Subj : Vibes
To   : Avon
From : apam
Date : Wed Jan 19 2022 20:16:00

-=> On Wed Jan 19 22:21:00 2022, Avon wrote to apam <=-

 > Hey there :)

Hi

 >  ap> Anyway, good luck to mickey with his blues net.
 > 
 > Same from me, if he wants to have a crack at running / learning this stuff,
 > best wishes to him :). 
 > 
 > I do agree that a multitude of networks and echos will/can dilute the overall
 > volumes of chatter in said networks and echomail areas.

Maybe. I don't think it's that simple though. I would say, dead nets are dead nets because no one posts in them. People don't post because people don't post, most people aren't conversation starters, especially if you don't know if there is anyone listening. So you need a conversation starter, and if the network coordinator isn't interested in starting conversations, then it's dead from the get go.

So, lets say you want to start a niche net, like Mickey for example making a net for musicians. Assuming mickey likes talking about music, and assuming there are other interested musicians who also use BBSes, it could work.

Will it mean less chat on fsxnet, or dove net or network x? Maybe, but there isn't much musician chat here anyway, and what about musicisans who talk about other things, chances are if they're on BBSes they're signed up to popular networks that interest them. If conversations are started on network x, then they will likely chat on network x, if conversation starts on music net, then likely it will continue there.

I don't think that concentrating everyone into a single net is always a good thing. People clash. Some like spaces away from others with a smaller group of people with seperate interests. Just because they like those spaces doesn't mean they wont participate in other spaces. I think it's possible that having seperate nets could even encourage more conversation overall because it is more intimate.

Anyway, it's not for me, or anyone really to dictate whether or not to start up a net. It kind of reminds me of people telling developers what to work on in their spare time, if you want to make the 999999 millionth arch linux derived distribution, who am I to say there's too many already and it will dilute the userbase. After all, if it's any good, people will use it, if it's not, it will likely dissappear later on when interest is lost.

The other thing about dead nets, is how exactly do you define a dead net? How do you define success. The first thing that comes to mind, is a healthy flow of conversation. Is that lots of conversation, or some conversation that is worth while. (and what is worth while and what is not) all of these things mean different things to different people.

SO yeah, I say if people want to start a net, go for it. While I understand yours and nigel's point of view, I don't think it's really a problem, the bbs community is bigger than one network.

Andrew

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