Author Topic: The Rise and Fall of Escape Pod (Forums) and the Spiders from Mars (Read 53201 times)

Heradel · **on:** December 03, 2007, 06:32:06 AM

Is it just me or have the forums gotten a lot quieter lately?

Chart's from July to November.

Jim · **Reply #1 on:** December 03, 2007, 02:25:19 PM

People are busy shopping, and there might be competition from other podcasts' forums.

gelee · **Reply #2 on:** December 03, 2007, 03:22:07 PM

I noticed a big drop in traffic around the time of the server blip.

Russell Nash · **Reply #3 on:** December 03, 2007, 04:46:31 PM

This is a time of the year when people seem to have more other stuff going on. I think that handles the drop in numbers over october and will show in a huge drop in numbers as december moves on. If you prorate November you see it was a kind of strong month. The first five days or so were lost and then over the next week people kind of waited to see what was going to happen. After that weekend was over we got back to business and the last two and a half weeks cranked up some pretty good numbers. There were a few people who reposted things lost in the blip, but not that many.

Heradel · **Reply #4 on:** December 03, 2007, 06:21:04 PM

I'm just worried about the drop in activity. It seems like some of the regular posters haven't been as regular as they used to be, and I'd hate for this place slowly go into that dark night.

Anarkey · **Reply #5 on:** December 03, 2007, 06:49:18 PM

Quote from: Heradel on December 03, 2007, 06:21:04 PM

I'm just worried about the drop in activity. It seems like some of the regular posters haven't been as regular as they used to be, and I'd hate for this place slowly go into that dark night.

I participate much less in the forums than I used to. I don't see my participation going up anytime soon, and it's not because I'm shopping.

Russell Nash · **Reply #6 on:** December 03, 2007, 07:58:30 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on December 03, 2007, 06:49:18 PM

Quote from: Heradel on December 03, 2007, 06:21:04 PM
I'm just worried about the drop in activity. It seems like some of the regular posters haven't been as regular as they used to be, and I'd hate for this place slowly go into that dark night.

I participate much less in the forums than I used to. I don't see my participation going up anytime soon, and it's not because I'm shopping.

Is that because of other online activity (better forums) or just reduced time at the computer. It seems to me these forums got started at the time of the year when people have the most time for online stuff and the fall is when people have the least time.

Heradel · **Reply #7 on:** December 03, 2007, 08:31:28 PM

Well, January and February '07 were artificially elevated because of the Flash Contest (I guess they're not going to be aired at this point?, though it would be nice if that contest was run again next year). I don't have strong stat-fu, but the downtrend started in October, with the Time Warp event continuing damage.

Listener · **Reply #8 on:** December 03, 2007, 09:57:37 PM

Quote from: Russell Nash on December 03, 2007, 04:46:31 PM

This is a time of the year when people seem to have more other stuff going on. I think that handles the drop in numbers over october and will show in a huge drop in numbers as december moves on.

FWIW, I work for a website that, earlier in the year, got over 45,000 uniques a day, but as of November 1, we took a hit and are now averaging close to 40,000.

It's not just EP, but sometimes small really does reflect big.

Anarkey · **Reply #9 on:** December 04, 2007, 12:06:46 AM

Quote from: Russell Nash on December 03, 2007, 07:58:30 PM

Is that because of other online activity (better forums) or just reduced time at the computer. It seems to me these forums got started at the time of the year when people have the most time for online stuff and the fall is when people have the least time.

Neither. I still spend about as much time as the computer as always, and I have no Escape Pod forum replacement that I go to instead.

Ocicat · **Reply #10 on:** December 05, 2007, 10:56:07 PM

Just judging by the number of people who vote in the polls, we lost a few in the server move who haven't come back yet. I'd imagine because people don't want to put much effort into writing things when there's a decent chance that they will go *poof* before anyone gets to read them.

The banner "11/6/07 Sorry for the lost posts; server move issue. We're working to restore them now." that's still on the top of the forums probably doesn't increase confidence much. At this point unless there's been progress in that area, we should probably just call the lost posts water under the bridge and move on.

Russell Nash · **Reply #11 on:** December 06, 2007, 09:44:26 AM

I have been impressed with the numbers of first time posters in the episode threads recently. Maybe we just need a little more new blood.

BTW I've sent PMs to people who kind of dropped out of site for a while. Just to say hey we missed you. Two out of three came back with a vengeance.

Chodon · **Reply #12 on:** December 07, 2007, 04:57:50 PM

The server glitch was the big reason I took a break from the forums. Mostly I was bummed that my feedback got lost, so I figured why keep contributing? Also I was ripping some dude's podcast/vidcast up and down he was trying to plug here. I should mention I only ripped on it because it was crap. I pictured him weeping silently to himself every time I posted. That made me smile, but then it was gone.

I'm back now though, and I'm over it.

Russell Nash · **Reply #13 on:** December 07, 2007, 05:50:55 PM

Quote from: Chodon on December 07, 2007, 04:57:50 PM

Also I was ripping some dude's podcast/vidcast up and down he was trying to plug here. I should mention I only ripped on it because it was crap. I pictured him weeping silently to himself every time I posted. That made me smile, but then it was gone.

That was mean, but fun to watch. If the guy had been honestly plugging his podcast, I would have asked you to tone it down. He was being dishonest and pretended it wasn't his, but some wonderful cast he had found. That made it open season on him. You did rip him pretty good.

goatkeeper · **Reply #14 on:** December 09, 2007, 12:04:46 AM

Quote from: Chodon on December 07, 2007, 04:57:50 PM

The server glitch was the big reason I took a break from the forums. Mostly I was bummed that my feedback got lost, so I figured why keep contributing? Also I was ripping some dude's podcast/vidcast up and down he was trying to plug here. I should mention I only ripped on it because it was crap. I pictured him weeping silently to himself every time I posted. That made me smile, but then it was gone.

I'm back now though, and I'm over it.

Aww, sucks I missed that. These forums are generally pretty tame(and that's probablly a good thing,) but a little controversial activity like that might be just what these forums need to get sparked back up.

On a different note, my flash fiction podcast (Drabblecast) has more than tripled hits and subscriptions since October. This is mostly due to Steve's plugs I think, but I'm pretty sure sites can find ways to keep activity through end of the year slump.

Oh, and feel free to rip on me for the above plug, as long as you think it'll stir things up. :-)

Simon · **Reply #15 on:** December 10, 2007, 01:55:42 PM

Ok, I'll stand up and say it...

My impression is that this place has dried up considerably recently... The forum-folk used to (appear to me to) be considerably more spacially, generationally and culturally diverse than they are at the moment. Not sure why - you'd expect new people to bleed over from the main site as they get enthusiastic about EP's material, but this place is noticeably whiter, maler and more American than it was previously...

I don't know if this reflects the main site.. I mean our primary "hook" is the discussion threads for each individual story, and I haven't been noticing new names bleeding into these as much as they used to. Once people are in the discussion threads they join the community - so i'm a little worried about what it means for the site as a whole. Anyone got any reason why this place would be getting a less passionate response?

At the same time tho - communities change. I think this place is now more of a haven for geekdom than it used to be, and less of an SF haven, and that will take a while to bed in. New people will reappear as long as the main site keeps posting things people want to comment on.

Heradel · **Reply #16 on:** December 10, 2007, 08:33:04 PM

I might have missed it, but has Steve mentioned what Escape Pod's (and/or Psuedopod's) numbers have been doing recently?

And I agree with Simon, it does seem to be getting a bit more homogeneous.

Russell Nash · **Reply #17 on:** December 10, 2007, 09:12:26 PM

The funny thing is that while you're all in here saying the numbers are down, December is on track to get almost 1100 posts. It won't because of the holidays. It is however more than November and october and on par with the summer. I think you're all just over-reacting to the lull we had from the lost posts.

We did have two really good posters cut back on their activity. The funny thing is it's because they both are running new Escape Artists podcasts.

Russell Nash · **Reply #18 on:** December 10, 2007, 09:35:51 PM

Quote from: Simon on December 10, 2007, 01:55:42 PM

but this place is noticeably whiter, maler and more American than it was previously...

This comment makes me wonder.

I can guess race by nationality as far as our Europeans go, but I can only play the numbers on the rest. We also have a couple folks with their pictures for an avatar. I think the white, male American is just the common assumption when there is no evidence to the contrary.

I don't have any real numbers to back up my statements. Should we do a demographics poll? It might be interesting to see what the actual breakdown is.

eytanz · **Reply #19 on:** December 11, 2007, 11:49:55 AM

Quote from: Russell Nash on December 10, 2007, 09:35:51 PM

Quote from: Simon on December 10, 2007, 01:55:42 PM
but this place is noticeably whiter, maler and more American than it was previously...

This comment makes me wonder.

I can guess race by nationality as far as our Europeans go, but I can only play the numbers on the rest. We also have a couple folks with their pictures for an avatar. I think the white, male American is just the common assumption when there is no evidence to the contrary.

I don't have any real numbers to back up my statements. Should we do a demographics poll? It might be interesting to see what the actual breakdown is.

Why not? It might be interesting.

I was away from the forums for a while because of my move to England and starting a new job. But I haven't really felt that big a change in the activity in the forums over the past months - maybe because I wasn't paying close attention, but I'm wondering if people are really comparing the forums to the summer, or whether the long time members are thinking back to the previous forums (which predates my joining the community). I did notice that there seems to be a lot less direct involvement from the people running the podcasts.

Chodon · **Reply #20 on:** December 11, 2007, 01:04:57 PM

Quote from: goatkeeper on December 09, 2007, 12:04:46 AM

Oh, and feel free to rip on me for the above plug, as long as you think it'll stir things up. :-)

The only reason I ripped on the guy was because his stuff was crap. I gave it an honest shot, listened to two podcasts and a couple vidcasts and it made me want to chuff. They were about military/survival issues. He was trying to be very "tactical", but no military or police background. He seemed like a chubby guy with an airsoft gun. It was pretty clear he had no authority to be talking about the stuff he was talking about. Seriously, one "tactical" vidcast was about using RPG (that's role-playing-game, not rocket propelled grenade) character sheets of yourself to better understand your strengths and weaknesses. Another was spent on how to properly groom yourself, including nail trimming and cleaning. Awesome. I'm sure that's standard issue in most special forces kits. "Here's your M4, your body armor, and your character sheet. I expect that to be filled out by 0400 tomorrow, and no, not everyone will have a dexterity of 4!"

Give me a break.

I'll check out Drabblecast and let you know what I think, Goatkeeper. I'm a big fan of flash fiction.

Anarkey · **Reply #21 on:** December 11, 2007, 03:44:22 PM

Quote from: Russell Nash on December 10, 2007, 09:35:51 PM

Quote from: Simon on December 10, 2007, 01:55:42 PM
but this place is noticeably whiter, maler and more American than it was previously...
I don't have any real numbers to back up my statements. Should we do a demographics poll? It might be interesting to see what the actual breakdown is.

I don't know what a self-reporting demographics poll would accomplish. That said, I'm not against it or anything, I'm just not sure it would elucidate. More useful, I would think, to run a script through the membership breakdown by gender and geography (where given) and then sort that by number of posts (excluding, perhaps, moderators) and last post.

From a strictly anecdotal perspective, I have a mental list of people who no longer post, or post so sporadically as to be virtually non-participating whose acumen, insight and perspective I miss.

They are:
hautdesert, palimpsest, CatRambo, J.R. Blackwell (female)
Simon Painter, Roney, sirana (European)
GoodDamon, Thaurismunths, slic, ClintMemo, Tango Alpha Delta (white, male, middle-class and American AFAIK, but I liked what they wrote anyways)

Caveat: It's possible some of these people still participate but are in threads I avoid. I miss them in the story comment threads, which are usually the only ones I still read.

Swamp · **Reply #22 on:** December 11, 2007, 05:05:59 PM

Quote from: Anarkey on December 11, 2007, 03:44:22 PM

They are:
hautdesert, palimpsest, CatRambo, J.R. Blackwell (female)
Simon Painter, Roney, sirana (European)
GoodDamon, Thaurismunths, slic, ClintMemo, Tango Alpha Delta

I also miss these past posters, as well as your comments, Anarkey. They all had interesting things to say and I usually learned a lot.

I have contributed less and less because I feel that what I say really doesn't contribute much to the discussion. I also feel like some of the things I have said here in the forums have damaged my credibility (like getting all fired up and rude to Russell--I apologize again.) I thought about canceling out of the forums, and rejoining under a different name, but that seems disingenuous.

Russell Nash · **Reply #23 on:** December 11, 2007, 05:11:43 PM

Quote from: kmmrlatham on December 11, 2007, 05:05:59 PM

(like getting all fired up and rude to Russell--I apologize again.)

You were rude to me? OK, don't worry about. Come on back in and rejoin the fights.

goatkeeper · **Reply #24 on:** December 11, 2007, 10:09:40 PM

For those concerned or interested in demographics, if you have facebook you can join the EP,PP (and drabblecast!) groups- you can get an idea of what some folks look like there