Official Off-Topic Thread

[Helm]

Doesn't to me. Do you want it to be a ghost town?

[Rydin]

Yes, but I want it to be a flying ghost town in geosynchronous orbit with Earth at a such a fashion where the sun would always be just a minute before high noon.  The cacti would be crispy--the tumbleweeds, burning.  The streets will be filled with sweaty John Waynes and Clint Eastwoods who had challenged each other to duels at high noon, skillfully waiting to draw.  And due to the nature of a floating city, the plumbing would be non-existent.

Do you have something else in mind?

[Helm]

The critique forum seems to attract people, and their art is being critiqued by regulars. So I don't think Pixelation is in any trouble. My question to you was, are you sounding the alarm because you'd like there to be a discussion about something that isn't really happening?

[Darien]

Here's some fun with numbers.

Last month definitely had the lowest number of posts since this incarnation of Pixelation.  Not by a whole lot, though.  I wouldn't be too worried about, although the trend does seem to be a general decline in activity.  Too bad we don't have stats from the Blue Board and Pixelopolis, too... it'd be interesting to look at the activity since Pixelation was founded.  I wonder if it just feels like a ghost town because the there is a high turnover in membership in art boards like this (at least it seems to me).  But as long as the currently active members are posting and learning from each other, Pixelation is doing well, I think.

Isn't our 10th birthday coming up soon, by the way?  

[ptoing]

We have stats of Pixelopolis. We are using the same database, nothing got lost from those days. But yeah, overall there seems to be a decline, but I think we are doing good.

[junkboy]

Okay, so why do people perceive it as a ghost town?

[Rydin]

Sheesh! What happened from August to November 2006?

are you sounding the alarm because you'd like there to be a discussion about something that isn't really happening?

Yep, caught me red-handed, Helm.    Seriously though, what the hell man? Take a chill pill.  I didn't have any sort of devious motivation to post what I did.  I was just thinking last night that I kind of grew up on this forum.  Maybe it's rose-tinted glasses, or maybe it's because I'm such a self-centered wannabe, but it always seemed busier.

[Darien]

I don't know.  I think a big part of Pixelation feeling like an active community is having a core group of people who are actively producing work and critiquing each other.  I haven't been active enough myself to say how the Pixel Art board feels right not, whether we have a solid group of people or just people who wander in for the odd post and who never appear again.  It feels like a ghost town to me because I'm not active and when I browse the forums I see all these names I don't recognize.  Or maybe the forums are just too inactive right now for all the separate boards it has now.  I forget when that happened, but it made more sense when posts per month were over 2000 rather than the 800 or so Pixelation is getting now.  I know I typically don't ever check the challenges board (I have always thought that it was better to keep one or two active challenges stickied in the main Pixel Art board rather than hidden in their own board).  But what really would matter is not how the forums appear to me but how do they appear to the people that are actually active.  Like I said before as long as there is a core group of people who are feeling a benefit from the place I think it should be considered successful.

So basically: when you say people perceive the boards to be a ghost town, who do you mean is feeling that?  Is it just the oldbies who check the place out but don't really post anymore or the newbies?  Helm and ptoing usually have a steadier finger on the pulse on the community than anybody, so if they feel like the place is doing okay it probably is.  Not saying it can't be improved--the numbers don't lie, and frankly most communities could always use more activity.  But I think it would be more beneficial to discuss ways to increase activity on the forums rather than being bummed out about it.  No scratch that--it'd be more beneficial to just start doing things.

Rydin:  I wouldn't take Helm's comment personally; you don't remember the times in Pixelation's past where someone would begin to feel that Pixelation wasn't "what it used to be" and this discussion would start, with little positive outcome?

[Rydin]

For lack of any rational reason, it would almost be fun to smash all the boards together and watch the resulting chaos.

[Josiah]

I guess it would be a good time from me to get active again, I've been missing this place.