"Oh Lair, Lair, Lair, I Made You out of Clay"

February 2004: 3170
March 2004: 7808
April 2004: 3923
May 2004: 2448
June 2004: 5621
July 2004: 4605
August 2004: 4581
September 2004: 4294
October 2004: 4177
November 2004: 4214
December 2005: 4107
January 2005: 3855
February 2005: 1979
March 2005: 1437
April 2005: 1411
May 2005: 2926
June 2005: 3726
July 2005: 2477
August 2005: 1396
September 2005: 2093
October 2005: 2019
November 2005: 2462
December 2005: 1879
January 2006: 2244
February 2006: 1861
March 2006: 1546
April 2006: 870
May 2006: 1809
June 2006: 948
July 2006: 601
August 2006: 656
September 2006: 460
October 2006: 520
November 2006: 369
December 2006: 357
January 2007: 478
February 2007: 651
March 2007: 976
April 2007: 426
May 2007: 603
June 2007: 521
July 2007: 632
August 2007: 310
September 2007: 74
October 2007: 140
November 2007: 295
December 2007: 157
January 2008: 88
February 2008: 65
March 2008: 94
April 2008: 238
May 2008: 130
June 2008: 118
July 2008: 91
August 2008: 45
September 2008: 24
October 2008: 29
November 2008: 33
December 2008: 23
January 2009: 10
February 2009: 26
March 2009: 42
April 2009: 9
May 2009: 15
June 2009: 22
July 2009: 10
August 2009: 25
September 2009: 56
October 2009: 9
November 2009: 8


Since Skwid is but half the man Teek was, not all of you are Admins, and thus do
not have all the tools Invision offers us to use. For example, the ability to see how
many posts were made on a certain day/week/month. Hence the large picture
above. As of the twenty-sixth day of October in the year two thousand
and eight, the image above has been replaced with simple text.

Anyway, I want everyone to look at it, and then I want you to tell me what sort of
patterns you notice ( excluding the obvious downward slope ). One thing I have
found interesting is that July seems to be our rejuvination month ( although this
year [20xx] it came early; May ).

This thread will also serve as future rants from me about the sad state the Lair is
in, though that might not be for awhile, seeing as how we are in a mild revival
currently. :)

Now that is an interesting thing.
It didn't seem like such a gigantic difference. I mean, noticeable, yes; but that big of a difference?! I'm rather blown away by it.

Is there a way to correllate that with a graph of creation of new thread activity? I have a feeling it has more to do with what there is to post about rather than a being a general lack of posting on everyone's part.

For me, the big thing is that there are rarely new threads. If one thread has been spammed a bit, I lose interest and rarely check it--much less post a response to it-- the next time I visit.

In those months where the Lair was in its prime, I can remember having to pick and choose what threads I could look at during each visit because there were too many with new posts to look at them all. Right now, I believe the number of posts depends on the production of new threads. I think in those previous months we had members who created new threads quite frequently, thus is the reason the post counts are higher. There was more to think about, less to get bored with.

So yeah.
I propose we use our wonderfully creative minds to come up with new ideas, topics, games, etc.

[that reminds me: we used to have games. i liked that.]

There's a lot of things we used to do.

February 2004: 187
March 2004: 194
April 2004: 123
May 2004: 113
June 2004: 138
July 2004: 124
August 2004: 166
September 2004: 142
October 2004: 150
November 2004: 154
December 2005: 144
January 2005: 119
February 2005: 55
March 2005: 65
April 2005: 83
May 2005: 63
June 2005: 93
July 2005: 75
August 2005: 56
September 2005: 59
October 2005: 56
November 2005: 56
December 2005: 57
January 2006: 72
February 2006: 29
March 2006: 43
April 2006: 27
May 2006: 55
June 2006: 43
July 2006: 27
August 2006: 26
September 2006: 24
October 2006: 15
November 2006: 18
December 2006: 18
January 2007: 17
February 2007: 33
March 2007: 37
April 2007: 24
May 2007: 26
June 2007: 17
July 2007: 22
August 2007: 19
September 2007: 5
October 2007: 9
November 2007: 10
December 2007: 9
January 2008: 4
February 2008: 5
March 2008: 5
April 2008: 5
May 2008: 4
June 2008: 6
July 2008: 2
August 2008: 4
September 2008: 2
October 2008: 1
November 2008: 1
December 2008: 1
January 2009: 1
February 2009: 2
March 2009: 2
April 2009: ---
May 2009: ---
June 2009: 1
July 2009: ---
August 2009: 1
September 2009: 3
October 2009: ---
November 2009: ---

It's an interesting pattern; they are similar but not the same. Both have that big drop between
February and March of '05, but the amount of threads seems to come in "levels". That is, there's
a drop, and then the amount remains steady until it drops again.

I think dazy's right...we need to be usin' our noggins more.

Then do so, instead of just talking about it ^_^

That also goes for you, Stormy. :nono:

That goes for you too, Axel. 'sides, I'm the Lair Police, my calling is different than yours. You're the P.R.-folks ^_^

Oh, I am terribly sorry, I will now try to live-up to your post standards.

...

Err, I mean, "Boobies!"

Now stop spamming my thread.

---

Anyway, back to the Lair. One of the things I enjoy most here is discussion. However, there are multiple problems with it here. The most obvious is that we agree too often here, and is why as of recently I’ve been becoming something of a troll and devil’s advocate in discussions. Though I seem to find too much enjoyment in it, and go overboard and develop a rather erratic and sarcastic style enwrapped in a thick layer of “lulz”. I cannot solve that aspect of the problem though, so I guess I will just have to wait until the sheep die-off.

But that’s not the only problem, or the worse. That is only a problem that comes from the Lair, but there are also the problems inherited naturally from the limitations of discussion itself, and until we start messing with the Lair Discussion Board’s DNA and change its genes so it does not have any of them anymore, we to work at those more than the problem of agreeing.

First off, there is the problem of the limitation of one’s knowledge. People can ( well, should ) only write about what they know. For most of the Lair’s life, I have kept out of discussions for the most part due to the fact that I know little and am entirely ignorant. Even now I do not know anything about the subject, but will still post for the sake of moving the discussion and keeping interest in it.

Because we have a diverse group of individuals here, things become especially hard. This throws most discussions into two categories; discussions that someone is interested in, but is the only one interested, or the only one with a substantial amount of knowledge in; discussions that everyone can relate to and either posts nothing groundbreaking, or it is something too boring or common for most to care about. That is not to say those two categories are the sole two groups that discussions fall into, only that those are the two that the discussions at the Lair most often fall under.

The first of those categories, discussions that only one or a small few are interested in and have sufficient knowledge in, is hurt most by our varying backgrounds. With things such as politics, music, and most local news falling under this label, we are left with few subjects to talk about that would provoke enough interest within us to bother discussing. This is a problem that cannot be cured by linking to, or telling, the mass all about the topic. Interest in it must exist within the person beforehand for them to add deep thought -- or thought at all – to the discussion.

The other, discussions that all can relate to and are bland, boring topics that everyone has gone over several times and have too solid of an opinion on, can be used, though they obvious are not as exhilarating as the first group. Subjects such as religion, global news such as George Bush or Global Warming, and political philosophies like Communism fall under this.

Finally, the problem of biased views, stupidity, bigotry, and narcissism always impose a problem in discussions. That includes the Lair.

Never-the-less, discussing various topics is something some of us pursue and find happiness in, and has always been an attraction here at the Lair. This is my main concern and goal in our effort on the Lair. The rest of the problems, the spam, the idle chatter, the need for various attractions… those problems aren’t as important to me, and are not things I will put much effort into.

Spam is not ( in my eyes ) much of a problem. I know most of you are already disagreeing with me here, but try to read through this and understand my point-of-view. You see, I have always been a spammer, so I assume it is easier for me to accept this belief. And when I talk about spam, I refer more so to what would be called “off topic chatting”. Randomly posting things that have no significance is still bad, but when it is just something that gradually grows in a natural conversation it is harmless. Even when it is only between two members, it gives others a good read, just like any conversation in a book. It may not be within everyone’s tastes, and I suppose you have to be interested in Realism, Naturalism, and the such instead of the usual “I AM AN HERO WITH BLAND, ONE-DIMENSIONAL PERSONALITY AND OVERBLOWN LANGUAGE!”

This is a place for social gathering, to tell someone not to idly chatter with friends defeats the purpose of the Lair, and why I encourage and involve myself in it in permitted sections. This is directed at the old ways of the Lair, around the time of the ISE. Yes, going off-topic does detract some people, but telling someone to “continue the conversation in another thread”, or “stop spamming”, or “post this kind of stuff on the spam board” kills the mood entirely, which is something that those people have in that particular spot at that time. It can always be split later, if need be. But like I said, this is not something I really care much for either way, and not something I will fight much for ( or at all, depending on my mood ).

Light conversation is much related to the spam part above, but focused on a central topic ( such as a thread about a book or game ). More topics are needed like the discussions, and also fall pray to the same two categories the discussions have ( with some others in there, I suppose… again, I have not put much thought into this part ).

Bleh, you get the point.

My brain hurts from reading all that. Thank you Axel for a good read.

As to my reply.....

I agree. *cringes away in fear of getting smacked by a shovel.*

Well.. Since I'm too lazy to read all the long posts here, I'll just quickly say:

I think the inactivity of this forum is what's keeping me inactive aswell.

Tadaa, enjoy. :p

tl;dr. m'eh.

Also, no offence, but that's a pretty lame excuse, especially since EVERYONE says "The Lair is too inactive so I'm inactive too!"

In fact, it's precisely the other way around: "I'm too inactive, and that's why the Lair is so inactive". If everyone that just lurks and says "Lol teh Lair is dead" would try and do something about it, we wouldn't be having a problem.

Yes, Damirus/Brandon/Janiln, you too. :p

That post was to long for somebody as tired as me to read through...

But i have to say I agree with it, also agree with Silv his diagnosis... Just don't really know how to fix it.

tl;dr. m'eh.

Also, no offence, but that's a pretty lame excuse, especially since EVERYONE says "The Lair is too inactive so I'm inactive too!"

In fact, it's precisely the other way around: "I'm too inactive, and that's why the Lair is so inactive". If everyone that just lurks and says "Lol teh Lair is dead" would try and do something about it, we wouldn't be having a problem.

Yes, Damirus/Brandon/Janiln, you too. :p

lol I know it's a lame excuse, but it's all I got atm as I'm too lazy to read Axels second long post. :p

I'll come back with a more serious reply when I'm more rested. :)

The Lair is not an external entity that we are obliged to feed with a constant influx of posts.

I do not see a reason to force anything.

Who says we are going to force anything? As long as we can still be happy with the lair and it can become more active or whatever I wouldn't call it forcing just improving.