Where have the DGNers gone?

[prick]

What has happened to so many of our beloved regular members who posted all the time? So many of our greats have disappeared. I know as we get older that careers, children and life in general get in the way but how long does it take todo a weekly post or two? We all need to get on their butts and let them know they are greatly missed!

[Eevee]

Maybe some lurk but feel no need to post very often.

[prick]

Maybe some lurk but feel no need to post very often.

Im sure thats true to a point but an occasional post would be nice. I do think tho that many dont look up DGN at all anymore and thats sad.

[Eevee]

Im sure thats true to a point but an occasional post would be nice. I do think tho that many dont look up DGN at all anymore and thats sad.

This may be true. A lot of people could have completely drifted from the site.

But for me, I drifted away from it for a while...only checking it occasionally, and now I'm back and posting a decent amount. So they may come back, just in due time.

[prick]

This may be true. A lot of people could have completely drifted from the site.

But for me, I drifted away from it for a while...only checking it occasionally, and now I'm back and posting a decent amount. So they may come back, just in due time.

I hope so because so many of them are missed as you were for that time.

[Raev]

We all go through it. Before I was a mod, I was just a random poster. One that vanished for 6 months.

[Destroit]

The ebb and flow, ups and downs, of DGN is such a steady phenomenon, it could seriously be an academic subject. It's like the stock market.

Some DO disappear for "forever". I do wonder where these people go to, or where their lives are taking them, and why they never came back. But I was used to this easy come, easy go, notion of people from hanging out in Royal Oak back in high school...trust me, there was a way higher turnover rate.

[phee]

I disappeared forever once, it was great.

[Nevar (5)]

I blame Facebook.

[Slogo]

I try to come back more...sometimes it slips me mind

[Troy Spiral (13)]

What has happened to so many of our beloved regular members who posted all the time? So many of our greats have disappeared. I know as we get older that careers, children and life in general get in the way but how long does it take todo a weekly post or two? We all need to get on their butts and let them know they are greatly missed!

When i was looking into starting a message board I read articles about how people were for instance on the Seattle Gothic message board at that time, and another board in support of the Florida (Ybor) community, had a ever-shifting population. (11+ years ago)

Since literally the first 30 days DGN started 10 years ago who we think of as "regulars" have come and gone, or come and go and then return or not. Sometime around week 3 through 5 of the original incarnation of DGN this has been something people mention (pricks post) and has been continual every few months for a decade. People just have shifting interests/priorities or they feel like "its not the same" anymore. Which, its never the same more than 5 minutes in a row or wander off for a million different reasons.

Its a problem with all online communities (all communities period really, but especially online were your not physically rooted to a location and/or don't have "real life people" constantly reminding you, which most don't on DGN).

Who I think of as the "the DGNers" is very different than say somone that started on DGN in 2005 might think of or 2011 or any time you care to pick.

[n0Mad]

I'm still here El Guapo!

[Enishi]

I check in every day, but most of the threads generally don't grab me much. I'm usually on other sites for my main interests.

Edited August 20, 2011 by Enishi

[Slogo]

I notice 3 REALLY big times when people joined...2005, 2008, and recently there's been a big glut of those joining.

When I say people joining I'm referring to people who are kind of well known (no offense to anyone).

For instance

DGN Class of 08

Slogo (aka Awesome-Man), pRick, Eevee, Stormknight, Raev, Enishi (aka Royal Canadian), Gimp, Skyfire, Lord of Sins (aka douchebag), Candyman, Mina, Jessika FR, TW Bunny, peelingchrome...ok I'm getting tired.

It seems to move in cycles is what I'm saying I guess

[n0Mad]

@Slogo - I can see that. I'm class of '05 and have a lot of old school friends, but I also see class of '08 as having many people I consider great DGN friends.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

I notice 3 REALLY big times when people joined...2005, 2008, and recently there's been a big glut of those joining.

When I say people joining I'm referring to people who are kind of well known (no offense to anyone).

For instance

DGN Class of 08

Slogo (aka Awesome-Man), pRick, Eevee, Stormknight, Raev, Enishi (aka Royal Canadian), Gimp, Skyfire, Lord of Sins (aka douchebag), Candyman, Mina, Jessika FR, TW Bunny, peelingchrome...ok I'm getting tired.

It seems to move in cycles is what I'm saying I guess

@Slogo - I can see that. I'm class of '05 and have a lot of old school friends, but I also see class of '08 as having many people I consider great DGN friends.

The logs from around 2004 to mid 2009 the board was (generally with a few severe dips) on what I'll call high-activity (somewhere between 9k - 18k posts and 15-40 registrations a month), with peaks in 2005 and 2008 but generally that whole period is pretty active. Then a massive dip down from the end of 2009 until about a month ago, were activity (measured by registrations/posts) is more this month (and the month isn't over yet) than both previous months combined.

As predicted by all the articles I read, promotion and moderator on-board activity is the key. You lose people, even on the most "sticky" websites due to attrition and the glue that generally creates that "sticky" aspect of a community is the mod staffs actions. The engine that keeps the place growing (offsetting the inevitable loss to attrition) is the promotion.

The dips in activity all coincide with a lack of promotion and moderator activity (both on-board and real life). The peaks all coincide with a rise in promotion and moderator activity, lagging by about a month.

Only way to improve a place is to improve it, its not magic, its effort. Basically people have to care enough to promote, interested enough to post and be around, and be active in real life (for a local-ish board like this), especially the "staff" which can include a lot of the key posters who may not actually be official staff members.

[Fierce Critter]

Slogo (aka Awesome-Man), pRick, Eevee, Stormknight, Raev, Enishi (aka Royal Canadian), Gimp, Skyfire, Lord of Sins (aka douchebag), Candyman, Mina, Jessika FR, TW Bunny, peelingchrome...ok I'm getting tired.

My most prolific period was between 2001 and around 2005. I stopped posting little by little and then stopped altogether around 2007 maybe. I don't know any of the people you've mentioned.

DGN has generations. :D I guess that makes me a Great Grandma.

Anyway, I stopped posting for some reasons that would basically be complaints and I don't feel like rehashing past bullshit. But I also stopped posting because I've made it a point to stop living a virtual, online life and get more active offline. Message boards on the whole just have become a lot less important to me than they once were.

[taysteewonderbunny]

My most prolific period was between 2001 and around 2005. I stopped posting little by little and then stopped altogether around 2007 maybe. I don't know any of the people you've mentioned.

DGN has generations. :D I guess that makes me a Great Grandma.

Anyway, I stopped posting for some reasons that would basically be complaints and I don't feel like rehashing past bullshit. But I also stopped posting because I've made it a point to stop living a virtual, online life and get more active offline. Message boards on the whole just have become a lot less important to me than they once were.

I can see that. I also have a good number of friends on here who just live too far to see on a regular enough basis. I'm not much of a phone person, but I like to keep in touch. fb does that a little bit, but because there are no topic divisions, it's really hard to have anything that qualifies as a conversation. Additionally, fb is weird in that it hides posts from me. DGN is pretty dependable. No, I can't chat on it (though that would be nice) and people are on too irregularly to make PM's a timely thing (more like e-mail, in which case, why don't I just send an e-mail?). Still, it has it's charms. And, though, when I get really busy, I can't check it as much as I like, I hope it will be a part of my life for years to come.

[Marblez]

Maan, I thought looking through City Club's pictures on FB made me feel old. I don't even have a clue abou the people Slogo mentioned. Nor many of the others either for that matter. My life changed dramatically (as well it needed to) and I had to move on. Still I wll always have a huge soft spot for DGN.

My golden age on DGN starred such names as: Troy, ManicQueen, Torn Asunder, WaterLily, Titus, spacin, Reaper, Daevion, Scary Guy, Jane Dead, Jarodaka, Lord Shaper, Brandy Phaedra (forget her DGN name), Gaf, Cowboy Dave, KitKat, Meg, Saechalyn, Nienna, Angelbeast, Taz, ...

[Marblez]

and phee, and rayne, and miszyn and whats his name too.

[candyman]

In the last few months there haven't been too many "interesting" posts. Usually a few would peak my interest but recently it has been a majority of the "What are you thinking" kinds of threads and yeah...can't do those all too often. The military doesn't keep me off of the forum, although they are watching because I got a warning about facebook stuff (OOPS), its just that other sites are more infused with threads of alot of the current events so I gravitate there...although the conversation is not the same there as it is here...

[Joey Deadcat]

It is feeling like Myspace in here, isn't it?

[n0Mad]

I still check DGN on a daily basis. The past several months though have been somebody promoting something in Music or Events, Phee and I playing the Counting Game, and the occasional pic of a hot chick. That's about it. I wish it was more active again.

[DJ Nocker]

I still check DGN on a daily basis. The past several months though have been somebody promoting something in Music or Events, Phee and I playing the Counting Game, and the occasional pic of a hot chick. That's about it. I wish it was more active again.

Maybe if people went to the events that people promote, more conversation/pics would be posted to spark more interest

[torn asunder]

Maybe if people went to the events that people promote, more conversation/pics would be posted to spark more interest

might be true... the more people hang out, the more there is to talk about. however, i'm personally of the opinion that the recent exodus is primarily due to people socializing on facebook, rather than here. it's very discouraging, but there's really nothing to be done about that. i wish people felt more of a sense of ownership of/responsibility for this place, remembered all of the good friends they made here & would stay active *here* in order for others to be able to do the same...