GTP is slowly dying...

[TuneRVisioN]

Have you noticed that less members are logging onto GTP? Also when you post something, it takes longer for them to reply? I've been expieriencing this. The number of new posts is slowly decreasing everyday. Have you noticed this?

 

[Loon]

Not really, I've been having some pretty quick convos in the drift comp forum.

I've noticed here lately the number of logged in members doesn't usually go over a hundred.

 

[WallRunner]

You'll Find that most big forums have this happen, there may be 500,000,000 members, but the members who really love the site will come back over and over again, but I have seen a lot more members get ticked off at the mods, which in turn makes them leave.

From,
Chris.

 

[Wolfe]

I'd say things are normal. The school year isn't quite over yet, it's getting warmer out (in the northern hemisphere) so people are spending less time on the internet and more time outside, and there hasn't been any real big GT news since GTHD's announcement.

 

[TopHat]

WOAH, the title scared the crap out of me....

Yeah, as Wolfe said, in the Northern Hemisphere, its warm out. Days are longer. Guitar Hero 2 is out on the 360 . But I'm not going anywhere, don't worry.

 

[Barracuda]

I haven't noticed much of a change.

well, ill be on here pretty much everyday unless im dead.

 

[Joey D]

It's not like it once was that's for sure, but there are still enough people around so it doesn't get boring.

 

[Philly]

Yeah, in some parts, I remember faster discussions. Wolfe is probably right. People are probably just not spending as much time looged on. I find that big news threads, like the M3 one are still similar to what they once were. I just can't say if this is something that happens on a yearly basis.

 

[Famine]

Have you noticed that less members are logging onto GTP? Also when you post something, it takes longer for them to reply? I've been expieriencing this. The number of new posts is slowly decreasing everyday. Have you noticed this?

GTP went live on May 14th, 2001. Our 2 millionth post (accounting for deletions, it was really 2,113,727) was made on 1st February 2006. So we made 2 million posted articles in 1,723 days, at a rate of 1,161 posts per day.

Today the post count stands at 2,372,682 (accounting for deletions, it's really 2,622,534). So we've made 372,682 posted articles in 428 days, at a rate of 871 posts per day, and a total rate of 1,103 posts per day.


So you're right in that reply rates are slowing down, but we're in an interregnum right now - there is no GT game freshly out or impending, so the rate of questions has naturally slowed down. There's also a large number of deleted posts - if you take into account deletions, the posting rate has not changed significantly at all (1,227 posts per day back then, 1,219 posts per day now - a change of 8 posts per day and a deletion rate of over a HUNDRED posts per day).

Edit: We had 84,201 members when post number 2 million was made (49 members per day), and 96,657 members now (45 members per day)


The moral of the story is that when there's a lull in GT games, there's a lull in GTP, but a massive increase in useless tripe that we have to tidy up.

 

[Der Alta]

As explained by Famine, GTP is not dying but rather slowing down.

This ocurred previously in the lull between GT3 and GT4. One game is becoming well used, the other has been pushed back myriad times. Hence "lull". As in Lull you to Sleep.

GTP will be quiet, and you see a rise in troublemakers. Young 'uns get bored and post wanton crap, staff swings ban hammer. You meatball thinks "I'll hve fun and torment GTP staff." We swing ban hammer before he even posts.

And the cyle continues.

The people that you see posting on here now, are the ones that enjoy the community and continually return. Its also the point where you get to know other people really well, as they're the ones one and making quality posts. This point is when the community tightens and bonds better than any other time.

 

[HEAVYSET]

I'll tell ya, as a new member, I'm pretty impressed with the site myself. As I type this, there are over 300 users visiting, 80 of them are members. This is a very healthy website by any measurement.

 

[TuneRVisioN]

Great explaination Famine, Der Alta, Wolfe, and Matthew Keller. +Rep, but Famine and Wolfe I can't +Rep you again just yet... I'm seeing that more people are going outside when I look out the window, so weather and the fact that no new GT is out is why less people are on. Thanks.

 

[UnoMOTO]

Here is a screen shot of the official playstation forum. I first thought that with four times the active members that we might be dying like you are saying. But after thinking about the size of the playstation brand, I think that we are keeping pace just fine. This little old one game site has around 96,000 members and the playstation site has 113,000.

I agree with what the others have said in the down time between games. We are a very focused and dedicated group. We continue to grow every day and maybe only get 1 out of 10 new members become a quality contributor. I would rather have a small number of intelligent users then thousands of kids creating another "why doesn't GT have 20 inch wheels?" thread.

 

[Der Alta]

The unrealized benefit to having less active posters, is that you have more time to compose a better quality post, with more people reading it thoroughly. Hence a rep+ benefit.

 

[Matt R]

The people that you see posting on here now, are the ones that enjoy the community and continually return. Its also the point where you get to know other people really well, as they're the ones one and making quality posts. This point is when the community tightens and bonds better than any other time.

I agree. This stage is where you'll find for the most part the members that really enjoy the site. Interesting topics will come up and logical postings are more of a frequent thing. Just look at the new 360 vs PS3 thread, it's great.

I feel the moderation team over the years has grown a little arseholish as I'm sure you all have heard. I believe in quality over quantity as well, but sometimes it seems that you and others take it to another level. Although justified in your actions and crap, it tends to be more like school around here than a friendly forum.

 

[G.T]

I've been quite active on the Playstation boards lately, and the amount of duplicate threads people make is beyond belief. There must have been 10+ threads made on the "NAT 3" issue alone, all with a very similar answer. The moderators there only tend to lock threads that actually have anything to do with PSN itself or other things to do with software and such, so it does get very cluttered and gets hard to keep up. I don't browse anywhere else but the Networking section, so it maybe different elsewhere.

This makes me really appreciate how well disciplined most of us are. It's more enjoyable this way - hopefully for the others which look at this site for information on Gran Turismo too.

 

[HEAVYSET]

I haven't been here long enough to witness any wrath from the moderators, but I did find it interesting that my first post had to be "approved" before going on the board. This is the first website where I ever had that occur.

It's okay with me, I'm not in the habit of causing trouble. Has there been much in the past? I see, from reading the GTP competition thread, that a replay is required to prove a time, and that times aren't allowed to be discussed. Has the level of mistrust gotten that bad? Most user hosted competitions at other racing game fansites simply rely on people to be honest about their times. Some require a screenshot from someone who is new to the competition. And all that I've seen so far allow participants to openly post and discuss their times, even to extent of offering tips on how to take certain corners, what gear to use, etc.

I'd better quit right here, as I'm guilty of going way off topic.

 

[Loon]

In the WRS they aren't allowed to talk about it here, but they can however, discuss times and strategies on MSN and such.

And yes there have been problems arise because of cheating.

 

[Der Alta]

We're overly tight on many different things, as newer members tend to think in much too lax appearences. Being a popular site, we get many young people that lie to exaggerate.

The "inital" post approval, was instituted due to banned members returning often, and spammers. When deleting 5-6 spam posts a day, it overloaded forums. We instituted that approval to cut the spammers off before they post. It has helped, and is a quickly forgotten instance for real members.

Jjacks, I'd love to see GTP like it was 4 years ago, and as members age, and grow to be more respectable, you'll see us relax on how tight we adhere to the AUP. With the influx of idiot members, we were forced to tighten up. In this lull with members that post often and logical we'll drift back towards that.

It all goes in cycles.

 

[Pupik]

I haven't been here long enough to witness any wrath from the moderators, but I did find it interesting that my first post had to be "approved" before going on the board. This is the first website where I ever had that occur.

If it was related to GT4, then yes, it had to be approved; or at least, you get a warning. As a long-time member of several GT-related boards, and long-timer here, I can tell you the rule was applied evenly among all members (although I'm guessing moderators were exempt). My single GT4 thread was indeed moderated before it could be posted for all to see. I found most of what I needed to know about GT4 to by searching, by playing the game, and reading the manual. This way, we could prevent duplicate threads/topics that had been discussed virtually ad infinitum, bringing the reader a simple answer to a simple question, and to prevent flooding of "what's your favorite car" questions.

 

[Sage]

Actually, what he’s referring to is an anti-spam measure we instituted a few months ago. We were having a hugenormous influx of spammers (FREE NOKIA 999999XYZ!!!!!), so what happens now is that if a brand-new member does something that trips our spam filter (I won’t divulge what that would be), their post gets sent to a moderation queue so that we can check whether it’s a genuine member or a spammer.

This is the reason that any non-moderator probably hasn’t seen a spam thread in a long time – there are plenty of them created each day, but this queue system allows us to deal with them before they’re ever seen in public.

 

[Loon]

Wow, thats a pretty cool idea.

I thought the other day I saw a member with something like "freeRingtonesHere" as a username, I thought to myself "great", here we go with threads all over the place trying to spam us.

Big props to y'all for coming up with new ideas to make our experience here better and better.👍

Thank You.

 

[HEAVYSET]

I agree, that is a great idea. I think my first post was in the Steering Wheels topic. I mentioned the word "games" twice, and see that on my screen they are highlighted in green with double-underlines, with a popup ad displaying as I move the cursor over them. I'm guessing those were the triggers.

I'm all for current policy, even if I don't know all of it yet. The better policed a site is, the more enjoyable for me.

 

[Silverzone]

GTP is much different now than 3 years ago. It was ten times more active then it is now. I was never ever ever bored with GTP, but now things have changed. :/ But then again a lot of the people that we're really awesome back then have left now.. I do miss the old GTP, but GTP is still good.

 

[Wolfe]

I'd just like to say welcome, HEAVYSET, and enjoy your stay. If your current posts are any indication, you'll fit right in here. 👍

I'd also like to 👍 the anti-spam measure set up by our staff. It's a good idea, and us "ordinary" members are thankful.

 

[HEAVYSET]

Thanks, Wolfe. I just may be here for awhile. I thought I had played GT3 to death years ago, but now that I've started it again, it's even more engrossing the second time around with my new DFP. Then I have GT4 to conquer. Life is good.

I spent the last few years with a bunch of Xbox racing games, Rallisport, Forza, and my fave, the Project Gotham series, but I now realize there is just no comparison to the GT series. These games just flat have it, and this website is a perfect match.

 

[Matt R]

Big props to y'all for coming up with new ideas to make our experience here better and better.👍

Not to single you out LOON, but this is what now gets on my nerves.

I used to be the same way, kissing all the moderators asses. Over the years, I've grown up. When I started posting on this forum, I was roughly 14 years old. I'm now 20 and I've seen a lot of things happen overtime. One of the things I've noticed is that members rarely ask to be a part of the mod squad. Now though, people kiss ass and let all of those above them know that they are appreciated for the hard work they put in. Now, is it really hard work? Don't you just click a few buttons mods and maybe type enough to give reasoning behind your action? Hard work? You've got to be kidding me. Don't doubt for a second that at age 14 I wasn't obsessed with this site and ass licking in each direction I could. You mods have a job outside of your job. You all regulate the forums and make sure useless stuff is deleted. I hate seeing the vacuum cleaner members we have sucking up to the staff these days. You guys are here to make sure hings for Jordan run smoothly, but you all get nothing in return except the ability to ban, move, and maybe alter forum settings. IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL. If I were ever given a moderating option, I'd pass like crazy. I've been here 5 years. I've seen 5 years of total ass kicking and people who make good posts for the soul purpose of maybe becoming a mod. I have seen since this place was an MSN Community the changes that have ensued. I'm not happy at all.

 

[Loon]

I wouldn't call it ass kissing, more like showing appreciation for them doing that. You could call it being nice if you like. If you did something for somebody, wouldn't you like to at least get a thanks or some kind of appreciation, naturally you're going to say no.

And it may not be hard, strenuous work, but it IS work. These people are taking time out of their day do this stuff for free. They deserve some kind of payment for it.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[Joey D]

Not to single you out LOON, but this is what now gets on my nerves.

I used to be the same way, kissing all the moderators asses. Over the years, I've grown up. When I started posting on this forum, I was roughly 14 years old. I'm now 20 and I've seen a lot of things happen overtime. One of the things I've noticed is that members rarely ask to be a part of the mod squad. Now though, people kiss ass and let all of those above them know that they are appreciated for the hard work they put in. Now, is it really hard work? Don't you just click a few buttons mods and maybe type enough to give reasoning behind your action? Hard work? You've got to be kidding me. Don't doubt for a second that at age 14 I wasn't obsessed with this site and ass licking in each direction I could. You mods have a job outside of your job. You all regulate the forums and make sure useless stuff is deleted. I hate seeing the vacuum cleaner members we have sucking up to the staff these days. You guys are here to make sure hings for Jordan run smoothly, but you all get nothing in return except the ability to ban, move, and maybe alter forum settings. IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL. If I were ever given a moderating option, I'd pass like crazy. I've been here 5 years. I've seen 5 years of total ass kicking and people who make good posts for the soul purpose of maybe becoming a mod. I have seen since this place was an MSN Community the changes that have ensued. I'm not happy at all.

I've been a mod of a few forums and it's not something I would really like to do again. Yes it's cool to have power, but I 100% understand what you are saying. People seem threatened by you because they think you are going to ban them if they don't agree with you. The only time I would ban someone is if they spammed or did something pretty severe. Other than that I let a lot of things slide that probably should have been dealt with.

 

[Matt R]

I wouldn't call it ass kissing, more like showing appreciation for them doing that. You could call it being nice if you like. If you did something for somebody, wouldn't you like to at least get a thanks or some kind of appreciation, naturally you're going to say no.

And it may not be hard, strenuous work, but it IS work. These people are taking time out of their day do this stuff for free. They deserve some kind of payment for it.

But that's just my opinion.

It's not all ass licking, I agree. I just want to mention again I was not putting you in the light, just the post you made. Posts of that nature.

I see just as much as the mods do, and I see things dissapear. I've been here long enough I believe that I can tell the genuine quality posters from those who do it for some type of merit.

Do I care about a green badge? Pfft, no. Do most here? No, but maybe. Does everyone care? Not at all. I'm for them though. I can't find many green bade wearing members who are not worthy of the declaration. It's a good system and it promotes good postings. Will I go out of my way by using Wikipedia or Google to sound smart for a green badge on a free forum where I will never meet anyone? Nah.