georgerm Posted Friday at 12:41 AM Posted Friday at 12:41 AM For more than a year I lost interest with Bigfoot Forum since I was spending lots of time commenting, and I had outside work to do. I began missing the forum and took up where I left off recently, and I'm very surprised how much the forum has changed due to lack of active posters. Many former members have lost interest and are no longer posting. The older forum had topics that received constant replies and active discussions on a variety of topics. I'm sure some of the regulars have noticed this trend and if something is not done soon, the whole forum may disappear due to lack of interest. What can be done to rejuvenate the forum? One suggestion is for long time members to make newcomers feel more welcome by noticing and replying to their comments in a positive way. What about all members reaching out to former members, foresters, college biologist, forest road builders and others who live and work in the forest and may want to share a sighting and join the forum? What do you regular members with some stars that you earned believe will help? Bigfoot is still out there, and the forum helps add to public knowledge and eventual protection of bigfoot. It's just a matter of time before a bigfoot is brought in live or dead and proven to exist.
OntarioSquatch Posted Friday at 01:11 AM Posted Friday at 01:11 AM The ISF (formerly JREF) has become inactive as well when it comes to anomalous phenomena. I’m not sure what the cause is. Reddit seems pretty active.
MIB Posted Friday at 02:05 AM Moderator Posted Friday at 02:05 AM Interest in many things comes in waves, ebbs and flows. Is it possible your time of joining the forum coincided with one of the peaks? I know this to be true of my own. Thinking of a parallel .. no athlete runs 4 minute miles 7 days a week. It is true of our interest here. I think the period we are in now with less interest, less bright shiny things to draw our attention, is more representative of bigfootery over the long haul. There is also a change of medium when it comes to information exchange. There are TONS of small bigfoot groups on facebook. Lot of people trying to monetize their interest which I think distracts from the larger communities like this one. There is not much to do but get out there and do your own thing in the woods. 1
Patterson-Gimlin Posted Friday at 02:14 AM Posted Friday at 02:14 AM It absolutely is not as active as it once was. Many long time members rarely post anymore. I also believe Many newbies do feel unwelcome. I can understand why.
socialBigfoot Posted Friday at 02:30 AM Posted Friday at 02:30 AM This seems like a question that could be answered with site usage data. The Home page has a few stats on users, activity, etc. Can someone with access to the data show trends month-to-month in new users, posts, users with more than n posts, etc. If there are peaks and valleys in activity we'd see it. If there's waning interest, this would show, too. I shared a graph recently (Trends in BFRO reports) that showed decreasing witness reports since roughly 2005. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if bigfootforums had a similar pattern. Earlier posts mentioned Reddit and Facebook as alternatives and with easy access to other communities of interest beyond bigfoot. For my part, I joined bigfootforums b/c I believed I'd find those with a serious --rather than a casual -- interest in the topic. I certainly have not been disappointed.
Trogluddite Posted Friday at 10:39 AM Posted Friday at 10:39 AM Similar story to everyone else. I joined when "Finding Bigfoot" and "Legend Meets Science" made me ask, "Hey, wait, is Bigfoot really still a thing?" After about three years of vigorous (and often ill-informed) posting, I dropped off interest for what I thought would be a short break only to have life get in the way. A decade later, I've got time to pursue this again but sadly the Forums feel a bit like the local bar where the regulars have drifted away year by year. I hear that even Facebook isn't the "go to" place for social media, etc., any more as Tik Tok and other instant gratification apps have an even shorter attention span. And frankly, having dropped in on Reddit for other topics, I'm not sure why anyone would use that clunky system. All that being said, I'm not sure what the answer is. Hope that there are enough of us here for long enough that we can have many more virtual beers together.
Backdoc Posted Friday at 02:10 PM Posted Friday at 02:10 PM I’m sure many factors would be involved. I would like to touch on one: Trouble makers (Banned posters) There were a few usual suspects on the BFF Patterson Gimlin Film thread who could be labeled as trouble makers. It wasn’t just being a skeptic but it was the style of their posts almost designed to diminish and irritate. When those posters hung around the forums topics might dissolve in some back and forth pretty arguments and insults. They would pull back just long enough to not get banned. Then it would start back up again. One resident skeptic on the PGF threads was known for this. His style evoked a lot of reactions. I had no personal problem with him and quite honestly felt I had a good BFF relationship with him as a poster. I felt I could look beyond the style and see he was useful for 1) information and 2) good to test the other side to sharpen and refine their argument. I would suggest his being banded was justified. Since he was gone from the “bar” there were fewer “bar fights”. That is, without his posts ( and others similar in style) there was less of a need for mixing it up. I personally welcome the banishment of people like this ( after given enough chances ). However, if they were around the result would be more posting/activity. This idea is limited only to activity of the Current posters at the time. It wouldn’t explain any drop off in new interest of any new posters. Final point: I’ll bet if a certain banned poster who lived on the PGF threads returned the number of posts would explode.
MIB Posted Friday at 03:25 PM Moderator Posted Friday at 03:25 PM 1 hour ago, Backdoc said: I’ll bet if a certain banned poster who lived on the PGF threads returned the number of posts would explode. Speaking as myself, not a mod, not representing forum management, I don't care about the number of posts, I care about the quality / quantity of new information. I get sick and tired of rehashing the same old stuff. What is needed is not more talk, more posts, what is needed is something new to talk about, something worthy of renewed engagement, renewed attention. MIB 3
Backdoc Posted Friday at 04:03 PM Posted Friday at 04:03 PM 22 minutes ago, MIB said: Speaking as myself, not a mod, not representing forum management, I don't care about the number of posts, I care about the quality / quantity of new information. I get sick and tired of rehashing the same old stuff. What is needed is not more talk, more posts, what is needed is something new to talk about, something worthy of renewed engagement, renewed attention. MIB Well said. My point has more to do with explaining one aspect of BFF activity. Not so much numbers or longevity of new members. Just traffic on the threads. I agree what we need is quality regardless of quantity. I also agree with the need for something worthy for the “ renewed engagement “. I’m all for that I'm happy those who continued to violate the rules ( believer or skeptic) have been banned. I’m not suggesting turning the BFF back into a food fight just for more postings/ activity. The quantity, as you say, is not the point. It’s the quality. Also, until something new happens there isn’t sometimes more to discuss. in fact, this nothing-new-to-report might also explain a drop off of members joining, or sticking around. Maybe they hang around for a bit and then largely exhaust their Bigfoot needs. I keep hoping to one day see a new thread like “Bigfoot has been filmed again”, “the original PGF has been found”, “hunter shoots Sasquatch in Canada”. Until that time, we are mostly on cruise mode.
OldMort Posted Friday at 05:14 PM Posted Friday at 05:14 PM ^^^ Well said, as well... There comes a time when every thread and every point has pretty much already been made. The last few years have been spent regurgitating the same stuff over and over again, just phrasing redundant ideas differently. There is little left that hasn't been covered, but that can actually be seen as a positive thing. It means that this Forum has been very thorough in its discussions and debates. I belong to three other bigfoot forums which are all suffering from the same stagnation as this one. 1 hour ago, Backdoc said: Maybe they hang around for a bit and then largely exhaust their Bigfoot needs. I keep hoping to one day see a new thread like “Bigfoot has been filmed again”, “the original PGF has been found”, “hunter shoots Sasquatch in Canada”. Until that time, we are mostly on cruise mode. I'm hoping as well, BD. 1
Backdoc Posted Friday at 05:43 PM Posted Friday at 05:43 PM 16 minutes ago, OldMort said: ^^^ Well said, as well... There comes a time when every thread and every point has pretty much already been made. The last few years have been spent regurgitating the same stuff over and over again, just phrasing redundant ideas differently. There is little left that hasn't been covered, but that can actually be seen as a positive thing. It means that this Forum has been very thorough in its discussions and debates. I I use the PGF now as essentially an encyclopedia. As you point out, much has been thoroughly covered. Because it has, I can turn to the topics and “look up” information by topic. Where something isn’t covered I can just throw out the Question of the day in the appropriate thread and get great insight quickly. If you think of it, if the BFF was a Bigfoot Book it would have many chapters with each subject being covered thoroughly. . It is fantastic if used in this way. It is for me anyway. If that is all it did it’s a great thing. 1
norseman Posted Friday at 08:02 PM Admin Posted Friday at 08:02 PM I have been watching forums die a slow death for years. I.e. The old jet boating forum Mean chicken is gone. Along with it all of its extensive knowledge. The younger crowd doesn’t do forums for some reason. They stick with social media. And then cry about censorship, etc. I just don’t get it. I find forums like these much easier to navigate and interact with. 2
NorCalWitness Posted Friday at 08:43 PM Posted Friday at 08:43 PM 19 hours ago, OntarioSquatch said: The ISF (formerly JREF) has become inactive as well when it comes to anomalous phenomena. I’m not sure what the cause is. Reddit seems pretty active. r/bigfoot is god awful. avoid at all costs unless you want to infect yourself with redditor disease. infact, most of reddit is pathetic and terrible. 40 minutes ago, norseman said: I have been watching forums die a slow death for years. I.e. The old jet boating forum Mean chicken is gone. Along with it all of its extensive knowledge. The younger crowd doesn’t do forums for some reason. They stick with social media. And then cry about censorship, etc. I just don’t get it. I find forums like these much easier to navigate and interact with. I get a lot of info and different perspectives from this forum. I think more people are watching youtube channels for info on the subject. I love it here and don't miss the extra people.
RedHawk454 Posted Friday at 09:24 PM Posted Friday at 09:24 PM Forum activity comes and goes I'm 36, i'm prolly the last of my generation to be active on a few other forums. I come and go on BFF and others. reddit is pretty big r/bigfoot has a lot of activity. I think Bob Gymlan started there too, but i dont know. 42 minutes ago, NorCalWitness said: r/bigfoot is god awful. avoid at all costs unless you want to infect yourself with redditor disease. infact, most of reddit is pathetic and terrible. I get a lot of info and different perspectives from this forum. I think more people are watching youtube channels for info on the subject. I love it here and don't miss the extra people. r/bigfoot is somewhat comparative to BFF imo The bigfoot fb groups are bottom feeders though.
MIB Posted Friday at 09:31 PM Moderator Posted Friday at 09:31 PM 5 minutes ago, RedHawk454 said: The bigfoot fb groups are bottom feeders though. Offered as a blanket condemnation of all, I'd have to argue with you on that. There are a couple groups I'm part of that I think are pretty good. Not real active, but doing real research and having real discussion. Some of the folks are BFF members though they post there under their own names, not the screen pseudonyms used here. I will agree that SOME of the "groups" suck and some are just marketing platforms.
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