Inactive Members

[E_Reeves]

Hi all,

Reading through old threads it's quite interesting to see how much thing have progressed for example the threads on franchise changes and especially the HS1 work.
I've also seen that there were many established members and members with high post counts that have been inactive for donkeys years. What makes people go inactive like this, especially in cases where they have thousands of posts? Do people just want time away from the forums or time away from the railway altogether? It intrigues me why people just suddenly leave like this.
Have you ever had a break from the forums or the railway and if so, why?

Looking forward to the responses!

Ta

 

[Statto]

Some have been perma banned, which since the move to the new forum doesn't show up anymore, some just take a break for whatever reason & can't be bothered posting stuff.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Recently had a break of two months or so, returned this week. Happened for a variety of reasons. Firstly October is a busy month for sports I follow in distant time zones (MLB playoffs and WTA Asian swing) so little time for forum activity. Then had a spell of poor health (nothing serious, but as you get older things take longer to get over!) when I couldn't be bothered to apply much brain power to form worthwhile posts. Also there are times when I find the forum can get tedious with the same small number of individual members incessantly posting in a large number of different threads essentially endlessly repeating their views which are already well-known to anyone who pays any attention at all: rather than get bored by this it's more refreshing to just stay away for a while. In the meantime I have discovered the joys of YouTube: lot's of entertainment to be had there!

There are also threads which tend to go round in circles (Southern DOO dispute being the worst) so having expressed my own opinions there often seems little point in restating them and thus pushing the circularity still further. Perhaps most disappointing is how little genuine discussion takes place at times with reasoned points of view expressed and considered responses in return being less common than I personally would like to see. That's the trouble with social media (this may not be Facebook or Twitter but fulfills a similar role), many people are only interested in sounding off. C'est la vie...

 

[Qwerty133]

There are many periods in which I've simply not been on the railway for months at a time, and others in which I've been writing so much for school or uni I couldn't be bothered to type out any posts and I often don't log in when browsing so it would appear that I'd been inactive.

 

[whhistle]

If they got a new job that doesn't permit much time for online activity on the forum or had a baby perhaps; that would explain things.

Not that this forum particularly shouts it, but Twitter claiming they have XXX users - yes but how many are actually active? Take out the duplicate accounts and bots and the figure would be a lot lower. Even the recent "active users" number they tout is still rubbish. The BigBenBongs account is a great example of a bot, but would still count to an active user.

My current position allows me to browse and reply fairly easily but when I get home, I have many more other things to do rather than browse this forum. If I didn't have time during my working day, I guess I would move the priority a little higher but not at the moment.

 

[richw]

I browse daily, but if nothing to contribute to any threads I don’t post.

I wonder if some dormant users may have passed away, others lose interest

 

[E_Reeves]

I browse daily, but if nothing to contribute to any threads I don’t post.

I wonder if some dormant users may have passed away, others lose interest

That's a good point actually, hadn't thought of that. I remember reading an article lately on how sites such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming 'Digital Graveyards'. Quite an interesting thing to read.

 

[coastwallker]

I read daily and more if there is something interesting ongoing but rarely post usually because I have nothing useful to contribute .

 

[Darandio]

I read daily and more if there is something interesting ongoing but rarely post usually because I have nothing useful to contribute .

Don't let it put you off. I and many others have nothing useful to contribute but we still do!

 

[AlterEgo]

Don't let it put you off. I and many others have nothing useful to contribute but we still do!

Indeed, having nothing to contribute is a prerequisite in some areas of the forum!

 

[Jimini]

I've been on here for over 11 years and have only just passed the 100 posts mark! More of a reader than a contributor, I guess.

 

[DarloRich]

Hi all,

Reading through old threads it's quite interesting to see how much thing have progressed for example the threads on franchise changes and especially the HS1 work.
I've also seen that there were many established members and members with high post counts that have been inactive for donkeys years. What makes people go inactive like this, especially in cases where they have thousands of posts? Do people just want time away from the forums or time away from the railway altogether? It intrigues me why people just suddenly leave like this.
Have you ever had a break from the forums or the railway and if so, why?

Looking forward to the responses!

Ta

odds are that some of them may be permanently inactive........................

 

[Aussie_Rail]

I joined in 2008 when I was keen as pie to come across, but as it became more and more unlikely I sort of drifted away from the forum, posting occasionally, but now that I'm coming for sure I'm back again reading up on what's going on and joining in on discussions when I can.

With not being native, I'm less likely to say something that will probably make me look like a total dweeb and unless its a discussion I'm more confident in being a part of.

 

[507021]

I've had a couple of breaks from the forum since I joined, both were times when I lost a lot of interest in the railways. I've got some of it back, although these days I'm less interested in travelling the network and more interested in the TOCs/franchises, as well as keeping track of all of the current and upcoming rolling stock deliveries/cascades.

 

[Statto]

odds are that some of them may be permanently inactive........................

Yep, one troll that i do no[not personally btw] who only posted in the Nottingham Bus War thread got perma banned a few years ago.

Personally i'm not bothered, members come & go whether banned or not, i'm more bothered about post quality than post count, one member i do ignore as they're an expert on posting ill informed garbage, akin to shooting 10,000 rounds at a target & hitting twice.

 

[DarloRich]

Yep, one troll that i do no[not personally btw] who only posted in the Nottingham Bus War thread got perma banned a few years ago.

I meant shuffled off this mortal coil

Personally i'm not bothered, members come & go whether banned or not, i'm more bothered about post quality than post count, one member i do ignore as they're an expert on posting ill informed garbage, akin to shooting 10,000 rounds at a target & hitting twice.

i try my best but my aim is poor!

 

[northwichcat]

I'm aware there's a couple of people who were posting on here regularly who are currently living abroad and not still regularly visiting the forum.

 

[70014IronDuke]

I meant shuffled off this mortal coil
...

Alas, alack, there comes a time when we are all called to the Great Engine Shed in the sky.
(Or carriage sidings, I suppose, in some cases.)

 

[DarloRich]

Alas, alack, there comes a time when we are all called to the Great Engine Shed in the sky.
(Or carriage sidings, I suppose, in some cases.)

it will be the scrap yard for me! Broken up for parts to keep others running.

 

[Statto]

I meant shuffled off this mortal coil

I see what you men

i try my best but my aim is poor!

 

[Cowley]

it will be the scrap yard for me! Broken up for parts to keep others running.

That made me laugh this afternoon .
I hope no-one flame cuts your panels off...

 

[PeterY]

I browse daily, but if nothing to contribute to any threads I don’t post.

I wonder if some dormant users may have passed away, others lose interest

Basically it's the same for me, despite looking in, 2 to 3 times a day.

 

[xotGD]

Unlikely as it seems for railway cranks, perhaps some of them acquired a girlfriend!

 

[J-2739]

I'm too busy at school these days, and I'm not to important here anyways (I can seem a bit odd, but I'm just enjoying myself!). I also don't take the train as much as I did before. I read the forum almost daily though.

I also got a warning earlier on, so I'm trying to keep my nose clean now!

 

[D365]

I'm a bit quieter myself now, ironically because I've taken up employment in the industry...

 

[Busaholic]

Are you allowed to post from prison?

 

[Crossover]

In recent times I have become less active, including as a reader. Essentially I often have too much going on and not enough time to read the forums. On some days I may only get 15 minutes on lunch to have a quick browse but can now go a few days without being on.

As others have said, quite a few users will be perma-banned (I know of a few off hand), some who have drifted (know some of them off the forum) and unfortunately (to be more to the point) some have sadly passed away. I know of three for sure on the latter but I am sure there are a number more

 

[RichmondCommu]

I suspect starting University, your first job, meeting a partner, becoming a parent and of course sadly passing away are the main reasons for no longer using the forum.

 

[northwichcat]

I suspect starting University, your first job, meeting a partner, becoming a parent and of sadly passing away are the main reasons for no longer using the forum.

Or possibly a lack of anything exciting. We went through a period for a couple of years when all that was happening was franchise extensions were being announced and the government confirming schemes which they had previously announced.

 

[skyhigh]

As others have said, I browse fairly frequently but rarely post in comparison as I often don't have anything of value to add to a discussion!