neowin Why are you less active than you used to on the Neowin forums?

[Cereal Bawks]

I don't frequent RWI that much, but religion and politics are bee's nests either way.

[Steven P. Administrators]

What about quality of articles on the front page? Shouldn't that be a point as well? May be it's me, but I don't really like the quality of articles on the home page except the detailed product reviews done by Tim Schiesser which I found a breath of fresh air when those started......particularly when I got really tired spotting too many spelling mistakes from certain someone's articles all the time or articles which simply seemed like a copy paste from the actual article i.e. quoting/unquoting too much...... and that too on the home page. And very frankly I never had to try too hard - it just gets really irritating to concentrate on the actual topic or content of the article when such aspects are that visible!

The impressions to articles has overtaken the forums quite significantly, it has shot up and stayed consistent for the past year whereas before it was always sporadic, and definitely the amount of hits we're getting now when we were copy/pasting other websites articles.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

The worst era of the Neowin forums imho was the 2006/2007 period when too much activity came from 'Snyper and his nuthugging groupies' (to paraphrase an ex-mod). It made a joke out of the community, and not a good one at that.

He's probably grown up in the years since his ban, but at the time I wasn't sad at all to see Snyper gone. Despite the shocked reactions from a lot of members.

[Owen W Veteran]

Social media, to be honest killed forums for me. The format of forums is just too stagnant and old, and not dynamic enough for me.

[Glassed Silver]

Stuff like this

From the Forums is AWESOME. Thank you guys for that!!!!!!!!!! It brings cool needles out of the massive haystack that is Neowin and definitely gets me posting more. Keep up things like this. I think tho that we should have competitions (Not even with prizes) just to build competition and effort on the forums. Like Best Desktop of the month! Games are good on here too I miss them.

I'm a very competitive parson and I garuntee a lot of members here are hence all the arguments. leveraging that in a constructive way might be a winner.

This, and the thing about the games shall be fixed soon by me. (Y)

I'll kick up the A vs B game again and come up with new games.

@Neobond:

I'm working on my "pseudo-editorial" series, I'll hand in the first article rather soon, can't give any dates, though. :)

Glassed Silver:mac

[Farstrider]

It's because I seem to be a conversation stopper. Most threads I post on seem to end with my post unless I started the thread.

Also, I seem to get ignored a lot! It feels like my contributions are sort of uninteresting.

I'm not moaning as much as making an observation, maybe my posts are boring or irrelevant!

Oh anther reason is, I generally post/read interesting mini spy threads that catch my eye. Problem with that is, the same threads are generally there for days at a time while there are hot debates about certain things. That's fine but after a certain point, people just start repeating the same thing over and over, generally getting into an argument about some sidetracked issue. "you're putting words in my mouth, this is my opinion, you're simply wrong" etc, it really does get boring,

A pretty good synopsis I would say and I am sure that you are not the only one who gets this impression!

I used to be a extremely active participant and poster. Now I have posted maybe 4 times in 5 years, and would not have seen this if it weren't for a certain FB G+ friend of mine posting it (and I must say the title did catch my interest!).

A combination of a change in Neowin's focus (and all sites change, develop and grow - I am not saying change is bad), plus an increase in immature members. This caused emphasis away from technical topics and support, which holds my interest.

Neowin and I drifted apart.

And there is one other specific incident that influenced me. But that is not something for discussion.

BTW, Meph, great topic! It got me back, if only for a minute. :D

Good to "hear" from you again Mark, I really do miss your insight and the manner in which you always treated other members here! The "Linux" guys here need some good advice from time to time, you should make a turn every now and then and give us a hand! All the best!

[neo1911]

When you post some strong views on particular product/company, you are automatically labelled as rabid fanboy without giving any explanation.

[Scorpus Veteran]

...except the detailed product reviews done by Tim Schiesser which I found a breath of fresh air when those started.....

Thanks, but other writers here also produce some great content (it's a team effort after all). I admit our news coverage is sometimes a bit... off... but we are trying to improve it all the time; sometimes its just hard to drop old habits, so to speak ;)

[+John. Subscriber¹]

I'm only less active on the posting side. Life got busier and I retracted to just getting the information I need, rather than commenting on it. Slowly getting back into regular posting mode though!

[Digitalx]

Just isn't the same for several reasons both news and forums getting worse off quality wise and a lot of the content now is questionable whether it should even be there, specially on the front page news. Other then that it's rather complacent and hasn't got much going for it in general. News ? elsewhere ... communicating/support among peers about I.T, gaming whatever can be done on social networking without all the nonsense that goes or gets said here. On top of that forum and news moderation is inconsistent, patchy and subjective at best of times. So of course appeal is gone.

Just like Windows 8, this place has become akin to a deflated balloon.

[Glassed Silver]

When you post some strong views on particular product/company, you are automatically labelled as rabid fanboy without giving any explanation.

This.

It's getting out of hand at times.

I'm often regarded as a fair member who happens to buy Apple stuff, but knows and talks about its disadvantages, when I talk about advantages and compare to other products, it's so easy to get slapped by someone who doesn't even do a few moments of checking my track on here.

It's ridiculous, I know I'm on Neowin, but I think what makes this Microsoft focused site so great is that everyone can feel at home here and get his or her fix on whatever interests him or her.

I started out being a Microsoft fanboy, yes, fanboy even. I once hated Linux, laughed about Apple etc...

The whole thing, then around 2004ish I turned into an Apple fan, still using and liking MS products, Google and others, too.

The hostility towards me at times is often rather amusing, because many show how small minded they are, whilst some are just outright rude and respect-less and I can't stand that.

Same goes with the FPN comments, where people still get a hard-on from objecting my way of posting.

Apparently they are bored or don't have a big thing for individuality and jump to conclusions.

It's laughable and the more these guys blow the wind in my face, the stronger I will walk against it, because I won't buckle down for idiots. :laugh:

Not crying about it, just seconding Mark here.

edit / addition:

[...] forum and news moderation is inconsistent, patchy and subjective at best of times. So of course appeal is gone.

[...]

VERY true.

News comment moderation is lax as hell.

Glassed Silver:mac

[Guest]

Do you ever use this? http://www.neowin.ne...arch_app=forums It's up on the nav bar but maybe we can make it stand out a bit better?

I'm aware of it but it's not "just there".

My neowin usage is usually:

a) go to front page

b) is anything interesting?

c) read it and maybe comment!

d) if there's nothing new or interesting on the front page or if I'm done with it, glance at the mini spy for other discussion.

Maybe just list more stuff on the mini spy? 10 posts and add a link on there to more new content Maybe even turn it into an extendable div, as you move over the mini spy, it turns into a full new content section. I'd definitely use that!

Oh, there is one! Then yes, make it more obvious :)

[Thygod]

I have never been much of a "poster". I only post when I have something to contribute. I miss people like markjensen, he and I used to have very professional discussion about technical topics, Routers, TCP/IP and other very technical stuff.

It seems to me that these type of discussions do not happen as often now.

The wave of +1 posts sealed the deal for me. If it were for +1 posts I would have as many posts (which I don't really give a hoot about) as neobond, I would just post +1 to everything he said.

I have been a Neowin fan for a very long time. I remember being very mad and sad during the "closing" days back in the day. Then the site was resurrected. I still visit Neowin daily, but don't delve into the forums as much.

This next comment might seem off topic but it really has to do with why I don't come into the forums as much.

Consumerization of IT

I think that technology wise everything is kind of "meh!!!" these days. My first computer was a Commodore +4. Since then the technological changes that ocurred before Windows XP were incredible. Every year you would get a differential of features that was unbelievable. Every version of Windows was a big leap. Every release of Linux was a big leap. Every generation of game consoles was a big leap. Every time a new Video card came out it was a big leap. Every time a new video codec or a new game came out it was a big leap. I think that Microsoft still sells a ***load of Windows software because the user base has grown, not because geeks want the greatest and latest (which used to be the case). Apple has recognized this trend, capitalized on it and even made it worse.

I sit here, with an Xbox that is almost 10 years old, wating for the next big thing. Which will probably not come soon enough considering that TV's are still just HD when they could be 4x and 8x.

It seems to me that everything after Windows XP has been incremental. No big world changing software, so many first person shooters that even Casual games have taken over (what can be worse than that, I like Angry Birds, but c'mon!!!!). This has created a world where the uber-geeks have mostly disappeared. You get a lot of people just repeating things they read somewhere else, without bringing anything new to the discussion.

As techology gets less interesting so does technological forums such as Neowin.

[_neutrino Veteran]

I used to spend more time on the forums however, my new job prohibits me from spending as much time not to mention when I am at home i have a 5 month old daughter that gets most of my attention.

[Guest]

Oh, I think another point, specifically for myself is that social media has certainly *not* killed neowin for me. I don't have many techie friends and I don't want to add people who I don't know to my social sites just to get their regurgetating of content they've found elsewhere. I think it's nice keeping the two seperate.

[Guest]

As techology gets less interesting so does technological forums such as Neowin.

I can relate with this, things seem to be slowing down. It's not that technology is getting boring, it just takes so long for something new and innovative to come along and even when it does, people are so sceptical and not willing to really give it a chance like they used to.

I suppose things are less technical on the forums these days because we encounter fewer complex issues, software has improved as well as hardware. I mean there are easy overclocks in BIOS' now which do the work for you even. People still have problems with windows but the cure for issues are more obvious. BSODs are very good at pointing at a solution, often able to offer a google search with a direct answer to fix the issue. Hardware problems are generally down to simple things like overheating, hard drive failure, poor power supplies etc.

People looking for new hardware suggestions generally get the same few answers, there's only so many good options. How many times have you seen someone ask about a computer build and have the i5 2500k suggested as the best cpu? I think it's probably still the most praised cpu on here! For good reason though, there aren't better solutions to the question at this point.

The most advanced thing I see discussed on the forums these days are threads on networking which are usually tied to a few users who like to have an overly complex home network, which is fine because it's for learning and the fun of it.

Perhaps one of the reasons that the forums are less technical is because the breadth of topics reduces the depth of the content. What I mean is, if you want to talk about hardware, there are whole separate forums out there just for this sort of discussion. If you're into programming, there are large separate communities specifically for that too. The list goes on. I still love neowin though, I personally like how broad the content here is :)

[Lingwo]

I think i post the same as i used to which isn't a lot really. I am in the mindset though of "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say it". I personally think the forum has got a better quality of member than it used to and while posts may be down the quality of post that remain is usually pretty high. There are still a few threads/members which i think are useless but that is my personal opinion though.

Also i think the posts were down because of Rappy not posting. People tried to fill the void they just could not keep up with the rate he posts at. :laugh:

We joke but seriously it is probably the reason post counts dropped.

[richter]

While I was never a frequent poster on Neowin, I used to spent hours each day reading topics on the forums and news on main page. It used to be vibrant place with many interesting and knowledgeable members who were willing to help and discuss various things on somewhat higher level. I enjoyed balanced POV and used to learn a lot from others. I rarely see people who used to frequent the forums anymore. The topics and answers have become predictable. If thing X is discussed, without reading replies I know what majority will say. I dislike picking sides and the way you have to opt out for x or y.

I don't want to sound negative. Neowin has come a long way. I still visit it and it was my homepage for a long time, until recently. You can't really do much about people's attitude. I just do miss more up-to date news on the site itself. There was tons of exclusive stories, leaks, rumours on the site before any other sites had them. Things change, people move on, unfortunately with it the coverage of the latest and the greatest has taken the hit as well.

I like more technical discussions - software, support, design, security... The interest has shifted. Not much is contributed to majority of topics discussed. The ones who try to do so are over voiced by frivolous posts.

[J400uk]

For me its a few reasons... not as interested as I used to be, don't have as much free time and when I do use forums tend to go for the UK based ones instead. Still drop by on here occasionally though hence the post :)

[McoreD]

Why are you less active than you used to on the Neowin forums, or what prevents you from being more active?

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[BGM]

*sigh*

i have a life away from the internet... i do love irc, but i just forget to go on it now more and more.

might pop in to say high sometime this week ;)

[PyX]

- The new design really made me consider abandoning Neowin, and I still do at times.

- There are a few people here that I can?t stand.

- Every second I pass outside Neowin forums, I do something more constructive in my life.

That sums it up.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Snyper and his nuthugging groupies

Or maybe (as someone I would assume is included in that phrase - which could be seen as an attack - but it's ok to attack some and not others) - I knew the guy IRL and his posts genuinely made me laugh because I understood where he was coming from.

[firey]

My problem is that people jump down your throat the minute you don't agree with something. I understand it is a discussion board and that we are free to voice our opinions, but when something is posted that contradicts the general feel of a topic you are instantly wrong.

For example: a what would you change about Windows 8. If you say metro you are told that metro is here to stay, you can't do anything, it's far better than everything else, etc, etc. It is very hard to find someone who can accept your opinion and provide solid information besides "because I think so" to back it up. I admit I do that sometimes however I try and back up what I am saying with things that don't just apply to how I feel.

I also find many times that people who are not staff, and have no real pull, trying to run the forums. Telling you what you can and cannot post, telling you how to act and behave on the forums. These people then get mad when you don't listen to them. I feel like half of them are just trying to suck up to the Admins and Moderators and are actually worse than Admins and Moderators in the control aspect.

[what]

IRC is much more fun. Despite certain problems we've had in the past, everyone pokes fun out of each other for anything and I think most people have a laugh in there.

When I come onto the forums or into the comments, the same gags are taken the wrong way. If you state your opinion without saying "imo", someone points out that you aren't speaking for everyone, or if you do make it clear, you get a boatload of people rushing to tell you how ignorant you are.

I've also generally lost interest in a lot of things Neowin covers. If IRC is talking about tech I use it to make jokes rather than discuss. If I said "loldroid" on the forums as much as I do in IRC I'd have been banned months ago.