so many 3rd party forums

There's enough third party forums now that there probably wouldn't be enough users to go around even if LR closed every single forum and made the Lblog post only.

However it is just a few forums that are closing, there are still a lot of useful forums to keep those looking for utilitarian info like how to script looking here for an answer because here is where they will most likely find it.

Good luck to the third party site operators.

Naw, we don't need luck!

<sobs>

I lied! We need members! Lots of them! We need conisitant trafic so we can point at all the other forums and say "We're better! Neener Neener Neener!"

<pulls himself together>

Sorry. momentary breakdown. Won't happen again...

<choaking sobs heard retreating into the distance>

What incentive do people who want to know how to build or design or animate or script or to find the answer to any question that fits in the Linden forums that won't close tomorrow have to post in a third party sites similarly purposed forum while the Linden operated forums for those questions are still open, with hundreds or thousands of times more readers and possible responders than the third party equivalents?

Is the expectation that tomorrow's closing will cause a massive drop off of use of the remaining Linden forums?

I'm curious about this as well SuezanneC. I have some friends who only read the "Land and the Economy" forum. Some people seem to only use "The Sandbox". Many more probably browse recent posts in a variety of forums.

While the content creation and announcement forums will remain useful as before, what will be the reaction of new users who often take the pulse of the community by reading forums titled as they are in many other places. Seeing those forums closed, will they bother to explore the remaining open ones?

Ultimately this will be the call of the maor contributors to the creation forums. The ones with the answers, the quick help, if they remain here will continue to keep those forums focused. If they set up shop elsewhere perhaps the question askers will migrate as well. How much will the overall tone of a third party forum determine its audience?

Weird thing *I* always found Clubside...was that the majority of people I speak with in SL, never even USE the forums.... be it the general...political....scripting....building... anything!
I think it was reckoned at one stage that fewer than 10% of users were regular visitors. Hence the outcry whenever the "Government" discussions came up.
Personally, I won't be crying in my soup over the loss, and will use the relevant technical forums as and when needed.

I agree Turgar, though usage in lurker mode probably brings it above 10%...

While my sandbox was in Popular Places I'd get a lot of new users and the occasional older user asking questions (despite my join date) that I would first respond, "Have you checked the forums?" Many didn't even know about them, or believed forums in general were a mess. I answered many of these questions and pointed some of them here where they got their answers never to return.

I was never a huge forums user, despite having run what amounted to the forums forerunner, the Bulletin Board, back on my IBM PC in 1984 with a fabulous 300baud modem! Woo hoo!

The difference here is that there are so many possibilities its often faster to ask a simple question and get a prompt answer from a fellow resident than wade through FAQs, Knowledgebases or any number of other general purpose resources.

The hardest part for me is going to be advertising in a way to let newer users and potential users know there are places to come and still get those quick answers until there is a service in-world to compensate.

I'm just waiting to see how many new forums close within a month... I've noticed some of them still have less then 50 topics...

www.slforums.com and here are my reasons...
It is MILDLY moderated
They have banners
Featured products
Last 5 new products on front page
Last 10 posts scrolling on main page
Shoutbox
Arcade
Chat
They are fair when moderating, allowing names and negative comments if need be don't allow things such as death threats...
They do lots of stuff to help and prmote sellers and consumers
Option to have account verified with your SL name

This is just a small list www.sl-forums.com has to offer

Sensual gives a good specific example of an answer to my question: one way to get people to switch is not to try to duplicate the feel of the good old days at the LL forums but to give users added value, to provide a forum site that's better than the good old days at the LL forums ever were.

One things that has dulled the LL forum site has been the lack of advertisements. LL can't allow paid ads on it's site or have features like the last 5 items purchased without upsetting people. Third party sites aren't as constrained.

I thought that was a real good answer, Sens.

Here is why e-pec.info is teh best:

1. Forums
   
2. Integrated Gallery (Including Video/Audio)
   
3. Integrated Blogs
   
4. User Edited Second Life Map (In Dev)
   
5. Second Life Av Verification (In Dev)
   
6. Established tight knit positive community
   
7. Professional look/feel/support
   
8. Fair uninhibiting Mods
   
9. RSS Feeds In (LL, Google News, Many More) and Out
   
10. Open Arcitecture (Anything is possible)
    
11. Fully Customizable Ads
    
12. Auction System (In Dev)
    
13. Event Calendar
    
14. Java/IRC Live Chat Client
    
15. Newbie Helpers
    
16. Invitation system to ensure our users will always have the best experience possible.
    

That is all I can think of at the moment...

EDIT: One more reason - we aren't going anywhere. We were in existance before the forum closure was announced and will be here after it is gone.

EDIT2: And another!!! (Can you tell I like my project We don't desire to be the biggest. Rather, we value quality over quantity.

I don't trust anyone that can't spell "the"....
Just Kidding... man I am being bad today!

Thanks!

hehe, it is teh IRC that makes me do that

I just found out that Stratics has a "censor filter".


I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't like the idea of someone else deciding what words I can and can't see.

Like I said, Stratics is a Pansy Approved Forum.