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| Initial D World - Discussion Board / Forums > Announcement Board > Forum Climate 2012 |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 3 2012, 07:46 AM |
| Hello again, IDW! Leadership has never been terribly open about relaying site stats, so here's what's going on. As many of you have noticed, the site is a bit quiet. Where are all the posts? New threads? Other people? Right now, the Initial D Arcade Stage section is dominating the forum by a very solid margin. As in, it's had about 20,000 hits since January 1, 2012. The music section follows close with just over 14,000 hits. In third, Off Topic has about 9,500 hits. The other sections seem to be making cursory numbers. Hell, the staff section has only 147 views since January 1. As for actual posting stats, the past few days have shown the highest posting activity this year by far. We're lucky to see more than 30-40 posts per day on average. March 29th spiked at 164 posts, before slowing down gradually. New member registrations have been keeping at a steady single-digit clip for many months. Interestingly, there was a brief spike in registrations over the weekend. I don't know what to chalk that up to. So what does this all mean? Quite honestly, it means that IDW is slowly dying. There hasn't been any new core content (in this case, the Initial D anime) to bring in more members since mid-2006. A huge amount of prominent, active members have left over the years. Heavy amounts of infighting, favoritism and bullying have deteriorated member relations. It's not pretty, and I'll admit that I was part of some of the less than honorable practices of earlier days, but that doesn't mean all is lost. Right now the site is severely lacking in the field of member relations. Remember the old days where everybody knew everybody else? Nowadays, I have no idea who the majority of the people signing in are, and that sucks. When I returned to IDW last week, I noticed some new people that are open to discussion, but nobody is willing to talk to them. What's up with that? I'll give you a challenge, IDW. Find a new member you've never talked to before, and get to know them. You'd be surprised at how much you'll have to talk about. Embrace the new generation of IDW! Let's all work together to make the entire membership as wonderfully meshed as it was back in the old days. I watch you when you sleep, ///TESSOU/// |
| Posted by: Wanderer Apr 3 2012, 08:26 AM |
| I'm a fresh faced Initial D white-belt. Speak to me my friends. |
| Posted by: Alastair Apr 3 2012, 09:27 AM |
| A challenge I will accept it! So new guy above me how are you?? |
| Posted by: Wanderer Apr 3 2012, 10:15 AM |
| I am great now that us noobies have been made popular by our good friend here. |
| Posted by: Alastair Apr 3 2012, 10:41 AM |
| That's awesome! Can't go wrong with newbies. |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 3 2012, 10:48 AM |
| See? It's this kind of dialog that needs to be happening more often. Too many times, I see a new member ask a question, only to have one of the veteran members go full-on intimidation mode on them. Fostering a sense of camaraderie and community will benefit everybody in the long run. Think about the image you're all putting out there for potential new members. Do you want them to remember you for being a reclusive bully, or as a mentor? To all the new members of IDW, I implore you to step out of your shells and start posting. I don't care how stupid you think your questions or comments are, or how we will perceive them. You should never feel afraid to speak your mind. |
| Posted by: THE_HONDA_CG2 Apr 3 2012, 10:51 AM |
I'm still in your shoes ATRUM_Neto! You've actually been here longer than me. To become part of the community you have to immerse yourself. Don't be afraid to talk to me if you ever need any help. No joke, but I really want to get to know everyone here. Join us in the facebook group! Tune in to our radio shows! Post up stuff as long as it's not spam! Get involved!  |
| Posted by: Alastair Apr 3 2012, 11:14 AM |
| Honda_CG2 is a pretty cool chick. I like her, everybody should talk to her. As well as talk to me and the other members. Remember. This a forum, a community and a place to learn. It's like school but without homework or annoying teachers. |
| Posted by: THE_HONDA_CG2 Apr 3 2012, 11:21 AM |
| Oh Al, everyone is cool. Not just me and you! Group discussions are what we are going for when we are on the forums. So don't limit yourself to just posting in one thread! I implore everyone to check out all the sections and post up your opinions on what you think is interesting! Shoot, if you're feeling brave; go post up a pic of yourself on the https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=43892! That's how I really became a part of the community! |
| Posted by: Wanderer Apr 3 2012, 11:32 AM |
| In terms of date, I've been around, occasionally lurking. But when it comes to activity, I've been on WME more since I played more MT until recently. But yeah, definitely not limiting myself, just gonna get in there and make myself know (in a good way of course ). |
| Posted by: Nerubian Apr 3 2012, 12:09 PM |
| I have been a lurker for a long time because I never find a thread to participate. At first I was afraid to say something because I were worried to violate a rule. I still have an unanswered question: on the project wiki site, it is stated that Perry isn't the first registered member. So, who is it, then? |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 3 2012, 12:20 PM |
| That would be https://idforums.net/index.php?showuser=11, who has an earlier join date. He joined on August 29, 2002. Perry joined on September 15, 2002. That makes karasac the true member #1, even though the member numbers show otherwise. |
| Posted by: THE_HONDA_CG2 Apr 3 2012, 12:20 PM | ||
I once had that fear or breaking all the rules whenever I posted too. Just be brave and post. Be respectful, chances are you're not doing anything wrong. Anyways to answer your question. Perry was the second member to join the forums. The first member was someone by the name of https://idforums.net/index.php?showuser=11. He hasn't been seen in a year or so, and he hasn't posted in forever. I'm not really sure what his history is since it was way before my time. But it's interesting none-the-less right?  EDIT: Tessou, beat me to the punch again.  |
| Posted by: Wanderer Apr 3 2012, 12:24 PM |
| Was he the initial big bang that formed these websites? |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Apr 3 2012, 12:41 PM | ||
I have asked about the origins of Initial D World once before. The resulting thread was quite interesting (thanks to Perry!) https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=36748 |
| Posted by: Wanderer Apr 3 2012, 01:05 PM |
| I read through the posts, but I guess my real question was who actually set up the forums. Was it #1? |
| Posted by: logan510 Apr 3 2012, 01:07 PM |
| I think if you have contests with prizes it would generate more traffic. When Apex Carver did that, traffic spiked....just a thought. Casey |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 3 2012, 01:08 PM |
| I'm looking at ways to make a contest work efficiently, and at the same time waiting to see how site activity pans out before I'd roll anything out. |
| Posted by: Orisue Apr 3 2012, 01:11 PM |
Challenge Accepted guise. Sup I'm Orisue  |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Apr 3 2012, 01:13 PM | ||
To think I was THIS close to winning that WMMT3 OST... |
| Posted by: logan510 Apr 3 2012, 01:43 PM | ||
Unfortunately my last interaction with AC was over that contest where he took what I said out of context  Casey |
| Posted by: logan510 Apr 3 2012, 01:44 PM |
| Any chance of getting the music section going again like before? I seem to recall a lot of new members and donations so the site could buy SEB's. |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Apr 3 2012, 01:52 PM | ||||
He took freaking everything out of context.
You mean the Revival Project? Not likely. Japanese CDs are hella expensive, so I don't think we'll be doing that ever again... |
| Posted by: Smikey Apr 3 2012, 01:53 PM | ||||
If people like you continue to contribute, I do not see why not?
Taken from your post.  I do not frequent music anymore, my taste in music has moved on. However, I may visit just to pick up the Version 3 soundtrack, I found myself humming it at work the other day. |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 3 2012, 01:54 PM |
| It wasn't a cost-effective program, and it didn't work as intended. At the end, the CDs bought were to be auctioned off to members, but very few members actually cashed in on that portion, so there is still a fair amount of CDs still retained by IDW that were never purchased. |
| Posted by: Smikey Apr 3 2012, 01:57 PM | ||
Anything good in that collection, like a list that is lurking about somewhere? |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Apr 3 2012, 02:00 PM | ||
https://idforums.net/index.php?act=donate Check the stuff there, anything that isn't listed as sold is still available (presumably.) |
| Posted by: Lebon14 Apr 3 2012, 02:10 PM | ||
I could actually purchase them someday... only if Pear was actually online more often. (I know, he's in China right now) |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 3 2012, 02:11 PM |
| Yes, Perry is currently in possession of the CDs. I have no plans to acquire them, either. |
| Posted by: logan510 Apr 3 2012, 02:30 PM |
Sorry about the earlier double post, didn't realize it until after the fact. Just trying to come up with some ideas to drum up more interest in the site  I'm sure this has been brought up, but what about making this place a little less Intital D centric and put the focus more into anime / video games...whateva? Casey |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Apr 3 2012, 02:40 PM | ||
I think it's already pretty non-Initial D-centric, but more focus on Anime discussion would probably be a good idea. It's the only part of the forums that are really lacking in activity when it shouldn't. |
| Posted by: RalliKai Apr 3 2012, 03:39 PM |
| Yeesh, I really wasn't paying attention then. I had no idea there was a soundtrack contest thrown. Used to lurk the most in the Automotive and General ID section but with the decline in activity, my attention drew towards the Gaming and General Discussion boards. |
| Posted by: Spaz Apr 3 2012, 08:37 PM |
| Random thought... As far as contests go, how about setting up a reference contest, where you add a "referring member" field on the sign-up form, and whoever gets the most referrals who make X number of posts by Y date wins something? We'd have to keep a close eye on IPs to catch smurf accounts, but at the end of the day it would generate traffic from old members and create active new ones as well. |
| Posted by: logan510 Apr 3 2012, 09:22 PM | ||
I like this idea. What better way to generate more traffic than by getting some fresh blood on here? Spaz...I knew there was a reason I liked you  Casey |
| Posted by: Perry Apr 4 2012, 01:56 AM |
| I like the sound of being recognized for referring new people here. I just want to add something to that idea. It would be better if we keep track of the posting activity of the people being referred, and in order to count as a referral they must make at least a certain amount of posts. I think that's better than just blindly accepting a flood of new registrants. |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Apr 4 2012, 05:13 AM |
| Don't you remember the WME contest at all? That was one of the ways to get points! Even Perry's idea was implemented - the referred members had to work up a post count. Anyway, I think it's a pretty good idea, but I don't think it worked for WME so well in the long run (most of the referred members never really came back, as far as I know.) |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 4 2012, 06:28 AM |
| One could argue that this would be justifying spam. However, I did bring back two of the biggest spam threads of all time, so my concern has little weight.  |
| Posted by: Spaz Apr 4 2012, 06:34 AM | ||||
Way ahead of you, Perry! |
| Posted by: logan510 Apr 4 2012, 03:26 PM | ||
At this point I don't think spam would be such a bad thing...as long as it was at least semi constructive. Casey |
| Posted by: Tessou Apr 4 2012, 03:29 PM |
| Truth, hence the big spam threads have been revived. The forum needs activity, and I don't intend to do anything about spam posts unless they're truly spam (bots, ads and such). |
| Posted by: Möbius Apr 10 2012, 04:01 PM | ||||
Blind refers should account for nothing. Anyone wanting to run a contest, feel free to have a look at the rules of the one I ran some time ago : https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=42070&hl=extravaganza Here were the rules I used :
The one thing that I think promotes participation in forum activities the most is the last one, but I did not have any luck with it, not many people went for those points. |
| Posted by: Spaz Apr 10 2012, 07:37 PM |
| Speaking of climate change... How's it going, Mobius? Planning to stick around? |
| Posted by: fast focus Aug 9 2012, 02:18 PM |
| I think stage 5 may have saved this place! |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Aug 9 2012, 02:20 PM | ||
I would have to disagree. I think IDW could have lasted a lot longer before this Fifth Stage announcement was made. We've all been prepared to wait a long time for it to start, so this was even a bit early to some of us. |
| Posted by: fast focus Aug 9 2012, 02:56 PM |
| I have to say hats off it's an amazing resource, i'm downloading some of the europop as we speak. Thank god it was kept going. |
| Posted by: Smiley_DC2 Aug 10 2012, 11:22 AM | ||
yes and negatory.. negatory because it has survived for such a long time without ant new Initial D releases and the community is quite vibrant on the current manga and arcade stage release discussion as well as off topic stuff, automotive and general gaming yes of course with the influx of new members after the 5th stage annoucement was made, and the awesome return of so many great old school members nonetheless good times are ahead of us very very soon, i'm very excited about this too!! |
| Posted by: Möbius Aug 10 2012, 02:32 PM | ||
I don't know man, where is this influx of new members and return of many old school members that you are talking of? |
| Posted by: Wanderer Aug 10 2012, 05:07 PM |
| Geese Mobius, it's like you've been covering your eyes or something. [ Post made via Mobile Device ] |
| Posted by: Möbius Aug 10 2012, 05:10 PM | ||||
You guys must be used to smaller forums. Influx would be huge, I've seen maybe half a dozen new members actually post? Is that supposed to be huge? Where's the "many" old school members returning? Steve posted twice, which is just about his norm, and Kev posted three times? I haven't seen anything to get excited about ( not yet anyways  ).Not being pessimistic, just looking at things the way they are. Edit : Numbers are not biased, if you do not believe me, then believe the numbers :
One new member made the top ten ( requires only 4 posts! ), and one returning oldish member. If said "influx of new members" that you imply is happening already, then they are all just lurkers. All I am saying is that it is making no effect on activity. Forum is still as dead as it ever was. |
| Posted by: Nomake Wan Aug 10 2012, 05:52 PM | ||
Please check the Fifth Stage threads in Announcements as well as Initial D General Discussion. Many old members have come back as a result of the news. [ Post made via Mobile Device ] |
| Posted by: Möbius Aug 10 2012, 06:07 PM | ||||
Aye, but my point still stands. Edit : Again, numbers are nice to look at:
Almost 12,000 views, but only 236 posts. If this is supposed to be the "second coming of the lord" as some people seem to put it, I just do not see it. |
| Posted by: Fujiwara Tofu Ten Sep 20 2012, 03:06 PM |
| This definitely sounds like a great idea. However coming this November with new content coming out with Stage5 I'm sure the stats will begin to climb about with new membership and old members returning. Im sure I am just as excited as the rest of you all are about Stage5 |
| Posted by: ShuckleBug Oct 17 2012, 01:45 AM |
| Hehe, I actually came back not knowing a thing about stage 5! I just knew I was getting a new car and wanted to go somewhere I could yammer on about it without having some kind of blunt object chucked at my face. XD I remember way back Kensuke Nogami told me about this site. We met through MSN somehow, can't remember exactly. We used to talk on Facebook still but it's been about a month since I've seen him on. Miss that guy. :c |
| Posted by: kyonpalm Oct 17 2012, 03:02 AM | ||
I think he said he was traveling to Vietnam recently. |
| Posted by: ShuckleBug Oct 17 2012, 08:58 PM |
| Huh, well that'd explain the absence. I just hope he's okay wherever he is and that he comes back around sometime. He's a really nice guy. :3 |