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Virginia

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I really hope so! We’re certainly going to try. I know that the technical issues we’ve had made it more difficult to post at times, or to load posts. Things are still ongoing behind the scenes, so to speak, to fix that, hopefully very soon! As soon as that fix happens there will be a few activities that I don’t want to reveal just yet! 

 

In the meantime I’d actually really like to hear what people do miss - what did you used to like seeing or taking part in that doesn’t happen any more? 

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29 minutes ago, Hayley said:

I really hope so! We’re certainly going to try. I know that the technical issues we’ve had made it more difficult to post at times, or to load posts. Things are still ongoing behind the scenes, so to speak, to fix that, hopefully very soon! As soon as that fix happens there will be a few activities that I don’t want to reveal just yet! 

 

In the meantime I’d actually really like to hear what people do miss - what did you used to like seeing or taking part in that doesn’t happen any more? 

I miss the coziness we used to have. We have so many members but there doesn't seem to be a lot of interaction. We have REALLY great topics but they are just not being utilized. It feels like nobody's home and I want to bang on the doors and wake up the neighborhood!!! :P

 

The world has become so crazy/dangerous that I just want something familiar to come back to. 

Edited by Virginia
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7 hours ago, Virginia said:

I miss the coziness we used to have. We have so many members but there doesn't seem to be a lot of interaction. We have REALLY great topics but they are just not being utilized. It feels like nobody's home and I want to bang on the doors and wake up the neighborhood!!! :P

 

The world has become so crazy/dangerous that I just want something familiar to come back to. 


Yes, and we had better get it done PDQ. The forum I came from has just closed (today, sob) as a result of absence of members and we didn't know how to fix it.

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Forums as a whole struggle these days so we are not unique in this issue. I have been a member/moderator/admin of a number of really big forums since they became a thing and they have all eventually closed their doors. Social media has definitely had a negative effect over the longer form of discourse that is the bread and butter of web forums.

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A lot of regular posters don't seem to post any more, or very seldom, hope they're OK.  As Brian says social media does make a difference, and I was also on forum which has just closed, but some of their members have come across to this forum, which is good to see.

 

And it's nice to see you back Virginia!

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21 hours ago, Virginia said:

It feels like nobody's home and I want to bang on the doors and wake up the neighborhood!!! :P

Ha! I like that way of putting it :lol:
The forum has always been a comforting place for me too. Other social media platforms definitely do not have that feeling. This place has an actual community - that sense of ‘these are my people’ and the genuine emotional connection that comes with it. 
 

14 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:


Yes, and we had better get it done PDQ. The forum I came from has just closed (today, sob) as a result of absence of members and we didn't know how to fix it.

And that emotional connection is what makes this so sad! I was far more heartbroken than I expected to be when Michelle (the original Admin) announced that this forum would close. It has been really lovely having you all here from BGO though (I know everyone else here will agree!). You’ve bought new ideas and refreshed old ones. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy it here, even though I know it isn’t quite the same. 
 

4 hours ago, Madeleine said:

A lot of regular posters don't seem to post any more, or very seldom, hope they're OK.  

We have a couple of regular members currently just taking a bit of a break - I’ve spoken to them personally and they are okay :). I don’t want to give too much away, again, but we might have a visit from some older familiar faces once the update is done… 
 

 

 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Hayley said:
 

And that emotional connection is what makes this so sad! I was far more heartbroken than I expected to be when Michelle (the original Admin) announced that this forum would close. It has been really lovely having you all here from BGO though (I know everyone else here will agree!). You’ve bought new ideas and refreshed old ones. I hope you’ll continue to enjoy it here, even though I know it isn’t quite the same. 


I understand your heartbreak fully. And thank you - everybody - for making us so welcome, I certainly feel at home here and it has cushioned the blow.

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My 2 cents. The Forum is basically the same as it was 4 years ago except for the number of participants. The topics are basically the same. If we want to change things then we need to come on and make posts and discuss books, etc. Tell your friends how nice a forum it is and help to get others onboard. I don't discuss books as much as I should but I do some discussion, Luna - William Faulkner, Madeleine - Rivers of London, Chrissy & poppy - Flavia + other books, The Never Ending Song thread - anyone who wants to participate. :)

My point is start making posts on the forum!!

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14 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said:


I understand your heartbreak fully. And thank you - everybody - for making us so welcome, I certainly feel at home here and it has cushioned the blow.

:hug:

 

 

6 hours ago, muggle not said:

My 2 cents. The Forum is basically the same as it was 4 years ago except for the number of participants. The topics are basically the same. If we want to change things then we need to come on and make posts and discuss books, etc.

I support this message - simply posting and interacting with posts does definitely help the forum to keep going! Potential new members who see active discussion will definitely be more likely to stay and interact too :)

 

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I have been absent too often from the forum, despite feeling my heart ache at the thought of losing it.

Sometimes socially communicating is somewhat beyond me, but it really is a case of use it or lose it for us all.

 

I will have a proper think, and maybe a rummage on some of the old threads, and remind myself of some of the chattier threads and their subjects. I know we had a 'what are you up to' style thread, as a general chatter thread which was a nice way of staying in touch so that it didn't over flood the book activity thread.  

 

Oh, and the BGO arrivals, plus others? - I LOVE that you are here! :)

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I belong to several forums (fora?) and find that Facebook and similar things seem to have taken the heart out of them, as many folk would rather share pics of their breakfast/dog/cat/car/etc than chat between themselves and maybe learn something!

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I've turned into a forum lurker even though I am a new member. I want to interact more but I find it difficult to. I'm a slow reader and find I have little time to read so it can sometimes take me a good while to get through a book, so unless I post that I am reading the same book over and over again, I have little to say 😂 

I look at the forum on mobile, which isn't always the best way to see everything but, I will probably continue to use mobile anyway. 

 

I came to forums because I dislike Facebook so much, it's a toxic environment. 

 

I am on another forum and tend to be more active on that, it isn't a book forum. On that forum there is a bit more image sharing (mainly on topic, off topic ones tend to be minimal and go in off topic sections). You can react with a like to posts also. Sometimes it is little things like that that can encourage more interaction. 

 

Anyway, instead of telling others how to encourage more activity, I think I shall instead endeavour to become a more active member by posting more and getting better acquainted with navigating the forum. 

 

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16 minutes ago, MissMohawk said:

I am on another forum and tend to be more active on that, it isn't a book forum. On that forum there is a bit more image sharing (mainly on topic, off topic ones tend to be minimal and go in off topic sections). You can react with a like to posts also. Sometimes it is little things like that that can encourage more interaction. 

 

Yes, I see what you mean. I was on another forum that's just shut down through lack of interest and I had invited an online friend of mine to that forum.  She told me that it was too big and seemingly complicated for her to navigate and as a result she posted very rarely. We also debated about whether or not to put a like button on the posts and voted no because we felt that it would not lead to debate.  We have just closed down so perhaps that was the wrong decision.

 

Loved the Count of Monte Cristo btw, I hope you're enjoying it too.

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Even with a large user base, a book forum isn't really conducive to debate or discussion. Because ideally, you need to have read the same books.

 

Which is why I think a 'like' button makes some sense. You can engage with a post without necessarily needing to offer an opinion. Good for lurkers.

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10 hours ago, Hux said:

 

Even with a large user base, a book forum isn't really conducive to debate or discussion. Because ideally, you need to have read the same books.

 

 

But that's not actually the case, is it?

 

When this forum had more active members people used to comment on all sorts of things - and they did so a lot! 

 

If a book was popular it got more traction, but more obscure books also got promoted as well and other members ended up reading them as a result.

 

The current forum is quite by comparison so the number of people jumping on a single title is consequently lower but even so, members do still draw inspiration from the reviews and comments of other members.

 

Personally, I think the forum is currently below the level of active members required to keep it running in the long term, but I hope that can be reversed (it will mean a lot of work on the part of the members running the forum and the engagement of the remaining members as well if it is to be a success in the long term, but hopefully it is something that can be achieved!)

 

10 hours ago, Hux said:

 

Which is why I think a 'like' button makes some sense. You can engage with a post without necessarily needing to offer an opinion. Good for lurkers.

 

 

I do think a "Like" button would be useful, as it is a way of acknowledging a post without having to post a reply. 

 

How well it would encourage more meaningful interaction, however, I'm not sure...

 

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1 hour ago, Raven said:

 

But that's not actually the case, is it?

 

When this forum had more active members people used to comment on all sorts of things - and they did so a lot! 

 

If a book was popular it got more traction, but more obscure books also got promoted as well and other members ended up reading them as a result.

 

The current forum is quite by comparison so the number of people jumping on a single title is consequently lower but even so, members do still draw inspiration from the reviews and comments of other members.

 

Personally, I think the forum is currently below the level of active members required to keep it running in the long term, but I hope that can be reversed (it will mean a lot of work on the part of the members running the forum and the engagement of the remaining members as well if it is to be a success in the long term, but hopefully it is something that can be achieved!)

 

 

I do think a "Like" button would be useful, as it is a way of acknowledging a post without having to post a reply. 

 

How well it would encourage more meaningful interaction, however, I'm not sure...

 

I also think a like button would be nice and useful for the forum. Is there some way we can convince Hayley. :)

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On 10/06/2022 at 9:53 AM, MissMohawk said:

I've turned into a forum lurker even though I am a new member. I want to interact more but I find it difficult to. I'm a slow reader and find I have little time to read so it can sometimes take me a good while to get through a book, so unless I post that I am reading the same book over and over again, I have little to say 😂 

I look at the forum on mobile, which isn't always the best way to see everything but, I will probably continue to use mobile anyway. 

 

:lol: If you want to keep a log of your progress you could post the page number you’re up to :).
I use the forum on mobile all the time too! It’s a really handy, quick way to check in!

 

On 11/06/2022 at 1:11 AM, muggle not said:

I also think a like button would be nice and useful for the forum. Is there some way we can convince Hayley. :)

I’ll see what I can do :D. When we bought up the idea of a like button before I know that concerns were raised about some people feeling bad if they didn’t get as many likes on their posts as others. I think if we trial the like button for a while and then regroup on how people feel about it, that will be fair. 

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