Why do you think the forum has a retention issue?

VimFuego

oi, bald, fat cunts can wear spandex as well you know.

sinbaadi

The forum software is antiquated feeling.

Edit:a lot like many of its contributors!  (In before)

Springywheel

I get the impression that the main contributors originate from the very early days of the forum; they’ve settled down, grown old, but no longer play or have interest in guitar. Thus it’s morphed into a sounding off board for grumpy old men. My tongue is planted firmly in cheek of course, but i believe there’s an ounce of truth to it Maybe the younger generation, especially non uk based feel they have nothing in common and that’s why they’re reluctant to post. Also as other have alluded to, the typical dark and dry English wit (which I enjoy) might not go down too well our ‘merican friends.

monquixote

Springywheel said:

I get the impression that the main contributors originate from the very early days of the forum; they’ve settled down, grown old, but no longer play or have interest in guitar. Thus it’s morphed into a sounding off board for grumpy old men. My tongue is planted firmly in cheek of course, but i believe there’s an ounce of truth to it Maybe the younger generation, especially non uk based feel they have nothing in common and that’s why they’re reluctant to post. Also as other have alluded to, the typical dark and dry English wit (which I enjoy) might not go down too well our ‘merican friends.

While I think that's true to a certain extent go to any guitar show and you will see that the demographics are mostly a bimodal combo of boomers and teens with a hollowed middle.

Kittyfrisk

VimFuego said:

oi, bald, fat cunts can wear spandex as well you know.

Thought this was about guitars, not bicycles...

jonnyburgo

For us forum old timers its just become an extension of our lives, some come some go, but the old fuckers with their own table in the pub will always be here, sneering and moaning about how the juke box only has modern rubbish on it.

Mellish

@jonnyburgo. Couldn't have said it better!  

Axe_meister

If I put myself in my son's shoes (an aspiring guitarist looking to go to BIMM/ACM/ICMP) there is nothing here that would attract him. It's all about instant messaging/photos/video/sound clips. 
Not a text based forum, full of boomers/Gen-X.
The forum could do with a refresh, even if just a quick CSS update of colours.
We don't discuss anything new in the gear section, it's still Les Paula/Strats/telecasters. The artists we discuss are the same old names. No Tosin/Polifia, etc.

marxski

I would say BB style forums in general have lost traction over the years due to Facebook groups. I wouldn't say there is anything being done wrong here really. It seems pretty busy to me all things considered.

A good example of a very successful guitar forum taking a real nosedive is the old Fenderforum - that had loads of problems caused by in-fighting, over-zealous banning for the slightest thing, aggressive monetisation with a 'how much you have donated' star system and a fairly small but vocal in-crowd of gun luvin' good 'ol boyz who made it toxic. Don't get me wrong I understand that forums need to moderated and they cost money to run but slowly but surely the advertising sponsors left and the users found another spot. This was happening some time before FB gained traction. It was excruciating to see such a decline.

tanihhiavlt

a coincidence that we're having this discussion the week Facebook are renaming themselves? 

https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/19/22735612/facebook-change-company-name-metaverse

I've never seen Mark Zuckerberg and Drew in the same room before ... makes me wonder...

VimFuego

marxski said:

I would say BB style forums in general have lost traction over the years due to Facebook groups. I wouldn't say there is anything being done wrong here really. It seems pretty busy to me all things considered.

A good example of a very successful guitar forum taking a real nosedive is the old Fenderforum - that had loads of problems caused by in-fighting, over-zealous banning for the slightest thing, aggressive monetisation with a 'how much you have donated' star system and a fairly small but vocal in-crowd of gun luvin' good 'ol boyz who made it toxic. Don't get me wrong I understand that forums need to moderated and they cost money to run but slowly but surely the advertising sponsors left and the users found another spot. This was happening some time before FB gained traction. It was excruciating to see such a decline.

yup, in fact you could argue this place is doing well by still going. I can think of no end of forums, on a diverse range of topics, that I used to frequent that have all bitten the dust over the last 10 years. I still see the same people, now on facebook, and they still have the same interests but the forums themselves are history.

axisus

I haven't read the 6 preceeding pages, but this looks to me like trying to manufacture a problem that isn't there. I get everything I want here, I can post stuff that interests me, I can read stuff that interests me, I can buy and sell. It's a fun place.

stonevibe

The forum is decent, but very repetitive, and feels like a lot of new members are here for classifieds only. I like that the regulars can have some quite in-depth discussions, though sometimes feel locking of threads is a little too frequent.

Personally find the massive fixation with custom shop/relic guitars on here boring, and it can get quite dull to read about for the 100th time. I really like the making/modding, studio/recording, and making music sides of the forum though.

Drew makes me laugh, so that's always a bonus. 

Generally good and thankfully "Pull The Trigger" is a phrase you don't read very often on here either. 

crunchman

The gear stuff does get repetitive, unless there is a new product like the Quad Cortex.  I think that's why a lot of the long term regulars tend to post in areas like Off Topic more.

It is a useful resource though, and it's always there if you do want to ask a question.

Jalapeno

darthed1981 said:

Guitar prices are skyrocketing currently, but we talk very little about what a huge range of Squier Classic Vibes there are now etc, maybe because the forum skews towards "I just bought my 12th custom shop Fender this year".

On the contrary, the main vibe is against so-called "Dentist" guitars and how great their Squire/Epiphone/PRS SE in comparison.

Stuckfast

I'd agree that this forum is doing very well, all things considered. It has a good balance of genuinely interesting stuff about guitars and amps, and friendly and entertaining chat. And it's not hard to ignore threads that blow up.

I would also agree it's rather blokeish and sometimes misogynist.  

fob

Jalapeno said:

darthed1981 said:

Guitar prices are skyrocketing currently, but we talk very little about what a huge range of Squier Classic Vibes there are now etc, maybe because the forum skews towards "I just bought my 12th custom shop Fender this year".

On the contrary, the main vibe is against so-called "Dentist" guitars and how great their Squire/Epiphone/PRS SE in comparison.

It's often the sign of a good referee that both sides complain about him.

Jalapeno

Stuckfast said:

I'd agree that this forum is doing very well, all things considered. It has a good balance of genuinely interesting stuff about guitars and amps, and friendly and entertaining chat. And it's not hard to ignore threads that blow up.

I would also agree it's rather blokeish and sometimes regularly misogynist.  

FTFY

fob

Jalapeno said:

Stuckfast said:

I'd agree that this forum is doing very well, all things considered. It has a good balance of genuinely interesting stuff about guitars and amps, and friendly and entertaining chat. And it's not hard to ignore threads that blow up.

I would also agree it's rather blokeish and sometimes regularly misogynist.  

FTFY

Again, I'm not saying this wrong just that I haven't seen it. Which thread/post is the latest example of this?

yocky

My one trip to the main Guitar forum resulted in 10k views and Peach having to prematurely announce their big Plek news to avoid an incident.

Went back to the safety of lurking after that.