The New Forum Style...less content, more chat

[jagur]

anyone noticed how little real knowledge of unicycling is being posted/discussed?

this new style format is a breeding ground for chat and quick meaning-less posts.

yes there is a small amount of informative threads but over all...the possibility of getting sound expierianced advice is on hold for the most part.

the vets of these fora are almost non-exsistant, only coming out in a pinch of really bad advice.

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i dont dispute the search function as of 2006 being able to answer almost any question but the spontanious-ness of new discovery seems to be on the losing end.

[totally_hooked]

Jagur, at the risk of not providing any unicycle specific advice , why do you think that it is the new forum style that is influencing the content of peoples posts?

As far as I can see, it looks more flashy, but the underlying mechanism is the same - you post a question, maybe with some pictures or a link or two, and then you wait for a reply.

I myself have never used the chat function, but I've "overheard" posters saying that it does not function. Could this be the cause?

Maybe this thread (and others) should be moved to the general conversation section - it would be ironic .

What do you think, Gilby?

Hooked

[andrew_carter]

I've noticed that the threads and general content these days are of far less interest to me and aren't as meaningful in unicycling terms.

I'd love to know how you think the new forum style is affecting this though...that's got me completely stumped.

Andrew

[wobbling bear]

Originally Posted by jagur

anyone noticed how little real knowledge of unicycling is being posted/discussed?

as I participate to other unicycling forum I would say that such a thing is happening everywhere so the reason is not form.
That the interesting topics come in burst is not surprising: once a topic has been debated, hotly debated, rebated,... then the "search" function provides all you need.
the chaotic nature of our forums create up and down in interesting topics. But optimists are waiting for new things to pop up .

the other thing to consider is personal point of view: things are interesting when new but when you have been a long time on the field things can get boring: I have been a science-fiction buff in the sixties... new themes popping up all the time but during the 80ies I lost interest in the field because I have found few new challenging ideas (I still like S.F. but I dump 9 books out of 10).
being a newbie in unicycling I dump only 9 posts every 10 posts ...

[tomblackwood]

Originally Posted by wobbling bear

I would say that such a thing is happening everywhere so the reason is not form.

I've noticed that trend as well. I'm not sure whether it is laziness or crazy, overloaded schedules, but the trend in more mainstream media has also been going to quick soundbites versus deeper, more meaningful content. In the past year, two mags I subscribe to--Backpacker and Bicycling--have altered their formats to cut back or eliminate deeper articles, and instead have an endless series of little 1/4-page or 1/8-page "interest stories". Wilderness survival content has been replaced with "put a hot rock in your sleeping bag to keep your feet warm". Ugh.

In RSU, it may also have something to do with the average age of participant, which I sense has been decreasing steadily. No dis to the kids there...it's a good thing for the sport, as it means more younger folks are saddling up and riding. But it's not necessarily a good thing for deep content or good spelling and grammar.

[theamazingmolio]

I think when he says "forum style" he means the style in which it's used, rather than the forum software. I'm probably wrong though...

[cathwood]

I would think that as a relative minority sport, unicyclists just like to chat to other unicyclists. It may be that there are more beginners than previously on the site and therefore they fill up with chat where they lack the ability to make expert contributions. Surely this is a good thing as it may indicate greater take-up of unicycling.

Perhaps, Jaguar, as your ability increases, your perception of the forum changes and you are only interested in the more 'expert' posts? Who knows.

For myself, the majority of posts on RSU are way beyond anything I could contribute effectively to, but that doesn't stop me wanting to contribute in my own little way and to be a unicyclist amongst other unicyclists. Hence this post.

Cathy

[ColDawG]

I find that there are many more useless posts too.

I think some reasons are more beginners, and the season might have somethign to do with it??? This is my first "winter on the forums," so I don't know what it's usually like in this season of less riding.
I do miss all of the posts from summertime though when people had new vids all the time, new tricks/techniques always being discussed, cool product review stuff, and cool rides being discussed.
I found that even durign the "good ol' times" though, there were lulls in interest, but right now it's just sort of one big lull.

We'll see what it's like in the spring when more people start riding again and start trying new things!!

[Radical Reed]

it seems to me that in the summer there were a lot more new threads but now with less riding in the winter it seems that there are barely any new threads about rides or movies so people make pointless threads to pass the time, so i think we need some high contraversial thread topics to get our brains working in non-pointless mode.

[GILD]

Originally Posted by ColDawG

This is my first "winter on the forums," so I don't know what it's usually like in this season of less riding.

This strikes me as the important bit.
Eccl. 3:1

A while ago there were a couple of threads about the increase in rudeness on the forums. That also just went away.

It's a Proud Mary kinda thing.

I vote for the sticky thread idea.

[Skippii]

Originally Posted by theamazingmolio

I think when he says "forum style" he means the style in which it's used, rather than the forum software. I'm probably wrong though...

I understood it to mean the "quick reply" option in the software.

[unijesse]

maybe its because every time someone asks a question they are told to use the search feature. that pisse me off. and speaking of non uni stuff why is this in rsu?

[innes]

I don't get the idea of people complaining that topics have been mentioned before either. If we all searched through the old threads every time we wanted a question answered, we would have a very quiet forum.

All forums go through stages where they go quiet, or lots of new people change nature of the threads. If you use forums, you just have to accept it.

Just keep posting, allow others to post without complaining that it has been discussed before, enjoy the fact that we can communicate with other unicyclists throughout the world ever day.

[gerblefranklin]

The average age of the forum members has dropped, and the corrolary to this is that the maturity and content has done so as well. What does it matter, though? For me, it just means I check the forum about 1/3 as often, and post about 1/5 as often.

As for the search function, I used to reccomend it because I've given detailed writeups on things like SIF sidehops easily 10 times. The technique isn't changing, so I just tell people to look for previous posts relating it. I'd rather have no activity than repeat how to hop, wheelwalk, or crankflip over and over again.

Now i don't tell people to use the search function because i just don't care, and rarely click on threads like "how do I hop?" in the first place. Stupid threads like "WTF??????" get passed by as well. If a person can't title their thread, they also won't be able to get any content into it.

[musketman]

Originally Posted by unijesse

maybe its because every time someone asks a question they are told to use the search feature. that pisse me off. and speaking of non uni stuff why is this in rsu?

that is it! i hate it to when people say "use the search button" If everyone used the search button(and most of the time its useless anyway) there would be no talking on the forum.