The Forum's yearly check up

[treefrog]

Coppinpr indicated that he has his own opinion as to why posting occasionally drops off in the Forum.
Let's hear some constructive idears so something can be done to rectify the problem. ROGER

I doubt it will change… There are a very small hardcore group that regularly post and respond to posts. A large % of new subscribers will have one query on one machine they have, or are considering and, once that is addressed, are gone. Then there are the large number of watchers… It is staggering how many subscribers joined 10+ years ago and never posted a thing. I met a few colleagues at a collectors' meet who will talk to me about things that I have posted, but are not even registered, but will pop in and have a look…

You tell me, apathy, are private people, don’t like forums or the people on them. As per a conversation I was having at the recent collectors' meet, the most important thing about this site is not about how to fix etc, but the large plethora of information that has been stored over the years: pictures, info on makes etc. As far as I am aware, no other place like this will exist, other than a few books and Coppin’s site.

People turned to Facebook and some regular posters on here now seem to use that entity more. For me they are not personal, often uncontrolled and full of people sharing their shiny machines or trying to sell… There are at least half a dozen larger groups now and the data in them is unstructured. Quite a few also have a post approval process to in theory stop spam, which is annoying.

What is more worrying, without naming names, but of the top 50 contributors there are quite a few who have not logged in for 2 years. Of course a few may have passed away or have more important things to do in life.

[tallstory]

Couldn't agree more TF. I wouldn't touch Facebook et al with a barge pole but the information and help here has proved invaluable in my restoration projects.

However the sheer knowledge of some members can be intimidating. I'm sure it makes some members wary of posting and risking their wroth (and sarcasm).

[coppinpr]

However the sheer knowledge of some members can be intimidating. I'm sure it makes some members wary of posting and risking their wroth (and sarcasm)

true

The real key to any forum, on any subject, is post volume. there needs to be a continuous stream of posts so people think to take a daily/weekly look, on a specialist forum like ours its not always possible to post serious questions, answers and new info directly related to our somewhat narrow subject,there isn't enough of it . So there needs to be a stream of semi-relevant posts that can be interesting but not riveting, some could be slightly humorous and some a little off-subject, this keeps the forum alive(in fact ANY forum alive) I used to try and do this and others like Roger do the same, but that's when the sarcasm and wroth come in, if the post isn't about the difference in the size of a ball in a 1955 Bryans machine and a 1956 model some members consider it unworthy of the forum, it's like a newspaper (anyone remember them? they were made to wrap fish and chips up in ) if you only put the worthy stories in, 90% of the paper would be empty(on some days 100%) papers need gap fillers and so do forums. I'm not blaming Mr P or the moderators for this at all. although I do think Mr P could encourage more posts by changing or expanding some of the categories (we still have a section "Mechanical Memories Magazine" which closed down 8 years ago,has had 5 topics in 8 years and 3 posts in the last 4 years !!. it has some great info, so archive it and free up the category.
One interesting idea is to have a revolving category where members contribute to a specific subject (Whales machines, Pace bandits, allwin themes, whatever), members post photos, memories, fixes, whatever, after a set time ( 1 month,2 months 3 months) any good info gleaned goes into the archives, the category is emptied and a new subject installed, these tend to keep a forum fresh and busier Trouble is Mr P does a massive amount of work just keeping the forum going, I for one would not ask him to do more.

[tim575]

Agree and needing different topics now and then to not be too narrow. I check this forum daily but my interest is in the penny arcade games, not gambling machines which is the majority of topics here. However, I do read all new updates as there are often interesting bits of knowledge about restoration tips or company history tossed in... I do also check a couple Facebook groups as there is plenty of good info there at times, but as noted it is not structured well like this forum is and tends to be extremely narrow focused topics.

[pennymachines]

I do think Mr P could encourage more posts by changing or expanding some of the categories (we still have a section "Mechanical Memories Magazine" which closed down 8 years ago,has had 5 topics in 8 years and 3 posts in the last 4 years !!. it has some great info, so archive it and free up the category.

I've acted upon suggestions for new categories in the past, and will gladly consider ideas for any others that might be deemed useful. The Mechanical Memories Magazine category is effectively an archive now, albeit not locked against posting. I'm not sure there's much to be gained by rechristening it 'archive' (which is of course already a site category). I removed the main site navigation links to it some years ago.

One interesting idea is to have a revolving category where members contribute to a specific subject (Whales machines, Pace bandits, allwin themes, whatever), members post photos, memories, fixes, whatever, after a set time ( 1 month,2 months 3 months) any good info gleaned goes into the archives, the category is emptied and a new subject installed, these tend to keep a forum fresh and busier Trouble is Mr P does a massive amount of work just keeping the forum going, I for one would not ask him to do more.

Apart from the extra work, it might be contentious if the moderators and I picked out posts worth retaining or deleting. Although I already have that 'power', if I was exercising it as a matter of course, my biases would be all too apparent.

The intent for the Forum was to provide a unique and useful accumulating resource (and it's been more successful in that objective than I imagined). I see the social hub aspect as a necessary, hopefully pleasant and entertaining, but secondary adjunct to that primary project.

No doubt vintage coin-op will remain very niche. This, plus the general nature of forums, which Treefrog mentioned, makes a certain ebb and flow of activity inevitable. I suspect efforts to artificially boost user input would be a fool's errand.

The correct size of a ball in a 1955 Bryans allwin, or the purpose of Buckley's sacrificial kicker plate, may sound anoraky to anyone who doesn't need to know, but it is precisely for answers to such questions that folk come here. Posting for no purpose (like daily rag 'gap fillers') would to my mind dilute the usefulness of the Forum, making it harder to find relevant content and potentially alienating our core members. I think it better to accept (and perhaps consider ourselves lucky) that this will remain a minority sport.

With regard to not intimidating posters, based upon feedback, I think we're generally considered quite a friendly, welcoming group, but there's always room for improvement. Cultivating patience, tolerance, politeness, taking our anti-grumpy meds. and being sensitive to the very real misinterpretation hazards of text only communication are ongoing challenges.

[coppinpr]

oh well, not much point continuing with this thread then, clearly, No changes coming because everything is already perfect

I definitely did NOT say questions like the ball size shouldn't be there,of course, they should, what I did say was there is not enough of that kind of question to keep the site busy, which is perhaps why the annual number of posts has dropped so much in the last 3 years. There would not be any reason to edit a revolving category if you felt that too personalised, the whole thing could be moved as a sub catogry under a new heading of archived monthly subjects after all ,no other categories have anything removed, so just archive the lot, as I said, you do a lot of work and i wouldn't wish any more on you

[dutchboy]

Reading the posts recently made in this post, I read a lot of good, true and honest posts. After the Covid problems I think the world changed a bit and also the people did. The last months I did almost nothing with my few machines but hope to work on my Clubmaster in the weekend and than post about it. What I did see at the forum is that almost no one is logged in. Now there were 70 guests and three people logged in. Do people want to stay anonymous these days?
Greetings hans.

[john t peterson]

I remember communicating with Mr. PM prior to the launch of the site. He said Pennymachines would be the premier site for these games which we love. I imagine even he had no idea how true that prediction would prove out. The wealth of information here is unparalleled anywhere on the internet. I live in dread the day it ceases to exist. Even so, there is an ebb and flow common to all ventures. For some, it is a passion worthy of daily attendance. For others, it is a tool, picked up when facing a particular challenge. Supported by a band of talented moderators and loyal followers, Captained by the inimitable Mr. P, we go boldly where no man has gone before. Full speed ahead!

J Peterson
First Mate, USA

[arrgee]

Well said John, I echo your thoughts and views

[pennymachines]

Thank you JP & Arrgee.

What I did see at the forum is that almost no one is logged in. Now there were 70 guests and three people logged in. Do people want to stay anonymous these days?

I guess many visitors don't need to sign in or register to post a question because the answer's already here!

No changes coming because everything is already perfect

I didn't mean to give that impression. I'm grateful for your input and apologise for not saying so. I must have forgotten to take my grumpy tablets.

I'm always tinkering with, and seeking to improve the site. Much is unseen, like security, anti-spam, software upgrades, increased data storage (currently 50GB) etc. The new Arena (regaining functionality lost to outdated software) was last year's hugely time-consuming project; the recently improved Arena/Museum/Archive search system was unannounced and possibly unnoticed; badpenny's post reactions suggestion has proven a valuable addition; and I have bigger ideas for 2024.

If you think a new forum category is needed, let me know what it should be called, and I'll set it up. If it gains traction that would be great. If it doesn't, after 6 months (or a period of your choosing) I can redistribute any posts to existing categories.