07-27-2021, 08:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-27-2021, 08:12 PM by Vitiman. Edited 1 time in total.
Edit Reason: a typo
)
The MFGG forums perhaps got its biggest spike in quite some time because of the milestone anniversary thread. Various people came back online to celebrate for a moment and then - for the most part - dipped out to go back living their normal lives.
In the summer of 2019, we similarly saw a resurgence in activity. This was also driven almost entirely by nostalgia, and the spike did not last.
As much as I don't want this to be the case, the MFGG of 15 years ago is not the MFGG of now. The site's purpose may essentially be identical over that time span, but so much else is different. The staff are completely different (not even sharing any real faces from the staff that reigned even 5 years ago), the member base is almost entirely different, and that community congregates on the Discord platform now. The forums were, in practice, abandoned. I think the current staff saw the writing on the wall and opted not to put so much energy into moderating and upkeep on the forums. If you look at the official staff page right now, both Mors and FWD are primarily listed as Discord Administrators - I think that should tell you everything you need to know. Priorities are different now, for better or for worse.
The forums you linked to... communities like Mario Boards or the Bell Tree Forums, they seem like fairly thriving places! But do they have the same history as MFGG? I know you've brought up that our community's troubled past is behind us, but I'm not as convinced. Over the last few years, we've still managed to have some pretty heated arguments, resignations, spiteful community-offshoots... things that you would hope would be relics of the past. In my last years checking the MFGG forums, I saw a community that was slowly dwindling and the only diehards for a time where people who did not really seem happy being around here. I think most of the average people frequent the Discord server these days. I wouldn't know, I'm not really in there.
Also, forums are objectively dying. 63 members online might seem like a lot at first, until you realize that A.) an internet forum at its peak in the mid-2000s could average over a hundred active members online at any given time and B.) what are those 63 members doing at that particular moment? Are they just idling? How frequent are their posts between hours or days? Maybe they really are all contributing thoughtful & diverse conversations hourly, I can't say I prowled through most of the activity to know for sure... but maybe the reality is simpler than you think: a forum devoted to the various Animal Crossing games - which have had significant online multiplayer functionality since 2005 - is most likely seeing a lot of activity from item trades and arranging member visits. There's a very good chance that, on top of that possibility, you also probably have a community that has managed to keep its oldbies around and not alienate them over silly drama. The same, I'm afraid, cannot be said of here.
Also, as Vert pointed out, not every active community is one we necessarily want to emulate. Of course, I know very little about SMWC's forums, so I'm not going to pretend to throw shade. But if your goal is to emulate any aspects of the MFGG of yore... well, speaking as someone who used MFGG a long time ago: they weren't always the most pleasant time. General dickishness and elitism abound, among other problems.
I'd love to champion a revival of the MFGG forums! I think it'd be a nice place to check from time to time, especially if we can cull negativity better than any past attempts have ever been. But I'm also concerned that, aside from being a fairly lofty goal, if you can manage to actually interest anybody. What's the goal of gaining activity here? Are they the nostalgic oldbies? I don't think they all could have much interest in frequenting an old forum they went on again. What about the newer members? A lot of them probably don't even like using forums that much, otherwise I think we'd see a lot more activity here already. Maybe something in between? You'd have to get pretty lucky to pull that off. It's not impossible... but the odds are against you by quite a significant margin.
It's not all doom and gloom. You making this thread suggests interest. Me writing up this quasi-essay suggests passion is there in others. Internet communities can still thrive! They're more than just silly places of in-jokes and flame wars. Internet communities have rich histories, and it's how you can make lasting friendships. I'm willing to be that every single person who's been on MFGG for longer than a couple of years still has friendships they keep up with in the present day, even if they've otherwise completely moved on from visiting here. Call it a hunch, or maybe call it observing it from personal experience
In any case, I think that's the best that I can put this. As usual, I'm not gonna bother editing this. A stream of consciousness it shall remain. Cheers.
In the summer of 2019, we similarly saw a resurgence in activity. This was also driven almost entirely by nostalgia, and the spike did not last.
As much as I don't want this to be the case, the MFGG of 15 years ago is not the MFGG of now. The site's purpose may essentially be identical over that time span, but so much else is different. The staff are completely different (not even sharing any real faces from the staff that reigned even 5 years ago), the member base is almost entirely different, and that community congregates on the Discord platform now. The forums were, in practice, abandoned. I think the current staff saw the writing on the wall and opted not to put so much energy into moderating and upkeep on the forums. If you look at the official staff page right now, both Mors and FWD are primarily listed as Discord Administrators - I think that should tell you everything you need to know. Priorities are different now, for better or for worse.
The forums you linked to... communities like Mario Boards or the Bell Tree Forums, they seem like fairly thriving places! But do they have the same history as MFGG? I know you've brought up that our community's troubled past is behind us, but I'm not as convinced. Over the last few years, we've still managed to have some pretty heated arguments, resignations, spiteful community-offshoots... things that you would hope would be relics of the past. In my last years checking the MFGG forums, I saw a community that was slowly dwindling and the only diehards for a time where people who did not really seem happy being around here. I think most of the average people frequent the Discord server these days. I wouldn't know, I'm not really in there.
Also, forums are objectively dying. 63 members online might seem like a lot at first, until you realize that A.) an internet forum at its peak in the mid-2000s could average over a hundred active members online at any given time and B.) what are those 63 members doing at that particular moment? Are they just idling? How frequent are their posts between hours or days? Maybe they really are all contributing thoughtful & diverse conversations hourly, I can't say I prowled through most of the activity to know for sure... but maybe the reality is simpler than you think: a forum devoted to the various Animal Crossing games - which have had significant online multiplayer functionality since 2005 - is most likely seeing a lot of activity from item trades and arranging member visits. There's a very good chance that, on top of that possibility, you also probably have a community that has managed to keep its oldbies around and not alienate them over silly drama. The same, I'm afraid, cannot be said of here.
Also, as Vert pointed out, not every active community is one we necessarily want to emulate. Of course, I know very little about SMWC's forums, so I'm not going to pretend to throw shade. But if your goal is to emulate any aspects of the MFGG of yore... well, speaking as someone who used MFGG a long time ago: they weren't always the most pleasant time. General dickishness and elitism abound, among other problems.
I'd love to champion a revival of the MFGG forums! I think it'd be a nice place to check from time to time, especially if we can cull negativity better than any past attempts have ever been. But I'm also concerned that, aside from being a fairly lofty goal, if you can manage to actually interest anybody. What's the goal of gaining activity here? Are they the nostalgic oldbies? I don't think they all could have much interest in frequenting an old forum they went on again. What about the newer members? A lot of them probably don't even like using forums that much, otherwise I think we'd see a lot more activity here already. Maybe something in between? You'd have to get pretty lucky to pull that off. It's not impossible... but the odds are against you by quite a significant margin.
It's not all doom and gloom. You making this thread suggests interest. Me writing up this quasi-essay suggests passion is there in others. Internet communities can still thrive! They're more than just silly places of in-jokes and flame wars. Internet communities have rich histories, and it's how you can make lasting friendships. I'm willing to be that every single person who's been on MFGG for longer than a couple of years still has friendships they keep up with in the present day, even if they've otherwise completely moved on from visiting here. Call it a hunch, or maybe call it observing it from personal experience
In any case, I think that's the best that I can put this. As usual, I'm not gonna bother editing this. A stream of consciousness it shall remain. Cheers.