What happened to this place?
Aug 28th 2023, 8:50 pm
#61
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: In a darkened room somewhere.............
Posts: 34,035
Re: What happened to this place?
18 months ago, I started a thread on the Australian Barbie forum called "Why so few shrimps on the barbie?" - seeking a reason for the low turnout there. Sadly, my eventual conclusion ran afoul of BE's Rule 15, and was not published. However, the thread was re-named, and has become reasonably active again as a place to discuss the wide variety of topics that arise at weekend barbecues throughout Australia.
Nevertheless, this Maple Leaf forum is a hive of activity, compared with its Australian cousin!
Nevertheless, this Maple Leaf forum is a hive of activity, compared with its Australian cousin!
Bottom line is that BE is a discussion forum, and those are dying out in the modern age. BE is kept afloat by newbies that pop by to ask questions about immigration or life in another country, and by the regulars that use BE as their 'pub' and to chat to their friends or have an interesting discussion whilst propping up the bar. If people are interested in what you're discussing then they'll reply. If you don't get responses, then it's a discussion nobody else is interested in and there's no point in endlessly resurrecting it. Plus that's another site rule broken if you do 'bump' threads…….
Last edited by christmasoompa; Aug 29th 2023 at 1:30 am.
Aug 29th 2023, 7:27 am
#62
Lowering the tone
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Here and there
Posts: 7,351
Re: What happened to this place?
You know the rules pretty well, you've been given a lot of leeway with them over the years. So it can't have been a surprise that that post was deleted. IIRC, with the Barbie there were specific members that drove others away with their endless squabbling and antagonistic views. They were (I think) got rid of in the end (ironically, amid many complaints about lack of mod action - we really can't win whatever we do), but by then it was too late and a lot of the regulars had been lost. It's been quiet since then.
Bottom line is that BE is a discussion forum, and those are dying out in the modern age. BE is kept afloat by newbies that pop by to ask questions about immigration or life in another country, and by the regulars that use BE as their 'pub' and to chat to their friends or have an interesting discussion whilst propping up the bar. If people are interested in what you're discussing then they'll reply. If you don't get responses, then it's a discussion nobody else is interested in and there's no point in endlessly resurrecting it. Plus that's another site rule broken if you do 'bump' threads…….
Bottom line is that BE is a discussion forum, and those are dying out in the modern age. BE is kept afloat by newbies that pop by to ask questions about immigration or life in another country, and by the regulars that use BE as their 'pub' and to chat to their friends or have an interesting discussion whilst propping up the bar. If people are interested in what you're discussing then they'll reply. If you don't get responses, then it's a discussion nobody else is interested in and there's no point in endlessly resurrecting it. Plus that's another site rule broken if you do 'bump' threads…….
Aug 29th 2023, 11:29 am
#65
Yo
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 24,474
Re: What happened to this place?
That is a perfectly reasonable explanation but things had dropped off considerably some time before covid.
I used to be a regular in the Canada section, only ever venturing anywhere else to the lab.
For some time it was too busy to keep up. I could compose a reply and by the time I posted there might be half a dozen new posts on that thread just in the time I was typing. It was hard to keep up.
But 2 or 3 years before covid, things got so quiet that I wandered off to the lounge and tio and became a regular there.
I used to be a regular in the Canada section, only ever venturing anywhere else to the lab.
For some time it was too busy to keep up. I could compose a reply and by the time I posted there might be half a dozen new posts on that thread just in the time I was typing. It was hard to keep up.
But 2 or 3 years before covid, things got so quiet that I wandered off to the lounge and tio and became a regular there.
Aug 29th 2023, 11:31 am
#66
Yo
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 24,474
Re: What happened to this place?
18 months ago, I started a thread on the Australian Barbie forum called "Why so few shrimps on the barbie?" - seeking a reason for the low turnout there. Sadly, my eventual conclusion ran afoul of BE's Rule 15, and was not published. However, the thread was re-named, and has become reasonably active again as a place to discuss the wide variety of topics that arise at weekend barbecues throughout Australia.
Nevertheless, this Maple Leaf forum is a hive of activity, compared with its Australian cousin!
Nevertheless, this Maple Leaf forum is a hive of activity, compared with its Australian cousin!
Aug 29th 2023, 3:43 pm
#67
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2012
Location: Cayman Islands
Posts: 4,999
Re: What happened to this place?
You know the rules pretty well, you've been given a lot of leeway with them over the years. So it can't have been a surprise that that post was deleted. IIRC, with the Barbie there were specific members that drove others away with their endless squabbling and antagonistic views. They were (I think) got rid of in the end (ironically, amid many complaints about lack of mod action - we really can't win whatever we do), but by then it was too late and a lot of the regulars had been lost. It's been quiet since then.
Bottom line is that BE is a discussion forum, and those are dying out in the modern age. BE is kept afloat by newbies that pop by to ask questions about immigration or life in another country, and by the regulars that use BE as their 'pub' and to chat to their friends or have an interesting discussion whilst propping up the bar. If people are interested in what you're discussing then they'll reply. If you don't get responses, then it's a discussion nobody else is interested in and there's no point in endlessly resurrecting it. Plus that's another site rule broken if you do 'bump' threads…….
Bottom line is that BE is a discussion forum, and those are dying out in the modern age. BE is kept afloat by newbies that pop by to ask questions about immigration or life in another country, and by the regulars that use BE as their 'pub' and to chat to their friends or have an interesting discussion whilst propping up the bar. If people are interested in what you're discussing then they'll reply. If you don't get responses, then it's a discussion nobody else is interested in and there's no point in endlessly resurrecting it. Plus that's another site rule broken if you do 'bump' threads…….
The Rest of the World forum was dead in the water for a long while before I tried to invigorate it with the "Back in the Day" thread, but it's probably not worth the effort. I did abandon five other threads there, so I have no problem letting another one die. I killed nine threads on the Cayman Islands forum, back in the day...
I'd like to keep my Barbie thread going, if that's okay with you. It's the only thread with staying power, in that forum.
My Maple Leaf thread ... Well, as one of the regulars grumbled the other day, there's not much about Canada in it! It's quite popular (judging by the reported readership), but I can drop that one too, if you want. Or at least cut back on off-road topics like offshore tax-havens! Let me know, please.
Aug 30th 2023, 12:42 am
#68
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: In a darkened room somewhere.............
Posts: 34,035
Re: What happened to this place?
Points taken. I have indeed been "bumping" my threads. In a good cause, always, and influenced by their apparent readership, but it's hard work sometimes, and I will stop doing it. (I don't actually set out to break The Rules, you know.)
The Rest of the World forum was dead in the water for a long while before I tried to invigorate it with the "Back in the Day" thread, but it's probably not worth the effort. I did abandon five other threads there, so I have no problem letting another one die. I killed nine threads on the Cayman Islands forum, back in the day...
I'd like to keep my Barbie thread going, if that's okay with you. It's the only thread with staying power, in that forum.
My Maple Leaf thread ... Well, as one of the regulars grumbled the other day, there's not much about Canada in it! It's quite popular (judging by the reported readership), but I can drop that one too, if you want. Or at least cut back on off-road topics like offshore tax-havens! Let me know, please.
The Rest of the World forum was dead in the water for a long while before I tried to invigorate it with the "Back in the Day" thread, but it's probably not worth the effort. I did abandon five other threads there, so I have no problem letting another one die. I killed nine threads on the Cayman Islands forum, back in the day...
I'd like to keep my Barbie thread going, if that's okay with you. It's the only thread with staying power, in that forum.
My Maple Leaf thread ... Well, as one of the regulars grumbled the other day, there's not much about Canada in it! It's quite popular (judging by the reported readership), but I can drop that one too, if you want. Or at least cut back on off-road topics like offshore tax-havens! Let me know, please.
Aug 30th 2023, 8:04 am
#69
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,816
Re: What happened to this place?
If a thread is generating discussion then there is no need to drop it at all. It's only the threads that nobody ever responds to that shouldn't be 'bumped' repeatedly (ignore the 'viewed' stats, as they are misleading). Often threads turn in to something else from the original intended purpose, but that can be a good thing, as evidenced by the thread in the Barbie which is generating some interesting discussions. Off topic isn't a problem at all in general discussion threads.
so even if its not posted on for a couple of months its still ging to be high on the list 
Feb 29th 2024, 11:49 am
#75
Oscar nominated
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Moncton, NB, CANADA
Posts: 50,876
Re: What happened to this place?
