eLuSiVeMiTe
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Web searches.Well that probably sums it up...
How do I weld this.
Search for a lathe or drill etc
Probably how most of us found the site in the begining
Web searches.Well that probably sums it up...
Anyone browsing not logged inI know what a member is , fnarr.
what's a guest?
someone you've invited round for a drink?
BOTs ?And only about 150 or so that regularly join in or add content, thats a lot of bystanders
Bob
I know what a member is , fnarr.
what's a guest?
someone you've invited round for a drink?
It's "private" because joe public and bots can't see it, it's only visible to members.I’ve often wondered what’s the point of the priv forum if it’s so easy to sign up to see. Sometimes I feel there should be a veteran priv section.
Catfish.Its a fish, it just thinks its a cat
Forums in general are dwindling and being killed off by other platforms such as social media, so to see any sort of growth is very encouraging.
Is a forum not 'social media' then?
To be successful in my humble opinion you need a bit of both. Ranting and wittering is healthy sometimes......Is a forum not 'social media' then?
I think the 'social interaction' scene has shifted rapidly towards the transient variety, Farcebook, Tw4tter etc., but the sort of technical content that we have here really needs to be an archive, if you like, a searchable repository (when people can be bothered to search and don't just chip in with repeats of what's gone before)... can't see what we 'do' working as well on Faceache (plus even a big phone screen isn't a patch on a laptop/ monitor for viewing peoples' handiwork etc.). That's why the 'social club' section was introduced I guess, to allow some space for the rants and gibberish without disrupting 'technical' threads. However there seems to be an increasing amount of space given over to the waffle and wittering...
yeah I've seen a few forums that I used to regularly participate in, slowly die a death... still running, but no real content generation. Mostly car related, as people move on from "boy" cars and that particular model dies out.In addition there has also been a general "maker" trend slowly increasing in popularity over the last couple of years which might also increase traffic.
Forums in general are dwindling and being killed off by other platforms such as social media, so to see any sort of growth is very encouraging.
sme?As a member of many and admin of some Facebook groups I can tell you there will probably be......
The advantage of Facebook for example is if you feel there is no group for your needs ie Brand XYZ welder owners in Location ABC you can set one up for free there are some incredibly specific Facebook groups and some very general ones dedicated to all sorts of topics including some niche ones like table lamp appreciation groups
unlike a forum there is currently no cost to set up but FB take all the ad revenue, getting forums to cover costs let alone cover the thousands of hours of admin and mod time it takes to keep running....
there are few wealthy forums admins
Reddit is a free for all but does have great info disadvantages are the amount of people claiming to be SME when they aren’t but that’s nothing new......
You don’t know, what you don’t know as the saying goes......
Most forum software has stats for such things.A member is someone that joins in, the rest are only really guests some of which have registered. No way of knowing the number of active members.
Bob
I feel the same about electrical forums. Gas/plumbing forums are the same. Just because they have "qualifications", they think the average Joe is incapable of doing either job and they berate you for even thinking about it.99 percent google something and this site pops up then you have a nosey to see what the crack is its only found by chance i did wasnt even weld related and if it was only welding id have not bothered stopping . same as i wont go on the electrical forum its boring and nothing of interest