Future of the footy forum

[Lods]

Just interested in folks opinions….
We’ve been operating for close to two decades now.  At our peak our membership numbered in the thousands with probably a hundred + active members posting regularly.
Just in terms of the current site…since 2014
New topics have more than halved (942-416)
New posts have dropped by 20000 (53611-35378)
New members down from 133 to 30
Most online at one time has halved (330-179)
Page views down by nearly a million (4172638-3498045)
There is still a couple of months to go but these figures won’t get close to that 2014 level.

Now an obvious factor impacting is the number of facebook groups that have sprung up. I’m a member of a few of those… but the decline does raise a number of questions.

1)   Is there still a place for the anonymous forum like ours or are we a dying breed?
2)   Do we need to change to remain viable in the current climate?
3)   What changes would people like to see?
4)   What other Carlton sites do you visit/ are a member of?
5)   Is there anything in particular you don’t like about the site in its current form.
6)     What do you like that keeps you posting/ viewing here

[bigblue]

I'm not a regular poster but I like fellow blues supporters differing opinions. I like hearing the views of a few of the old heads in here.
Do I like  all the threads in here?? No. But that's ok. This site is great cos theres something for everyone.
Please don't shut it down. Crashz phantom drafts, sheiks sacked backed and cracked threads to name a few, are my faves.
I've been a member here through the darkest period of our club and want to be part of it right now and for years to come as we're coming good !!

[Thryleon]

This forum is more of a community than facebook.

We build relationships and you tend to view a poster with the body of work behind their opinions.

On facebook there's too much noise and you get lost as well as too many people.

[kruddler]

You can't hide from sites like this. Everything is there for all to see, recorded in history........until we change sites which has happened a few times now.

Facebook might steal some posters, but will never reach the same level as these forums in terms of community feel. A lot less trolls on here, and generally more learned posters it seems.

In terms activity numbers....
You've always said "losing is good for business" and although we have been losing, the majority of people can see we are heading in the right direction, thus less arguments/discussions are occurring.

As for less threads....thats because the sheik doesn't come on and post 10 threads a day about stuff that we already have on the site.

[PaulP]

Just interested in folks opinions….
We’ve been operating for close to two decades now.  At our peak our membership numbered in the thousands with probably a hundred + active members posting regularly.
Just in terms of the current site…since 2014
New topics have more than halved (942-416)
New posts have dropped by 20000 (53611-35378)
New members down from 133 to 30
Most online at one time has halved (330-179)
Page views down by nearly a million (4172638-3498045)
There is still a couple of months to go but these figures won’t get close to that 2014 level.

Now an obvious factor impacting is the number of facebook groups that have sprung up. I’m a member of a few of those… but the decline does raise a number of questions.

1)   Is there still a place for the anonymous forum like ours or are we a dying breed?
2)   Do we need to change to remain viable in the current climate?
3)   What changes would people like to see?
4)   What other Carlton sites do you visit/ are a member of?
5)   Is there anything in particular you don’t like about the site in its current form.
6)     What do you like that keeps you posting/ viewing here

Lods, answering your questions in order :

1. Yes there is a place, and no this type of forum is not a dying breed. The figures you quote are to be expected in an era where there are so many platforms to voice opinions. They all tend to cannibalize each other to an extent. I'm guessing a forum like this may appeal to older folks, and the young ones may use twitter etc. This may mean footy forums become a little more "niche." A forum like this certainly gives you the chance to expend and elaborate on ideas, thoughts etc., something not possible with "instamedia".

2. No changes than i can think of. Just keep the moderation balanced so that people can have sensible and sometimes heated discussions in a mostly civil manner.

3. see 2

4. This is the only footy site of any kind that I visit.

5. Generally happy with the site. Everyone who is involved with the site, past and present, should be appreciated. It's a good place to hang out.

6. It's just like a virtual online pub or bar, where you see familiar faces, and you know the lay of the land. And occasionally it's like hanging around on a notorious street corner knowing that some fireworks are just around the corner.

[ElwoodBlues1]

x2 what Paul said...

I will also add that when you have success you get more posters/members jumping onboard, when you are at the bottom its only the die hard
fanatics that keep the posts churning , the banter happening and will come back each day to talk about defeat...

Start playing finals, win a premiership and the numbers will get better.......

[PaulP]

x2 what Paul said...

I will also add that when you have success you get more posters/members jumping onboard, when you are at the bottom its only the die hard
fanatics that keep the posts churning , the banter happening and will come back each day to talk about defeat...

Start playing finals, win a premiership and the numbers will get better.......

Yes EB. Lods started the discussion referencing 2014 (for obvious reasons), but I wonder what the figures were like circa 2010-2011 ? I'm guessing they were higher, partly because of better on field performance, and partly because instamedia was less ubiquitous. 

[cookie2]

Lods this site is great afaic. We have a solid core of regular posters and a few who drop in from time to time. The pub bar is a good analogy. I personally think it's working well and we shouldn't be too concerned that numbers may have fallen - bigger is not always better! Let's keep it going.

[Lods]

Thanks for the input so far.
Feedback is something we should probably do more often...

Just to make it clear there are no intentions to shut the site down at present.
No,
This is more a state of play and ideas thread to perhaps suggest ways we can evolve.

(My own tenure may be more of an issue as I've been moderating for a long time and it might be coming time for a fresh injection of younger ideas to take us forward. )

Just a couple of responses to some pf the comments.

1)The reason I chose 2014 was that was our second year of operation under the new format.
The initial year had the enthusiasm of 'newness' behind it and the figures for new members were inflated by the folk from the old site migrating across.

2) I'm not so sure we're more active when things are going well.
Our peak period for activity coincided with the draft penalties and the Pagan era.
Lots of argument lots of debate.
But I may be wrong.
It will be interesting to see the activity when we're regularly successful.

[Jack Burton]

I don't post much but I really enjoy reading the opinions of others on this forum. I don't follow any other footy sites. As others have said, it is good fun to get to know the various regular posters and follow their arguments, and good to hear various opinions on directions that the club should go. I wouldn't change anything, and hope to keep following on here for years to come

[DJC]

1)   Is there still a place for the anonymous forum like ours or are we a dying breed?

I think there is if you want generally well-informed debate or critical opinions.  The Carlton Facebook pages are extremely lightweight in comparison.  Is anonymity important?  I imagine that it may be for some folk.

2)   Do we need to change to remain viable in the current climate?

It seems to me that some aggressive, blokey responses may put people off.  The diversity of the active posters seems to have declined more rapidly than the number of posters.

3)   What changes would people like to see?

Zero tolerance of personal abuse but banning to be a very last resort - I still miss PI2C 

That could involve more active intervention by mods at the slightest hint of personal animosity creeping into a thread.

Restructuring the forum to simplify where new topics should go may help folk to kick off discussions.

4)   What other Carlton sites do you visit/ are a member of?

I am a member of a couple of FB pages.  As mentioned above, discussion is usually shallow but they are often where news is broken.

5)   Is there anything in particular you don’t like about the site in its current form.

Kruddler!  Only joking; I generally enjoy his contributions   

One thing that does get up my goat is the tendency to attack posters' credentials as supporters of the Mighty Blues.  It happened to me when I expressed a pessimistic outlook during the Malthouse disaster and I considered giving the group the flick.  I think it should be up to the mods to weed out any trolls and other posters should keep their opinions to themselves.

6)     What do you like that keeps you posting/ viewing here

The informed and differing opinions of posters, interesting and robust discussions/debates, camaraderie, the shared support for the best football club in the universe, and the opportunity to cr@p on about any subject that takes your fancy.

[Micky0]

I'm not a prolific posterbut I really enjoy it here.

I feel like the majority of posters are knowledgeable So I learn rather than a site like big footy which is just, as someone said about fb pages, just a mass of people and trolls and you can't follow anything really.

I don't go to other sites.

Only thing I can think to fix is an upgrade on emojis!

[LoveNavy]

1)   Is there still a place for the anonymous forum like ours or are we a dying breed?

He'll YES. I'm not dead yet. I hope I get to bang on about our beloved Blues for a while yet.

2)   Do we need to change to remain viable in the current climate?

No.

3)   What changes would people like to see?

I personally enjoy reading posts that encourage the opinion of others.  As opposed to those that discourage it. I guess it comes down to inclusive values, which I believe fosters discussions.  This is only a small matter as posts are generally good. On the whole I don't see the need for much change. 

4)   What other Carlton sites do you visit/ are a member of?

None.

5)   Is there anything in particular you don’t like about the site in it's current form?

It took me a while to get familiar with how to find threads not on the 'latest list. I still haven't worked out how or if I should start a new thread. This is probably reflective of my forum ignorance but I'm probably not Pat Malone 🙄

6)     What do you like that keeps you posting/ viewing here

Unquestionably the sense of community.  I love that I can rant on until I'm all out of puff. If I did that in real life with nonbaggers, it could end badly. I love the passion we share and the immense wisdom of other posters. Without this forum I'd be relatively isolated, living in a state that is rather Blueless😟 This might seem a bit weird, but what I learn from others enhances my experience watching our games.

With gratitude to those who keep CSC alive and entertaining. LN😊

[Lods]

Without this forum I'd be relatively isolated, living in a state that is rather Blueless😟 This might seem a bit weird, but what I learn from others enhances my experience watching our games.

That's one of the things I found in the early days of forum life.
It's good way for interstaters to connect with the club.
Through forum interaction you come across bits and pieces of information that don't always make the mainstream media....especially in places like Sydney and Brisbane
Yep... You sometimes have to make a judgement on it's validity but over a period of time you tend to work out the reliable sources.

Some of the training reports and VFL reports that members post up are also things you wont find reported extensively elsewhere.
The club tends to portray these in a positive light on the club website whereas our guys give a more critical (in the sense of negatives as well as positives) evaluation.
Thanks to those folk that provide them they're much appreciated.

[northernblue]

I like the place generally, but I wonder how we benchmark against Talking Carlton ?
I think most people aren’t interested in reading a site like this, but I dumped all the FB pages 2years ago, found them to be full of of snot nosed figjam twats, imho 😎
Personally, forum use peaked during an unhappy marriage, hunting took over as a preferred pastime when I was single 😎 and I’m now engaged, but I’m happy with my current level of lurking/contribution