Paul Willis
As a new member, I’d like to offer two reasons why the forum isn’t well used.
1. If the numbers using the forum are very low, uptake will be low, how many members are using the forum v total numbers of members? It’s always going to be only be a low percentage of members using the forum, so if we are only talking 50 members using the forum, that’s always going to be a low posting rate. Figures need to be compiled compared to other forums. It’s not possible to simply say it’s the software, the answer lies in comparing numbers with other forums first off.
I can’t crunch the numbers for the EMGS forum, as I don’t see a way of obtaining the data.
But crunching the numbers for the Scalefour Society, since the Forum was launched there have been a total of 1,452 users registered to use it. And of those 547 users have posted at least once. So that is something over a third that have said “something”.
There have been a total number of posts of 93,096. Or an average of 170 posts per user. Of course, some of them like me post far more than average. And the total number is in part because the Scalefour Forum was launched several years before the EMGS one.
2. We are busy posting elsewhere! Western Thunder for example.
I don’t think the software is the problem particularly, no software is perfect and nor is the user of it!
Tony Harris
And that is also a very valid point. And some societies like 2FS and S Scale have their own areas on third party forums that act as gathering points for modellers, rendering the existence of, and need for, a society forum moot.
It’s really about what the EMGS and its members want from this facility. And that genuinely isn’t a question I can answer. From a purely personal perspective, I’m happy to post here to help members out. But I wouldn’t post here (or on RMWeb after the Great Photo Debacle) if I wanted to document my modelling because I find the software unreliable.
Rather than just Bill and his editorial, and PaulS and his response here, are there other views that Board members have as to the purpose of this little corner of the internet?
Best,
Paul