(11-29-2014 06:56 PM)MichiganRelicHunter Wrote: [ -> ]Why does it seem like only Joe, Bones, Ed, Me, Ron, Ray, sometimes PittsburghWill, and just a few others only on occasion make any sort of "finds" post??
We need more people posting more stuff more often around here 
I know there's more than just 6 or 8 of us finding stuff here - what gives/why don't some of the other 200+ members? post some finds??
Well, I think there's several culprits at hand here, Wayne. This might be on the longer side...
1. There's simply a god awful amount of finds forums online. Kinda like Starbucks, they're everywhere. That's one of the biggest issues.
2. For #2, let me use an example. Let's say you lived in Chicago and loved roller hockey. You are a fanatic. So, you want to join a team. You look online, do some research, and discover there are only 3 teams in the Chicago area. You pick one of the teams and become a member. So too does every other roller hockey fan in that area, they have all joined one of those 3 clubs. For 10 years, these are the ONLY 3 clubs in Chicago. In year 11, two more roller hockey teams start up. They obviously need members to grow. There's a problem though. Seems Chicago is damn near out of experienced roller hockey players, as they've been all members of those 3 clubs for years. So...
The 2 new roller hockey clubs face two possibilities: Try and recruit the guys from those other teams, or, wait for new roller hockey fans in the area to enter the hobby, and target them as members. The former idea is VERY tough, as most of the time, when a person has been a member of a group or fraternity for a long time, studies show that, even if they HATE the group, they would rather stay, because it's easier, and they keep their seniority. People dislike change. Yes, there are guys that are members of multiple clubs, forums, etc., however, this is the exception rather than the rule. Now, the problem with the latter idea...
Going after the new blood is what most new forums do, and has been where a large portion of our energies have been directed. This is a LOT easier than trying to woo guys from other forums, but, there are still issues. The primary issue, is that when a person newer to the hobby signs up here, and sees all of our wonderful finds, do you think that they will want to post their bits & pieces they found with their Ace 250? Of course, we WANT to see everything! We love it all, but, a new person mightn't perceive it that way. So, MANY people become members and simply lurk in the background, until they are comfortable joining, when they have a bit more experience, better finds, etc.
3. Even once a new member signs up, that's only have the battle. Remember, all of the names you mentioned above, and a few others, we are DIE HARDS. We'll go out naked in sub-zero temperatures with 15" of snow on the ground, just to dig dirt. The vast majority of the hobby aren't like this. Rather, it's a guy that works 5 or 6 days a week, and maybe gets out to hunt once every week or two. He likes the hobby, but can take it or leave it. Maybe he does it to relieve stress, help lose weight, etc. I would venture to say this is 80 to 90% of people in the hobby. The proverbial weekend warrior. So, if someone like this joins our site, or ANY site, do you see the problem?
4. I use the word "community" a lot, and you guys must wonder why? Am I a nut? Possibly, lol, yet, the reason I use that word is simple...It takes EVERY members help from within the community to help it grow. One person CANNOT do it alone. God bless Bones, as I think we would've gone under about 6 months ago without his daily posts! Obviously, I'm kidding, but, you get my point. If everyone was like Bones, this place would be humming. However, that isn't a reality due to different work schedules members have, interest levels in the hobby, weather patterns across the country (half the US is buried in snow), etc. But...
Every member needs to do the best he or she can do for OUR community. Another case in point, Will PM'd me about a month ago asking if he can have a banner to our forum that he can use in his signature on another site. I told him it wouldn't be good to advertise another competing forum in his signature link, as that is like stealing members, and he didn't care if they booted him from the other site! Lol. I made him re-think the idea and we found a workaround, but, hopefully you see my point. He was willing to do something for OUR community. I Dig History, out of sheer kindness, offered to put our website info at the beginning of all of his videos. I didn't ask, he offered. Not only is this a gentleman, but he's a team player. Ed went and had business cards made with some info about our forum on the bottom of them. This is what needs to spread. Here's a simple one...
If each of our most valuable, active guys here just went and told 3 or 4 other hunters about us, to come over and join, that would be terrific. And that stuff spreads, too. We could pick up 25 or 50 new members in a snap.
Wayne, I can go on, but, quite frankly, it's boring stuff. Unfortunately, there isn't one simple thing that can be fixed to remedy the problem. It's an amalgam of issues. I'll leave you with this though...
Everything is what you make of it. I've seen kids be given $150 toy and get bored with it and start crying, and I've seen other kids that can play with a simple cardboard box for 5 hours. Aside from posting finds, we ALL need to start creating threads, asking questions, giving opinions, etc. on the forum. Do everything you can to spread the word and get others here. Believe me, we are NOT going away. I NEVER give up. Period. But this isn't all about me, it's about US. It's that simple.
(11-29-2014 08:42 PM)Dusty Wrote: [ -> ]I think a good portion of the members who joined here did it because they were posting something for sale more than to participate in a forum. I would not expect this to ever become someplace with lots of posts and topics. There really isn't a great deal more activity on Tom's site and it's been around lot longer.
I seldom look at finds ,,,much more interested in technical stuff than pictures myself , but that's just me.
This isn't necessarily correct, Dusty. Separate usernames and passwords are needed for memberships in both sites. Meaning, if someone JUST wanted to post an item for sale, they could have done so, and never even entered the forum. Yes, we DO have more users on the classifieds versus the forum, however, this is by design. As some of the original members know, the driving force behind this whole venture, the brains, was the classifieds. There was never meant to be a forum, but, as a die hard hunter myself, I said, heck, if I'm going to post, I should do it on my site instead of someone else's, so, the forum was born.
Tnet, Friendly and all those other sites need to be judged by a separate yardstick, as they have tens of thousands of members, and were originally the first hunting forums on the market, which is why they are the leaders. As far as Tom's site...
His scope and size are more in tune with ours. Yet, even on his site, there are times, my hand to god, that a new thread will not be created in a day or two. Members will simply respond to an older thread or just browse. No activity. Dead.
There is a pretty accurate gauge when it comes to forums, which is this...
On average, only about 5 to 10% of ANY forum's members are the most active. If someone has 1,000 members, 50 to 100 members will contribute 90% of the content, with the other 900 members posting occasionally, to almost never, to just lurking. This is fact.
I'm simply a conduit. I put the system in place for YOU guys to use. There is NO other detecting forum that gives away gear to reward activity, not many forums operate WITHOUT advertising sponsors, not many forums have the love and personalized attention we do. Whether you realize it or not, you're a part of something special. Something that WILL be huge. But, Rome wasn't built in a day, nor was it built by one man.
Again, everything is what you guy's make of it. I'm the type of guy, I don't stop. Everyday I'm cracking along working on something; Google+ page, reddit, youtube, etc., etc., etc. I'm getting my hands dirty. Even if we gain one or two members from all this work, what's wrong with that. I value each and every member
