Forum participation of late

[nige2000]

Oh, and I should also say that while I have precious little interest in the Computer Audio stuff myself (and I can say, hand on heart, that I find some of the discussion over there bordering on lunacy!!)

+1
on the lunacy bit

[giant haystacks]

i read everything i like here as it is non insulting place -like all the uk forums are -i maybe could try to keep in contact with the hifi outlets up this part and maybe the forum users could find something interesting -there is kronos hifi david campbell in dungannon
ardhowen audio in enniskillen tom sturgon
moore hifi in newtownards jim moore
lyric hifi in belfast
and a shop in coleraine
there is also 2 good engineers up this part one in lisburn and one in enniskillen who i am friendly with rodney hanna

[block]

Isn't it ironic the thread about the lack of " Forum participation of late" is the most active we've seen for a while, now going onto the third page in 2 days!

Do people feel uncomfortable posting, many members here have probably been active here since the cloney audio forum days and have invested time and fortune into their systems and are way "ahead" of new comers?

[tony]

Isn't it ironic the thread about the lack of " Forum participation of late" is the most active we've seen for a while, now going onto the third page in 2 days!

Do people feel uncomfortable posting, many members here have probably been active here since the cloney audio forum days and have invested time and fortune into their systems and are way "ahead" of new comers?

Possibly and hence I feel the need to break it down and allow people post in specific areas where they need help rather than this generic General catch all thread. CA needed to be branched out and ditto for 5-6 other areas. I agree completing on people being uncomfortable which is a pity as there are a large number of helpful people with the various bits of knowledge. Nobody bites here except on trolls.

[tweber]

Isn't it ironic the thread about the lack of " Forum participation of late" is the most active we've seen for a while

Was going to say the same thing!

Not sure if stale is the right word really. Posts here do tend to get helpful/informative replies rather than the dismissive drivel seen on other forums(a) already mentioned, quality rather than quantity is usually better. No trolling either.
No issue here though if a re-format helps.

[Ivor]

Forums tend to go through phases and a seemingly random thread can spark a renewed interest. Forums such as this one are "holistic" in that it's entirely driven by the members, there's nobody contriving to make controversial arguments just to raise the postings... this is a good thing! Arguments lead to long threads.... thankfully here we have a reasonable level of respect for each others views and can have a discussion with open minds and without hurling insults.

Often I'd read a post and have every intention of coming back to it again to respond but forget. It might be just my settings but unless there's a new post to that thread I won't see it again. I'll have a look to see if I can change that. I had to go back through "General" just to find this thread! I know on other forums I can set my preferences so that I can loads of topics even if I responded or not, I must have a look.

Threads such as "what are you listening to?" don't tend to generate a lot of responses - they're not really a discussion as such although obviously they have the potential to become that. People read them, take note (or not) and read on. Nobody should be too put out if those posts don't get much response online, it's interesting to see what others are listening to (and YouTube clips are great too) but they're not great for "activity".

The Computer Audio threads are what they are.... it doesn't diminish other threads and hopefully posters there will spill over into the music orientated ones...

[Adrian]

O.K. chaps... before this thread dies off... I'd like to put my thoughts on the table.

With the exception of the CA section... I think the traditional Hi Fi part of the forum is at a cross roads. I feel we have a chance now to get this re-focused... whilst we have some momentum from the forum members. I feel if we do not make a positive change... we will rapidly approach the point where there will be more moderators than users.

I realize we are living in difficult economic times, and whilst forum activity seems to increase when big expensive changes are undertaken by users there is still a lot of Hi Fi components which give excellent value for money to be had for a couple of hundred quid... particularly second hand. I mean think about TT cartridges... there are several TT users on here.. yet not a word is spoken about cartridges. Considering the variety to be had in cartridges under 500 euro... I mean that is not breaking the bank territory now is it? Yet cartridges / tonearms are almost never mentioned.

And what about the music... Hi Fi Hardware is only part of Hi Fi... the music is important too, why is this getting not much support?


From my reading of the previous posts... nige2000, tweber, Tony, DaveF are suggesting that the "General" section be modified into different sections, i.e. CD players, Turntables, Amplifiers, Speakers, ...... I could add Cartridges, Cables, Tuners and even Tape decks. However perhaps the 1st four would be sufficient with a 5th sub section "Other" as Tuners / Cassette / Cartridges is almost never discussed.

Users

A suggestion... perhaps if we were to trawl through the user list... of which there are 468... and approach those who used to participate here but have stopped. We could ask for feedback as to why they no longer post on here, and what would have to change for them to feel it worthwhile to come back.

Giant Haystacks mentioned our Northern Ireland cousins... perhaps if attempts where made to reach out ( extend invites etc) to people who are interested in Hi Fi on other forums, or perhaps get the forum name known in N.I. Hi Fi shops we may increase the number of posters. I remember Dearg Doom used to post here... from Tyrone I think.

Commercial Selling:

Not sure what way to say this... but are we doing the right thing in banning commercial selling?? The WAM has a section for private and commercial sales. Does this add to the respective forum...would it add to TNHiFi? Or would it be too much trouble to moderate / legal complexity? Sometimes a commercial seller may give discounts, I can think of at least 3 sellers in the ROI, and Giant Haystacks has mentioned a number of others in N.I.

I wonder would we have more activity, more users if we were to invite the commercial side like on the WAM?



That's all I can think of for now... if others have any more suggestions... "Speak now or forever...."

[tony]

I fear that the classical music thread is dying too. We still have Mark, Aleg, Fergus, Dave, Simon and Pepe who post from time to time but it is not in a healthy state. We have lost our English and American friends. I regularly post articles in the classical thread but they rarely elicit a response. I might take myself back to CMG instead.

Just wondering Sean at some point would you be up for a classical CA meet? i.e you bring the classical stuff the geeks bring the computers?

[DaveF]

I dont think commercial sellers are banned here Adrian. Rather they need to let Fran know that they are in the trade. KronosAV used to post links from time to time and I believe another place was approached but they never took the opportunity to post up any sales.

As for the forum layout, well we havent had much feedback really and nothing much from the mods about it apart from Simon.
I usually browse the forum section by section as opposed to view unread posts so a spliting up of the General section would suit me fine. But I'm easy either way. If it encouraged more posting then surely thats a good thing.

As for the forum just going through another phase, well Im not so sure about that. There were a few rumblings about 6 months ago and then recently there were a few PMs flying around about how quiet the place has been for a while now. I think the place needed a shot in the arm hence why I started this thread.

[DaveF]

I fear that the classical music thread is dying too. We still have Mark, Aleg, Fergus, Dave, Simon and Pepe who post from time to time but it is not in a healthy state. We have lost our English and American friends. I regularly post articles in the classical thread but they rarely elicit a response. I might take myself back to CMG instead.

Just wondering Sean at some point would you be up for a classical CA meet? i.e you bring the classical stuff the geeks bring the computers?

I'd be on for that. I'll bring some good classical recordings.