Author Topic: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?  (Read 129888 times)

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Offline oohhboy

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #50 on: December 10, 2016, 10:03:26 PM »
We don't actually know if Nintendo is going to release a proper handheld. It is too premature to merge them only to have to unmerge down the line. The Switch is portable, but I don't classify it a hand-held like I wouldn't classify an iPad with a cellular radio link a phone.

There doesn't seem to be any rumblings of that "Third Pillar" stuff we heard back with the DS which was a hedge just in case the DS fell flat and they needed another Gameboy.

Plus the legacy handhelds aren't going away, there is plenty of activity and a merger down is still on the cards if required.
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Offline Caterkiller

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #51 on: December 11, 2016, 03:15:17 AM »
I guess I would love for a bunch of the sub forums to be just be combined.

Nintendo Console & Nintendo Handheld become one. Nintendo Gaming. Within Nintendo Gaming would be all the original topics that people create about the games and all the help and matchmaking would be held there as well. Just being under the same roof seems like people would notice matchmaking or help requests even more.




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Offline ClexYoshi

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #52 on: December 11, 2016, 10:05:18 AM »
Hey, I'm over here thanks to Khush's push that was sent out en masse to the forums. I don't pretend to know the sort of analytics that go into getting people to sign up for a forum, but I imagine it may be that newer forms of social media appeal to folks far more than a place like this.


As for changes, this place could REALLY use for some clean up. we're not going to need a friend code forum any more. heck, depending on how long the 3DS lives independent of the Switch, we may no longer need a Console or handheld distinct forum unless we're talking about retro hardware.

That being said, Archival would be a big (and likely epic) part of this cleanup task.


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Offline Evan_B

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #53 on: December 11, 2016, 12:22:28 PM »
I am for the idea of a united Nintendo gaming forum- as it stands currently, the handheld forum does not get enough traffic. Likewise, is life to have a strategy/matchmaking subforum more closely tied to the Nintendo forums.

Even though there's more discussion of tv/films and sales going on, those threads are absolutely massive, and there's a ton of gaming content still being made on the site.
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #54 on: December 11, 2016, 04:04:16 PM »
Do we really need to keep matchmaking and the game discussion separate? Typically we discuss game right before they release and for a short bit after release. After release and most everything is known about a game it turns into a mix of strategy and design discussion along with some matchmaking arrangements.


With Monster Hunter, I've gravitated towards just having a single thread for all aspects of the game instead of a separate thread for arranging matches.
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #55 on: December 11, 2016, 04:11:08 PM »
I only regularly go into Nintendo Console Discussion, General Gaming, Talkback, and General Chat. If anything is reorganized, I'd figure it out. The only thing I really want is a tap-to-reveal-spoilers option like on Neogaf (since I browse the forums on mobile more often than not), but that's software related. A girl can dream...

Offline UncleBob

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #56 on: December 11, 2016, 06:50:26 PM »
I click the 'unread topics' link at the top.  I forget how badly organized the forums are, really.
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Offline Shaymin

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #57 on: December 11, 2016, 11:29:15 PM »
I click the 'unread topics' link at the top.  I forget how badly organized the forums are, really.

Same here.
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Offline oohhboy

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #58 on: December 12, 2016, 01:20:33 AM »
I click the 'unread topics' link at the top.  I forget how badly organized the forums are, really.
I am worse. I use e-mail to get alerts to new comments from topics I sub to. It doesn't encourage much exploration.
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Offline rygar

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #59 on: December 12, 2016, 07:30:52 AM »
I also primarily navigate the forums through the 'unread topics' function.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2016, 07:33:09 AM by rygar »

Offline Order.RSS

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #60 on: December 12, 2016, 03:09:23 PM »
It's cool that y'all are thinking about this, but I don't think I'll ever be sold on creating even more clutter. Why create three subforums that are essentially just 1 or 2 threads each? (announcements, rules, introductions)

I would say have 3 or 4 forums: General chat, Gaming, NWR interactive (if merging talkback & podcasts doesn't crash the site!) and maybe the funhouse (child the mafia). Stick the forum rules & announcements as two or even one combined stickythread at the top of General, second sticky for new members, third for NNIDs/PSN/etc.

Ideally, I would make Funhouse & mafia a combined childboard to General Chat; they look alienating if I have to actively venture in there. I keep missing matchmaking posts from Phil because they're in that dumb subforum. Similarly, I don't currently have a handheld so never go there - as a result I missed out on Khush's thread on Warioland. See a pattern? People only go to subsections they feel are relevant to them. Having fewer of them means they're gonna see more of the active threads.
Consolidating all of these would make sure that when I go to a board I see all the new active threads at once and can pick & choose from there.

Gameplay, strategy & hardware should just merge into gaming for sure. Far too little use to warrant cluttering the forum index.

Extra TV and film boards sounds like even more unnecessary clutter to me. They would only become relevant if that many threads on different shows/movies do indeed crop up (they currently don't). It's a bit like solving a problem that isn't there (yet). Besides, a full page 1 of active threads in the general chat section would be a great "problem" to have - itd mean the forum is active!

I think it should be crucial to downsize to the current userbase, you can always add forums again where necessary if Switch grows the userbase again. In the meantime, those new members will then find a small but active forum, rather than a giant one with only very limited use in but a few subsections. Much more inviting. It's a public forum; perception should be the prime concern when wanting to attract new members!

Hope this doesn't across as know-it-ally, or pooping on ideas. But I think further categorisation is the exact opposite direction a forum with a small userbase should head, because it splinters those users further from each other. If you only have X amount of members, fine, but make sure they're running into eachother as much as possible to keep things lively.

Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #61 on: December 12, 2016, 05:36:30 PM »
Sounds to me like you all need to start taking a page from the Indians Native Americans and start using every part of the buffalo forum. I know I do. So much waste and neglected posts. It brings a tear to my eye as a stand and watch over this part of the information superhighway.
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Offline Phil

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #62 on: December 13, 2016, 06:47:37 PM »
I guess since I started the discussion on this, I should post my thoughts. This is my last week of school, so I'll have to be brief.

I was thinking some arrangement like this (names just give a general idea of what they're for):

NWR INTERACTIVE (moved to top of forum)

Site Announcements
Talkback (get rid of the NWR March Madness)
Podcast Discussion (I wouldn't mess with the first two of these forums too much, as it seems to be working for the site at the moment)
NWR Staff and User Interaction (child boards: user feedback, reader content like reviews, editorials, things like that maybe)

GAMING

Nintendo Gaming Discussion (no need for child boards, maybe pinned topics for NNID names and 3DS friend codes?)
Non-Nintendo Gaming Discussion (pinned topic for PSN, XBL, Steam, and more: all in one topic)

Gaming Strategy and Hardware help-related things can be posted in these two above forums. I also think matchmaking could be used in those forums as well, if we really wanted to cut down on clutter (i.e. ghost town and less active sections of the site).

COMMUNITY

General Discussion (maybe the TV and more popular topics could be pinned?)
Funhouse
Mafia Games (could also be a child board of the Funhouse)




« Last Edit: December 13, 2016, 06:50:06 PM by Phil »
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #63 on: December 14, 2016, 07:11:42 PM »
I'm afraid I'm also on board with the idea of merging into as few forums as possible. This place just doesn't get enough traffic for anything else.

Offline King of Twitch

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #64 on: December 14, 2016, 11:44:03 PM »
Sign o' the times. Right now there ought to be absolute wild speculation since the Switch is being kept totally secret until the last possible second. I wish there were more reader reviews so I can get different perspectives, but it seems like the in-depth stuff now gets tossed into personal blogs. The chat room has been dead during E3 for awhile, so youtube must be a part of the problem. But there have been live youtube shows so idk what's up.

-Outside of the awesome annual charity drive, I haven't seen any contests for awhile. Maybe I just missed them.
-No karma upvote appreciation for posts like this:

With very few exceptions, anytime someone starts a sentence with "I'm not a *blank*, but..." that person is most definitely a *blank*.

It's like Red Delicious Apples.  If they were really delicious, they wouldn't be the ones who have to tell you.

-Some of the headings could be more clear; "community forums/interactive" -- isn't everything on the forum an interactive community? I'd be ok with not calling things "child boards"

Just make 6 headings:
**Nintendo
**Non-tendo (PS4, Xbox, movies, comic books, sports)
**Talkback
**Podcasts
**Youtube
**Funhouse
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #65 on: December 15, 2016, 12:31:19 AM »
I click the 'unread topics' link at the top.  I forget how badly organized the forums are, really.
I am worse. I use e-mail to get alerts to new comments from topics I sub to. It doesn't encourage much exploration.


I have noticed that with only checking the New Replies to My Posts page. I have missed a couple big conversations due to this and by the time I find them most of the talking has been done.
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Offline supermario2k

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #66 on: December 16, 2016, 11:48:19 AM »
I will write a truly heartfelt and really serious reply, no drama, no false characters, just the truth, if that is okay.


I love this site, and the people. Why else do I keep coming here? But I have to say that the one thing that turns people off is also the one thing that makes this community work, the funhouse.
Newbies come here and can be turned off by the funhouse because it can be intimidating. When I was new I was confused, as was Lucario and I know others who have had a hard time adjusting. When you get it in your head everyone is a jackal who is sometimes kidding, and sometimes serious, it makes for a weird personality mix where you have trouble separating the two.

I had a hard time adjusting for the longest time, the aftermath is still present in totally inncent posts being taken as rants when they are not meant to be, and the real rants being taken too seriously. I tried working through that, but I lost interest. As I stated, the bullying turned me off. What some didn't realize is they might not have been intending to be bullies but newbies don't know when you are being legit and when you are being asshats for the fun of it, because like it or not, it's hard to post in the funhouse as a goof ball not to be taken seriously and then leave that behind in the funhouse. Either you make it anything goes, freeforall no rules, or you get rid of it entirely as there is already a general chat forum and the fun house is the thing that turns the most people away.


The long time community is also a big part of it. When I came here I was a newbie but I fit in early on with friends who looked past the rough exterior and helped me grow as a person, but it took several resets because the bullies dominated the site. Most of the real bullies are gone, moved on, grew up or realized they were in the wrong. Most of the people *I* mistook as bullies, to be honest, weren't and I see that now, which is why I am trying real hard to be positive and engaging, at least when I care, which is the point. I lost interest in caring because of the damn funhouse and all the shenanigans. It's something the long time regulars don't get because they are used to it.

So my first piece of advice is either reform the rules to the fun house to make it CLEAR to newbies what it is, after all there is not post or thread that spells out the rules or the intent it's just the wild west in there and newbies can be confused, easy, and then when told it is a fun house but the name changes all the time it can also confuse newbies.


Either make it clear it's a place where the rules are loose or be VERY clear that the shenanigans that take place in there are NOT to be spread across the rest of the forum. Or get rid of it entirely as it really serves no useful purpose. It used to be the forum for Mafia games and now there is a Mafia section which also confuses people and reduces the need for the fun house. Make a 'forum games" section and dedicate it to that but make it CLEAR that is what it is.


Next up, I concur general house cleaning is in order. I would suggest getting rid of sub-forums that aren't used as often or do it like www.blu-ray.com does, check out how clean their forum is and how very active their community is. Blu Ray is a little more mainstream than Nintendo as a whole, but it's also very niche in a lot of ways. That is a very active community, yet it is hyer focused on ONE topic, Blu Ray movies, and it attracts movie lovers of all walks, this is a Nintendo focused site, but Nintendo is not as small as people might like to think, at least the core fan base. Many of them have moved on to social media, so let's address that.


Social media is a tool, not a platform. Use it. Use it extensively. Maybe have the writers or the mods who post stories to the site Tweet links to those stories on their twitter feeds associated with the site.


Those are some of my suggestions. But the real reason this site has trouble keeping new posters is trouble-makers like me. So consider this my farewell once and for all. No big blow out, no rant, no "meltdown" just a subtle, I am moving on in my life to better things. Yes, my final answer and a true good-bye to those that care and a good riddance to those that don't.

No I am not angry, or hurt, or depressed, or anything, I just don't care anymore. I literally found a happier life elsewhere and I only came here to rant because I wasn't happy in my life. I don't suffer from depression anymore, I am a more well rounded person and I have a good job, a very good prospect and I need to cleanse myself of this old life. Thanks to the friends I did make and everyone else, no worries, I forgive you all and I beg your forgiveness those I was a true jerk to. Thanks for the memories, good and bad. No need to ban my account but if you decide to, that would be fine. I truly won't be back. Ever.
 Good luck in the future.

Offline Stogi

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #67 on: December 16, 2016, 07:35:36 PM »
Cool man. Sorry to see you go. Peace and Love.

Reading his post, I realize I've been here FOREVER. You guys are my fray frays, my crew I get to geek out about Nintendo with. While I have friends I play games with and converse about games in general, it's never as contemplative as the group here. Videogame Economics is fascinating and I learn a lot here.

I think the main reason why this place isn't as upbeat is because times have changed. Forums are old and the users that are here were here when forums were popular. Most people now, including me, use Reddit or FB as a way to find and discuss topics and information. It's easy and there's a lot of excitement and different opinions. Heading into a forum sounds counterproductive.

However, one thing forums have over social media is personality. The limited nature of a forum allows us to each have a personality that can shine through. There aren't one-off conversations between people; usernames matter here. And that's why the funhouse was/is genius. It allowed us to get to know each other without the need for a topic.

I'm not sure what can be done to inject this place with new life. I think simplifying the forum is a good idea and I wouldn't mind karma (or at least a way to thumbs up a post) coming back, but those are small fixes. The real issue is that new people have to find this place, specifically us, compelling. And are we?
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Offline Phil

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #68 on: December 16, 2016, 08:50:13 PM »
Aw, no, Rat! See what this topic has done?! NOOO, I created it! I'm the reason Rat is leaving! WHHYYYYYYY!!!?  :'(
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Offline oohhboy

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #69 on: December 17, 2016, 05:24:09 AM »
I still think it is far too premature to merge Hand-held and console. You can update/re-purpose Hand-held to include mobile games. It can carry on in that way and I don't think Nintendo is going to stop mobile gaming any time soon.
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #70 on: December 17, 2016, 09:21:47 AM »
I'm not sure what can be done to inject this place with new life. I think simplifying the forum is a good idea and I wouldn't mind karma (or at least a way to thumbs up a post) coming back, but those are small fixes. The real issue is that new people have to find this place, specifically us, compelling. And are we?
The problem with Karma is that some people took it really seriously. It turned into this weird economy of popularity which is counterproductive for encouraging new members to stick around. Karma got so out of control that I don't think it's worth having. At one point, I requested to have my smite count listed as one billion because who cares? However, trying to explain to people that Karma ultimately didn't matter was much more difficult than just not having it.

An applaud/thumbs up system for individual posts is a better solution as long as it isn't accompanied by smite/thumbs down. It should be about fostering positivity than reintroducing a system in which people feel like they're being judged. One potential problem is it may discourage discussion. Instead of responding to a post, someone may just +1 and move on. Well, that's the opposite point of a message board.

The biggest issue is what I actually like about NWR. The long time forum members all "know" each other. We can make jokes at each other's expense and just have some good discussions. At the same time, it's hard for new forum members to break through the collective comradery and feel like part of the group. It's like going to a party where you don't know anyone.

Offline Phil

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #71 on: December 17, 2016, 12:46:41 PM »
Maybe the question I am posing isn't even correct or have any truth to it, so if so, then I apologize!

Regardless, I have noticed that new users that remain active are few and far in-between.

Now, this is just my theory, which may be totally unsubstantiated, but I notice that we basically have a clique/club of personalities here at NWR's forums that are well-established. We're all pretty close for the most part (well, as "close" as one can be as personalities on a message board forum), so that might make new users feel like outsiders and make it seem hard to fit in.

In what ways could we make new users feel more like they're a part of something great instead of feel like they're on the outside looking in?

Just food for thought. I'm going to eat a sandwich now since my brain ate its food, but now my stomach wants food!

We've finally gone full circle, dear friends!
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #72 on: December 17, 2016, 01:12:58 PM »
Well, good luck in life Rat! I hope the best for you. And you know where to find us if you even find your way back here.


I thought karma was fun, but then again I took it as a joke too. I do remember a few new folks asking about it and at least one person was driven nuts because of it.
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Offline King of Twitch

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #73 on: December 17, 2016, 03:05:16 PM »
Quote
One potential problem is it may discourage discussion. Instead of responding to a post, someone may just +1 and move on. Well, that's the opposite point of a message board.

This is a good point. And this:

Quote
It's like going to a party where you don't know anyone.

We have to make it more like Cheers but it's impossible if ppl aren't signing up in the first place. How does Scientology keep getting great numbers year after year? Should look into that
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Why do you think NWR's forums rarely get active new members?
« Reply #74 on: December 17, 2016, 03:35:12 PM »
I keep asking Tom Cruise to sign up here but he always says he's too busy because he's making a movie or communicating with other Thetans via telepathy or testing couches for furniture stores. But I'll keep on him for the good of these forums. One day, it'll happen, I tells ya. One day.....
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