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Insight into the phases of the Internet forum life cycle: a perspective
I haven't been here in quite a while. With advanced (end state,
metastatic), clinical stage 4 prostate cancer, I've had to reassess my priorities, put hings in perspective and frankly ARBR was not at the top of the list. I have bigger fish to fry, so to speak. Regardless, I see that little has changed here. The forum has lost many of it members and is no longer about recumbent bicycles. ARBR has become the sounding board and soap box of the Tibetan Monkey who arguably has has far too much time on his hands. Even the crotchety Ed Dolan appears to have had enough and departed for other forums. I've seen this once useful forum hit the skids, degenerate and eventually rock bottom. It has gone through a regressive evolution that is unfortunate. Here are my thoughts in general regarding the Internet forum life cycle of which ARBR is a prime example... Like it or not, Internet forums commonly undergo an evolutionary process regardless of whether they are moderated or unmoderated. The natural life cycle of an Internet forum, with its various phases, might be best summed up as follows: 1. Declaration of Enthusiasm - Subscribers introduce themselves and gush over how wonderful it is to have encountered kindred spirits. 2. Origin of Evangelism - Participants moan about how the forum consists of far too few members and brainstorming ensues to initiate recruitment strategies. 3. Expansion of Community - An ever increasing number of interested parties subscribe and contribute to the forum. Lengthy threads develop (some more relevant than others). 4. Emergence of Camaraderie - Information and advice is exchanged (some empirically founded ... some just anecdotal nonsense). Friendships are forged. Members rib one another, but all in good fun. New subscribers are welcomed and newbies. Both newcomers and veterans alike are receptive to asking questions, providing answers, and sharing experiences. 5. Genesis of Disenchantment - The volume of postings increases dramatically. Not all threads are of interest to all participants. Members pitch a bitch about signal-to-noise ratio, off-topic threads, me too posts, forged and spoofed identities, forwarding of private emails, and other violations of internet forum netiquette. Member #1 threatens to unsubscribe if things don't change for the better. Member #2 aligns himself with Member #1. Member #3 disagrees with both Members #1 and #2. Member #4 suggests that Members #1, #2, and #3 should lighten up. Flame wars erupt and adversaries emerge. Bandwidth is sacrificed as an abundance of postings proliferate in an effort to resolve differences and restore some semblance of order. During this particular phase, many a delete key gets more than its share of abuse and filtering and killfiles are implemented. 6. Stagnation of Growth - The purists castigate members who ask an old question or respond humorously to a serious post. Newcomers are rebuffed and discouraged. SPAM posts, trolls and stalkers dominate the forum. Traffic volume subsides considerably and is generally confined to minor topics. Many relevant issues are communicated via private emails. Some members turn in their membership cards in a huff and the remaining members continue to participate in phases #4 and/or #5 above. 7. Salvation from Destruction - Someone like me pounds away at the keyboard composing a post such as this one in an effort to stir the juices of those members who find themselves entrenched in the quagmire of phase #4 and/or #5 above ... mostly #5 in hopes of resurection ;-) Well, at least this posting should prove to be a thought provoking departure from the norm and hopefully sheds some light on the nature of the beast we have come to love and hate ... the internet forum. Perhaps I should have added a pahse nuber 8 (Fight of Forum), when hope is abandoned, forum flight ensues and membership dwindles. |
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