Subj : Re: Vibes To : apam From : Avon Date : Sun Jan 23 2022 16:43:06 On 19 Jan 2022 at 08:16p, apam pondered and said... ap> > I do agree that a multitude of networks and echos will/can dilute the ap> > overall ap> > volumes of chatter in said networks and echomail areas. ap> ap> Maybe. I don't think it's that simple though. I would say, dead nets are ap> dead nets because no one posts in them. People don't post because people ap> don't post, most people aren't conversation starters, especially if you ap> don't know if there is anyone listening. So you need a conversation ap> starter, and if the network coordinator isn't interested in starting ap> conversations, then it's dead from the get go. I agree dead nets are dead if no one posts, I don't agree that people don't post because they don't post... I don't quite get that, people may not post for a bunch of reasons, and I wish I knew them all. I do agree some folks are more chatty and likely to post than others while some just lurk and read etc. It is interesting to watch a 'dead' echo burst to life when someone posts and others chime in with 'got you here' etc. It's like a high school reunion the frenzy of it all... but often seems to end just as quick, much like a high school reunion too. ap> So, lets say you want to start a niche net, like Mickey for example ap> making a net for musicians. Assuming mickey likes talking about music, ap> and assuming there are other interested musicians who also use BBSes, it ap> could work. I agree. ap> Will it mean less chat on fsxnet, or dove net or network x? Maybe, but ap> there isn't much musician chat here anyway, and what about musicisans ap> who talk about other things, chances are if they're on BBSes they're ap> signed up to popular networks that interest them. If conversations are ap> started on network x, then they will likely chat on network x, if ap> conversation starts on music net, then likely it will continue there. ap> Will it mean less chat on fsxnet, or dove net or network x? Maybe, but ap> there isn't much musician chat here anyway, and what about musicisans ap> who talk about other things, chances are if they're on BBSes they're ap> signed up to popular networks that interest them. If conversations are I observe conversations do flow between networks and have read as such when posters refer to a conversation started on network X about subject Y and then it continues or evolves elsewhere on another network echomail area. I have no problem with any of that, seems normal and reasonable to me. It does highlight the rather small pool of posters/active users of echomail regardless of network. Networks with very specific focus may well do better (or perhaps worse?) than others with broader subject matter... I think it all comes down to how passionate the people who choose to post in echomail are about a given subject/topic. If a network finds success because it offers an appealing mix of areas on subjects etc. that active posters engage with, good for it I'd say :) ap> I don't think that concentrating everyone into a single net is always a ap> good thing. People clash. Some like spaces away from others with a ap> smaller group of people with seperate interests. Just because they like ap> those spaces doesn't mean they wont participate in other spaces. I think ap> it's possible that having seperate nets could even encourage more ap> conversation overall because it is more intimate. People clash irrespective of the number of networks, one might argue even if there was one network only it could try to take steps to mitigate such clashes by offering more echomail areas for people to post in. But I don't think that this idea is a starter for 10... an echomail area (regardless of network) is just a few keyboard presses away from another one, and conflict between posters often comes down to their behavior in written text, whatever misunderstandings are inferred during an exchange, and the community / network op feedback on such behavior as to how they feel about / accept or reject it. I'm not saying I'm against othernets per se, but I do think in general less is more when the overall user base is not really that huge. Would I like BBSing activity to grow in 2022? You bet. Will it, I hope so. If it does I'm sure othernets may continue to spring up, perhaps do well and/or disappear. I started one up because I wanted to learn about such things. I didn't plan for the numbers who came on board but was gratified by those who did. It does take effort and work to support such things. I think if I and others involved in the scene were not as active then perhaps this network may have long since died a death? I'm not sure, but I'm glad it has not. I think I need some food, chips are calling my name... perhaps beer too... mmmm --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/11/06 (Linux/64) * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101) .