MEMBERS DECLINING

[plantagenon]

I have mentioned this before to 2 moderators and I feel it is necessary to mention it again. I have been on the Pen Turners sub-forum recently and the general consensus it that there are fewer members posting and commenting on posts. Although, not a member, I have been told the metal workers sub-forum is suffering the same fate.

The question is why? The answer is simple. Facebook are stealing the members because they have live chat rooms. How do you correct it? Again simple, put a live chatroom for the sub-forums on here and they will come back in droves. That is the feed-back I have been given when asking the members why they are using FB instead of WW Forums.

I hope other members comment on this to give an indication if this is right.

[gawdelpus]

I have to agree Greg, some mention of this problem has been made by others ,as suggested a live chat may address this problem to an extent ,we live in an age of instant contact,seems folk want contact and be contactable any time anywhere . In case the world somehow passes them by . I think a few folk are highlighting there work with a view to sales as well, and if it works for them good luck . The forums have had a recent huge upgrade and I am sure that a chat section merely needs enabling (most forum software has a lot of built in capabilities ,not always utilised ) One obvious outcome of a live chat is it usually needs some sort of moderation else it can degenerate into a free for all ,not that any of the members of this forum would be so unaware of good form and behaviour hehe, cheers ~ John

[China]

Anyone who uses Facebook does so at there own risk facebook has huge security problems and they have no intension of rectifying them they also gather your information and pass it on to who ever they seem fit, I for one will have nothing to do with them.
Live chat forums have no interest to me either I know this most likely puts me in a minority

[DJ’s Timber]

Only answering now as Neil (uBeaut) is quite often busy and cannot often reply till the early hours, but I can tell you that Neil has looked into it numerous times and it isn't as easy as it looks, needs to be compatible with current vBulletion software and also within their requirements to be covered for backups/support and unless you've got an endless credit limit, it's just not gonna happen overnight.

[Nai84]

I use Facebook regularly never had any security problems as long as ur settings are correct u will be fine D

I agree with Greg tho a live chat room would be good to interest of that's for sure. I know that it wouldn't happen over night like u said DJ but definitely away of the future I think ;-) imo


Thanks
Ian

[BobL]

Maybe it's just me but I cringe when I think of the countless hours of my life lost in my years of inane participation in the chat rooms of a number of craft related forums.
At one point my wife even had to get out of bed at 2am to close the study door because I was yelling at my PC because of what an eedjet was writing in a chat room
I don't mind if there are not a lot of members/posts in any given forum as it allows me to easily keep up with what's going on.
Of course this does not help Ubeaut pay the bills so if chat rooms are deemed good for the bottom line of the forums then so be it.

BTW I hear FB was starting to be on the nose for the younger generation because too many grannies and pops were participating.

Any this is what I think of FB.

[Michael G]

I have been on the Pen Turners sub-forum recently and the general consensus it that there are fewer members posting and commenting on posts. Although, not a member, I have been told the metal workers sub-forum is suffering the same fate.

I'm with Bob - wouldn't use a live chat facility if it was there. I spoke to one of our MW members a while back as he wasn't posting as much and his comment was that it was becoming too much like a men's shed with general chit-chat and not enough projects being posted. A forum reflects the general will of its members, so perhaps it is just that our membership is tending social rather than project.
We also need to recognise that in this day and age people being involved in hobbies that produce physical things is getting less and less common, so perhaps we are just reflecting the community trend in general.

Michael

[Big Shed]

Maybe I'm showing my age, and my ignorance, but what is a live chat room?

I'm not on Facebook, been trying to avoid it, my wife is because it is an easy way to keep up with family and friends spread across this country and the world.

Given my complete ignorance I cannot express an opinion, for or against.

[gawdelpus]

Fred Live chat is a small app that runs within the framework of the main program ,opens in a separate window and is text only in most cases ,it runs in real time and just scrolls continuously as more text is added ,usually has a private room for members to discuss things away from the main page ,can be setup for members only access for exchanging real time ideas or help, unlike PMs which may take a while to get through to another member . Some sites have it on the main page ,live all the time, but I would not advocate that as it takes valuable space , We spend a lot of resources at the wood shows to try and interest new members (at least U-beaut does) hehe, another feature that might help is live chat . Seems these days communication to be successful has to be quick and convenient ,and members can keep there anonymity and still be contacted , cheers ~ John

[plantagenon]

Hi Fred. A live chatroom simply means that you see the message the second it is typed and can reply instantly. It happens in real time and there is no delay in posts. It also allows a number of people to become involved in a discussion, again in real time - much like a conference telephone call. There is very little moderation other than booting a person off the site if they become obnoxious or alternatively individual members can block the person so they don't have to read their rantings. Oddly enough, there is little problem with people playing up in more mature groups on FB. There may be difficulties with software preventing it from happening here and there is also the cost factor. It appears Neal has looked into it. However, it amazed me the number of people who used to post on the Forum who now use the faster FB chat rooms - simply for that reason - its fast and its a bit like having a real time conversation with someone (other than you have to type). Still it is an issue that should be considered as its a matter of keeping up with the times.

[plantagenon]

John and I must be posting simultaneously. His explanation was better.

[Big Shed]

John and Greg, thanks for the explanations.

However I don't understand the reference to "instant". As I type this and hit the Submit button it "instantly" appears on the forum for you to see and respond to, how can it be more instant?

[Big Shed]

John and I must be posting simultaneously. His explanation was better.

Must have been "too instant"?

[LGS]

Could it be that the current topics for discussion aren't relevant to some people, or that some just don't want to post?
It could even be that people have simply moved on and don't post at all, here or elsewhere.

LGS

[wheelinround]

Live Chat has been around long before Facebook and was and still is popular in all those aspects such are ICQ, Yahoo, Hotmail, Google, Skype and many more the general bods don't here about.


I use live chat and have in the past the want or need to do so comes and goes.

Myself I am finding in many forums splitting up into never ending sections is the biggest cause of loss of interest, having to search each section for what your after its like a politicians committee it gets lost in the depth.