Have you seen this? Boardreader.com - General Tiki

T the_devils_tool Grand Member (1 year) North Texas Joined: Oct 20, 2015 Posts: 35	T the_devils_tool Posted posted on Sat, Oct 29, 2016 11:28 AM As a relatively new user (to this board), I'll present two positions. One is the alarmist version, the other is the reality version. All IMO. The alarmist version is that it's not a matter of if the board crashes and you lose all the historical data, it's a matter of when. I wouldn't want to jinx anyone, but eventually hosts like to get you off their old servers and onto their newer platforms, a lot of times those transitions don't go smoothly. I'm a member of a different board on the interwebs that has been around since 1995 or 1996, I joined in 1997 (gretschpages.com). The moderator did a lot of work over the years trying different forum software, stabilized it each time, reimported old discussions, coded all kinds of new and exciting things, etc. Within the last two or three years (out of nowhere) the board database crashed, only minimal information was saved. Eventually it happens, these are just 1's and 0's. So with that said, if I see something I like on tikiroom/tikicentral, I save it, archive.org is nothing to rely on - it rarely can archive complex discussion board software. The wealth of information on this board is amazing, and database crash or two away from losing something that can never be fully recreated. (That being said, I don't know the backup process for this board, but I work in IT, your backup is only good if it actually restores when you want it to. I can't tell you then number of times we've backed up bad data for a month straight and then tried to restore it to no avail) The reality version is that forums create pivot points for people who are interested in deeper conversation on whatever topic they're interested in and that search engines pick up. It doesn't matter if it's cars, guitars, tiki or basket weaving. Forums had a much larger place pre-facebook, and that's the reality - but the depth of discussion still has value. I find stuff about how to work on my cars archived on many forums - not on a facebook posts. Having been a member of gretschpages since my daughter was born (and is now 18), I've found that all discussion boards follow the same cycles of boom/bust and there's much of the "things were better when...." regardless of when they joined. As a new user here I can tell there was a boom on this board quite a few years ago, and things have quieted down since. I can also understand the "Back in My Day" sentiment, when I was really active on the other board, that was my favorite time. I can't bring back the excitement about it that I had 18 years ago - it's just not possible. It my mind it isn't as much about what tiki central needs to bring new users. This site has a user base already, there's a billion links from any search engines that point directly here. I'm sure this site isn't hurting for users, however some people would prefer more active users - how many lurkers visit? Is a better idea engaging those users who aren't commenting but are lurking and figure out how to engage their input? People who thought that gretschpages needed to be improved created their own forums and did things the way they thought they should be done. Along those lines, here's a great tack from one of the managers of one of my other volunteer gigs: Me: Hey, I have this great idea about how our organization can do this thing Manager: Say, that is a great idea, how are YOU going to implement it and put it into action? Lastly, being a site admin/moderator is the most thankless job I can imagine. Something that many people take on as a part-time unpaid "fun thing to do" become overwhelmingly time consuming to the point where there's not enough time in the day. The internet is 24 hours a day and it's pretty obvious that all kinds of personality types mixing in one central location need a mediator/day-care monitor which is more than even a part-time mod can do over the long term without being burned out. People have a misconception that a forum is a democracy, it's really not even though it masquerades as it's own "thing" and we get all upset about freedom of speech, etc. But I digress. So, this was kind of rambling, and again all In My Option, for whatever it's worth. Kudos to everyone who have the passion to be involved in somthing like this - it has immense value (historical and present day) if you TL/DR this I don't blame you. :)

As a relatively new user (to this board), I'll present two positions. One is the alarmist version, the other is the reality version. All IMO.

The alarmist version is that it's not a matter of if the board crashes and you lose all the historical data, it's a matter of when. I wouldn't want to jinx anyone, but eventually hosts like to get you off their old servers and onto their newer platforms, a lot of times those transitions don't go smoothly. I'm a member of a different board on the interwebs that has been around since 1995 or 1996, I joined in 1997 (gretschpages.com). The moderator did a lot of work over the years trying different forum software, stabilized it each time, reimported old discussions, coded all kinds of new and exciting things, etc. Within the last two or three years (out of nowhere) the board database crashed, only minimal information was saved. Eventually it happens, these are just 1's and 0's. So with that said, if I see something I like on tikiroom/tikicentral, I save it, archive.org is nothing to rely on - it rarely can archive complex discussion board software. The wealth of information on this board is amazing, and database crash or two away from losing something that can never be fully recreated. (That being said, I don't know the backup process for this board, but I work in IT, your backup is only good if it actually restores when you want it to. I can't tell you then number of times we've backed up bad data for a month straight and then tried to restore it to no avail)

The reality version is that forums create pivot points for people who are interested in deeper conversation on whatever topic they're interested in and that search engines pick up. It doesn't matter if it's cars, guitars, tiki or basket weaving. Forums had a much larger place pre-facebook, and that's the reality - but the depth of discussion still has value. I find stuff about how to work on my cars archived on many forums - not on a facebook posts. Having been a member of gretschpages since my daughter was born (and is now 18), I've found that all discussion boards follow the same cycles of boom/bust and there's much of the "things were better when...." regardless of when they joined. As a new user here I can tell there was a boom on this board quite a few years ago, and things have quieted down since. I can also understand the "Back in My Day" sentiment, when I was really active on the other board, that was my favorite time. I can't bring back the excitement about it that I had 18 years ago - it's just not possible.

It my mind it isn't as much about what tiki central needs to bring new users. This site has a user base already, there's a billion links from any search engines that point directly here. I'm sure this site isn't hurting for users, however some people would prefer more active users - how many lurkers visit? Is a better idea engaging those users who aren't commenting but are lurking and figure out how to engage their input?
People who thought that gretschpages needed to be improved created their own forums and did things the way they thought they should be done. Along those lines, here's a great tack from one of the managers of one of my other volunteer gigs:

Me: Hey, I have this great idea about how our organization can do this thing

Manager: Say, that is a great idea, how are YOU going to implement it and put it into action?

Lastly, being a site admin/moderator is the most thankless job I can imagine. Something that many people take on as a part-time unpaid "fun thing to do" become overwhelmingly time consuming to the point where there's not enough time in the day. The internet is 24 hours a day and it's pretty obvious that all kinds of personality types mixing in one central location need a mediator/day-care monitor which is more than even a part-time mod can do over the long term without being burned out. People have a misconception that a forum is a democracy, it's really not even though it masquerades as it's own "thing" and we get all upset about freedom of speech, etc. But I digress.

So, this was kind of rambling, and again all In My Option, for whatever it's worth.

Kudos to everyone who have the passion to be involved in somthing like this - it has immense value (historical and present day) if you TL/DR this I don't blame you. :)

Post #769818 by the_devils_tool on Sat, Oct 29, 2016 11:28 AM