Is forum losing members?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

Barrow-Wight Saucepanman, Heren Isatarian, Encantaire, bombadil, Firefoot, where have you all gone(there are more just mind block at the moment.)

Encai is still enthusiastically active in other parts of life (and is currently experimenting with - of all things - shampoo). Heren and Saucie, if nobody else, have little ones to keep them on their toes (and Heren's got occasionally discomforting geography). Firefoot, I think, is just busy.

Me? I miss... well... the cast of Reunification of the Entish Bow. I started to merely list names until I realized most of them had REB as a common denominator: folk who could blow me away with fiction and could make academic writing laugh-out-loud funny.

I wonder if they realize that the lessons they accidentally taught me in writing about literature did more for me graduating with a lit degree (with honors) than most of my professors ever did...

There's something to be said for learning how to write (and think) critically on a literary discussion forum instead of in a classroom.

That being said, a fair portion of the migration - or hibernation - of past members may well be that very few new things are said in Books: if, perchance, a new thread is posted, many people will harken back (with links) to what they had to say about the topic three years ago. It's been done. Nothing new to say. Move on. It is discouraging to new minds and talents to learn that few people wish to actively rehash old questions - and why not? With time, thoughts and opinions often mature, evolve. With time, thoughts and opinions conversely often stagnate. Without new voices, even ones which call out the old questions, the 'Downs becomes the quiet grave for which it is name, with little left but the echo of old voices stirring from the darkness.

Its history may be overpowering its presence.

On a practical level, many members' lives have changed. Students growing up, adults marrying and starting families: the internet no longer takes the precidence it may once have.

On an academic level, does anybody really want to argue again that balrogs do or do not have wings? (My answer? Yes: wings of shadow; is the shadow that follows you on a sunny day any less real just because it is intrinsically attached to your own corporeal form and would not exist if separated from you? What is real in a moment does not lose its significance and truthfulness just because it is illusory or temporal. The shadow - when it is there - is still there, and is no less 'real' simply because it is fleeting and will disappear with the onslaught of light. Of course the balrog had wings: Tolkien said so.)

Another old topic: does anybody really want to go back into who determines canonicity? I'll certainly discuss it, but would that draw back old faces? Gain new voices? Or would I be composing a brief essay to be read by the world of the 'Downs, briefly considered - more quickly forgotten - and never responded to?

Mirth feels more like a discussion than an anthology in that the brevity of posts allows for a faster volley of ideas; Books often feels solitary: the difference, if you will, between writing an instant message and an e-mail.

Also, it might be as simple as that the old faces who graced us with their wit and insight back in 'the day' mayhap have exhausted their potential.

To keep from waxing poetic (or emo), I'll merely say: online as well as in offline society, people come and go from your spheres. People die, people move on, and those left must grow into their own, taking the places left, and forming new ones.

[Mithadan]

Feanor, first off, thank you for your kind comments regarding Reunification of the Entish Bow. REB was a labor of love, with the emphasis sometimes most heavily on the word "labor". Each of the two chapters was supposed to run for three or four months and they stretched into years. By the end, we finished by force of will. That RPG was in some ways a microcosm of this forum. Initial enthusiasm gave way to real life demands. Several writers dropped off, some just disappearing and others terminating their characters.

When I first joined this forum, within a month of its birth, there were only a handful of members, almost all of whom were very knowledgeable, extremely capable writers and able debaters. I, personally had abandoned another board that had become swept up in speculation and analysis of the then upcoming movies. The Downs quickly became known as the board for people who wanted to discuss and analyse the books; the "thinking man's" Tolkien board. Even then, we saw members come and go. People would accumulate a few hundred posts, then disappear or become treeish and rarely appear. I miss many of these members.

Even so, when the movies hit, we were inundated and around that time, we saw the advent of members linking old threads when faced with the 30th iteration of "do Balrogs have wings", "who is Tom Bombadil", "was Legolas blonde", etc. The proliferation of members and threads, particularly "chatty" threads, impacted upon our bandwidth and was beginning to cost more money. I am as guilty as any of the practice of linking old threads, though I rarely do so now, except to show differing viewpoints on an issue. Frankly, I would now discourage this practice.

When the huge influx of members happened after the movies came out, many old members lamented the loss of the earlier "bookish" atmosphere and many gave up. We administrators and moderators effectively burned out policing the joint, so many of us are not very active now. Real life intervenes as well. Work and school demands take a toll. One member nearly lost a house in a hurricane. And of course there remains the "nothing new under the sun" attitude. The ironic thing is that the Downs is now more like it was 2000 or 2001 than it has been in years; quiet, orderly and bookish with thoughtful posts and threads once again.

When I came out of semi-retirement a few months ago, I resolved privately to post at least once a week and start a thread or two a month. My results have been uneven. But if everyone adopts this attitude, the Downs will continue in its grand tradition.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

There is also the particularly subtle difference between those members who joined when only the books were existent and therefore had the more or less guaranteed interest in discussing the literature, and those members who joined out of desire to lynch themselves a wolf.

The shift in demographic alters the nature of the board.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Ah yes, Fea, the advent of Werewolf games (introduced by the Boss Wight himself) changed the Downs. At the time, I was sometimes annoyed that it took energy away from the discussion threads and skewed the rep system. However, it also brought new members who discovered that there are sections of the forum that are worth getting to know.

I too bemoan the loss of the "good ol' days" of REB and brilliant book discussions, and sometimes, like Mithadan, I resolve to post new threads that will generate interest. Unfortunately, time rarely seems to suffice; I'm still writing on Tolkien, but now it's a real life project that can be held in hands and will hopefully entice many fans to spend their money on it!

Horizons widen, new interests demand attention, and one the best ways to continue the Tolkien discussions is by joining one of the Societies and talking to real people!

Oh yes, and there are those friends and family members who are not interested in Tolkien discussions, but who think I should be interested in spending time with them nonetheless...


That being said, I may post less these days/months/years, but I still enjoy reading good contributions, and I hope those worthwhile posts continue to come!

[Formendacil]

Personally speaking, the slower pace of the 'Downs is much preferable to me. It is a lot easier to keep up with what's going on in the community when the amount of new posts is moderate than when it's overheated. Indeed, overheated simply becomes too daunting to bother trying when life is, generally, on the busier side. In interests of full disclosure, it's true that I usually check in daily, but I typically just glance at new posts in threads I'm subscribed to, and possibly not all of them, and then a cursory glance through the "Active Topics" page, before checking out. Admittedly, on those rare, boring evenings when there simply isn't anything going on and I crave more meat, the quieter 'Downs is a bit of a disappointment, but by and large I agree with Mithadan that burnout is the chief result of too much action--especially as my generation of members has shifted into university and beyond, our involvement is much more likely if it continues at a stately pace than a full out flame war.

[Rumil]

I think these things probably go in cycles.

We had the movie cycles of interest that really brought a lot of new members, then a small-scale cycle over CofH. I guess the next ones will be for The Hobbit.

The cycle of the year, in the UK at least its lovely weather (shock-horror!) so less likely to be at the computer. Also there are the usual ups and Downs of the working/student year, holidays etc that all influence activity.

Like Formy, I have a quick check most days to see what's new, but post more rarely (was never a volume-poster though!). I guess we each have our own personal cycles of interest and activity too.

Maybe one thing to consider is that t'internet is a bigger place now, and more into Facebook, Twitter etc applications than bulletin boards maybe.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Rumil

Maybe one thing to consider is that t'internet is a bigger place now, and more into Facebook, Twitter etc applications than bulletin boards maybe.

As someone who has never been able to fathom the appeal of Facebook or (gah!) Twitter, it's incomprehensible why anyone would prefer those media to the Downs.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

When the huge influx of members happened after the movies came out, many old members lamented the loss of the earlier "bookish" atmosphere and many gave up.

There was a sizable stretch of time in the middle parts of this decade when my posts were sparse, and my visits down to about one per month. That was the primary reason.
I'm not saying there is inherently anything wrong with fanboys / girls raving about how the movies were the best ever and worthy of a million Oscars, or debating over whether the movie hobbits were fat enough or who was the 'hottest', Legolas or Faramir. Nor do I find IM / chat-style abbreviations in the proper context particularly irksome. However, that was not what I was looking for, so I decided my time was better spent elsewhere for a while.
And now? The place does have something of the earlier feel to it again, now that Mithadan says that.
There is still ample room for others to debate the merits of the movies, and still book discussions enough to keep those of that mind occupied.
Books, movies, WW, there's something here, I think, for every taste. New members are joining at what seems to be a consistent rate, so to me the place is much the same as always.
And we can look forward to some of those we've thought gone for good pushing their decaying corpses in here when they can, just to say hello.