VectorGamer #1 Posted April 16, 2015 It just seems like if there are more posts on Dovenet on a daily basis you should consider shutting your forum down and advising your members to meetup on an active site like AtariAge. One forum in particular I joined 6 years ago the same time as I joined AtariAge. A lot of members left for other forums because either issues with the moderators or other members. Place is a friggin' ghost town. Yesterday I checked in and there was 3 new posts. Today I checked in and there were 0 new posts. I don't get why people keep wasting their money on hosting costs if their forum is a ghost town. Time's yours... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaybird3rd #2 Posted April 16, 2015 AtariAge has become such a great classic gaming/computing community, covering so many different platforms, that I would be very reluctant to open my own forum at this point. Unless something goes seriously wrong with AtariAge at some point in the future, I don't see where another community would serve a unique need, since most of the people involved in this crazy hobby are already at least semi-regular visitors here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+remowilliams #3 Posted April 16, 2015 I don't get why people keep wasting their money on hosting costs if their forum is a ghost town. Tell that to the four people hanging out at JS4... 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #4 Posted April 16, 2015 Tell that to the four people hanging out at JS4... Unaware of what JS4 is Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Iwantgames:) #5 Posted April 16, 2015 Unaware of what JS4 is Atari jaguar site iirc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Loguidice #6 Posted April 16, 2015 Unless you're already long since established like AtariAge or have a high budget, high profile commercial-style site with massive readership, there's simply no reason to create more discussion forums. There used to be a good case for them and it was relatively easy for the good ones to have decent user bases, but with social media, easy commenting on blog posts, etc., the landscape/way people interact is just so different now. Forums have simply not evolved with the times, though, for my money, they're still a superior way of discussing specific topics. I think the window of opportunity for new forums as it relates to our interests has passed. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #7 Posted April 16, 2015 Forums have simply not evolved with the times I don't know what a forum could do to evolve with the times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Loguidice #8 Posted April 16, 2015 I don't know what a forum could do to evolve with the times. Exactly. They are what they are. Social networks, for better or worse, have taken over the role that they once filled. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #9 Posted April 16, 2015 Exactly. They are what they are. Social networks, for better or worse, have taken over the role that they once filled. I tell you what I will never use AtariAge on my smart phone. When I check AtariAge on my laptop, I go to View New Content then open up all the threads I want to read in a new tab. Just wouldn't be possible on a smart phone. At night I'll chill out watching a ballgame on TV and check out Facebook groups on my phone cuz it's easier to read and post. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blazing Lazers #10 Posted April 17, 2015 What's all this about the Digital Press Forums? 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rhomaios #11 Posted April 17, 2015 What's all this about the Digital Press Forums? That was my first thought. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pixelboy #12 Posted April 17, 2015 I tell you what I will never use AtariAge on my smart phone. When I check AtariAge on my laptop, I go to View New Content then open up all the threads I want to read in a new tab. Just wouldn't be possible on a smart phone. Interesting... So if a forum interface was actually designed to run smoothly on your smartphone, you'd be interested in using it? At night I'll chill out watching a ballgame on TV and check out Facebook groups on my phone cuz it's easier to read and post. I don't own a smartphone (or even a cellphone for that matter) but I guess I can understand the appeal when you're away from your own computer... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S1500 #13 Posted April 17, 2015 Hey guys, just wanted to announce that I'm starting a discussion forum about this specific forum. It's called the "Ghost Town Forums Forum". It will have a wrestling sub-forum as well. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rhomaios #14 Posted April 18, 2015 Hey guys, just wanted to announce that I'm starting a discussion forum about this specific forum. It's called the "Ghost Town Forums Forum". It will have a wrestling sub-forum as well. Can you have an NES forum, too? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Random Terrain #15 Posted April 18, 2015 Every once in a while a new AtariAge member will pop up with a crappy copy of the AtariAge forums with horrible color combinations and beg us to join. I guess they want to recreate the AtariAge feeling while enjoying moderator powers. Being the king of a tiny realm that hardly anyone wants to use must give them enough of a boner that it's worth the trouble. We're already here. Our moderators aren't rabid control freaks. Why would we want to waste time posting things that will probably disappear when the new guy loses interest in his little kingdom and decides to delete the whole thing? 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #16 Posted April 20, 2015 What's all this about the Digital Press Forums? I'm not talking about the Digital Press forums. I visit there a few times a week but there isn't anything being posted there that can't be found here. Interesting... So if a forum interface was actually designed to run smoothly on your smartphone, you'd be interested in using it? I don't own a smartphone (or even a cellphone for that matter) but I guess I can understand the appeal when you're away from your own computer... I've used the AtariAge forums as a guest on my phone and there's just no way that I could use it in the way that I use it on my laptop. I sit on AtariAge all day at work anyway so there's no reason for me to be on at night with my phone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cynicaster #17 Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) Yeah, the forum heyday is behind us. They are sill my favorite vehicle for participation in online hobbyist community stuff, but there is only so much demand out there for a given topic. I always kind of shake my head when people open up forums for classic gaming (for example), just because they've started a podcast or something. We've probably reached a point where social media is the de facto standard for online interaction and forums have reached the twilight of their relevance, aside from certain long-ago-established sites like AtariAge that have kind of been "grandfathered in" to the new world order. It's a shame, because Facebook sucks the high hard one for form-esque organized discussion. Edited April 20, 2015 by Cynicaster 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempest #18 Posted April 20, 2015 Every once in a while a new AtariAge member will pop up with a crappy copy of the AtariAge forums with horrible color combinations My Eyes! The goggles do nothing! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slab0meat #19 Posted April 20, 2015 I go on Atari Age all the time with my phone.. no issues. But fairly basic usage, nothing fancy like opening them there new tabs! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+remowilliams #20 Posted April 20, 2015 It's a shame, because Facebook sucks the high hard one for form-esque organized discussion. I can't see how anybody uses Facebook for discussions of any depth. Unless you're only interested in what happened in the last day or so it's completely useless. And as a future information source its less than completely useless. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Loguidice #21 Posted April 20, 2015 I can't see how anybody uses Facebook for discussions of any depth. Unless you're only interested in what happened in the last day or so it's completely useless. And as a future information source its less than completely useless. I believe that's the point. For us, we'll seek out and care about history and long form discussions, but for most people they have a thought and/or question pop up and "live in the moment" as it were. Once that short window of a day or two of the post peters out on the social network, it's onto the next topic. When your mentality is that, there's really no need for anything more involved. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #22 Posted April 20, 2015 Most of the posts I have seen on AtariAge's Facebook group are pictures of pickups or a picture of a TV screen and console - not much depth in the discussion. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #23 Posted March 16, 2016 Bumping this thread because I just signed on to the Capitol Shrill BBS (telnet to capitolshrill.com) for the first time in 5 days and there were almost 200 new posts in Dovenet | General. So for an average of 40 posts per day, that avg per day is more than the total posts for one week at a gaming forum I belong to. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempest #24 Posted March 16, 2016 I guess they want to recreate the AtariAge feeling while enjoying moderator powers. Trust me, they're not that enjoyable. It's more of a labor of love. I think the smallest forum I belong to is the PCjr forums. It's tiny and niche, but it's a good place for IBM PCjr info. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VectorGamer #25 Posted March 16, 2016 What's all this about the Digital Press Forums? Just checked in to the Digit Press forums today. This July I will be a member for 5 years and I still don't have 100 posts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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