How many people still visit the forums

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Big Matt and Shell
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How many people still visit the forums

Post by Big Matt and Shell » 06 May 15 11:46 am

With the ever increasing number of Facebook Groups (shudder) how many people still come and look at these forums each day, week, month?

What do you think we can do to entice people back to forums?

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Cheesy pigs
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by Cheesy pigs » 06 May 15 12:09 pm

I think we are seeing a natural progression away. More people spend more time on Facebook than anywhere else. I admit I don't look in here every day myself.

As for enticing people back I don't know what will do that

ian-and-penny
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by ian-and-penny » 06 May 15 12:52 pm

Every few days.

sharnie's tribe
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by sharnie's tribe » 06 May 15 1:03 pm

I like to have a look to see what's going on, but not much happening lately. I don't use facebook!
Last edited by sharnie's tribe on 06 May 15 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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oldfella
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by oldfella » 06 May 15 1:07 pm

I do not use face book or any type of that type of social media. The only social media I use are geocaching forums including this one and I check it at least three times per day.

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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by LouiseAnn » 06 May 15 1:39 pm

most days
I have no idea how to bring people back, I much prefer the forum to FB, but the people aren't here. :(

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CraigRat
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by CraigRat » 06 May 15 1:44 pm

At least 7 people :lol:

I do look in to the facebook groups a little, but I've never seen anything with any meat ever posted (outside of spats between cachers).
It's a lot of 'i did this cache on the weekend' or 'who is going to do the Woodlands this weekend?' type stuff, which is fine, but not really that interesting to me. Or endless reminders about upcoming mega events :wink:

It is awful quiet here nowadays, but that's thew way things are going, outside of GCA I haven't visited a forum for ages.

How to entice people here? You can't really. More and more cachers are becoming less socially connected, that's the way the game is going...it's an app on their phone, and that's about the extent of it.
Anecdotal evidence: I work with 2 cachers who have never visited the GC forums, let alone the GCA ones, and show no interest in the social side of the game.

Are we worried, No. You can't force a community to engage. It's very hard to keep relevant in this day and age!

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SamCarter
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by SamCarter » 06 May 15 5:22 pm

I'm totally irrelevant these days.

ALso, I visit the forums more often than I cache.

I need a life. :)

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Dik:
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by Dik: » 06 May 15 5:33 pm

I'm here almost every day.
It's a pretty lonely place.
Once I spent half an hour or more per day on the forums.
Now I go for days without seeing a post.
I have a Facebook account but really don't understand it.
I haven't found an Australian caching area like the forums.
As a result I've lost quite a bit of interest in caching.
No one finding some of my harder caches (think 2 to 3 hour hike multis) for years doesn't help.
The game has changed.
Lost its covert extreme sport status = lost its appeal.

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Just a cacher
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by Just a cacher » 06 May 15 5:53 pm

Not as often as I'd like. There isn't much happening here these days.

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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by LouiseAnn » 06 May 15 6:03 pm

I would disagree on the 'less socially connected' comment. I think just the opposite. There are far far more events and social gathering in Victoria (the only place I can speak on) now than there were when I started. I have been away for caching the last 4 weekends in a row and will be away caching this weekend and the next. All these trips have involved other people, either traveling with me, or meeting formally or informally when we arrived.
There are far more people 'PAF' now than there were, since it's easier to meet people and swap their numbers, or just message with a text type app.
For me, despite my dislike of FB, it has certainly increased caching sociability. In fact I am about to leave work to go to a puzzle night (probable the 5 or 6th one I have organised) organised through FB. I used to just post those here, but since I never got much response, I kind of forgot this time... I don't make these a caching 'events' as I only want people who are interested in solving puzzles to turn up, not just get a smilie.

In short: I think cachers are more sociable now than they were when I started in 2009.

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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by J_&_J » 06 May 15 6:44 pm

I usually check the GCA forums every morning before work, and again in the evening. I learnt a lot about Geocaching from these forums when we started off in 2005. I do have a Facebook account, not using my real name, and was in one of the SA Geocaching Facebook groups for a short while, but I have only used that account a few times over the last four years or so.

I'm not sure how you'd entice cachers back to these forums. Most of them would probably say it's not enough like Facebook or something.

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Agent Basil
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by Agent Basil » 06 May 15 8:31 pm

I check daily. Much prefer Forums, especially if you want to look up a past topic. FB is terrible for older issues if you get my drift.

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WazzaAndWenches
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by WazzaAndWenches » 06 May 15 10:19 pm

I usually check the new posts most days and usually read through most topics. As for faceache, it's become a more-than-daily due to work needing to be in front of our customers all the time.
I do, however, prefer the forum type of interaction because it's much more focussed on topics that matter to me.

Sadly, I don't think there is anything that can slow the juggernaut that is facebook.

(insert image of meal/comment about "going to bed"/funny video/other menial facebook crap here) :-"

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Richary
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Re: How many people still visit the forums

Post by Richary » 06 May 15 10:56 pm

I generally check in here at least once a day unless travelling. And I am on some facebook groups but in many ways prefer forums for information, but I won't convert the younger crowd.

Then again, I started my forum involvement pre-internet on dial up BBS newsgroups, so that makes me old school.

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