Drought of Posts NSW.

[Swift]

Has there been a mass exodus of most of the usual posters on here? I detect a pattern that I have never seen before.
This week in particular, I have found no responses the next day to topics that you would expect to have some life in itl? I have never seen NSW so dead and that is saying something. Is face to face discussion making a resurgence?

[Daniel]

Basically the exodus has been to group messaging which has been made so easy through smart phones and Facebook etc. Plus many users have becoming fed up of some junior users who fail to take advice or think before posting and the resulting lack of quality of late.

[Kurt]

I noticed you liked his post CityRail, but that would certainly include you

Nonetheless, I've found myself posting much more than I once did to kind of pick up the slack a bit, so lemme know if I'm posting too many photos (or not enough ) and I can adjust accordingly.

Another reason that could cause inactivity would have to be the uniform livery etc. which certainly make things less interesting.

I suppose it wouldn't hurt to put up some links of Facebook pages etc. on the external links page?

[nbus]

A Lot of people are still on Holidays as the kids dont go back for a week.

[Fleet Lists]

That may be the case in Queensland and Victoria but in New South Wales, ACT and South Australia they do not start until Monday week 15th April.
Western Australia a week later still.

[Hornibrook]

Probably also has something to do with the fact that perfect full sun shots are posted and seemingly disregarded by 90% of the members, whereas someones crappy mobile phone shot or something insignificant like the STA or up here the BCC stuff gets a lot of comments and views.

It's why a number of members, including myself, won't past anymore photos on an open discussion board.

[Guy_Arab]

Basically the exodus has been to group messaging which has been made so easy through smart phones and Facebook etc. Plus many users have becoming fed up of some junior users who fail to take advice or think before posting and the resulting lack of quality of late.

I think a problem is sections using none transport subjects such as LUNCH Room ,So Like me I just pick what interest me instead of going through all I use to be interested in NSW being a NSW Driver long ago. We seem to be bomb barded with same buses shown far to offen on all states.
Guy Arab

[T1200]

Plus many users have becoming fed up of some junior users who fail to take advice or think before posting and the resulting lack of quality of late.

This has been the case also in the Brisbane/QLD sections of this forum for quite some time and the cause for quite some discussion. There is a large intolerance for inexperienced and/or young enthusiasts amongst the more experienced users of this board, and unfortunately rather than taking these new members under their wing it is a case of point, laugh and then abstain from posting.

I have been quite keen to do something about this for quite some time - even going as far as advertising for and promoting a new Moderator - but it is not an easy problem to solve.

I think some sort of active welcome and encouragement for younger members to come on tours and be mentored about the industry would not be without merit - i.e. an appropriate member of each state section to keep an eye out for new users and then to send them a PM welcoming them to the forum. It could even become a Moderator duty.

I'm really open to ideas as I for one think it's time for something to be done about this issue.

[captainch]

well the only reason I post here ppl are prob sick of my posts is no t.v i'm bed ridden its my only tool of communication and it stops me being bored if i;m a pest on this board please tell me ................yes weres the old gang mother ect never post anymore why!

[R44]

if i;m a pest on this board please tell me

You, Pest? Those 2 words shouldn't be in the same sentence for you Captain...

[racingnathan]

There is also some certain members, who constantly like to post negative comments and you just get sick of it and not bother commenting anymore.

[T1200]

There is a small group of Admins and Moderators interested in some more opinions on this topic. We are looking at a couple of suggestions received and are keen to hear from others. If you have something to contribute please consider sending me a PM or posting in this topic.

We want to hear from you if you think that there is a way this board could better serve the needs of the enthusiast community or if there are things that could be improved. E.g. posts not being answered in the New Users/Ask A Simple question forum.

Surprise me

[R44]

Do something about the user CityRail - His constant bitching about the politics is just annoying.

[Ray]

Depends what we want this board to be. For me, I'm only really interested in hard "news" - fleet changes, route changes, depot re-organisations etc. So it does not really bother me if the board is a bit quiet as this is to be expected if there is nothing to report.

There are a few people whose posts I will always click on if I see their name. These include Dunny, Simes, Stu, AEC Decker, Leopard1543, Rick R, Fleetlists, Daniel and a few others. These are posters who have access to the interesting information that I am seeking. In my view the long term future of this board depends on continuing to attract people such as these who have some real currency in today's industry. Otherwise, the board becomes the domain of armchair commentators!

I am interested in Daniel's comment re the rise of Facebook etc. I really hope this isn't the case as discussion boards are a far more superior way of sharing information than FB. Also, you would need to be "in the loop" to access the discussion on FB.

[Simes]

I believe Daniel is on the money and having been on this board since what, 2001? (in all it's previous incarnations) and yes I'm more on friendface now than here, although unlike some others I know personally who used to post here more (they now do not), I still do check in from time to time

[exbusdriver]

Having just found this thread, id like to add my inception of the drought! I too have noticed a down turn in post especially for NSW. My personal take is the fact that NSW has become boring, no colour anymore. I personally have never been interested in STA, but that is just me. Now that most companies up the coast have been bought out and amalgamated under cdc or busways and now the new government livery its become very boring. apart from Friday Flashbacks which i look for every friday and disapointed whne its not there. I personally dont have a huge collection of pictures from the great era of colour and memorable owners. I look forward to seeing when other posters post. The dreary pics of canary XXX or plain white and blue dont get our blood boiling anymore, especially when they are the same vehicle with different rego these days. Just my thoughts anyway!

[Mr OC Benz]

While being from the other side of the country, I notice there's a nationwide trend in the drought of posts, particularly in the photo sections. I use to enjoy looking at the high quality photos posted in each state, unfortunately this seems to of dropped down to a small select few, and most of them don't seem to post anymore which means there seems to be a more visible appearance of crappy, grainy, blurry and badly composed shots which are just off-putting from ignorant one-sided people who refuse or take offence to constructive criticism or tips on improving their photo quality. These days I find that if I join the right groups on Facebook, I am normally far more satisfied. The above also applies in general just for normal posts from people.

[Swift]

It's all very sad. The saying all good things come to an end is coming to fruition around here.
I have had 10 years of addictive feedback on my favourite topic in life, so it has been an often enjoyable indulgence checking out the latest replies.
I can always look through the archives to somewhat relive how it used to be around here .
A lot of the " personalities" that I got used to viewing opinions I often respected are now conspicuous by their absence. I miss the often intelligent and insightful posts that gave me a sounding board for my own thoughts on subjects relating to transport and often non transport subjects too.
I have only met a handful of members here and therefore don't know what alot of the posters are like face to face, but I have been very impressed by the standard of writing and expression of ideas over the last decade of trawling through this fantastic resource of information and often discover threads I never knew about that I wish I had found earlier.
I do hope former prolific posters consider returning to bring this board back to a standard where I can expect to see something exciting to read and view almost every day instead of maybe once a week if that.
I appreciate that I am not alone in noticing the board's decline, particularly in the last two years with the rapid disappearance of the " usual gang" lol.
A forum like this is very inclusive in nature which Facebook and other groups is not. That can't be good for the hobby.

[venturatiger]

Hi, one of the reasons some of us rarely post photos now is the lack of recognition, sure whilst my photos aren't perfect its annoying to see crap photos being told they are great shots, so people with half decent shots just say bugger it why bother

Venturatiger

[Mr OC Benz]

I agree with you there, and we all enjoy the decent shots that some people have to offer, but others don't know any better and think that a crappy shot with a light pole in the way, the angle to about 45 degrees and the sun shining directly at the camera is a good shot. I guess the new thanks feature has helped with this as those who do appreciate the photos may sometimes feel that it is inappropriate to post just saying "good shot" or "cool", and instead of clogging the forum with unwanted and useless blabber, they can show their appreciation of someone's photographic work through the thanks function. I have certainly used this alot for interstate sections where I would not normally have anything to contribute, but would like to show my appreciation for the photos and I believe others have done the same in return which has kept the motivation up to share photos.

[Swift]

Basically, the joint is rampant with transport buffs that have poor taste.
Why am I not shocked?
I now understand fully why breakaway groups have formed.

[R44]

Basically, the joint is rampant with transport buffs that have poor taste.
Why am I not shocked?
I now understand fully why breakaway groups have formed.

I represent that.

[nbus]

I see it as new people just trying to find a Interest in there life that they might like but dont have a lot of info on yet. If we all helped them out a bit we might not have this problem.

[Mr OC Benz]

It's not a matter of just helping them, many of us have tried and done that, it is a matter of it actually being taken in or understood by the said person. That is the problem! Some people do take the good advice of experienced people on this forum, others think they are the ultimate expert and continue to act all cocky or plain stupid...

[adx666]

I basically stopped posting photos due to the fact that I had to shrink them so much they weren't worth uploading. And I don't have time to upload them to imageshak then get a link back, way too time consuming