If this is the only OA forum, why isn't everyone here? 4 4

[KirbyCollector]

As far as I know, this is the only (current) substantive discussion forum for OA. I suppose you could say Bill's various shows provide a forum of sorts, but there is nowhere near the level of thoughtful engagement you find here. So why isn't everyone here? They certainly know it is here... collectors toss in some negative comment about this forum on every show he runs. 

[malvin]

I think its just all spread out now, mainly to various FB focums.

CAF has it's own forums but I think activity is low.  Comicart-l is still around but has lower activities.  Statue forum had and maybe still has an OA sub forum too but I don't know how much activity is going on there.

Malvin

[Rick2you2]

On 9/30/2022 at 4:23 PM, malvin said:

I think its just all spread out now, mainly to various FB focums.

CAF has it's own forums but I think activity is low.  Comicart-l is still around but has lower activities.  Statue forum had and maybe still has an OA sub forum too but I don't know how much activity is going on there.

Malvin

…and those FB forums don’t hold a candle to this place.

[Shemp]

On 9/30/2022 at 12:57 PM, KirbyCollector said:

As far as I know, this is the only (current) substantive discussion forum for OA. I suppose you could say Bill's various shows provide a forum of sorts, but there is nowhere near the level of thoughtful engagement you find here. So why isn't everyone here? They certainly know it is here... collectors toss in some negative comment about this forum on every show he runs. 

For the same reason not every collector is on CAF. It's not everyone's cup of tea.

[JC25427N]

On 9/30/2022 at 3:57 PM, KirbyCollector said:

As far as I know, this is the only (current) substantive discussion forum for OA. I suppose you could say Bill's various shows provide a forum of sorts, but there is nowhere near the level of thoughtful engagement you find here. So why isn't everyone here? They certainly know it is here... collectors toss in some negative comment about this forum on every show he runs. 

I also want to add in, the "negative" comments are just playful banter, its just a reference to the thread a member called Race made once on how he doesn't like the Dueling Dealers show and it's humor. So whenever something "controversial" happens on the show, people (and I myself do this a lot lol) joke how it's gonna be brought up on these forums. The comments are mostly just something akin to something like "Careful CGC can hear you" or "CGC is gonna have a field day with that one", nothing negative

Edited October 1, 2022 by JC25427N

[New School Fool]

On 10/1/2022 at 2:50 AM, JC25427N said:

I also want to add in, the "negative" comments are just playful banter, its just a reference to the thread a member called Race made once on how he doesn't like the Dueling Dealers show and it's humor. 

Not sure about that. Bill Cox has displayed negative sentiments about this forum before Race made that post...

The general feeling I get is that Bill doesn't really like it here. I'm sure he described it as 'toxic' once

[RBerman]

The limited traffic here reflects the general shift away from message boards like this over the last twenty years. First to Facebook, and then Twitter, and then Instagram, and now TikTok. The multi-level threads of something like Facebook allow more sophisticated management of short posts while being less effective at displaying long articles with multiple images and text formatting.

[Rick2you2]

On 10/2/2022 at 7:38 PM, RBerman said:

The limited traffic here reflects the general shift away from message boards like this over the last twenty years. First to Facebook, and then Twitter, and then Instagram, and now TikTok. The multi-level threads of something like Facebook allow more sophisticated management of short posts while being less effective at displaying long articles with multiple images and text formatting.

They are also less effective at saying anything having much value, besides general conversation; like that classic Pepsi slogan “Uhh-huh”. 

[vodou]

On 10/2/2022 at 7:38 PM, RBerman said:

The multi-level threads of something like Facebook allow more sophisticated management of short posts while being less effective at…

People are more shallow than ever? Yes.

[JadeGiant]

There are lots of reasons but the main is that the conversations have been widely dispersed with the explosion of social media. Whatever platform you prefer to engage in (FB, IG, Twitter, etc.), that is where a lot of people tend to spend their time. The aforementioned Statue Forum site is a great example - once brimming with conversations and content, the traffic has dwindled significantly. I am a moderator over there so I still post but only a tiny fraction of users post compared to the pre-social media days. I tend to prefer the forum format but I am clearly in the minority with that preference. 

[GotSuperPowers?]

I prefer the forum format too - Facebook is way too clunky to follow a post and engage on it properly.  Over here I can pick and choose the topics that I'm interested in and get emails automatically on a new post.  Comments on a Facebook post I want to follow seem to get lost, and then you have threads off of a comment which I don't see...it's a mess.  

[JadeGiant]

Agree Simon and that is the key difference that I prefer about forums. There tends to be more depth in conversation as it is easier to follow and find. Social media gets a lot of attention up front and ignites a quick flurry of activity, but it tends to flame out quickly and once buried past the first page or two, goes by the wayside. 

[Will_K]

I don't do social media.  Here and CAF is about as "social" as I get in any context.

[cloud cloddie]

I’d imagine a lot of it is about collectors engaging where the art and artists are. Facebook forums have a lot of direct artist interaction - helpful for networking and art opportunities. I’ve gotten a lot of heads ups from there that've lead to some good purchases. I like this board and check in daily, but… there’s very little art posted for sale that’s not posted elsewhere and very little artist interaction - can’t think of any regulars other than stinkininkin. I’ve gotten good info and backstories here, but probably even better hot goss striking up FB messenger convos. When there’s so many options for art dialogue, you gotta prioritize… 

Edited October 3, 2022 by cloud cloddie

[KirbyCollector]

On 10/3/2022 at 4:55 PM, cloud cloddie said:

I’d imagine a lot of it is about collectors engaging where the art and artists are.

Perhaps this is why I prefer this venue... all the artists I like are dead 

[delekkerste]

The Original Comic Art Collectors page on Facebook has 7.4K members and has been the most active forum to talk about comic art since it launched in 2018. I noticed pretty quickly that it was cannibalizing activity on Comic Art Fans, which I suspect was part of the impetus to expand CAF's programming the past 2-3 years (and Bill has done a great job with that, hats off to him). 

As for why everyone isn't here, to be brutally frank, I've heard it said by many people: a lot of people just don't like the personalities here. Whether people agree or not, there's a perception out there that this Forum is dominated by keyboard warriors who will attack you and try to tear you down (Burkey I know has felt attacked here in the past, and he definitely was) and/or who are talking out of their azz and think they know more than they do (I'm sure some have leveled this criticism against me on occasion, though, I know that it's mostly directly at others here). Some have also levied the criticism that people talk too much about "the market" vs. the art. I personally think it's a bit unfair, as the art doesn't change whereas the market does.

But, the fact remains: many prefer the Facebook group where the atmosphere is very genial and easy-going, people stick to talking mostly about the art itself, and there is very little confrontation, arguing, trolling, etc. I personally think the ability for long-form discussion here is far superior to the Facebook group's, but, no doubt that group gets far more eyeballs and participation. 

Also, I know that there are numerous smaller, private groups out there on Slack, Internet messenger and WhatsApp where people can chat freely among a tight circle of friends (I'm probably part of a half dozen or so of them). 

If someone really wants to challenge the Facebook group's supremacy with a superior platform, there is only one obvious choice: Discord. I am a member of numerous Discords, mostly for sports cards, and you get even more participation than you see on Facebook with the platform advantages of a message board like this one. I'm surprised there isn't a Discord for OA that has gained critical mass (that I am aware of).

Edited October 4, 2022 by delekkerste

[tth2]

Isn't one of the reasons as simple as the reason why a scratch golfer might not want to play with someone who struggles to break 120?

[jjonahjameson11]

I didn’t want to mention it before, but per Gene, definitely this:

“As for why everyone isn't here, to be brutally frank, I've heard it said by many people: a lot of people just don't like the personalities here. Whether people agree or not, there's a perception out there that this Forum is dominated by keyboard warriors who will attack you and try to tear you down”

[Dr. Balls]

On 9/30/2022 at 11:56 PM, New School Fool said:

Not sure about that. Bill Cox has displayed negative sentiments about this forum before Race made that post...

The general feeling I get is that Bill doesn't really like it here. I'm sure he described it as 'toxic' once

I was on DD last night for the first time, kind of a fun concept, seems like pretty good engagement from people (at least for a Monday). I was going to ask if there was anyone from the CGC boards in the chat (since my YouTube name is different than my board name), I guess I'm glad I kept that to myself.

If Bill thinks this place is toxic, he must be quite fortunate having gone his whole life without ever going to a place on the internet called "reddit".

[vodou]

All that’s required is full and transparent disclosure of every piece shil…er “bought back” and all counter parties named and I’ll be first to welcome that sociopath back.