# The elephant in the room. 4063 active members **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 4, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139 "2017-06-04T23:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/61 "2017-06-05T21:25:57Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I don’t think it’s accurate to say the message-board medium is dying. It’s unclear to me why there should be a distinction between say SDMB, Facebook, and Reddit. They are all sites where users post content directed at each other. Facebook is easy. It’s a completely different medium. The idea is to get together with your friends. It does have specific places for discussion of media properties and hobbies, but those are specific, not general, and are designed to emphasize your friends. It’s like comparing a library and a fan club. It’s different. Reddit is not as easy. It is still rather segmented, but it doesn’t have to be. What is largely different is that it specifically deemphasizes that which is not popular and priorities individuals discussing things rather than a group discussion. I’ve actually thought about how we could transition the board to Reddit, and it would require using the software in a weird way, requiring everyone to reply to the previous poster, in order to keep a time-based discussion with multiple people, without upvotes or downvote interfering. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/62 "2017-06-05T21:50:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Get rid of the malware spewing ads? That would probably help; I’d never recommend this place while those ads are here, and the few times on other boards I’ve seen links posted to here people express horror about them. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/63 "2017-06-05T21:54:18Z")
I wouldn’t say that the message board format is disappearing, but the overall quality has certainly diminished. My theory is that the general tone, everywhere, has become so relentlessly trolly and snarky that knowledgeable people have decided it’s not worth the hassle. So you’re left with (1) trolls/assholes and (2) people who don’t know anything, but take a stab at replying anyway. I remember, five or ten years ago, able to ask a question on a computer board and getting very specific, targeted answers, like “your blahblah.dll file is corrupted.” Now, no matter what you ask, you get the following answers (not necessarily in this order): 1. Reboot your computer. 2. Scan for viruses and malware. 3. Roll your computer back to a restore point. 4. Use your factory restore disk. 5. Get a Mac. 6. Fuck off, you stupid noob. > [@D18](#): > > OK - so if I have a question that I want to ask thousands of people, how do I do that on MyBook. Or is it FaceSpace? I thought it would only go to my so-called friends? I would say that the general, all-purpose answer is Reddit. There are still some excellent single-topic boards out there, but they’re not easy to find; you either stumble on them, or someone tells you about them. For example, one of the best cellphone-related boards is called “Howard Forums.” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/64 "2017-06-05T23:29:55Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I think there are only two of us and a lot of socks. Ever notice that you and I don’t post in the same thread at the same time? Not saying anything, just asking . . . ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/65 "2017-06-06T00:53:21Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Ever notice that you and I don’t post in the same thread at the same time? Not saying anything, just asking . . . My plan worked! This thread was a trap to catch those two. **Siam Sam** and **TokyoBayer** , yeah right. More like **Stalingrad Sam** and **TrotskyBayer**. I expect cookies from the 98 non sock regular posters. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/66 "2017-06-06T01:22:54Z")
At any given moment, only about 100 out of those 4,000 active members are truly active, daily, posters, right? Mastodon in the room. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/67 "2017-06-06T01:33:58Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If you get tired of this place, there’s always Facebook. What? And leave MySpace? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/68 "2017-06-06T01:40:52Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Ever notice that you and I don’t post in the same thread at the same time? Not saying anything, just asking . . . Why, no. No, I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/69 "2017-06-06T01:44:32Z")
> [@D18](#): > > OK - so if I have a question that I want to ask thousands of people, how do I do that on MyBook. Or is it FaceSpace? I thought it would only go to my so-called friends? Facebook has Groups, many of which have thousands of members. You post a question to a group and anyone who is a member can answer you. Groups can be open or closed, but they are much more interactive than most message boards. Much of the traffic from subject matter message boards has moved there. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/70 "2017-06-06T02:03:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If you get tired of this place, there’s always Facebook. Right. Facebook is the new place to get factual information from general-purpose experts. If they don’t have the answer, Instagram will and there is always 4chan to fall back on. As antiquated as the SDMB technology is, there is still no real competition. Quora is the closest match but it only highlights a few questions and responses a day. The admins may want to consider updating the interface but the concept is sound and very difficult for anyone to replace because the SDMB is more of a volunteer network than just a web site. Where else are you going to ask about some obscure 1960’s TV special and have a real person answer within minutes with the name, date, video clips, history of the show and a personal anecdote about the people in it. The fact is that the SDMB can still do plenty of things that Google can’t do. The general public does read it as well. I have had people question something I said, Google it and declare that I am right. No shit, I am the one that wrote it but I am not telling them that. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/71 "2017-06-06T02:22:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Facebook has Groups, many of which have thousands of members. You post a question to a group and anyone who is a member can answer you. Groups can be open or closed, but they are much more interactive than most message boards. Much of the traffic from subject matter message boards has moved there. And the structure is writ in water, with the permanence of mayflies. Topics have a lifespan of days at most. How many threads here stretch over years and decades, with surprising new entries at long intervals? Facebook doesn’t have zombies because it doesn’t have any brains to start with. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/72 "2017-06-06T02:53:55Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > I wouldn’t say that the message board format is disappearing, but the overall quality has certainly diminished. My theory is that the general tone, everywhere, has become so relentlessly trolly and snarky that knowledgeable people have decided it’s not worth the hassle. So you’re left with (1) trolls/assholes and (2) people who don’t know anything, but take a stab at replying anyway. > > I remember, five or ten years ago, able to ask a question on a computer board and getting very specific, targeted answers, like “your blahblah.dll file is corrupted.” Now, no matter what you ask, you get the following answers (not necessarily in this order): > > 1. Reboot your computer. > 2. Scan for viruses and malware. > 3. Roll your computer back to a restore point. > 4. Use your factory restore disk. > 5. Get a Mac. > 6. Fuck off, you stupid noob. > I would say that the general, all-purpose answer is Reddit. There are still some excellent single-topic boards out there, but they’re not easy to find; you either stumble on them, or someone tells you about them. For example, one of the best cellphone-related boards is called “Howard Forums.” 😕 I’ve tried reading Reddit a bunch of times and I just can’t get into it. I find the upvote system baffling and the zillion different subreddits impossible to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/73 "2017-06-06T03:18:41Z")
I just have this Board. I’m not on Facebook, or Instagram, or Reddit, or anything else you care to name. Who has the time? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/74 "2017-06-06T05:16:35Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Oh, goodness. Are people really shocked to hear that participation in a message board is declining?? I mean, really. In today’s world, a message board is so quaint. If I mention on Facebook that I participate on a message board, I get the most weird responses, especially from anyone younger than 35. It would be a damn shame if this and other message boards–though I know of no general interest boards that are as good as this–go extinct. Regardless of how quaint it is, I think the message board concept has its place. Facebook and its ilk are like a party; until you grow at least a small circle of friends you can really only discuss those topics that are already popular and current, because otherwise your posts will sink faster than a lead brick. Here, by contrast, the newest member can start a thread on nearly any topic, and that thread will almost certainly be read and replied to. Questions will be answered and opinions will be offered and debated. But sadly, just fulfilling a unique requirement doesn’t guarantee survival. I’ve always been struck by the fact that scripted radio withered away with the advent of widespread access to TV. TV is obviously better on its face because it’s clearly better that you can both see the action as well as hear the dialog. But you need your eyes, and you pretty much have to sit in one place while you watch your show. In the days of OTR, you could listen to a drama or comedy show while engaging in other tasks or activities around the home. You could also drive your car without your choices being limited to the same old pop playlist, news or talk. Scripted radio had some obvious advantages which the new medium did not match, but it died anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/75 "2017-06-06T06:44:08Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > But sadly, just fulfilling a unique requirement doesn’t guarantee survival. I’ve always been struck by the fact that scripted radio withered away with the advent of widespread access to TV. TV is obviously better on its face because it’s clearly better that you can both see the action as well as hear the dialog. But you need your eyes, and you pretty much have to sit in one place while you watch your show. In the days of OTR, you could listen to a drama or comedy show while engaging in other tasks or activities around the home. You could also drive your car without your choices being limited to the same old pop playlist, news or talk. Scripted radio had some obvious advantages which the new medium did not match, but it died anyway. But today we can listen to all the great old radio shows anytime we want, from almost anywhere on earth, with a magic box smaller than a deck of cards that we can carry wherever we go. Even with no new broadcasts for half a century they are still fairly popular today and far more accessible to everyone than they ever were in their original form. The SDMB might one day shut her doors but in some form or another these threads will probably outlive everyone reading them today. Because of the unique situation this board is in though, it isn’t going anywhere for years even if there were no new posts at all. Unless TPTB just decide they don’t want to have it anymore despite remaining profitable, it could coast along as a ghost ship for years from google searchers viewing ads on the existing content. To the eyes of search engines this place is a collective work covering practically every topic under the sun all in one place. It gets Wikipedia-like search engine rankings for practically any topic because of that so with ads it is probably capable of supporting itself with no active posters for many years. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/76 "2017-06-06T08:59:41Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > … I’ve always been struck by the fact that scripted radio withered away with the advent of widespread access to TV. > … Scripted radio had some obvious advantages which the new medium did not match, but it died anyway. Not everywhere though. The Archers, currently on BBC Radio 4, has been running since 1951, and still pulls in 5 million listeners. Radio 4 also has other slots for radio dramas which continue to do well. Granted, this may be an exception rather than a rule, but it does at least show there’s still a following for “outmoded” mediums if they’re done well. Perhaps the SDMB can become The Archers of message boards. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/77 "2017-06-06T12:17:31Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > I ask for two reasons. The only other forum I have ever been active on, Epicski, shut down last month. > **[DCSki Forums](https://www.dcski.com/forum/90381)** > > A vibrant community of skiers and snowboarders. > [@](#): > > The EpicSki forum will no longer be available after April 28, 2017, due to our current hosting provider discontinuing its forum services. We appreciate and thank all of the forum members, moderators and site managers for your years of dedication and contribution to the conversation and community. Those EpicSki members who would like to retain their photo albums, unofficial guides, and all other content should download that to their personal storage device by no later than noon MDT on Thursday, April 27, 2017. It was not a membership number thing for Epicski – it was an embuggerance thing for Vail. Nor is it a membership number thing for the Dope – it will be an embuggerance thing for the Reader. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/78 "2017-06-06T13:19:38Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Facebook has Groups, many of which have thousands of members. You post a question to a group and anyone who is a member can answer you. Groups can be open or closed, but they are much more interactive than most message boards. Much of the traffic from subject matter message boards has moved there. Gotcha ya. Didn’t know that. I have negligible exposure to Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/79 "2017-06-06T15:10:44Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Oh, great! We’re going to have an initiation with an elephant? The goat was baaaad enough. What’s grey and comes in quarts? If you thought felching a goat was bad… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139/80 "2017-06-06T16:05:08Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Facebook has Groups, many of which have thousands of members. You post a question to a group and anyone who is a member can answer you. Groups can be open or closed, but they are much more interactive than most message boards. Much of the traffic from subject matter message boards has moved there. The problem with Facebook is that it requires you to post using your real name. (I’m sure there are ways around it, but that’s another story.) On this board we are anonymous if we want to be. I’m on Facebook a lot but I never post anything confidential or controversial there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elephant-in-the-room-4063-active-members/788139.md?page=5)