What can be done

[Fotofavoloso]

......to increase participation here on this board. It is not a very active forum.

There seem to be the same two or three........very little discussion.....etc.....

Any thoughts?

Mark

[Classitar]

That's a good question Mark.

There's a lot of flute specific interest but not the general interest/socializing that you see on other forums.
Hopefully its because everyone's busy practicing or repairing!

I'm glad you're here - maybe we can stir things up a little

[Phineas]

I think early on, there was a lot of traffic due to a few factors.

1. Newness of the forum.
2. The Elders/Mentors on the board were a little less busy.
3. No Flute FAQ
4. Not needing a spam filter/ more moderation.

I use to be on there WAY more frequently. At the time I was working on a job where I could monitor the forum, and I was doing a lot more playing/shopping. Eventually they made me a moderator.

Since then, I have seen a lot of things change in many of the Elders/Mentors lives. Some have moved, had medical issues, changed jobs, went off to college etc....

The Flute FAQ has been a blessing and a curse. A lot of the traffic was due to the same questions. After FAQ V2 was posted, most people are referred to it. Before this, there were a lot of discussions over basic concepts, theories and voodoo/magic. I will be updating the FAQ eventually when I get time.

Lastly, anyone could post about almost anything until the forum porno spam attacks. I have seen upto 100+ messages at a time that I had to erase. Eventually we had to be very strict about what is posted.

Do not forget the private message feature as well.

[pied_piper]

I also think that over the several years, there has been a gradual migration away from forums like this to social media sites like FaceBook. I know there are several flute groups on there that seem to get more activity. I suppose it's the natural way of things to embrace something newer.

Forums like this have one big advantage. It's much easier to search back through previous topics and find answers to questions as Phineas pointed out with the FAQ. But, the social nature of FaceBook seems to have a bigger draw right now. Here, everyone is a bit more anonymous, but people there sort of develop more of a connection and familiarity with one another.

Old forums never die, they just FaceBook away...

[fluteguy18]

I think that Phineas and PP have nailed it. Between the evolution of social media, and the evolution of the needs of the board and the lives of the members, boards like this tend to fade. I know that I for one have been too busy running my business. When I joined this forum a decade ago, I was a college student. Two TOTALLY different stages of life. I'll drop in every now and then, but I only add a reply when I feel that it isn't already answered somewhere else in the forum (FAQ, or the search button).

Well, that's not always true. If I feel a question is particularly asinine I get a bit sassy and send them to 'Let me Google that For You.'