Is RIB NET FINISHED??

[Maximus]

Not been on the Forum much for some time with moving house/location and renovation ect....
I must say I'm shocked to see how few are posting these days!...and general insipid standard of a lot of the "in-put".

Seems a shame that a Forum I've certainly enjoyed and found of use for quite some time seems to be fading away slowly ...and pretty bereft of the amusing banter and variety of interaction of the real characters of earlier days...
....could it be yet another case of ..."Go Woke and Go Broke??"
Hope not...
Any opinions/ideas?

[treerat]

I think it still has its place, it may be be what it was, but no forum stays the same, as people change so does the input and output.

I know I still check in most days, have a read or a post, and its still the best place for social gathering planning.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Not been on the Forum much for some time with moving house/location and renovation ect....
I must say I'm shocked to see how few are posting these days!...and general insipid standard of a lot of the "in-put".

Man who stopped regularly using the forum for reasons unconnected with the forum shocked to discover other people are using the forum less.

Seems a shame that a Forum I've certainly enjoyed and found of use for quite some time seems to be fading away slowly

all those posts are still there and relatively easy to search, so perhaps people are finding fewer new topics to post about - although its also possible they've exhausted topics that were of interest to you.

...and pretty bereft of the amusing banter and variety of interaction of the real characters of earlier days...
....could it be yet another case of ..."Go Woke and Go Broke??"
Hope not...
Any opinions/ideas?

I'm not sure Ribnet ever "went woke" it simply avoided all the usual internet BS by never allowing religion or politics as topics. Its notable that your first post back wasn't a question about boating or a story about an epic rib adventure in your new cruising ground but was a grumble about the forum. Something never change!

[Steve509926]

No I don't think Ribnet is finished. I'm probably on it every day, not necessarily posting or starting a new thread, but finding out information from previous threads and looking at new threads others have posted. Admittedly some of the recent posts have been in the "so what" category, but that's just my opinion and they may be of great interest to others.
I think there will always be peaks and troughs throughout the year, and perhaps you've just looked at Ribnet again whilst it's in a bit of a trough. I've not had time to complete and post the video from my last outing simply due to work constraints, perhaps others are in the same boat.
Or is it the piss taking of Smallribber that you are missing! I for one do miss his inane, sarcastic, annoying posts, but thems the rules and I guess he just went a bit to far!

[chipko]

If you think this place is quiet you should try the other sib channel. New posts/replies rarer than hen’s teeth.

Sadly zero tolerance to even a hint of any mild ribbing, but thankfully as yet no cliques or in jokes at other’s expense.

[lakelandterrier]

It is certainly less busy than a few years ago.

Could be combination of several reasons:

Demographics - "younger" ribbers may favour other social media to communicate, however I can't be doing with Facebook etc personally

Size / profile of "ribbing community - boating is getting ever more expensive, lots of other pressures on finances etc, so are fewer new people getting into ribs / sibs than say 5-10 years ago- don't know? and are people able to get out less, which again may limit posts

Are people just too busy with other thing to post as much?

As Poly says, alot of topics have been aired lots of times, mayb we are running out of new things to say

I still have a look most days, there have always been far more people "lurking" and jiust reading posts than "active posters".

[boilermaker1]

I just after getting back in to rib net after being away for a few years. Still the place to get advise and answers

[Pikey Dave]

I think if you hang around long enough, you get tired of answering the same questions over & over. Then someone new comes along and starts answering the (same) questions, because they haven’t been around as long & don’t realise that it’s a cycle. I used to buy Diving magazines & Photography mags back in the day. After a couple of years, you realise that they are just recycling the same old same old, for the next cohort of newbies.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I think if you hang around long enough, you get tired of answering the same questions over & over. Then someone new comes along and starts answering the (same) questions, because they haven’t been around as long & don’t realise that it’s a cycle. I used to buy Diving magazines & Photography mags back in the day. After a couple of years, you realise that they are just recycling the same old same old, for the next cohort of newbies.

That sounds something like my old man would have said

Been there, done that, who gives a f..k!

[John Kennett]

We’ve been going to hell in a handcart for nearly twenty years, maybe even longer than that, but here we still are.

Forums generally aren’t as busy as they were a few years ago, but RIBnet is very much alive and kicking.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Poly

Man who stopped regularly using the forum for reasons unconnected with the forum shocked to discover other people are using the forum less.

That's waaaay too many words for a Daily Mail headline - it'll go right over his heid.

Originally Posted by Poly

Something never change!

Like multi-quote replies?

FWIW, I check in most days for a read. There's sensible folk giving useful answers and still a steady flow of traffic. As a member since 2008 and a stint as a Watchman, I'd say things aren't actually THAT different right now. It's all Boating ATM, with very little unpleasantness on a personal level. maybe because I'm not posting as much guff. Imma revert to my old Avatar from 1956 to cheer up ole Breximus...

[willk]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

We’ve been going to hell in a handcart for nearly twenty years, maybe even longer than that, but here we still are.

Did we miss a 21st Birthday party? Oh yeah, the covids....



But srsly, what lasts this long online? Not Viewranger, that's for sure!

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by willk

Did we miss a 21st Birthday party? Oh yeah, the covids....



But srsly, what lasts this long online? Not Viewranger, that's for sure!

Hi Willk, you tried OS yet. Got to be honest don't even think about VR now, got so use to using OS it's like VR never existed.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Willk, you tried OS yet. Got to be honest don't even think about VR now, got so use to using OS it's like VR never existed.

No, I'm sorry - RIBnet is finished and I can't see past it.

[Miss Guided]

Why not prime the pump and write something interesting

MGx

[GuyC]

I'm not sure I subscribe to the OP's comment. As people's experience grows, their need for much of the forum content wanes but that isn't a reflection on the forum.

I find the forum interesting and I enjoy trying to contribute positively to it.

The forum doesn't suffer from outbreaks of malice that other (often Facebook) forums suffer from and our resident trolls get 'outed' quite quickly.

Whilst the asking of the same question does get repetitive, I just ignore it unless it's a topic I'm particularly interested in (Pacific 22's, Outer Hebrides for example) or the person asking the question seems to have genuinely thought about it before asking the question.

Overall the forum still provides a useful 'point of information' for all things inflatable (in a non Finbarr Saunders type way) .

Last but not least - Happy Waterloo Day (unless you're French of course) - why do we not commemorate these events?

[TmMorris]

I suspect a lot of the perception is down to the significant changes in lifestyle over the last 2/3 years rather than anything else. This old fashioned style of forum is mainly at risk of traffic moving onto other forms of social media but not many of the options offer a superior means to store information and make it easily accessible. Most of the competitor platforms are better suited to very short attention spa....Look! A squirrel.

A forum of this nature is a vast repository of knowledge that is easily found via search engines. I suspect many users first find such a forum when they hit a problem or have questions.

Going back to the last few years there was probably a boost from lockdown boredom followed by a boost from people spending to get outdoors. Lots of us bought used kit that needed fettling and advice and lots of questions regarding new places to visit etc. This all came on the back of a decade of increased leisure spending. This year the outlook is arguably different. The increased costs of getting out on the water and concerns of having to divert or consider diverting leisure spend towards living expenses probably means there are fewer people buying kit or heading out so frequently. I suspect that will lead over the next couple of seasons to an increase in kit being put up for sale and forum activity being in the doldrums for a while compared to recent years before returning when cheaper kit coincides with stabilising living costs etc.

Is the forum dead or dying? I very much doubt it but traffic is probably overtly linked to consumer confidence and spending habits so likely to be lower than it has been recently.

[willk]

Originally Posted by GuyC

...and I enjoy trying to contribute positively to it.

Absolutely

Originally Posted by GuyC

Happy Waterloo Day (unless you're French of course) - why do we not commemorate these events?

Look at you answering your own question! That's dedication

[Fenlander]

I like forums far more than disposable social media. As Tm says forums are "the" place for information and technical help where the database of info builds over the years.

All forums ebb and flow over time both shorter and longer term but even if this one is perceived as quiet currently it is up there with the best for my use. I always join the most useful forum I can find for the make of car I run at the time and there are some absolute shockers with little or misleading technical info and quite simple questions going unanswered. In my experience Facebook groups are even worse.

As part of the forum cycle there are currently folks here giving great advice who not many years ago where asking newbie questions... as it was with myself starting over ten years ago.

So its all gravy for me.

Of course 99% of my thoughts relate to us little guys on the SIB side of things... RIB guys might see it differently.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

All forums ebb and flow over time both shorter and longer term but even if this one is perceived as quiet currently it is up there with the best for my use.

I see what you did there - couldn’t put it better myself.

Maximus - Rib.net is still in my top sites as a daily go to. Don’t expect too much. Scan over the stuff you can’t be bothered to read, and occasionally you get a little gem of a thread that engages you. I’m still waiting for someone to recover a submerged outboard and do a complete rebuild with pictures.