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This forum is slowing down a lot

15K views 149 replies 52 participants last post by  Poseidon 
#1 ·
Years ago majority of the post was related to SF and SG modification and forum was really active:icon_cool:. Then the SH came, sales went up and the board slow down a bit. Now it seems after a few years of SJ even higher sales this board slows down to almost as slow as CR-V forum.:mob:

Anybody notice the same thing?:crying:
Is going mainstream have anything to do with this?
It the CVT only option on XT killing the fun for most enthusiast?
Or its just newer and more complex cars not mod friendly at all..
 
#5 ·
Facebook groups have impacted activity significantly.

I also believe the new forum layout and mobile views (which suck) are major contributing factors. Last year a few months after the new forum layout was implemented, I took a long look at the site activity logs and stats.

There was a substantial drop in forum activity. I confronted the forum owners and technical team about it, but they claim that the new site layout does not track stats the same as the old one and that site traffic is increasing. Traffic (visitors) may be increasing, but the number of people logging in and posting is far lower than it used to be. The new forum layout along with the incessant complaints of new owners drove away many of the old-timers and enthusiasts.

I am not sure how a basic stat like "New Posts" could be impacted.

Here is a random period of time from this year vs last year (before the update). The same exact dates, and membership was LOWER last year than it is now. The slowest weeks last year were still busier than this year's most active.

I am going to dig deeper and investigate with the forum tech team.
 

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#14 ·
Facebook groups have impacted activity significantly.
As the owner/operator of Nature, Wildlife and Landscape Photography Resource (just Google "nature photography"), this has been my observation as well. I started the site in 2000 and it steadily grew until around 2008 -2010, at which point the site was receiving 1.2 million page views a month. It is now down to about a quarter of that. People who no longer post their nature photos on NPN do so on Facebook.

I also agree that forum updates can impact activity. I'm not really that bothered by the change here, but on NPN not updating the site for a long time hurt it.

While Subaru still offers the WRX (which IMO is better than ever), the Forester is not in the same league anymore in terms of appeal to the performance enthusiast. So I have to agree that is having an impact as well.

But this I can tell you with great confidence - enthusiast sites of all kinds (cars, photography, etc.) are taking a big hit from social media. The Internet is no longer a place dominated by many small players, but is now driven by HUGE bucks. While I developed the NPN site in my spare time on my home PC, photo sites such as www.500px.com started off with major VC investment and professional programmers and website developers. The Internet is big business today - when NPN went online in 2000, Mark Zuckerberg was 15 years old. In 2014, FB generated over 14 billion dollars in advertising revenue.

I think sites like this one (and NPN) will always have a niche market, but the big-buck sites is where all the traffic has gone today.
 
#6 ·
In my opinion, the forum activity changed when the forum format was changed. :frown:

If there wasn't the option to revert back to the classic forum look & feel, there is a good possibility that I'd be gone. :icon_eek:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]
 
#11 · (Edited)
Facebook has nothing to do with it, brand changed so did the people. Used Imprezas and Foresters are either bought by kids or people that know enough to not need to ask. New appliance-like Forester is bought by people who are not enthusiasts. Generalization, harsh but true.

But, how about that oil loss?

There has been some great info on here lately, like the guy in Arizona sharing his SJ tuning experience.

In general, IMO people used to come here to be with like-minded enthusiasts, they'd introduce themselves in New Member area, share pictures, personal stuff. Now, new members come looking for advice on pricing or oil consumption. "Hi, glad to be here, any local meets?" vs complaining -- which do you prefer to actively discuss?

Stan
 
#21 ·
Brand changed so did the people. Used Imprezas and Foresters are either bought by kids or people that know enough to not need to ask. New appliance-like Forester is bought by people who are not enthusiasts. Generalization, harsh but true.

But, how about that oil loss?

There has been some great info on here lately, like the guy in Arizona sharing his SJ tuning experience.

In general, IMO people used to come here to be with like-minded enthusiasts, they'd introduce themselves in New Member area, share pictures, personal stuff. Now, new members come looking for advice on pricing or oil consumption.

Stan
Completely agree^^^^. As Subaru achieves mass appeal the enthusiast pool has become diluted by non-enthusiast mainstream interests. I love this forum though and I hope all you folks that have made this forum great stick around and continue to contribute useful info, interesting opinions and continue to be enthusiastic about the brand.
 
#12 ·
Hey all I'm new here but check in every day! I'm also a mod on couple of other sites (not car related) and have noticed that there are periods of highs and lows depending on the seasons, people are busy with other things and don't visit the forums. I find this site to be well laid out and managed very well :) the search engines have been easy to use and have been great help for me so far. Keep up the great work and I'll be here every day! Now about this oil usage issue'..........lol Scotty
 
#15 · (Edited)
As far as Facebook vs. Forums: they are totally different formats.

FB is for quick 2-sentence posts, more real-time interraction, swearing allowed in a very closed environment. Info won't make it into search engines. FB is useless for historical data.

Forums contain great amount of detailed info that makes it into search engines and lives on if it's relevant. It allowes people who don't even know what a Forester is to find things relevant to their search.

Forum > FB unless you are trying to draw attention without having much substance. FB is much better for music promption, photography, making people help out when others have an emergency. Forums are better if you are looking to read detailed info.

Stan
 
#16 ·
As far as Facebook vs. Forums: they are totally different formats.

FB is for quick 2-sentence posts, more real-time interraction, swearing allowed in a very closed environment. Info won't make it into search engines. FB is useless for historical data.

Forums contain great amount of detailed info that makes it into search engines and lives on if it's relevant. It allowes people who don't even know what a Forester is to find things relevant to their search.

Forum > FB unless you are trying to draw attention without having much substance.

Stan
Agreed 100% !

But, it is still drawing page views/activity levels down on enthusiast forums. IMO, forums need to step up their game.

In the case of NPN, we just did a major graphics/functionality update that allows higher resolution photo files to be posted. The JPEG compression used on FB is aggressive and detrimental to those who are trying to showcase their photos. At this point, we seem to have an uptick since the updates were implemented.

I think forums need to identify their niche and then use social media to drive traffic to them. But, this is often easier said then done....
 
#18 ·
I grumbled when the new layout arrived because:

1. It was a surprise, even to us on the all volunteer staff, representing a significant violation of the 'no surprises pact' we thought we had made with the forum owners.

2. It had a lot of nasty errors that took a long time (if ever) to get discovered and fixed. Some were so basic and fundamental that it made us wonder what sort of testing had actually taken place.

But as with changes to Facebook or other familiar places, I've gotten used to it and am starting to forget what the differences might have been.

I tend to lean toward the change in market segment theory advanced by some posts in this thread. We are seeing different kinds of questions, different kind of participation.
 
#20 ·
It all goes back to users, interface aside. Forums exsisted for long time, with plenty pictures, videos and interraction. There is less visual content on here now because posters don't have anything unique to contribute. Again, generalizing.

Stan
 
#22 ·
Social media definitely took a bite out of the activity here, but I'll have to agree with Stan... Forester went from a performance "sleeper" during the heyday of the SG gen XT, which had a dedicated following of people willing to share their knowledge, to just another CUV that people are cross-shopping with other brands. It is no longer sparking the same kind of enthusiast community because the audience has changed.

Much of the SG and SF crowd is now active in the various facebok groups - they tend to be younger now that the XT has become fairly affordable in the used market - and their cars are either modded out already because they bought them that way, or they just don't care enough to share the experience in much detail. Many of the facebook sf.org group members are not active here, some seem to not even know of this place, really. Sign of the times. Makes you wonder about sites like Scoobymods. So much time and effort went into the detailed how-to's there, and most current Subaru owners have never even heard of it.
 
#23 ·
I've been part of this forum for a little over a year, in fact I joined the day I bought my SG. I don't post much but the well organized how-to guides have made it possible for me to service my car. When I do get stuck and can't find an answer by searching, other users tend to respond in less than twenty four hours. Personally, I prefer asking on the forum since its ability to keep a detailed and searchable history makes it infinitely more useful than a Facebook post.

Also some people tend to go all elitist internet mechanic on me when I have a question and that's not very helpful.
 
#24 ·
Also some people tend to go all elitist internet mechanic on me when I have a question and that's not very helpful.
I have seen this across all forums I have belonged to over the years. Unfortunately by the time the non-elitist members get to the post, a new member may already have been scared off.


I think another issue when forums slow down is when enthusiasts move on to a different vehicle and forum, which means there are less members posting.
 
#25 ·
As a younger guy who doesn't use social media such as FB and instagram this forum has had more impact on my buying decision than any other resource. I value competent and relevant information which facebook rarely if ever supplies. a lot of my friends who use social media religiously seem much more interested in posting information related to social priorities, example: posting pictures of your sweet new ride so you can feel the accomplishment through short comments from friends of little substance, instead of creating a write up specific to a mod or problem that probably will only be seen by those it is relevant to.

im sure its much more complicated than that but to me it seems a lot of people these days are much more concerned with social approval than actually contributing something of substance.
I think the culture of instant gratification versus gratification through time and work also may have an effect on peoples willingness to take the extra time and share their detailed experiences instead of finding the information they need and giving no extra time to perhaps expand on the original information that allowed them to accomplish their goal in the first place.
 
#26 ·
Facebook and other social media have its place but for me I am not comfotable with what people could know about you once you joint facebook.

Forum definetly much better for me that I could seek and give advice withouit needing to share all other private information.

The platform itself definetly are not as entusiat friendly as SG. Its not too uncommon to see SG XT or STI on track, autocross, rallycross and drag racing that surprise peoples. The SH and SJ does not seem to surprise people in the same manner.
 
#32 ·
I'm one that has not been around lately. The mobile view is definitely a factor. I'm aware it can be turned off but can't be bothered usually.

Also I'm not doing much to my Foz. I've got it how I want it, expecting death anytime for her, but she just won't die!! 180k miles this coming week. She drinks oil like an alcoholic drinks beer, but I forgive her as she still never spills it. More oil consumption since adding headers, but worth it for power especially this summer with a/c...made a suprising difference with a/c running. Still has never left me stranded, great car....best I've purchased.
 
#33 ·
Judging from the number of posts to this thread today, this forum is alive & well.
I found it to be a good source if information & entertainment even though I never did & never will mod my car.
I too believe that a new app has a lot of room for improvement & I must confess frustrated me more than once, but I think a big part of reduction in posts is that a lot of answers can be found by searching the forums & internet.
Societal changes may play a part as well, young people tend to stay with parents, have less money while cost of modding is probably going up.
Additionally, I think that cars are not as much in focus as they used to be.
It is all computers & social media now.
 
#34 ·
I agree that a lot of answers can be found by searching the forums, felt no need to post. I installed the "CEM" LED lights this past Tuesday. All the steps were available online. Same thing when I was trying to decide between Husky Liners and Weathertechs or aftermarket mudflaps, I searched up a thread.
 
#35 ·
So it is just possible that this forum is, in part, a victim of its own success.
It wold be interesting to see the browsing activity, not just posts & not by members only.
I often "hits" to this forum when doing a general Google search.
 
#36 ·
The mobile app can be turned off, that's what I do. I find most (all?) mobile equivalents of a websites lack something I find important, so I turn them off. I have yet to find a mobile app actually worth using vs. just going to a webpage, aside from Facebook and Youtube.

Stan
 
#38 ·
That is part of the problem.

There is the Autoguide App, which I don't like. I view the forum in my browser instead.

When viewing in the browser, the forum defaults to the "enhanced mobile view" which is terrible. When you opt out of that view, you get the basic mobile view, which is also terrible. Finally you can opt to view the full site, which is what I do.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Right, I did try the app, and it has advantages, like alerting you when you were quoted which I don't need (I do use the FB app for that because our band uses the FB Messanger for communication). I dislike the mobile view, so I just use the plain website view on my phone.

The main advantage of using mobile devices to me (iPhone, iPad) which most never talk about (for some strange reason -- it's a great marketing point!) is being able to switch keyboard to type in a different language. You can't do that on a computer -- you can change the language that gets typed, but you still don't know what keys to hit on your English-lettered keyboard. This isn't needed on this site.

Stan
 
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