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Now that you're all here reading the forums again…..

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This topic contains 40 replies, has 16 voices, and was last updated by  onlyonepinman 3 years, 1 month ago.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 41 total)
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  • #1613952

    phaidknott
    7011xp
    Cult of Games Member

    Just wondering if you feel (like me) that the use of the Discord server has had a massive (and negative effect) on the forum traffic?

    Up until now (and the temptation of winning something) posting in the forums has definitely been a little dead (compared to things pre-discord when things used to move at a heady pace), and even during the weekenders discussions/topics seem to be triggered from traffic on the discord server (rather than the forums).

    Discord may be easier and possibly more “real time” in getting a response, but spitting the discussion traffic into two streams does neither any good (as posters will prefer one to use over the other). Just wondering if it’s time to gather things all back under the one method so we can all start talking to each other again (rather than being in two “camps”). I’d much prefer going back to just using the forums (as I fear change), but would go over to Discord if posters decided that was the way to go.

    But at the moment, having the two systems certainly makes the BoW site seem a little “dead” when it comes to forum traffic (when if you add discord traffic in as well it most certainly isn’t) to newcomers to the site.

    #1613960

    templar007
    52354xp
    Cult of Games Member

    I’d have to agree that using the Discord Server has had an effect on the Forums here.

     

    I remember in the pre Wayland days that the guys often reminded folks NOT to post only in the Discord but to use the Forums and Project System.

     

    I’ve not used Discord in awhile on my computer, as I can’t stand the constant ‘DING’ of notices and when I shut it down it seems to crash and muck up my PC some how.

     

    Maybe I’ll have to fire it up again and see if it’s still misbehaving.

     

    Too bad the ‘OTT Tech Wizards’ can’t write some glorious CODE that would bring written words from  Discord straight into the Forums here.  BUT, I’m sure that they would need to sacrifice several PC parts, two chickens, burn copies of code books, dance a forbidden jig  while wearing 80’s spandex and chanting the theme of the CoG initiation ceremony!  ??    If this happens, I smell Pay per view!!!

     

     

    #1613967

    timchubb
    Keymaster
    3166xp

    Problem is discord and forums are fundamentally different to each other, discord is chat channels, forums are discussions, even on a multi page thread I can easily navigate all comments and the dialog of the discussion without having to be there.  Discord is basically a better version of the chat we had in v1 of the site, sure you can carry on conversations with people over several days but you cant easily catch up, discord is like a pub in my mind

    I wrote a rambling essay on the cog radio discussion thread which covers my thoughts in more detail, in short though different tools for different jobs discord good for chat, interacting with one annother, forums good for discussing, creating an archive and asynchronous communicating discord is not so great if your in different timezones for example apart from the end your day start of my day overlap for example

    As for integrating discord with forums wouldn’t work very well best could do would be to have chat widget on the site which connects to discord

    #1614160

    kiranamida
    5782xp
    Cult of Games Member

    I have to agree with @timchubb on this one. Different tools for different purposes.

    For me, the Discord server has never really taken away from the forums as I never really used the forums. I never really had/made the time to check in on them and keep up with discussion. I am making more of an effort now as I have been in the hobby longer than when I just started and joined up here and I am finding more of interest but that is by the by.

    Discord is something that I leave open to one side whilst I work (Software Consultancy so I spend my days in a home office in front of computers) where it provides background chatter to ease my way through the day.

    From the discussion I have seen since this was brought up on CoG radio, I wonder if this puts my in a minority.

    • This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  kiranamida. Reason: spelling
    #1614180

    brucelea
    7897xp
    Cult of Games Member

    As I am not a regular user of discord, except for RPG use. I have noticed that a lot of topics I would have picked up from the forums seems to be discussed there. There is still the same 24-36hr immediacy of topics on both but at least with a forum you can read it days later and add your thoughts. Those interested in the topic then get to see your points and can respond, with discord it quickly gets lost in all the interference and background noise of general chat. For that reason I still review the topics under discussion but  there has been a definite drop off on the number of posts and more importantly the number of responses.

    #1614227

    captainventanus
    Participant
    4765xp

    Discord and the forums might have different uses but it is inevitable that in relatively small communities like this it is going to fragment things.

    #1614316

    timchubb
    Keymaster
    3166xp

    Interesting point about fragmentation to a degree I agree, but here’s the rub, I think discord for literally what i am painting now, much better than the forums for that, where as the forums work better for what I have painted now, while projects are good for logs

     

    I don’t see any of the 3 as mutually exclusive and in fact are complementary to one annother, often I can see threads starting from a discussion started on discord, and projects highlighted by posts to discord, for me discord is more of a side channel to the site as I said earlier more like a pub or a bar

    #1614347

    crazyredcoat
    Participant
    13642xp

    @templar007 I have the same annoyance with the ‘dings’, but if you do get back into Discord then you can right click on the OTT server button on the left hand side and select ‘mute server’. This basically turns off all audio cues from that server. Makes things a little quieter. 😛

    #1614426

    templar007
    52354xp
    Cult of Games Member

    @crazyredcoat  I’ll give that a try!

    #1614524

    sundancer
    42560xp
    Cult of Games Member

    I think I have one additional point on why the forums are on a decline at times: they are not seen.

    Yes, there is a “Forums” button on top but nobody looks at those. You need to scroll down 3 screens worth of content to so the latest forum entries. Maybe pull those a bit more upwards? Or do a news-ticker-scrolling-text with links to the Forum threads?

    #1614555

    captainventanus
    Participant
    4765xp

    @timchubb One is not better than the other, each has their uses and everyone will have their preferences. When Discord was introduced it certainly felt like the life was sucked out of the forums – I don’t have the analytics to back that up but the change was noticeable quickly. You are right Discord is better for some things and better at conversations. Everyone has a finite amount of time so any time spent on Discord is going to take the time away from forums, projects etc..

    @sundancer That to. I get why the changes were made, but the page isn’t great to navigate or inviting. There is just too much going on.

    #1614595

    danny76
    Participant
    2336xp

    What I like about a forum format is discussion permanence.

    on Discord, things go by quickly as it’s live chat, so you can easily miss a good topic, unless you scroll up 200+ messages sometimes after only an hour. Different channels is good, but there’s still several conversations that fit in one section so it’s still a lot in one place. That and @panzerkaput clogs it up in three channels with his updates 😉

    Forums will always be a draw for me, though I use the discord a lot (and have two others there I use quite a bit, and group conversations etc), but the BoW one isn’t very busy compared to others I can frequent instead (Dakka for instance), though generally a lot better sampling of people.

    #1614623

    panzerkaput
    33931xp
    Cult of Games Member

    Oi lol, But I agree as i think you either have Discord or these Forums not both

    • This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by  panzerkaput.
    #1614625

    blinky465
    17024xp
    Cult of Games Member

    A little while back, @warzan was asking the community how to handle having so many “channels” of communication – forum posts, DMs, Twitter, Facebook, emails, even old-school texting…. and then added Discord into the mix!

    As @timchubb points out, forums and Discord are not mutually exclusive. But we can’t ignore the lived experience of watching forum posts go down, quite noticeably, since the introduction of Discord. And maybe the forums were just filled with “chatter” that has moved onto the Discord platform – but it’s undeniable that traffic has moved from the forums to Discord. The two may not be mutually exclusive; but the way they’re being used by members is treating them as if they are (“I won’t post that on the forum, as quite a few of us were already chatting about that on Discord, and who wants to read all that rubbish again?”)

    Personally, I wouldn’t miss the Discord server if it disappeared, but I’ve certainly missed the forum activity in the last six months or so. @sundancer has put a lot of work into keeping the conversation going on the forum but I felt like even that was becoming a bit “clique-y” as it was the same half-a-dozen or so of us responding, which kind of put me off replying too often too – and as other members appear to have felt the same, the conversation on the forums slowly died away.

    “Use it or lose it” seems to be the order of the day here.

    The way to keep the forums alive and filled with chatter is to…. well, join in and fill them with chatter!

    Everyone to date who has celebrated the Discord channels points out that they keep the channel open during the day (as work arrangements allow for this) and have it on as “background noise”. Which is fine. For everyone who is able to do this. For the rest of us, it’s easy to feel “left out” and not want to join in with an established conversation (since it’s hard to find out where in the conversation you’re jumping in).

    But it feels like we’re just repeating conversations already had.

    I guess the question this kind of thread really brings up is *where* is our community?

     

    #1614635

    sundancer
    42560xp
    Cult of Games Member

    I guess the question this kind of thread really brings up is *where* is our community?

    I really think the problem there is: most of them are at home. And discord mimics “going to the club for a chat” better then forums. And as we have established: you can be active on the discord or the forum but both is a wee bit stressful. Heck, if my main job wouldn’t have me sit at a PC all day I’d be gone from one or the other as well.

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