This place used to be so lively...what happened? 9 9

[VintageComics]

Me and some friends were just chatting about this a few days ago via PM. 

This place used to have DOZENS of new posts every hour and on a Friday night there would be boardies having drinks and chatting the night away in one thread or another. 

There were regular sellers on Friday nights that would start sales threads, just as Friday night entertainment and those threads would have dozens of pages in an evening. 

For people that have just joined in the last 3-4 years, you wouldn't recognize this place, it used to be so busy. 

Where have all the good times gone?

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by VintageComics

[bc]

I blame the pickles.

-bc

[WolverineX]

On 11/24/2023 at 6:23 PM, VintageComics said:

Me and some friends were just chatting about this a few days ago via PM. 

This place used to have DOZENS of new posts every hour and on a Friday night there would be boardies having drinks and chatting the night away in one thread or another. 

There were regular sellers on Friday nights that would start sales threads, just as Friday night entertainment and those threads would have dozens of pages in an evening. 

For people that have just joined in the last 3-4 years, you wouldn't recognize this place, it used to be so busy. 

Where have all the good times gone?

 

newer social media apps competing for attention

[grendelbo]

Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Grade was groovy for sure.

@Funnybooks

@Galen130

@Deadpoolica

[Funnybooks]

On 11/24/2023 at 6:52 PM, grendelbo said:

Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Grade was groovy for sure.

@Funnybooks

@Galen130

@Deadpoolica

[Funnybooks]

[The humble Watcher lurking]

On 11/24/2023 at 6:33 PM, WolverineX said:

newer social media apps competing for attention

Social Media is right. Twitter, Tik Tok, YouTube and Instagram. It's crazy, but this is still the best place for long-term discussions. 

[bc]

-bc

[Black_Adam]

Too busy reading comics to post on message boards.   

[JollyComics]

Wait a minute...it's Black Friday.  Wait until tomorrow.

[Shadow]

Plenty of social media distractions, maybe the "novelty" wore off? I've been on for 19 years and agree with the observation it's different. People have come and gone, moving on through life. I've never been a super-user and have tended to read up on some things, learn more about the hobby and occasionally met some of the members at a show. I still enjoy it but it is different. I guess that's to be expected over time. 

[D2]

I was always a boardie, even before the internet and all we had were BBS’.

Then the internet became mainstream and boards were the main form of sharing common interests with others. 

Boards are a dying art form.

[DougC]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:38 PM, D2 said:

Boards are a dying art form.

This is probably the most obvious answer as communication over the internet changes, though even BBS are still around in some forum.

Another reason is the CGC brand itself which has gotten stale and tarnished over the last 20 years by their own poor decisions. The forums are no longer a destination for information but a last resort for customers and lets be a bit honest with ourselves the newbie forum isn't exactly welcoming. The information is given with sarcasm or backhanded "can't your read"-ism, even official responses are often just cut/paste of the not at all helpful information from the website when the person is asking a simple specific question.

[Ares]

On 11/24/2023 at 6:23 PM, VintageComics said:

Me and some friends were just chatting about this a few days ago via PM. 

This place used to have DOZENS of new posts every hour and on a Friday night there would be boardies having drinks and chatting the night away in one thread or another. 

There were regular sellers on Friday nights that would start sales threads, just as Friday night entertainment and those threads would have dozens of pages in an evening. 

For people that have just joined in the last 3-4 years, you wouldn't recognize this place, it used to be so busy. 

Where have all the good times gone?

 

For me its a daughter that's growing and wants stuff. I stepped away from comics for a while and now I plan to get back in. 

Starting to shift my collecting focus

[Point Five]

On 11/24/2023 at 7:53 PM, JollyComics said:

Wait a minute...it's Black Friday.  Wait until tomorrow.

Right, it's worth mentioning that this Thursday-Sunday stretch is a holiday weekend in the US; many boardies are surely traveling and/or spending time with family. I drove through Queens/NYC today and was shocked that the normally dense traffic was so sparse.

 

[JollyComics]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:01 PM, Point Five said:

Right, it's worth mentioning that this Thursday-Sunday stretch is a holiday weekend in the US; many boardies are surely traveling and/or spending time with family. I drove through Queens/NYC today and was shocked that the normally dense traffic was so sparse.

 

I would like to add this..my family returned home to Chicago after 5 hours of driving from Ohio.  I passed Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg with full parking lots around the malls. A long line of cars are waiting for the available spot. It's Black Friday. I am happy to go home.

[VintageComics]

On 11/24/2023 at 9:07 PM, JollyComics said:

I would like to add this..my family returned home to Chicago after 5 hours of driving from Ohio.  I passed Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg with full parking lots around the malls. A long line of cars are waiting for the available spot. It's Black Friday. I am happy to go home.

You couldn't pay me enough to be among the animals that are out there during this time of year. 

Consumer zombies that feel they're enriching their lives by acting like...well, zombies. 

[Nick Furious]

I think that 2020 kicked off a years-long online version of a comic convention (while the real ones were shuttered).  It peaked in 2021 and started to wind down some time in 2022.  There were good times, it was pretty exciting at times.  Going into 2024 it's just the die-hards and clean-up crew powering through the hangover.     

[JollyComics]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:14 PM, VintageComics said:

You couldn't pay me enough to be among the animals that are out there during this time of year. 

Consumer zombies that feel they're enriching their lives by acting like...well, zombies. 

Very true.

I always do the opposites.  Everyone goes that way while I take the opposite direction.

[KCOComics]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:50 PM, DougC said:

This is probably the most obvious answer as communication over the internet changes, though even BBS are still around in some forum.

Another reason is the CGC brand itself which has gotten stale and tarnished over the last 20 years by their own poor decisions. The forums are no longer a destination for information but a last resort for customers and lets be a bit honest with ourselves the newbie forum isn't exactly welcoming. The information is given with sarcasm or backhanded "can't your read"-ism, even official responses are often just cut/paste of the not at all helpful information from the website when the person is asking a simple specific question.

Agree on the Newbie forum. There are some really good folks who respond over there. @SOTIcollector for one. 

I do always try to be thoughtful in my response. 

 

That said, I don't think it's a big reason for the dwindling traffic. The biggest reasons have been mentioned. It's a changing online landscape. There are many competing venus.  I was actually thinking about how much the market place has slowed it seems. It feels like you aren't seeing the same diversity of books and it's a shrinking pool of buyers and sellers. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by KCOComics