Forums are slowly dying

[tsbservice]

Me guilty as hard core forums member. I saw down of a forums I participated. I saw many users here which are no longer active or rarely visit forum.
New active members are close to zero at the end of the day who wants toner in lungs and permanently dirty hands plus other "benefits".
Most of my friends and experts here are now retired.
I will stand tall as long as I can just it is sad.

Rant over

[Hansoon]

Perhaps too much politics and too little technical in the forums are disgusting people away..............?

Hans

[copier tech]

Perhaps too much politics and too little technical in the forums are disgusting people away..............?

Hans

Exactly that! it's a copier site we don't want to read about Trump etc !

[Larhal]

In agreeing with all It is sad that even the joke of the day has gone . That was the only reason I went to RREE. Now it is to see who is brainwashed by either side. Seems like a PXXXing contest. Of no real value. As I said before there are more end users and pretend techs on the site compared to real techs. I believe this happened right after the change. Yes I do not always contribute knowledge but when I can I do. It was refreshing to see that TBS Service, Hansoon, Copier Tech, Blackcat, Slimslob and many other senior techs still support the tech site. Carry on Ye all.

[kingarthur]

Sadly I've had to hide a few people, because of all the Trump crap - it was getting too much. If they want to argue - why not start up a private chat amongst themselves...

[BillyCarpenter]

So, let me get this straight. The copier forum is dying because in one of the forums politics is being discussed? Is that correct? First, you have no proof of that whatsoever. None. What does seem to be true is that some members don't like political content,

Do you really think that if someone is seeking a solution to a copier problem that they aren't gonna ask because of a political thread? This forum as a whole is about much more than copiers. I've started threads on virtual pinball machines, surround sound systems and much more that has nothing to do with printing. And yes, politics.

[slimslob]

In agreeing with all It is sad that even the joke of the day has gone . That was the only reason I went to RREE. Now it is to see who is brainwashed by either side. Seems like a PXXXing contest. Of no real value. As I said before there are more end users and pretend techs on the site compared to real techs. I believe this happened right after the change. Yes I do not always contribute knowledge but when I can I do. It was refreshing to see that TBS Service, Hansoon, Copier Tech, Blackcat, Slimslob and many other senior techs still support the tech site. Carry on Ye all.

Joke of the day is still there. Its size was getting to be a problem affecting the speed of the site so the Admin had it closed and created Joke of the Day (part 2). Part 2 keeps getting buried with all the new crap. Currently it is on Page 4 of RREE. I have to go digging every time I find something on Facebook that I want to post.

[Larhal]

Joke of the day is still there. Its size was getting to be a problem affecting the speed of the site so the Admin had it closed and created Joke of the Day (part 2). Part 2 keeps getting buried with all the new crap. Currently it is on Page 4 of RREE. I have to go digging every time I find something on Facebook that I want to post.

Thank You Slim, Much Appreciated.

[slimslob]

Very soon after going to the newest vBulletin software Admin was receiving a lot of complaints about the constant bickering going on between a few members in RREE making it hard to find technical posts in New Topics, Today's Posts, Latest Topics and Latest Activity. He therefore made changes that removed RREE from those listings. They do however show in trending.

Admin has added a Sticky post to RREE about personal attacks. That overrides the anything goes. So if you see a personal attack in any thread, click on the Flag button at the bottom right of the post and report it.

[Larhal]

Joke of the day is still there. Its size was getting to be a problem affecting the speed of the site so the Admin had it closed and created Joke of the Day (part 2). Part 2 keeps getting buried with all the new crap. Currently it is on Page 4 of RREE. I have to go digging every time I find something on Facebook that I want to post.

When a post is updated is it not supposed to move up with the recent posts instead of getting buried?

[slimslob]

When a post is updated is it not supposed to move up with the recent posts instead of getting buried?

Yes it does, but doesn't stay there very long. It only takes 10 other new threads or existing threads to get a new post and it gets shoved to the next page. A big part of the problem is that some members start new threads almost daily instead of posting to an existing thread that already is on the same basic topic.

I will admit there 6 or 7 threads that I post links to almost every day. The title of the thread identifies the source of the links.

[tsbservice]

Sadly I already forgot my beloved Joke of the day topic. Old one was closed new one I didn't posted in thus it's buried quickly by cr*p.

Another part of my topic was we have to hardly rely on small group of old dogs and retired techs.
They are way more knowledgeable and willing to help than 99.99% of rest of the community.
Makes me wonder for the future.

I'm "newbie" close to 50 and when I started this game was different.
Many members participated more active and reported real field problems with in action solutions etc which I love to know how to deal with whether they arise or not.

To my understanding you gotta love your job or be freak to understand which I'm both being guilty.

[slimslob]

Sadly I already forgot my beloved Joke of the day topic. Old one was closed new one I didn't posted in thus it's buried quickly by cr*p.

Another part of my topic was we have to hardly rely on small group of old dogs and retired techs.
They are way more knowledgeable and willing to help than 99.99% of rest of the community.
Makes me wonder for the future.

I'm "newbie" close to 50 and when I started this game was different.
Many members participated more active and reported real field problems with in action solutions etc which I love to know how to deal with whether they arise or not.

To my understanding you gotta love your job or be freak to understand which I'm both being guilty.

I just posted one so it should be right at the top of the page for a few minutes.

[copyman]

Agree membership is really down but I have to disagree about the political crap causing it. The rants & rave forum is now obscure and has nothing to do with lack of members. Actually I post in the R&R section once in awhile just to vent. I do think politics has something to do with every aspect of life, work, etc. and should be discussed, but not on a copier forum. Unfortunately what you get in the R&R forum here is the same 4-5 people going back and forth on the same subject over and over! This is been going on for many years. Hundreds of posts about the same thing!
The lack of members is due to a change in type of techs being hired now a days. Most hires are IT people trained to be techs. They have a different way of thinking and don't spend time on tech forums looking for a solution to a problem. Many of the "true technicians" have retired or died.
Would it help if all the forums here were tech only? I don't think so, 4-5 people fighting about politics in that R&R forum don't define this whole website.
Back when the R&R was showing up on home page this could of chased some members away but like I mention earlier the R&R is obscure now.
Just my humble opinion........

[slimslob]

Agree membership is really down but I have to disagree about the political crap causing it. The rants & rave forum is now obscure and has nothing to do with lack of members. Actually I post in the R&R section once in awhile just to vent. I do think politics has something to do with every aspect of life, work, etc. and should be discussed, but not on a copier forum. Unfortunately what you get in the R&R forum here is the same 4-5 people going back and forth on the same subject over and over! This is been going on for many years. Hundreds of posts about the same thing!
The lack of members is due to a change in type of techs being hired now a days. Most hires are IT people trained to be techs. They have a different way of thinking and don't spend time on tech forums looking for a solution to a problem. Many of the "true technicians" have retired or died.
Would it help if all the forums here were tech only? I don't think so, 4-5 people fighting about politics in that R&R forum don't define this whole website.
Back when the R&R was showing up on home page this could of chased some members away but like I mention earlier the R&R is obscure now.
Just my humble opinion........

In addition to that I believe there are at least 2 other causes. First and foremost is that the newer models being sold in the last few years are far less prone to failure and much more user friendly and operator serviceable. This leads to fewer techs needed in the field.

Second, add to that the number who lost their jobs as techs during the pandemic and had to find alternative employment that have decided to stay with their newer professions rather than start all over again at entry level pay. Or found the other employment more satisfying.