Too many sub-forums!

Actually I do understand what you are saying, and agree to some extent. But I don't believe the problem is really the number of forums here as much as it is the reluctance of the membership to post ANYTHING when they visit the site.

To give you a for instance, within the past 24 hours we had 2,467 registered members log into here. Within that same 24 hour period, only 431 posts were made. Even making a silly assumption of 1 post per member, that leaves 2,036 registered members who couldn't come up with a single solitary post to make while they were here. And then there are visits by people who haven't bothered to register and/or log in, which can be as much as twice the number of registered member visits. Are people actually afraid to post on this site, or is there another reason? Obviously to make a post about something is not the reason they came here.

Do you seriously think that if there were a lesser number of forums here that this would prompt the lurkers to suddenly break down and make a post? Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that.

This has been a problem on this site from day one when I have tried for the longest time to try to come up with ways to get people to be more active in the discussion forums. All to no avail, apparently, so I quit worrying about it. I dunno, maybe it was a mistake, traffic-wise, for me to end discussions in the classifieds sections. Perhaps SOME traffic, no matter what kind, would be better in the long haul to break the ice about PARTICIPATING here. Maybe simply posting their ads is ALL people really want to DO here. Well that and getting into the verbal wrestling matches that the BOI often becomes, of course.

But in any event I do understand your frustration. And quite agree that it is a problem. I run my own Corvette site (local in nature) as well as am a member of a very large similar site that is world wide. Obviously there are a lot more people on the larger site, and that means that posts are made more frequently than in my own much smaller site. I have a thread on each documenting a nightmare build I am going through, and the one on the large site gets a LOT more responses to it. Equally obviously, there is an almost irresistible urge to abandon the smaller forum (even though it is my own) saying to hell with posting in a no man's land, and only post in the larger forum where I get much more interaction with my own posting. There is just something disconcerting about feeling completely ignored when you post publicly on a forum that is difficult to swallow. No one likes to be ignored. So if they are ignored when they post in one place, but get lively responses and participation from others in another forum, well, guess where they will eventually decide to spend ALL of their time?

So of course the same mechanism will be at work here. Even though this IS a comparatively large site, the posting history and statistics just is not reflected in the numbers one would expect with such a large member base. I guess people "driving by" to merely post a new ad in the classifieds sections is all they are really interested in doing. Which seems kind of silly to me. If they want to sell their animals or products, they need to help give a reason for more people to come here and participate. The more there is for people to occupy their time here, the more likely that eventually they will take a look at the classifieds to see what is happening there. The more eyes looking at your ads the more the odds are that eventually someone is going to make that purchase you are hoping for. This is just common sense and a chapter out of the Business 101 course guide.

General discussions help generate enthusiasm and interest to many of the readers. How many people do you suppose got the idea in their head about buying an animal after reading discussions about it? Probably quite a few, I would imagine. And yet many people will not take the time to try to generate this sort of interest in their potential marketplace. And all the while, at the same time, be helping to toot their own horn as someone knowledgeable about the topic matter (meaning, the items they are trying to sell). Which, no doubt, tends to get people to thinking that buying from an "expert" is a really good idea. In the case of animals, don't you think that people would want to buy from someone who has demonstrated knowledge about how to properly care for such animals? Someone simply dropping in from out of the sky to post a FOR SALE ad for an animal, with no history, no demonstrated knowledge about such animals is certainly going to have a rough road to drive trying to make that sale when someone who HAS displayed all the right signs has an ad right there next to theirs selling the same thing. People just don't fall for the cheapest price any longer. At least the readership, generally, has gotten smarter about that aspect of buying live animals.

But still, people will post their classified ad, then hover around lurking and twiddling their thumbs, waiting for someone to contact them about their ad, when all the while that time could be put to better use making themselves more VISIBLE by using an often overlooked method of passive advertising. Use that time to SELL yourself. These days, to make a sale you have to MAKE an effort beyond just throwing it on a table and stepping back waiting for people to throw money your way.

But anyway, I guess that is their choice in how they wish to run their business. Perhaps they feel it works for them. I would wager to say that five years from now nearly all of them will no longer be in the business. If someone is looking for easy money, this business is DEFINITELY not what they are looking for.

So yeah, it would be nice if more people dig in and actually participated here on this site, but quite honestly, I just don't know how to help make that happen. And, truthfully, I am just not going to lose sleep over it.

My suggestion is that you need to help MAKE the changes you think would be helpful. If you feel the site needs more posting, then take the lead and try to get people to follow. Beyond that, I really don't know what to suggest to you.

To give you a for instance, within the past 24 hours we had 2,467 registered members log into here. Within that same 24 hour period, only 431 posts were made

I post 4.48 times per day More than 10% of those posts? I always wondered if I posted too much until today LOL

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Actually I do understand what you are saying, and agree to some extent. But I don't believe the problem is really the number of forums here as much as it is the reluctance of the membership to post ANYTHING when they visit site.

Bingo! I've recently decided to be more active here...I participate mostly in the ball python forums, but contribute elsewhere here and there. It's almost discouraging to see the number of views each thread has versus the number of replies. No doubt the classifieds is by far the most heavily trafficked area, and one would think that with so many people trying to sell a product here, they may want to participate a bit more.

I've actually been debating starting a thread on this very topic in the ball pythons forum...along the lines of why such a lack of participation. It's definitely not an issue of too many sub-forums as much as it is an issue of unwilling participants.

A lot of the visitors come only to look at ads. Some come solely to read the BOI.
It's actually sad how many people don't know that there is so much more to this site, and that isn't limited to the new members. I'm always disappointed when I see a person that has been a registered member for 4+ yrs, say they weren't aware (of the discussion forums, or the BOI).

It could very well be that the site, classic as it is, needs a better visual revamp to make forums more visually accessable.

Accessible***

Originally Posted by Mooing Tricycle

It could very well be that the site, classic as it is, needs a better visual revamp to make forums more visually accessable.

I agree. I usually don't scroll to the second half of the main page because it's rather long and I stick to the "New Posts" link. Any possibility of combining all of the BOI forums? Each person/business requires a search anyway.

Physically the structure could remain the same, but a visusl revamp and maybe some prettier buttons/sidebar may make areas of the site far more easy to reach, an option for those who know the site well could opt out of. Visually, the specific foums that people want the most activity ( except the classifieds photo section, best addition, imho) on are basically hidden and buried by too many clicks and too much scrolling.

960 Active users, thats MORE online than i ever saw before i took a hiatus. So, why ARENT you guys posting? for whatever reasons? now im curious as well!

I was thinking, excuse me if I am using different terms, of breaking the categories into forums and the forums into sub forums. Take out a bunch of the descriptions of the ones that are self explanatory and pull them all tighter together. Similar to the "Reptile & Amphibian - Classifieds" category.