Is this forum dying?

[high plains drifter]

I'm one of those that wanted the "likes" back just because I saw how many good threads/ posts never received any replies and subsequently might be putting people off from posting. Maybe people were following... maybe they weren't but with this place being plagued with inactivity, I think a lot of people just felt their content wasn't being viewed. Lotta times people just don't post comments on this forum ( compared to other active forums) so the "like" feature imo was/ is necessary to simply let others know that even if they didn't have anything of value to add, that the threads weren't necessarily all for nothing.

After so much time had passed with little to no involvement from admin, I really thought the fate of RCC was sealed and I remained quite skeptical that any updates or revamping of this place would ever happen. I think that most of us lost hope. But thankfully, admin finally stepped up and breathed life back into this place.

I wish I was here back in the day and also that I was able to contribute with amazing projects but regardless, this is where RCC deserves to be now thanks to admin and to those guys that have stuck around, who create incredible builds, and who have the integrity and experience to guide others along in this cool and unique hobby. So glad that things have changed for the better and regardless of the rise or fall in activity here, RCC will to me forever be just about the best online community for quality content and knowledge.

 

[imthatguy]

Forums will always have their place. I find the discourse to be much more intelligent and will always fight to keep mine running.

 

[XtrmTJ]

Being a avid RCer for the last 15+ years I have learned so much from this forum that I have become dependent on it anytime I have a RC problem or question I come here first. I'm an older gent (64) and not very tech savvy so all the help I've received here is invaluable to me. I hope that something can be done to keep this site up and running. Like I say in the 1:1 world, I wheel, Therefore I am.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I just posted this on the Rant thread and this thread was only a few below it in the "What's New". So I will repeat it:

This is all assumption as I have no inside info to traffic numbers. This forum seemed to have had a slight uptick in activity with the new software update and I don't know about you guys, but that seems to have already died down. Liking posts, alone, is not really interacting. If you aren't commenting on threads then consider doing that. Look at social media. Those places are thriving because people leave comments.

 

[cooper_xl]

I just posted this on the Rant thread and this thread was only a few below it in the "What's New". So I will repeat it:

This is all assumption as I have no inside info to traffic numbers. This forum seemed to have had a slight uptick in activity with the new software update and I don't know about you guys, but that seems to have already died down. Liking posts, alone, is not really interacting. If you aren't commenting on threads then consider doing that. Look at social media. Those places are thriving because people leave comments.

I'm seeing more likes on Facebook and Instagram than actual comments. I'm a bit chaotic in regard of truck building. I don't build in a linear way so I put aside a project to focus on another. For that, I prefer a forum, can post progress on a build on a thread and progress of another build on a different thread. My Instagram profile is a mess

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I'm seeing more likes on Facebook and Instagram than actual comments. I'm a bit chaotic in regard of truck building. I don't build in a linear way so I put aside a project to focus on another. For that, I prefer a forum, can post progress on a build on a thread and progress of another build on a different thread. My Instagram profile is a mess

Yes, social media gets more likes than comments as well, but overall they get more comments by a landslide. That was my point.

 

[bgredjeep]

Yes, social media gets more likes than comments as well, but overall they get more comments by a landslide. That was my point.

I do appreciate the "like" option. At the very least it's acknowledgement that someone saw the post. For a long time in the old forum, I just assumed no one ever saw my build thread posts. The good news is i mostly do those for myself to keep track of what I've done (who needs spreadsheets? Lol). I don't always have something to say about a post, but I can at least acknowledge seeing something cool or interesting.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I do appreciate the "like" option. At the very least it's acknowledgement that someone saw the post. For a long time in the old forum, I just assumed no one ever saw my build thread posts. The good news is i mostly do those for myself to keep track of what I've done (who needs spreadsheets? Lol). I don't always have something to say about a post, but I can at least acknowledge seeing something cool or interesting.

Agreed. I like the "Like" button, but I just don't want it to be the reason people don't type comments. Sometimes something as simple as "Nice work" or "where did you get those wheels" opens up a conversation.

 

[ktse]

I've lurked these forums for several years and the information here sets the benchmark in terms of quality. I've used these forums to help research and build my current rigs based on the experiences many of the members have shared.

I'll be honest in saying I use Facebook groups and Instagram to see what people are showing off more often than I come to these forums because it's quick and easy. However, the quality of social media interactions ranges from good to awful with the loudest voices/bots being echoed throughout groups.

Is the forum dying? It depends on what you define as living. If it's strictly based on number of new posts per day compared to the average Facebook group, the forums are on life support. If it's defined as healthy discussions within a community, I can certainly say it's alive.

 

[smog]

This is all assumption as I have no inside info to traffic numbers. This forum seemed to have had a slight uptick in activity with the new software update and I don't know about you guys, but that seems to have already died down. Liking posts, alone, is not really interacting. If you aren't commenting on threads then consider doing that. Look at social media. Those places are thriving because people leave comments.

I am not sure about about others, but I can easily go for several weeks in the summer without checking in here. It's such a busy time with holidays, socializing and such. As build season approaches and the days shorten things change. I start to look at builds and all of the new releases for Xmas. I could be wrong but things will likely pick up

 

[cooper_xl]

But it is not a problem in RCC. I have my builds on another forum and, for example, the Unimog build has 7500 views and just 1 reply. The Land Cruiser build has 3500 views and not one reply. There's no "Likes" there

 

[diezel666]

I am not sure about about others, but I can easily go for several weeks in the summer without checking in here. It's such a busy time with holidays, socializing and such. As build season approaches and the days shorten things change. I start to look at builds and all of the new releases for Xmas. I could be wrong but things will likely pick up

That's pretty much my same issue. With the hobbies and work schedule I have, spring to late fall are usually packed with things to do (and less hobby time). So winter builds, electronics projects (which winter time is great for Amateur Radio in some cases), so I spend time at my electronics/hobby bench.

 

[B-MOW71]

I am not sure about about others, but I can easily go for several weeks in the summer without checking in here. It's such a busy time with holidays, socializing and such. As build season approaches and the days shorten things change. I start to look at builds and all of the new releases for Xmas. I could be wrong but things will likely pick up

Same here. This is my first time checking in, in about a week. Busy life and longer work hours leaves very little time for tiny trucks.

Can't wait for build season!!

 

[oldnick]

Is it still as difficult to join this forum as it was? I was unable to join or get a reply for quite some time, but this is where Google searches kept sending me so I persevered!

I love forums but SM has killed off all but the strongest. I shall try to respond more rather than just think “that’s a cool way of sorting that issue”.

 

[SPLATT]

I'm on several forums for different hobbies of mine and across the board they are all hurting to some extent. Some with the lack of content I'm surprised they still exist. I much prefer a forum setting for sharing information over the social media sites. It's so much easier to go back and find past information, unless you want to see the pics that have long since disappeared due to photo sharing sites getting greedy.

 

[high plains drifter]

I know I've said it before but he old school guys here on RCC are as invaluable as they come. These guys are beyond wise and experienced with just about anything RC related. That alone is worth coming here to get input and answers. I also like the forum format and have always been a forum- community guy... never done IG, FB, TT, etc but from all that I've seen, it's a lot of ego-flexing and misinformation... so much so that I wouldn't ever care to engage in any of that... both for the bad advice as well as the chest-pounding and "edgy" personalities. Interaction on RCC is pretty damned enjoyable too. Folks with integrity and sincerity will always be the cream of the crop.

Now if Indybama would just get back on here to give us some updates on lil' b...

 

[cooper_xl]

I know I've said it before but he old school guys here on RCC are as invaluable as they come. These guys are beyond wise and experienced with just about anything RC related.

Do you guys think that we will lose guys every several building skills and just have 3D printers? just a thought

 

[Reezo]

As long as I am here, not on my watch!

 

[high plains drifter]

Do you guys think that we will lose guys every several building skills and just have 3D printers? just a thought

Unfortunately, just in the short time that I've been here I've seen some great scratch/ custom builders leave or maybe just drop into the background and I don't hold my breath that they'll be back anytime soon. We all come into the hobby pretty enthusiastically but as with anything like this, almost everyone eventually takes a break or reaches a point where they feel like they've done it all.

But to me, that's what makes me respect and appreciate the ones that are still here. Guys that have been doing this for a decade or more and are still here... still passionate, helping others, still building/ fabricating/ modifying, printing, etc... They are the backbone of RCC.

I don't think that being able to create something on a print bed will ever hurt a place like RCC just so long as the old-school guys maintain the desire to come here and keep doing what they do... as evident by HumboldtEF recently posting his 3D printed wheel-gluing jig. He's not making anything from it... just sharing a great idea with others. As long as there are people enthusiastic to interact on a forum like RCC, I feel like this place will survive. I haven't seen 3D printing hurt anything here on RCC although I'm envious of those that have access to printable solutions as here I sit still fabricating and modifying by way of Dremel and a set of calipers lol.

 

[svt923]

Do you guys think that we will lose guys every several building skills and just have 3D printers? just a thought

3D design and printing is just another skill that some guys have in the same way some others are good at welding. It can definitely add something to a build that wouldn't be possible/practical in other ways.

Downloading files and printing them on your own printer is basically the same as just buying a part, no better or worse.