Lifespan of a forum?

[shmike]

My online / forum existence is pretty much limited to a few MC forums. Still, over the last few years, I have seen a number of forums come and go.

While those that are "gone" are usually still in existence they are a shell of their former selves in regards to number of posts, posters and content quality.

So, is there typical life cycle for a forum?

Is there an average period of time before the inevitable drama, powertrip or buyout ensues?

[Ninjakel]

CF lasted the longest.

[DaveDD]

I think it depends on the content of the forum. Tech forums seem to stay alive a lot longer than social forums. Seems like drama is inevitable in the social forums. I happen to think it all comes from this ridiculous "chain of command"...users, mods, super-mods, admins, owners........it's all a bunch of bullshit.

[Ninjakel]

I agree with Dave

[Katana-750_lady]

Originally Posted by DaveDD

I think it depends on the content of the forum. Tech forums seem to stay alive a lot longer than social forums. Seems like drama is inevitable in the social forums. I happen to think it all comes from this ridiculous "chain of command"...users, mods, super-mods, admins, owners........it's all a bunch of bullshit.

Take the average bullshit and childish attitudes and multiply them by 100, that is what a social online forum is like. People think they can act like idiots cause it's online ... ridiculous

[Curb]

i look at it like great civilizations, they come and go. if you look at the romans they were at their peak of power in the first and second centuries by the start of 5th century they were done. same thing with forums, they are good for a few years they grow into powers and then someone has an idea and it ruins the forum, makes it members nomads and within a year or so its gone and forgotton

[Corey]

Depends on size and moderation. The smaller forums seem to keep their identity for quite a while. The small community and lack of growth keeps the disruptions to a minimum and let them continue on virtually unchanged. A larger forum with strict moderation also seems to thrive a little longer than the rest. The strict adherence to the rules keeps all the drama seeking attention whores away. Even when they get bought out, they're already using tight rules, so any change is superficial. The ones that seem to suffer the most are large boards with loose moderation. The minute they get bought out (like CF), any change in how the rules are enforced immediately stands out and creates tension that changes the board dynamic.

[Trip]

I was on TWF since 05 and would of stayed there if it wouldn't of got sold. I will keep this one going as long as I can afford it and people care to post.

I go on a powertrip daily, but I rarely do anything more than change your avatar or usertitle. I just like arguing if you haven't figured that out yet. I don't think we really have that many rules to enforce so that makes things easy on moderating.

[AquaPython]

as soon as there is a large enough change in the status quo, forum sites of all sizes can suffer or benefit greatly, possibly even succumb altogether. that change seems to come from a few main factors:
~important enough site-rule change
~technology change
~social pattern change
~competition change
~financial impact of members

i think pretty much every site evolution or de-evolution is derived from one or more of the above.

[neebelung]

Originally Posted by Curb

i look at it like great civilizations, they come and go. if you look at the romans they were at their peak of power in the first and second centuries by the start of 5th century they were done. same thing with forums, they are good for a few years they grow into powers and then someone has an idea and it ruins the forum, makes it members nomads and within a year or so its gone and forgotton

Well said.


I mainly belong to just riding forums; the first one I ever joined is still alive and well, and I'e been on it for 5 years now, but a lot of the personalities have changed and moved on, so it's not the same for me anymore. CF is my second longest membership. This place, while a refugee camp, has a core membership that's been together for a few years now (having come over as one big lump when the other place went down in flames). I've seen that happen elsewhere, too (where the same group of people will just up and move to another home).