Have some of the usual members left Racketboy forums ?

[KalessinDB]

The fact that this surprises you speaks volumes about you.

TLDR/ The fun has been sucked out of the forum.

(I didn't get past this comment 4 pages back before I had to say something so sorry if this has already been beat to death with followup responses)

Comments like this suck the life out of the forums. You really should find something better to do with your time if you dislike it around here so much. It seems like you'd be a lot happier if you did.

On my front, I've always been a casual commenter and not one for super lengthy discussions, but I still visit the site daily and check up on things. I've always tried to contribute to the big events like the charity auction, stgt, but my staple was always the BST section. However thats slowed down a lot the past 12 months so there hasn't been much for me to do. I also think the comments about the retro gaming topics in general just being a bit worn are accurate. However, as we all get older I think the conversations can still evolve and still be really valuable even if they slow down in frequency. I for one will make an effort to participate even more.

TLDR: I STILL LOVE IT AROUND HERE AND ENJOY CHECKING IN ON THE HOT TOPICS DAILY! I WILL BE PARTICIPATING EVEN MORE NOWI

I'm with 8bit here, almost 100%.

[marurun]

On the other hand, there is...good ol' boy club stuff going on at this site....It might not seem that way if you're on the inside of that core group. And, since this is a really old forum, it is understandable that there's a core group of folks who've become insular, and gloss over newer member's posts out of disassociation.

Jesus, folks. Don't you guys have work and families or something?

But seriously, Exhum, I think the issues of new users has a lot to do with slow content flow. We don't get a huge number of new users in total. A lot of new registered users (after adjusting for spammers) are actually folks who just drop in briefly to pump a new project they are working on or their YouTube channel or something, or are stop-and-shops looking for a quick answer or chomping at the bit over the BST rules, and a lot of that has to do with our reputation as an active gaming forum. But without the new content to draw in more potential contributors, we're kinda coasting on past successes.

Key made a great point. We need to be stronger and better at cultivating writers within the community who can create interesting new content that RB can post on the main page and use to draw in more new users. Interesting content brings in folks who want to exchange ideas, not just put a canned message out on as many forums as they can find.

This doesn't mean we don't get new users of value. It does mean that we're not as capable at welcoming new users, because it happens less often these days. We're out of practice, and for the mods, at least, we're also a bit jaded by the types of folks mentioned above. So a lot of the mod activity has focused on maintaining the kind of community we already have and keeping out the crap, because we have fewer opportunities to play the role of welcoming advocates for the forum's greatness (and perhaps we're slower to recognize those opportunities when they occur).

Another part of this is the gradual change in Racketboy's life. The forum is ultimately his, and he doesn't post much these days, for a great many perfectly good reasons. But that just means we need to work harder to try to fill his shoes.

And this gets me thinking. I haven't written any new content for the site in a while. I've found it very hard to be creative in recent years. I used to be a part of bringing in new users. So I'm going to commit! Sort of... I'll happily edit (for grammar, content, wording, etc...) anything someone is willing to write to get posted. I may not have the time or energy to generate new content, but I'm invested in this community and will happily give time to encourage others.

[BogusMeatFactory]

That is the spirit everyone! I am going to go out in a limb and say that I am happy that this topic was brought up and the tension escalated, because we all needed a kick in the pants to realize how much we enjoy the community here and a reminder that there is room to grow and things that can be done.

I think the gog hidden gems article is only the beginning as we have. Huge untapped potential in retro pc games, homebrew, and the rising popularity of the ps2 being considered retro by the younger generation.

All I can say is keep it up, there are some great, original threads popping up on the forum now so I suggest going out of your comfort zone and start scouring. Use your noggin for the power of good!

[Michi]

Key made a great point. We need to be stronger and better at cultivating writers within the community who can create interesting new content that RB can post on the main page and use to draw in more new users.

... I'll happily edit (for grammar, content, wording, etc...) anything someone is willing to write to get posted. I may not have the time or energy to generate new content, but I'm invested in this community and will happily give time to encourage others.

I'd like to take this moment to nominate Bone for an article about the best Falcom games. As our resident Falcom-addict, he is surely the most qualified. But you and Ack would probably have to do some heavy edits to make sure it's not just 15 pages about the unparalleled greatness of Ys...He can save that for a separate article.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Dr. BoneSnapDeez, or Why I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Some Ys.

[CFFJR]

On this subject, I've always wanted to help with site articles.

Is the writing team set, or could I attempt to contribute something? If there's a gap that needs to be filled with a particular type of submission, I'd enjoy tackling the project.

[KalessinDB]

Dr. BoneSnapDeez, or Why I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Some Ys.

Yes.

A thousand times yes.

This needs to be the title of the article.

Bone, I will personally pay you minimum wage to get this article made*

*I completely will not.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Hahaha I wouldn't mind doing a Falcom article. It would have to be about Falcom RPGs specifically though. I know little about some of their earlier games. "Private Stripper" for example is one I have yet to become acquainted with.

Is there any demand for a Falcom article though?

There's another article I started years ago which I then abandoned when I had a computer get damaged during a move. Still have to go back and wrap that one up but I've been lacking motivation.

[Michi]

Hahaha I wouldn't mind doing a Falcom article. It would have to be about Falcom RPGs specifically though. I know little about some of their earlier games. "Private Stripper" for example is one I have yet to become acquainted with.

Is there any demand for a Falcom article though?

Yes. Yes there is. You should do an article on Falcom and the Ys series. They're your thing, yo.


I also just noticed that there's no beginners article on the site about the Commodore 64. That...would have been very helpful to me a couple months ago

[Tanooki]

I'd read a Falcom piece. I'm only familiar with Faxanadu which they licensed along with Legacy of the Wizard on NES too I could never figure out, but also Ys, Gurumin(fun and on GoG right now at 75% off), Popful Mail, and Lord Monarch (PC.) I just wish they'd get off the playstation kick with the Ys franchise these days as they seem quite happy with the PSP and the Vita.

NOt sure if it still works in 64bit windows, but Lord Monarch Online is still there on Falcom's site for download, english version too, based upon the Super Famicom version of the game.
http://www.falcom.com/monarch/index_e.html

They used to have lots of nice freebies on their site in the 90s including some nice anime style Ys screen savers I used to run for fun.