I've always entered all the forums I frequent using the "unread posts" link. It seems like every hour or so OKC talk used to fill a couple pages. Lately it's a handful of posts. Is this true or is it just me.

Try "latest posts". That might be different. Not sure.

Latest posts and unread posts should be the same thing.

In defense of OKC Talk. It seems like the volume of all forums is way down.

In defense of OKC Talk. It seems like the volume of all forums is way down.

Summer time maybe.... We spend more time doing other things.

^^^^^^^^
Some of the more polarizing/incendiary/trolling/volume posters no longer post here or have at least reduced their participation. Not only do lose their high-volume (and often low-quality) posting, but fewer people feel the need to rebut. I enjoy a thoughtful, civil debate between people with differing views as much as the next guy, but overall it seems like a good thing to me.

I think a lot of the volume dropped off when OKCtalk.com was going through upgrades and was down for weeks at a time for about a month. A error message kept saying the website was under attack & wasn't safe. I know I was skeptical & hesitant to come back. Never really seemed to recover after that.

Also, our economy has kind of sucked lately with oil prices collapsing so there isn't as much excitement even though there are still a lot of developments in play. The OGE towers being scrapped really let a lot of air out of the excitement for development I think.

I think it is a combination of both. The site definitely still hasn't recovered, and I *think* but am not sure that not all forums even show up under 'latest posts'. Could be wrong there. But honestly I would say that only accounts for 20% of it. Maybe about 10% is a summer lull. The other 70% (again, this is my opinion, YMMV, warranty void in Massachusetts, etc etc) is as Urbanized says. I'm not going to say the name, but I honestly think people didn't realize how much traffic one particular person was creating with his insistence on making politically charged posts in every forum EXCEPT 'politics'. After his initial troll would come the "you're an idiot" replies, then the "no, you're an idiot" replies to that, then the "hey, I was just asking a question" post to keep the ball rolling, followed by people now attacking each other instead of the initial troll. Now that he's gone, all the BS he created is as well.

So the question is...which is better? 10000 posts where 9000 are crap posts, or 1000 posts? I'd rather have just the 1000 worth reading.

I am honestly really confused on the specific person you are referring to as there a a handful that no longer post here regularly...

For example, JTF no longer posts, PluPan moved and posts with less frequency and bchris02 posts very rarely now. I didn't mind really any of their posts and I think they created quite a bit of content which may be contributing to the slowdown.

Go here: http://www.okctalk.com/profile.php?do=editoptions Scroll to the bottom and see if there is anyting listed in Exclude forums from "What's New":

While many may disagree with their posts, I do not consider JTF, PluPan, nor bchris02 to be trolls. On the other hand, I never saw one post from Tundra that wasn't a blatant troll. I think it was the "oh no! black people will be downtown!" post that finally got him banned.

Thanks tfvc, Politics was indeed listed in the exclude box. Trying to decide if I want to keep it there, actually.

Ah, gotcha. Wasn't sure exactly who you were talking about.

I would still contribute some of the decline to their lack of posting now-a-days.

We have been much more aggressive about putting things our on the News section and also through Twitter and Facebook, which means many don't need to comb through the forums for information.

It terms of page views and people visiting, our numbers are as strong as ever.

And then there are those like me who only chime in if we are able to provide something useful to the discussion. If the only topics updated on that day are ones that don't interest me, then I just don't chime in. :) But I do come and read a little every day.

Thanks tfvc, Politics was indeed listed in the exclude box. Trying to decide if I want to keep it there, actually.

I *think* that is by default. Mine has politics in there as well and I know I didn't put it there. I use the latest posts feature as well and the only time I go to the actual forum page is if I am going to find the right topic to post a new topic. For the first few months I didn't even know there was a politics area. I have been wrestling with removing it as well because of my strong political views. I don't think I have even ventured in the politics section of the forums either.

I don't think I have even ventured in the politics section of the forums either.

Don't do it. It's not worth it.

Don't do it. It's not worth it.AMEN! I do every once in awhile and always regret it.

^^^ It's been a lot more rational and quiet now that the trolls have been banned or left.

Just to be clear, no one has been permanently banned except the poster that started with a T.

I think message boards like this are going through their own, oh, "maturing process" as social media continues to evolve. They were a great novelty at one point, but as they evolve...other outlets are available, so how these sites discover their niche going forward is yet to be fully determined.

I will offer that I don't post here as much as I did, but there's no particular reason for it. I'll post info about fairly generic things, like a new restaurant or retail coming into the area, or maybe some general contemporary topics, but I find myself posting on a couple of other boards a lot less, too. I think the speed of social media re SMS, Twitter, Facebook etc etc makes the threaded, relatively evolutionary nature of message boards like this a bit lower profile now. Even the OU message board I frequent doesn't seem to have *nearly* the activity some of its predecessors did a few years ago. I think its just changing times. And, personally, I've adopted a no-politics (well, very-rare-politics :) ) policy on social media, because the alternatively is largely pointless - minds are almost certainly never changed and feelings are almost always hardened. It's made my online "life" (?) a lot more pleasant. Most people who know me know my political persuasions, and they certainly don't want to hear them again LOL :)


And I am delighted that those who just came to stir feelings or push an agenda have opted to move on.

Just to be clear, no one has been permanently banned except the poster that started with a T.

Did it end with an "hunder"?

Did it end with an "hunder"?

No, undra.

Try "latest posts". That might be different. Not sure.
I think the "New Posts" link includes the politics area, but the "Latest Post" link does not.

It's also summer time, which is usually the worst time for message boards. Doesn't matter which walk of life you are, people are generally busier in the summer time and have more idle time in the winter to devote to stuff like this.

I know I've been less active since all the downtime, I just got out of the habit of coming around. But I've also noticed the slow down, so it doesn't seem like there is enough new stuff to get back in the habit.


We have been much more aggressive about putting things our on the News section and also through Twitter and Facebook, which means many don't need to comb through the forums for information.

It terms of page views and people visiting, our numbers are as strong as ever.

Hey Pete, I think it would be nice if you added a link to the relevant thread in the news article, it would make finding the thread easier.