+Graham Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 The title says it all really. Not that many full moons ago there was a hard core of 5 or 6 of us who were on the shout box every night. Many others would be in and out and the chat and banter would flow freely. What happened ???? What changed ????? Looking at the shout box now there can be days between anyone posting on there. Now call me a Sheldon if you like but I really do hate change and I miss it terribly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan the Plumber Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) I know what you mean i stuck something on the shout box about 4 days ago and it was still at the top of the box till yesterday i think i put it on 30th March Edited April 5, 2015 by Allan the Plumber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 First off, what I am about to say does not apply to all and I want to make it very clear I am not having a go but as a moderator, this has been noted and disscussed a few times with the other mods / admins. In the past, due to certain things, the shout box has gone, then come back, then the gallery went, then come back, the forum has been offline and up and down like a yo-yo, again, due to issues that mostly have been out of our control and I believe that people just got used to not having them. Now, all these things are back, the forum is more stable but something has changed. Hardly anybody goes to the dark sites, hardly anybody uses the shout box, people don't turn up to the events that we, as a group, try to arrange and we are at a loss as to understand why, is it the weather? EMS 3, there were not many of us, SGL 10, there were 6 of us, the recent SGL event at Long Eaton, that had a pretty decent turn out, which was going against the grain. Now I understand that life gets in the way, I understand that work gets in the way and I understand health and family get in the way, I have issues with all of these but I still try, and I believe this is all it takes, if people try to turn up despite the weather, if people try to contribute to the forum and if people try to commit to book star parties / public out reach ETC, regardless of the weather. OK, I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here but I think it is all relevant. Again, this is not aimed at anybody, I understand we have people hundreds of miles away and I fully appreciate life and work gets in the way. As members (either dark site or not) this is your forum, is there anything you would like to see, is there anything you can think of that would improve EMS for all, please reach out and we will see what we can do. All us staff can do is provide the tools, it's up to everybody to use them. Anyway, that's enough from me, just typed all this on an IPhone, so please excuse any grammatical errors. Astronigel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 It is a sad fact that the EMS forum just doesn't seem to be anywhere near as vibrant as it used to be. Most users ever online 95 in Jan 2014 - we're lucky to see double figures these days! I sincerely hope it's not dying, but interest is definitely dropping off. I'm not sure if we are losing people to SGL or what, since I don't use that. I don't have time for more than one forum and I don't even use Facebook. I like the fact that EMS is a relatively small group of enthusiastic stargazers but our regular contributors do seem to be getting a bit thin on the ground. All I can suggest is that maybe we could all try and give a little more effort to making EMS a more interesting place to hang out. By being bothered to say just a little bit more and post a little more often, could help bring in some new blood that will help breath a bit more life into the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 It's a fantastic question Graham, and it's a question I have asked myself so many times and to be honest I don't know the answer but I hope it will stir thoughts in all our members to discuss what can be done to re-energise EMS before it does die. EMS will only be a success if we all work together, we all go to the dark sites, we all use the shoutbox, we all take part in activities, and finally we all post on the forum and comment on each others posts. It's a comittment but together we can make it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 In hindsight, I think the biggest single factor has been the weather. It has been the cloudiest Winter I can remember, and the number of clear, but still nights, could be counted on one hand. Also they fell on week nights, when most folks have to be up early for work. Even when it was clear, it has been windy and the seeing has been almost unusable, certainly for the imagers. Getting the scope out on the garden for me is now only worth it for special events which shouldn't be missed, as the light pollution from the local sports centre makes it almost impossible to look east and south before midnight, when the lights go off. Personal circumstances have since Christmas stopped me doing a lot of things, and now other family matters have intervened. This has curtailed a lot of free time for me. That and the nature of my job means I have to be out at varying times of the day and no one day is the same. I agree the shout box mojo isn't the same as it originally was. I think that became apparent when for security reasons, we had to stop using it as it had become unsupported, and Craig was extremely concerned about the situation. It was clear that risking the forum was not an option. So the only thing at the time was the chat room, and this was also clearly not popular, and many of you voiced your opinion about it. This is to be encouraged, let us know what you think, and then we can do what we can to do the best we can. The problem was there was nothing similar around at the time. The chat room was the closest thing about, and so that was put up. There is a similar feature for the staff room section, and that hasn't been used for as long as I can remember. Since then we have tried various hosts, with varying degrees of performance. The one we are currently with is without doubt the best for performance and reliability, and has been the most stable one. I think you will agree that this is without doubt the best one we have had, we have our own dedicated server and we don't share this with anyone else, as we have had to do in the past. The forum is only as good as those that contribute to it, and that is beyond anyone's control, it is simply down to those that wish to contribute. We undoubtedly have some very talented astronomers on here, from all disciplines of the hobby, and it is your posts which make content so others can benefit. I for one will do my best to help out, and get out and continue looking up. It's a forum, a meeting place for people to discuss and debate freely. It's only dying if you let it. If there is something you feel would improve it, then let us know, this can be confidential if you want, PM us. But let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zidder Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I don't think this issue is unique to EMS I think all forums suffer from the same syndrome, A while ago a friend and I ran a photographers forum based around motorcycle racing, we had members from all over the world both Pro and amateur, it grew very rapidly and was very vibrant, but after a couple of years it started to slow down and input was limited to a few regulars. We racked our brains to try to inject some life back into the thing but nothing seemed to have much effect. We found that groups of people, either from certain areas of the country or nationalities seemed to communicate between them selves outside the forum and some even creating their own forum. I think both ours and EMS are a place where people go initially to find help and information, I certainly did. We found that because photography not unlike astronomy can be a technical discipline there is a lot of information around specifics, this information however gets very fragmented and spread around page after page of entries, what we did was to create subsections within sections this had the advantage of making it easier to find help tips and guides. Another thing we did was to have a monthly topic which revolved around a particular aspect, initially giving information then inviting members to input their experiences or tips etc, this had some success, but it needed someone with the time to put it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 This is the Goldilocks forum. Not too large and not too small (so far) SGL is too big, although I do contribute there at times. I try to put in my two pennyworth at least once a week here to help keep EMS going, ........with a few jokey lines at times. This is my one pennyworth contribution today. If only half the lurkers joined in with us by writing, Goldilocks would have all that she could 'bear.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Good idea Richard. Come on lurkers, sign up and say hello, you'll be very welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zidder Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 This is the Goldilocks forum. Not too large and not too small (so far) SGL is too big, although I do contribute there at times. I try to put in my two pennyworth at least once a week here to help keep EMS going, ........with a few jokey lines at times. This is my one pennyworth contribution today. If only half the lurkers joined in with us by writing, Goldilocks would have all that she could 'bear.' Interestingly I stopped going anywhere near SGL purely because they actually gave me the tag of "lurker" near my avatar, very disparaging I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I am as guilty as anyone else, I think Martin made a good point about the weather, I have only 3 entries in my notebook since before Christmas!! I enjoyed the school visit we did last month and at least the gear got an airing but I aim to try a bit harder and use the forum more as a result. I am also an ELAC member and enjoy that as it's all local to me but I also like meeting up with EMS members when I can, having said that are any dark site meetings being planned or is it a case of the weather controlling it? I can agree with all the Daz and Martyn have said and hope this is a wake-up call to other members!! Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I can't put my finger on it but agree with Graham's sentiment. For me personally I had a short break from the hobby and have since been working towards getting all setup again and hope to be contributing again soon with some planetary images. I agree with all those who have mentioned that we only get out what we put in. I will try to contribute more, once I have something to say/show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I've never used the shoutbox, so can't really comment. I've had a very bad period since my wife was rushed to hospital in August and then I was made redundant. You would have thought I'd have had more free time but I found the opposite to be the case. Now I'm starting a new job, I won't take liberties like posting during work hours that I did most of the time in my previous job. Despite the bad weather, I've still been out observing and snapping, although it's been nearly all solar and lunar. One reason, I abandoned my ideas to get a dedicated astronomical imager and am getting a new DSLR instead is that cloud and light pollution make long exposure photography a very rare event. I had a bin scan last night while doing some imaging and it was almost a waste of time. Only the brighter DSOs were visible: no M81, etc. I know some of you read my blog but I post monthly updates. Although I'm not in the East Midlands, I find this a great forum, even if it does get quiet at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I don't think it has anything to do with the weather... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 (edited) I don't think it has anything to do with the weather... would have to disagree there, picks up when folks have something to post this past winter there has been little to see or do. Some folks may have wandered away, but that is their choice but most of us are still here Edited April 7, 2015 by Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 would have to disagree there, picks up when folks have something to post this past winter there has been little to see or do. Some folks may have wandered away, but that is their choice but most of us are still here Surely if it's clear everyone should be out and about, not on here :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 i meant the posts after you have seen or done something and at least have something to talk about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 i meant the posts after you have seen or done something and at least have something to talk about Pfff, I'd be asleep all day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perkil8r Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Pfff, I'd be asleep all day How would we tell the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 dying or not this post seems to have stirred us up a bit Nice one Graham catman161 and Sheila 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peepshow Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 There's been over 19 posts on forum today so far. You seem to have done the trick, Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 How would we tell the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Long live EMS!! I think the weather has played a big part in the forum being a bit slow recently. Not only have people had nothing to post as Sheila said, but also the meets have been few and far between due to the weather. That's half the reason I went up to Belper on sunday. Just to say I'd been out. I think all forums go through there ups and downs, thankfully I've always found it a friendly place to be and have learnt so much and made some good friends. People come and go from forums, some are missed, some are not even noticed. While there is still a core of people/friends meeting and using the forum I hope it continues into the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 (edited) I must say that I try look up what is going on in the forum every day where I do not SGL, I do like that we do get to no every one on this forum were on large ones you do seem to get lost . So I look for ward seeing every one going to Kelling Stephen Edited April 7, 2015 by Stephen Johnnyaardvark and BAZ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werisit Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Must do better. Must do better. must do better. must do better. Must do better. Must do better. must do better. must do better. Must do better. Must do better. must do better. must do better. Points taken folks. I often "lurk". Sheila 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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