments from Piratecat like "I am so very tired of babysitting a very small number of threads, and this thread is one of them. Klunk." (if you're tired of babysitting, PC, don't be a mod in the first place), or Morrus who goes against people by ascribing motives to their posts (which in itself is against the rules of ENWorld), this tells me right there why I stopped posting here, and why I'm deluded in thinking things have gotten better over time.

This site sucks, now. This is sad. I used to love it.

Edit - Sorry for the blunt post, but if I'm the one who needs to say it, so be it.

Mark · Jun 21, 2009

There might be fewer recognizable names posting because some leave as they perceive the boards aren't inclusive of their needs and interests, in combination with the addition of so many forums on the boards causing some folks to post less in the gerneral forum.

Piratecat · Jun 21, 2009

Odhanan, I'll put things in perspective a bit. We normally get 2, maybe 3 reported posts a day. We've gotten 31 since yesterday, with vastly the lion's share in the several threads I closed. I don't know what it is, but people on both sides of the issue were being repeatedly rude. As always, we don't have a lot of interest in micromanaging threads like that, so closed it goes.

Was I annoyed? You bet.

If you want to make the site better, post interesting threads that are about cool D&D things. That, more than any veiled or mean-spirited attack thread, helps other people have fun.

LightPhoenix · Jun 21, 2009

Mark said:
There might be fewer recognizable names posting because some leave as they perceive the boards aren't inclusive of their needs and interests, in combination with the addition of so many forums on the boards causing some folks to post less in the gerneral forum.

That's possibly it, though I'm not certain it's a lack of recognizable names. Where it seems most pronounced to me is in Off Topic. Perhaps that's because people are posting at CM or other boards. 4E Rules seems to have slowed down as well, probably because it's been some time since the launch. The Software forum seems to be another one that's relatively slow... but then, there's a general lack of big computing stuff going on, and other sites.

As PCat said, the number of posts hasn't changed, so it's probably all in my head.

Piratecat · Jun 21, 2009

Well, it's down a little from last year and is less than 3-4 years ago, when 3e was at its peak. So it's not entirely your imagination. I think the change in editions has affected it, and there are other really good message boards now that weren't there years ago. OD&D, Pathfinder, 3e, 4e -- people should find the site that's the most fun for them.

We have consistent numbers of new threads and new posts, which is nice. It's probably folks shifting around.

Crothian · Jun 21, 2009

With many menbers in college don't we usually get a little less posts over the summer months when kids are no longer in school?

Morrus · Jun 22, 2009

Odhanan said:
This site sucks

I respectfully diagree. This site may not be for everyone all of the time, but it absolutely does not suck.

I stopped posting here

And a quick search suggests to me that you post here a lot more than you think you do!

Odhanan · Jun 22, 2009

Morrus said:
And a quick search suggests to me that you post here a lot more than you think you do!

Maybe so, but I daresay your search was quick indeed, since I am also not posting nearly as much as I used to.

As for the site sucking, I'm going to agree that certainly some people might think its contents, moderation and overall ambiance are great as they are right now. I do not. I know for a fact the site could be much better than it now is, since it once was.