Saintsational is dying...

[saintsRrising]

Saintsational is dying...

A few days before our first game and virtually no activity on the board. Saintsational is not the buzzing, thriving forum it was.

Activity in terms of creating new threads and commenting on threads looks to have dropped off compared to previous years. If this keeps up the Forum will, if it has not already, spriral down to be just a ghost forum of about 3 people slanging one another.

Do you care?

Does anyone care?

Is anything, to be done about it? What can be done about it?

What are the reasons?

What are the problems?

_______________________________________

IMO some big current problems are:

* Virtually no moderation which means that some posters are allowed to endlessly trash threads (yes we all get worked up from time to time and write things best not, but there are some that way overdo it in thread after thread after thread) and that threads are allowed to go off tangent etc (unlike other forums).

* Closed forum which while keeping trollsters out may also be keeping out the fresh blood that any forum needs.

[plugger66]

Obviously I am one person you are talking about but i can handle the truth.

Anyway on topic. Just had a quick look at last year compared to this year. Leading up to last year there were 5 pages of threads in the month of March and this year there have been 6 pages. Obviously there could be less responses but i think that gives an indication that there isnt much difference. There was even a thread started last year saying it was the most unemotional start to round one ever.

My response to these things is people always say things were better in the past. An example that things havent changed much is when you bump a thread. There is abuse, going off topic and pretty much the same things that happen today.

Having said that the forum should be open to all and there should be mods on this forum as much as possible. My motto is have fun and go saints.

[Stillwaiting]

I think it's partly due to us not having all these dramas like we have had. In the mid 2000 we had the excitement of becoming a power and we all thought a flag was on the way. Thomas was sacked, Milne joey issue, the jimmied affair, 2 gfs, ball then Lyon going and a lot of this happening ore season.

This season we have a coach who seems to be going quietly about his business and no dramas at the club so nothing really to go on about.

[saintspremiers]

I think it's partly due to us not having all these dramas like we have had. In the mid 2000 we had the excitement of becoming a power and we all thought a flag was on the way. Thomas was sacked, Milne joey issue, the jimmied affair, 2 gfs, ball then Lyon going and a lot of this happening ore season.

This season we have a coach who seems to be going quietly about his business and no dramas at the club so nothing really to go on about.

Correct, but not allowing unregistered peeps in sucks.

I think Facebook and Twitter are partly to blame also, as they are only getting more and more popular.

Also, standard newspaper websites are now interactive and have become their own mini forums.

[FQF]

There has been a huge increase in the number of outlets for fans to broadcast their support.

Look at the comments on the St Kilda page on facebook for example and you'll see hundreds of supporters voicing their opinions.

Equally as significant is that the team is at a bit of a lull stage. We could finish 6th or we could finish 12th, and I think that neither prediction is unreasonable.

When we're successful that generates positive energy and a lot more willingness to join in and discuss.

[FQF]

I think it's partly due to us not having all these dramas like we have had. In the mid 2000 we had the excitement of becoming a power and we all thought a flag was on the way. Thomas was sacked, Milne joey issue, the jimmied affair, 2 gfs, ball then Lyon going and a lot of this happening ore season.

This season we have a coach who seems to be going quietly about his business and no dramas at the club so nothing really to go on about.

Correct, but not allowing unregistered peeps in sucks.

I think Facebook and Twitter are partly to blame also, as they are only getting more and more popular.

Also, standard newspaper websites are now interactive and have become their own mini forums.

Correct, there are a few things that spring to mind to increase the acitivity over here.

1. Open the forum up so unregistered people can read. Readers eventually turn into posters.

2. Make this forum more compatible to use on smartphones and tablets. At the moment, it is a nightmare to navigate unless you're on a computer.

3. A bit of simple advertising won't go astray. The Saintsational facebook page should be more active for a start, perhaps posting a link to certain threads on the main St Kilda page.

[SainterK]

wait and see the activity on here if we lose

[Superboot]

I have something of a problem with the pre-season threads. So much speculation and discussion for the sake of it. You can only keep it going for so long. I have no idea which rookie might end up playing 100 games, so there's no point in getting involved!!

It will all change as soon as our season starts.

In the mean time, I look out for "What's the best ever live album" type threads!!

[saintsRrising]

wait and see the activity on here if we lose

Not my preferred solution to fix the problem

[markp]

The admin and mods have abandoned the place.

Surely when that happens any forum is doomed to go down the toilet.

Oh, but we have a foe button now....

[SainterK]

Did someone just post something?

[saintspremiers]

wait and see the activity on here if we lose

True.

Also, with our first game being interstate against a new side is hardly exciting.

To me, the real start to the season is Friday week against Richmond - our first Melborne game.

[Saints94]

I for one miss the old days, Harvey's Deciple etc. Now days it just seems its all arguments against eachother

[markp]

In spite of her blatant baiting, and at times frustratingly reasonable and pleasant demeanour, Sainter K should already be a mod.

She'd sort out all the potty mouths!

Saintbrat too.

[SunburySaint]

I think it's partly due to us not having all these dramas like we have had. In the mid 2000 we had the excitement of becoming a power and we all thought a flag was on the way. Thomas was sacked, Milne joey issue, the jimmied affair, 2 gfs, ball then Lyon going and a lot of this happening ore season.

This season we have a coach who seems to be going quietly about his business and no dramas at the club so nothing really to go on about.

Correct, but not allowing unregistered peeps in sucks.

I think Facebook and Twitter are partly to blame also, as they are only getting more and more popular.

Also, standard newspaper websites are now interactive and have become their own mini forums.

Correct, there are a few things that spring to mind to increase the acitivity over here.

1. Open the forum up so unregistered people can read. Readers eventually turn into posters.

This is one thing I agree with, I was a "reader" or "browser" of this forum for about 2 years before I joined...( I wont mention the fact that I waited 1 year for someone to approve my profile after initially registering)

[matrix]

seriously?
its taken up to round one to figure out the forum is dying?

the 'owners'
you know, the people that asked for YOURE money to get the site back on track after all the crashes and hacks are totally responsible
they will not let the site go, they will not accept anyone new into the fold and they certainly wont listen to advice

had the perfect chacne to make this the best looking best running site on the net for an afl team
what changed?
seriously ....what has changed from the old saintsational???

as MP said...........we have a foe button
way to keep up with everything

not that i like twitter or FB but there isnt even any links to that stuff
they were offered help
they were offered help and money
but no
they wanted to take your money before even explaining the direction the site was going in and the features and benefits it would have
now you know why nothing was said

look at the end result???????

i blame those that run it and those that think they 'own' it
yup, its there fault 'we' a boring un attractive looking site

[bigcarl]

* Closed forum which while keeping trollsters out may also be keeping out the fresh blood that any forum needs.

I agree the signs don't look good for Saintsational and there are quite a few factors, many of which have been touched upon in this thread.

COMPETITION from many other outlets including other social media like Twitter and Facebook.

THE club's relative lack of success last season and the fact we are rebuilding.

THREAD hijacking and constant negativity from a few serial offenders.

NO moderation.

On your point above, I think we should go back to being an open forum. I was on the St Kilda board on BigFooty recently and there seems to be much more activity there than here. The only reason I don't jump ship and go over there is habit, I guess, and some sort of misguided loyalty. Also, outside trolls are easily identifiable and easily dealt with. Inside trolls are more of a concern.

Who would make the decision to go back to being an open forum and how can it be achieved?

[Munga]

Probably not such a bad thing, not much to whinge about

[markp]

* Closed forum which while keeping trollsters out may also be keeping out the fresh blood that any forum needs.

I agree the signs don't look good for Saintsational and there are quite a few factors, many of which have been touched upon in this thread.

COMPETITION from many other outlets including other social media like Twitter and Facebook.

THE club's relative lack of success last season and the fact we are rebuilding.

THREAD hijacking and constant negativity from a few serial offenders.

NO moderation.

On your point above, I think we should go back to being an open forum. I was on the St Kilda board on BigFooty recently and there seems to be much more activity there than here. The only reason I don't jump ship and go over there is habit, I guess, and some sort of misguided loyalty. Also, outside trolls are easily identifiable and easily dealt with. Inside trolls are more of a concern.

Who would make the decision to go back to being an open forum and how can it be achieved?

Opening the forum would obviously improve traffic and interest, but it would need vigilant moderation.

[bigcarl]

Opening the forum would obviously improve traffic and interest, but it would need vigilant moderation.

No more so than it does now IMO.

[markp]

Opening the forum would obviously improve traffic and interest, but it would need vigilant moderation.

No more so than it does now IMO.

True!

Alas, no interest there, it would seem.

[matrix]

whats having it open going to change??
will it change the look? the ability of the forum?
will it bring anything new or create an environment that is any better???

nope

this place could have gone the way truesainters did
this forum HAS the numbers, it has the posters, it has the gossip the fights the footy talk, it has everything that keeps us coming back each day to see what else has been posted.
it could have all the ability and options that TS has
it wouldve been the best looking saints forum/discussion site on the internet

sure, it hasnt been hacked for a while by some idiots and we also now have a foe button, but seriously...this was an update??
cant even do a friggin poll anymore

no fb or twitter links, or updates
no embedding of you tube
no polls
no competitions
no ads to help with running costs (that could be hidden if you donate towards server costs)

brilliant stuff
people offered their help, people that KNOW about forums and pcs and servers and sites and web stuff
they were not contacted or asked for opinions when they offered help...for free

funny thing is the site had the numbers, and by actually making the site much more better and more up to date it couldve grown even more, which would have brought in more donations and then helped to make the site grow again

couldnt run a bath......

[saint66au]

Most of the strongest reason have all been detailed above

1. Competition. Facebook, Twitter, etc etc were not in widespread use in the mid 2000's when this Forum was at its most popular. There was really only SS and BF as serious players.

2. Casual readers not being to access the site without registering first is now crazy. Old-school forums like this need all te exposure they can get and this silly roadblock is put in place. Spammers and trolls have got better vehicles for their vitriol now rather than here. Take a chance and open the bloody site up! bigcarl is right..BF used to have only a fraction of the traffic of this site..now its far ahead of it.

3, Theres far too much arguing, sledging and general unpleasantness. Doesnt exactly engender new members reading all the crap..another roadblock

4. Nope..the mods arent here anywhere near enough. Its not just a case of "if it aint broke dont fix it"...there has to be a bit of pride shown in the site by those who take on the role of running it...in the form of some presence. Look at BF..the mods there post all the time

[mad saint guy]

Agree with opening up the sight. Becomes very unlikely that many saints fans would track this site down and register without having seen anything rather than just going to bigfooty or a facebook/news discussion page.

plugger's constant trolling has gone a long way to killing the site. You don't want someone harassing anyone who posts an opinion about football on a football fan forum, and it's in just about every thread made for the past 5 or 6 years. That is much more off putting than occasionally getting a worked-up opposition fan causing a stir before a match. I don't mind the mods generally easing off but at a certain point they do need to intervene, and I agree it's good to have them posting more frequently - even if you'll get the occasional idiot who has a go at them for posting their own opinion from a 'position of power'

[saintsRrising]

Obviously I am one person you are talking about but i can handle the truth.

.

But can you deal with the truth?

Like at AA the first step is acknowledging the problem. The second is acting upon it. Will you? If you don't then pretty soon you will be here by yourself.

No one minds an occasional relapse...as long as it is occassional!