Is this forum losing members, or losing interest?

Yes and no, always.

Not sure what you're REALLY asking but here is my take - Summer is slow for obvious reasons. Some got tired of them bickering. Many are " afraid " of posting. MANY HAVE MOVED TO FB. It is what it is " KID ".

Black-Balled said:

Yes and no, always.

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Master, how did you ever get so wise????? It was Eric Moron wasn't it!!!!!

BmoreMoney said:

Not sure what you're REALLY asking but here is my take - Summer is slow for obvious reasons. Some got tired of them bickering. Many are " afraid " of posting. MANY HAVE MOVED TO FB. It is what it is " KID ".

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The bickering, as you put it, is not a reason. Hell, we've been spitting in each others porridge since Hecktor was a pup. It's part of the rich tradition we all enjoy.
Two things come to mind. FlakeBook, as you mentioned is one.The other, in my opinion, is that today's young people are less inclined to spend the time it takes to become a pool player. Look around your local pool room and see how many teen players are present. Few, if any.
Once us old guys are gone, who's gonna fill dem shoes? :smile:

There are zero interesting threads

Why don't you buy Bob Byrne's home personal table? http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=430491

Seneca Steve said:

There are zero interesting threads

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I agree with that 100%!!!

justinb386 said:

Do you think that this forum is losing members, or less and less people that come here care to post comments (replies) on the threads that get created?

I am just curious, because I see a lot of views on many threads, but not many members replying to the threads (compared to the amount of people who viewed the thread).

Are people just uninterested in replying to a thread, or are they too scared to post their thoughts on topics that made them at least interested enough to view the thread that they clicked on to read?

I also see threads that are many days old, but only on like the 2nd page (that tells me that the main forum is kind of dead).

What do you think?

Why are there not more topics being posted, and why are only the same group of known members (not sure how many that is) only replying to most of the threads?

Is this forum community really that small?

Thanks for any thoughts about this.

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Lots of people read online newspaper that have a comments section, yet 99% of the people reading the articles do not put comments.

Just because someone opens a thread that may have a somewhat interesting title doesn't mean they actually read it.

The title of the thread is what drives the interest...like a news article.

The forum hasn't been updated visual-vise for a long time.. there was a small makeover to the front page but the forum was left untouched. AZ probably don't have a professional designer to do the job, and is relying on volunteering work; I don't blame them but yea, the forum isn't keeping up with the time. Forums are 90's and 2000's product, people are generally going away from these across all boards.

No interesting topics to be discussed on, when something does come up it just becomes a useless debate, nothing ever gets resolved and nobody will change their minds.

The subs are also scattered..I would suggest we just merge everything and rely on using flairs to categorize post. I can see a separate wanted/sale section but if you want more traffic from this site, we need to combine all of the subs.

Personally I use reddit/fb for 90% of the pool related stuff, I come back to AZ from time to time but I always end up wondering why I was here, because it's the same old thing every time.

Perhaps people don't like changes, we have an older generation of pool players here, and also people who have been here for a long time (thinking 10+ years), but times are changing and I think it's time AZB take a closer look at how to attract more traffic and drive up its business.

Losing interest in your posts, Justin.

Tramp Steamer said:

The bickering, as you put it, is not a reason. Hell, we've been spitting in each others porridge since Hecktor was a pup. It's part of the rich tradition we all enjoy.
Two things come to mind. FlakeBook, as you mentioned is one.The other, in my opinion, is that today's young people are less inclined to spend the time it takes to become a pool player. Look around your local pool room and see how many teen players are present. Few, if any.
Once us old guys are gone, who's gonna fill dem shoes? :smile:

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Tramp yes, bickering is absolutely part of it, one way or their other. Most don't have them stomach we have. It is what it is once again.

justinb386 said:

Lol, only those that really knew me as a kid should be calling me "Kid". You can just call me Wonder Bread, or Boy Wonder, lol. KID, just so you know -- Internet is one thing of course, but if we were ever to meet in a pool room I would call u what the hell ever I felt like and you would smile and say YES SIR. just saying. But since I am the one that put "wonder XXL " out there you will now be known as wonder boy. Notice I did not capitalize - u will have to earn that.

I understand what you are saying. Not many tournaments go on during the summer either (unless they are in Florida). Thanks.

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Shooter08 said:

Puke in my mouth every post you think about. You are the worst poster ever on this site.

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YUP.

justinb386 said:

Lol, only those that really knew me as a kid should be calling me "Kid". You can just call me Wonder Bread, or Boy Wonder, lol.

I understand what you are saying. Not many tournaments go on during the summer either (unless they are in Florida). Thanks.

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Justin you get your own. Trust me KID, While the Internet is one thing , if we were in a pool hall together you would be called what the hell ever I thought funniest at the time . Don't KID yourself.

Tramp Steamer said:

The bickering, as you put it, is not a reason. Hell, we've been spitting in each others porridge since Hecktor was a pup. It's part of the rich tradition we all enjoy.
Two things come to mind. FlakeBook, as you mentioned is one.The other, in my opinion, is that today's young people are less inclined to spend the time it takes to become a pool player. Look around your local pool room and see how many teen players are present. Few, if any.
Once us old guys are gone, who's gonna fill dem shoes? :smile:

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How right you are my friend. Played a local tournament the other day, was all the regulars and NOONE under 40 yrs old !!

Little interest to a few.

Pool is not a big time sport in America and is only interesting to those of us that like playing it or make money from it some how.

I am surprised there is even a forum to discuss pool on. I don't reply to threads for a few reasons.

1. Nothing of interest to add.

2. Don't know enough about the subject to contribute.

3. Don't want to be involved in discussions that for some reason evolve into nasty, petty, immature and cowardly discussions.

There ya have it! I love playing pool!

Even the action on interesting cues for sale is dying........and the Cue Gallery is becoming an elephant's graveyard of sorts.

I browse hoping to see something interesting but gosh, it's just not the same anymore. The ivory ban has ruined it for me.

Oh well, I still get to enjoy what I own & browsing is losing its appeal since I have the funds for a few more custom cues.

I have a new design in mind that's the most challenging version I've concocted but it won't get made because of the ban.

If Bob reads my post, he's breathing a sigh of relief thinking to himself......"Thank goodness.......the last one near killed me."

Bavafongoul said:

Even the action on interesting cues for sale is dying........and the Cue Gallery is becoming an elephant's graveyard of sorts.

I browse hoping to see something interesting but gosh, it's just not the same anymore. The ivory ban has ruined it for me.

Oh well, I still get to enjoy what I own & browsing is losing its appeal since I have the funds for a few more custom cues.

I have a new design in mind that's the most challenging version I've concocted but it won't get made because of the ban.

If Bob reads my post, he's breathing a sigh of relief thinking to himself......"Thank goodness.......the last one near killed me."

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I'll help , maybe . Dick. Elephant killers . Nope don't care. Carry on.

Billiards Digest used to have a very active forum, but it went by the wayside, so to speak. Less and less people posted there, I think. Many of them came here to AzBilliards. Some posted in both places. They used to have a very strong group of regulars at Billiards Digest forum. Every Open, they'd get together and have dinner and play pool. It was an annual event for the BD regulars.

The bickering here, believe it or not, is what kept some people posting here on a regular basis. Some likes to flex their anonymity muscles and take potshots at pros and members here. There were also some pool enthusiasts who enjoyed hanging out here every single day, contributing pool-worthy tidbits. The flame threads were the ones that grew the fastest for some reason. Even though many of them were ugly and mean-spirited, those threads were read more than the pool-related threads.

Facebook most definitely has gained in popularity with pool peeps. My industry forums are like a ghost town now. All of my industry comrades post on FB groups, some of which are closed. That's where we all meet now to talk about work-related stuff.

I think AzBilliards will always be a stop on everybody's pool-related reading material. I love the front page news to catch up on what's happening around the world, but I do find out behind-the-scene details on Facebook about those happenings, just like I used to find out behind-the-scene details here on AzBilliards forum,

One thing for sure, I'll betcha the moderator's job in recent times has not been as -- what's the word? -- burdensome. :grin-square: