When forums go quiet

[JamesNotBond]

I have often wondered what makes forums become self sustaining in regard to new material added on a regular basis. I see this forum starts up and goes quiet and then starts again, is it just a number game, or do some forums offer something else ?
I am a visiter on a few forums and a member on a few others, of all the forums, I only regularly post on 2 of them, the others I read but have no desire to partake in.

[Tripodmvr]

There are only a bit more than 100 members listed. The forums you might be visiting have thousands of members and therefore the "silence" you have on this site. I also avoid posting on some, as moderating is overly aggressive and arrogant to say the least.

Conservation and re-loading are topics that evince responses and we need some members here to keep it going. Politics I try to avoid as there is enough on TV and other forums.

[troglodyte]

Early days for this kind of venture, I am guessing it will take a year or three to gain enough posting member mass to self perpetuate.

[Ds J]

I don't reply on forums as much as I did.

Many questions have already been answered, and there are folks with better knowledge who seem to have more time on hand.

Time is alo a concern, and we have to keep in mind that the shooting fraternity in SA is small.

[Kola]

Forums take a long time to develop.

There is already a lot of information on existing platforms/forums, which means on a new forum content will take even longer to develop into something useful as search engine results will suggest existing content to potential new members.

And even on existing, long established forums, have a look at new posts, over time now posts on technical topics drop a lot, and it is really k@kpraat topics which are top of the list if one looks for new posts.

[Treeman]

Forums take a long time to develop.

There is already a lot of information on existing platforms/forums, which means on a new forum content will take even longer to develop into something useful as search engine results will suggest existing content to potential new members.

And even on existing, long established forums, have a look at new posts, over time now posts on technical topics drop a lot, and it is really k@kpraat topics which are top of the list if one looks for new posts.

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True !