why are the forums so quiet.

[MaryN]

Actually, Steve. I don't do engines, but even I would be interested. All info can be useful ...

It's quiet because it's Christmas; the gardens have slowed down to a crawl; all planting is now over or waiting until Spring; livestock are just chugging along.
People are hunkering down trying to keep warm and making good use of their time indoors. Personally I'm making a quilt and getting up to speed with a couple of manuals.

[Devonian]

Another factor could be the hugely improved economy compared with a couple of years back - I say that jokingly, but there is also a lot of truth in it, we certainly have a lot more work on which is keeping us busy.

[CharlesHarris]

Here it is deer hunting season. So I am exercising my primitive predator instincts.

[NorthernRaider]

Good for you Charles, keeping your eye in

[Tibbs735]

Maybe after a while the forum will just crystalize into a database, as the forum subject is fairly niche. How many genuinely new topics come up? Not trying to be defeatist...

[Sunna]

bp,s post is spot on , I know I took the p but its true .

so without repeating ourselves how do we keep the forum fresh and interesting.
only talking about prepping just don't work , how about talking about things of intrest to preppers, as long as its not racist , stupid like kids should carry knives.
that's what our mods are for , that's the ones that can be bothered , if a mod don't join in for a few months de mod them [river song]

[Devonian]

I think the other big problem is the lack of new members. The last new member to introduce themselves was on the 5th April!!!

So why are we not getting any new members, after all compared with the likes of UKP/P2S/DIFO etc, I personally find that this is the best UK forum by a mile.

New blood = new ideas = lots of discussion = a happy and active forum

I don't think we can keep blaming the time earlier in the year when the forums had problems.

Possibly one of the problems is the total openness of the site, afterall anyone can read any of the posts/threads and download any of the information on the main site, so there is no incentive to join and get involved in the first place. Therefore maybe "members only" access to key parts of the forum would get more people to sign up to enable them to view the forums and then in turn they would get involved in the discussions......

So how can we attractive new members?

Alternatively do we need to send Sunna off on a charm offensive to generate some interest

[NorthernRaider]

The technical issues have not gone way, I've been struggling all day again

Dev sez
""So why are we not getting any new members, after all compared with the likes of UKP/P2S/DIFO etc, I personally find that this is the best UK forum by a mile.""

Some of the other forums are dead, others ran by cliques who block and ban folks whose agendas vary from the accepted norm, some are more about wilderness survival and fieldcraft than preparedness, some I'm told can bore you to death in minutes, some even are closed groups, others are now on Yahoo or Facepage, there still plenty to go around, trouble is we are often going over the same stuff time after time after time because newbies wont use the search facility and ask the same questions time and again. Prhaps as others have suggested the forum needs to close and become an archive and a blog??

[Devonian]

(8 December 2014, 16:34)NorthernRaider Wrote: The technical issues have not gone way, I've been struggling all day again

Most people are not having any problems with the forum from a technical/usability perspective.

(8 December 2014, 16:34)NorthernRaider Wrote: trouble is we are often going over the same stuff time after time after time because newbies wont use the search facility and ask the same questions time and again.

Maybe the newbies are using the search, hence why its so quiet.....

(8 December 2014, 16:34)NorthernRaider Wrote: Prhaps as others have suggested the forum needs to close and become an archive and a blog??

There is already an archive - SUK Downloads

SD also already has his Blog - SUK Main Site

The forums are different to both and I think still have their place. It is only on the forums that we can really interact; ask questions and discuss issues with each other, and a wider audience.

Apart from yourself, I don't think anyone else has advocated the use of blogs as the problem then is that it is one persons perspective stated as fact (or opinion), it is not an open free flowing discussion.

Also email groups which I know you support, but again I find that these are good in some ways, but, they do not give the opportunity to take in different views and perspectives from people who you would not normally associate with.

So I vote we keep the forums and try to keep them active as possible.

[NorthernRaider]

Fred on the Home page also supports a blog and someone else on the forum just the other day muted a similar thought ??

E mail groups are handy but only a tiny part primarily because they need to find members from forums first that's why I only briefly mentioned them. You have to have the contacts first before you can join up and form an E mail group, but stuff like FB groups appear to be working ????