Soompi no more?

[hotmilk]

First of, I am not the most active member here. Having been part of Soompi for nearly seven years, and having a little under 700 posts.However, the times I do return to soompi, with often a 4-5 months break in between, I tend to post in just about every new thread I see.
And the last two times I've been here.. I can honestly say, I can spot the last topic I replied to at the bottom of the page, even though it's been AGES since I last was here, (of course, these isn't in every given forum).But it does prove that peoples interest in soompi is fading away. I used to come here, and we would have 3K+ visitors, and 1.5k members online at a time, now we're reduced to a measly 1.5 - 2k visitors and 400-500 members? Note the membership has been reduced drastically compared to visitors;
I like Soompi's new forum and all, but it's a lot more difficult and complex than the other one, which may cause newcomers (especially young ones) to move on to simpler websites. Also I think Soompi should try to offer new and existing users new features, events, competitions or whatever, to keep them updated, interested, and none the least, give us a reason to come here, other than posting in the same old topics and reading news about the same old artists or actors.
Of course, given the fact that I'm not around very often, I can't tell how many times this discussion has been made, or whatever has been said to be done about it.I love soompi to bits, but I can tell you, at least the road the forum is on right now, is going down the gutter , slowly but surely. Which is a sad thing for a website that's been around for over a decade.

[Daniel_Kim]

I used to go to "http://forums.soompi.com/categories/auditions" a lot in the past, and just recently came back to the forum. I can tell that there are less people posting in that category. It is actually pretty confusing since there are so many categories and such. I still try and be active in the community so I can get to know other people and stuff.

[Guest knockblock]

I think you got one of your wishes Hireshi. A new feature; the rank and privelege thing.


Online forums in general have become less active or are seemly dying. Internet message boards were a lot more active in the 2000s than they are in the 2010s. What's the leading cause to all this? Here's what's happening; it has to do with easier accessibility to the internet. The game has changed. People can go on the internet from outside of their homes a lot more now, especially to browse a forum. People can go on a forum with Smartphones and Tablets. What this presents is that people can decide what is interesting to them a bit quicker. That's the game changer. People will check to see what is interesting, and if they don't find anything that interest them they tune out and move on. It's what you have with the modern day user. So here's the thing, what do you see that is interesting? Yeah, that's what you're contending with. What do people see on a forum that is interesting? Something you didn't have to think of as much a decade ago. Now, you have to much more. Users see how the forum is, and find boring stuff, they'll be thinking "not much to see here". A challenge the forum has to learn how to make plans for.


Back in the day you couldn't go a day without a thread getting bumped to the second page if it wasn't posted in. Now you can see threads lasting 2, 3, 4, or however many days before going to the second page. The happentence I describe still only happens with the super long and fast moving threads, a couple of the Korean focused sections being the example, where someone can get lost in the shuffle. Those aren't fun for most of the regulars to be a part of. Most of the other sections of the forum don't display the capacity anymore. Traffic that the forum could of gotten back then has been consumed by users being able to browse/log on the forum with Smartphones or Tablets. As I mentioned, people can decide what is interesting much quicker now. So users may not be on the forum for as long like before because of this. It's likely the forum can't get the same traffic like back then. This is true for the sections that don't experience the fast moving event.


The K-pop section has been offical'ed to death. The main focus of the site is saddled with them. That's not all. What made the Korean music section good back then, the forum went away from it. The Korean music section used to have all the news stuff be talked about there. That has all been transfered to being on the main site. Maybe if discussion for the news stuff returns to the K-pop section, it would be successful again. That's something I'd strongly be in favor of. Another thing is the "What are your top songs" or "Who are your favorite groups or artists" and other such threads. It would be nice if that activity was back in the K-pop section. That activity is in the K entertainment general, which is lumped with the K TV or movie related stuff. I think it would be better if the K music and K tv/movie related stuff were separate. Same issue exists with the music (non Korean) being with the TV, movies, books, anime. Music related stuff and TV related stuff are two separate entities.


Certain sections of the forum got stale. Notably the ones I just mentioned. Those section may require thought. Why are they stale? Most of the threads people don't explain stuff which lead them to be less active and diminish. People don't give detailed answers to questions or go in depth when making a claim about something. The sections that get this are the love/relationship and real world 20+ sections. It happens with them because people look for advice, and/or looking to empathize or relate with others. The TV/movies/books and music stuff, the entertainment section, don't function well because everyone does the same thing all the time. Rarely giving reasons to what they (posters) say. This is the biggest thing killing the forum. What is the point in asking what song you are listening to if you just list? What is the point in asking what tv show or movie you are watching if you don't go in depth? What is the point of asking someone something if they don't tell you about it? The niche can't survive in such fashion anymore. A majority of the threads tend to have users create lists for the sake of creating lists or posting with one-liners. People don't get much out of these, so the topics don't turn out interesting. Wouldn't it be more interesting if people said why? Give reasons to what they say? Wouldn't topics have more substance if people explained stuff? How do you promote stuff if people don't explain stuff much of the time? It helps to promote stuff when people say why they like something. Like a K-pop artist/group and songs. Threads that end up becoming list threads fizzle out. My thread on who is your anime crush is a listing thread. It is a fun thread but would be more fun if people say why they like the characters they named and tell you about them. Another example would be a thread that ask about what places in the world you have visited. Usually a thread done in general discussion. People listing all the places they've been to isn't really discussing and just ends up being a list thread. Threads that become a one-liner fest make a topic have no substance. If you're going to claim that a song or movie is good, it's better to tell others about it. Saying because it was awesome or your reasoning is just because, that isn't interesting. If you went into depth, like mention an aspect or specifics of something, that would be interesting. If there was a topic about what is your favorite animal and your pick is a cow, say what you like about the cow and what aspect about the creature you like. Going back to what I said above; what are people seeing that is interesting to them? They see what I describe all the time and it makes the forum activity stale. Users see other posters listing or one-lining a majority of the time in threads and it doesn't interest them. Because that's what everyone follows and does, it causes uninspired posts. So it doesn't give people an incentive to post. In result, the forum is lifeless. This problem can be solved. A new practice the forum needs to begin is have moderators get people to explain stuff in their posts if they are found doing such thing. Make those type of posts become prohibited and have people give reasons to what they say.
 

The forum did less with rules. Activity gets affected in certain ways. Rules are going to have to be reinforced, including making new ones. Users need to know what is expected of them. Another thing is to give a guidance of what is allowed or encouraged, especially what can be expected in every section. I was saying how the entertaiment niche can't survive anymore with what I went over. Have a guideline that says you want discussion. The K entertainment and general discussion sectiom is where you can expect discussion. The TV/movies/books (both Korean and non-Korean) and anime/manga need to have discussion as well. Other sections of the forum have posters giving advice or comments. Now there's a difference between a comment and a discussion, that must be understood. Some sections are expected to just have comments, while others can expect discussion going on, or a section has both. The performers section used to be one of the more active sections but over time waned. Many of the threads have little or even zero replies in them. There is a reason why people don't respond in the threads. It's because the way people post when starting their thread, they don't get people to be receptive. Maybe if a rule was created for it it would help the cause. Same thing might be the case with the other sections that encourage comments.


Many internet message boards are seeing a decline in activity. A phenomenon that started in 2010. Some places are dying off while others are just hanging on. The forums that have a strong community are the ones that have a better time surviving. It's harder for those who are starting a new forum to get activity. Many other forums are dying just to get active members to post on their forum. This forum is capable of doing better. It just hasn't been able to come up with what it takes. Soompi forum had a great capacity back then. The times have changed, the game has changed. You have to know how to keep people interested. The greater portion of the memberbase are driven away because of the staleness in activity. The problem with the forum is giving people an incentive to post. Too much stuff lead to uninspired posts, and because of it they don't give people an incentive to post. One of them being what I covered and is a prime example. Currently the forum isn't equipped or adept to dealing with the modern day user. The forum has to come up and set a plan for the future ahead down the line. Learn to evolve. If you want people to get excited about posting again, you have to inspire them. People have to be inspired by what they see.