Hexus.Question Time . . . what to do...?

[steve threlfall]

But traffic has decreased generally as well. There simply isn't the same number of regulars posting as much as there used to be.

Logging in at work in the morning it no longer takes all morning to completely catch up with things. I used to hit New Posts, get up to 8 pages if i hadn't been on late the night before, that would take me until about 10:30 to go through. Another New Posts click and I get another page and a half to go through, then another half page and a bunch of threads that grew very quickly.

Now I can have the whole thing read by 9:40 and I move onto another forum.

Doesn't gell with DR's goals: http://forums.hexus.net/general-disc...push-guys.html

I have noticed this trend too. Where have all the members gone. Activity does seem noticeably lower than it once was.

[MadduckUK]

I have noticed this trend too. Where have all the members gone. Activity does seem noticeably lower than it once was.

i think the problem is partially

The overall tone of GD has gone up a LOT in the last few years.

it has become rather boring at times, the penguin vs moose vs cat thread shows that when something a bit fun comes along people dive on it and it does well, but there used to be threads like that all the time. it isnt that there arent as many people around as there used to be, its just that they are less inclined to say as much.

another factor i think, possibly coincidental but after the last round of people being promoted to moderator the forum lost a little something. the people chosen on the whole were the right people for the job that isn't in question. but something's gone.

[shadowmaster]

I have noticed this trend too. Where have all the members gone. Activity does seem noticeably lower than it once was.

I've sort of noticed that as well, this place is not as lively as it once was when I joined. Even though this is my main forum I do at times find myself browsing other forums.

Its also something to do with user base, Hexus is relatively small in comparison to other forums.

[TAKTAK]

[MadduckUK]

that doesnt tell the whole story though, i know i am visiting as much is ever have, its just im not staying as long because there is less to say

[pauldarkside]

Just to keep things ticking, I've made my first post in Question Time. Admittedly it was in one of Zakk's threads.

I think in merging them, you'll end up with the same issues which made you split them in the first place; more time being spent moderating the off-topic posts, etc. I know I'm welcome to post more light-hearted responses in GD, that's why I'm here more than anywhere else. Question Time sounds too political, perhaps that's what puts people off from looking in there - it stopped me.

Advertise it more. You've run Knoxville's (sp) community round-ups before, why not do something on the Hexus front page to get it out there a bit more?

As for declining interest from older members, well we're all just getting older. How many times can you read repeated topics, regurgitate the same reply before it's become old hat?

[MadduckUK]

As for declining interest from older members, well we're all just getting older. How many times can you read repeated topics, regurgitate the same reply before it's become old hat?

thats true, i have kind of beaten the internet now

[Lucio]

I think that a lot of the drop off in topics is because well, we all know each other a lot better. It's like an old friend, you dont' call them as much as you did when you were first getting to know them because well, there's less to say.

[Whiternoise]

Which I put in GD precisely because most things in QT pretty much die straight away.

I would prefer a proper debate forum, and after all, QT was my idea after running (with another guy) the equivalent form on another site, until I left.

But QT will only work if people use it, and by and large, not many people do. Also, QT was originally separated out from GD because GD was, to put none too fine a point on it, a bit infantile. This is all my opinion, of course, not "official" policy, but in my time at Hexus, it's distinctly matured, probably as the average age of the members has matured. It was rather dominated by .... erm .... kids, but those kids aren't kids any longer. And those that are seem to adapt, and adapt well, to a GD that is, in my view, very much more mature than it used to be.

Put simply, I think the original point in having QT at all no longer applies. We just don't need it, since we quite successfully have both serious debates and lighter chats in GD.

My vote = merge them. But if the QT regulars have a firm reason for not doing so, I'll certainly listen.

I don't think immaturity is really a problem. Generally threads that turn heavily into discussion are avoided by people who would otherwise make an infantile comment. I've certainly looked into a thread on GD, considered making a sarcastic comment and then looked at the length of the posts and thought better of it.

Merge!

[jim]

There's nothing wrong with the odd humorous comment in an otherwise serious thread. Although I accept that if somebody wants to discuss a General Election then a selection of lolcats and roflcopters probably aren't in order, I'd imagine that only very rarely would a genuinely serious thread actually get derailed to such an extent.

[pauldarkside]

Although I accept that if somebody wants to discuss a General Election then a selection of lolcats and roflcopters probably aren't in order

The polls suggest otherwise

Oh and spoil my fun why don't you!

[Funkstar]

Just rename it the Daily Mail forum and let it fill up with conservative right wing politics.