What's going on with the Politics subforum?

Is it just me, or is the Politics subforum running at maybe 40% of what it used to be?

I’m seeing barely any active threads. Take this one about the terrorist attack—only 25 pages after 16 hours. Compare that to the thread about the Paris attack, which hit 42 pages in the exact same timeframe.

Even on the first page of the general Politics section, there are threads sitting there for a month with zero replies. That used to be unheard of.

So, here’s my question: is the moderation being extra aggressive lately, nuking every new topic before it can even get started? Or is the user base actually shrinking?

Am I the only one noticing this?🤷

I get the impression that dealing with the server has discouraged quite a few people over the last few months. The moderation has been more or less consistent throughout, and many of the moderators have been around for a long time now.

rustywalker42 said:Is it just me, or is the Politics subforum running at maybe 40% of what it used to be?

I only see a handful of active threads—take this one about the terrorist attack, for instance; it’s only hit 25 pages in about 16 hours (compared to that thread in Paris, which reached 42 pages in the same timeframe).

Even looking at the first page of the main Politics section, there are threads sitting there for a month without a single reply... which honestly feels impossible compared to how things used to be.

So, my question is really this—is this just due to some super strict moderation where new threads are getting wiped out before they can take off, or are we actually seeing a drop in the user base?

Am I the only one noticing this? 🤷

You aren't alone—I've been noticing the same thing for quite a while now.
The only thing still showing any signs of life is that one troll fighting on the political scene...
As for everything else... nothing much to see here... 🤷

There's also that one PDF forum that used to be just as busy as Politics—if not busier—but now it looks like a haunted house from a kid's horror movie... 🕺

Personally, I’d probably spend way more time posting over on Politics if they didn't constantly douse me in acid... you know, just to keep things from getting too heated. Self-censorship, I guess... ☕

William Bennett53 said:If this is meant to be just another endless general thread about how the Politics section is moderated, let’s just shut it down right now. We aren't doing that. Those kinds of threads? Not happening.
Let's say the agenda isn't what we think it is. What if we just let things play out for a bit, while keeping that first sentence in mind?

Look, this isn't some conspiracy theory or an attack on the mods. It’s a legitimate question. I only brought up the moderation thing to see if that might be one of the underlying issues here.

northernsailor8 brought up the server. Anyone actually got the traffic stats?

Look, I'm being serious here. If I actually wanted to start some drama about the moderation team, I would’ve just made a thread for it—even if people wanted to trash me for it.

Look, the reality is that forums—every single one out there—are fighting for survival against millions of other platforms and social networks that are just way more convenient and direct, honestly.
Plus, considering all that, the generation that used to live on these boards is now busy working jobs and dealing with kids and endless responsibilities at home—so they aren't hanging around forums much anymore. On the flip side, you have this new generation that’s much more likely to flood those various social media platforms instead... because, well, that's just how they operate.

The world is changing, I guess...🤷

Everything is just drifting along. The server definitely needs attention because things are getting messy... plus there’s more noise on the political scene lately... and honestly, we aren't seeing many new younger faces joining us because they’re probably distracted by much more interesting things, just like Paul Thomas46 mentioned... and so on...

Besides, some of these gaps aren't quite as massive as they might seem at first glance. A 42-25 split between Paris and Brussels is certainly a gap, but it feels less extreme when you consider the context—mainly the fact that we had to shut down Brussels overnight because some wild conspiracy theories started blowing up around midnight, and we wanted to avoid total chaos or ending up with a forum full of nothing but trolls... and then there's the reality that for the average person—not an expert, just your typical guy—news out of Paris, like a tragedy at a rock concert or an attempted attack on the stadium during a national team game, is going to be way more "engaging" for the masses traveling through airports and subways than what we deal with here...

Emily Myers32 said:Look, the reality is that forums (every single one out there) are fighting against a million other platforms and social networks. Most of them are just more convenient and direct. Period.
Plus, look at the demographics. That generation that used to tear these places apart is now busy working or dealing with kids and endless responsibilities at home, so they aren't hanging out on forums much anymore. On the flip side, the younger crowd is way more likely to spam those other platforms and apps because... well, that's just how they operate.

The world changes, 🤷

lonebadger6 said:It’s a bit of everything. The server definitely, since this is a mess... plus more activity in the political scene... and the fact that fewer new (younger) users are joining because they find other stuff more appealing, like Paul said... and so on.

And honestly, some of the differences aren't even as huge as they seem at first glance. A 42-25 split in Paris-Brussels is a gap, sure, but it's not that massive when you factor in things like us shutting down Brussels overnight because some extreme conspiracy theories started blowing up around midnight—we had to prevent total chaos and a sea of spam posts. Then there's the fact that for the average person (not an expert, just your typical guy), news from Paris like a mass casualty at a rock concert or an attempted attack at a stadium where the national team plays is "more attractive" to the masses scrolling through airports or the subway.

I get it. Social media is taking its toll (God, I’ll never understand how anyone can actually have a debate on social media; there is no stupider way to discuss anything than through comments on social feeds, pages, or blogs—it's awful), but this decline felt sudden. I wouldn't say it's been happening for years; it feels like everything just fell off a cliff in the last year or so.

Does anyone have the traffic stats? I can't shake the feeling that the graph shows one sharp, sudden drop at a specific moment, and I have no idea why.

lonebadger6, I don't want this to turn into a debate about moderation, but please stop locking threads overnight. I know cleaning up is part of the job, but when everything is already going to hell, don't make it harder.

And I don't think your point about locking threads holds water, because Paris was also cleared of a ton of messages, yet it still hit a much higher page count during that same window.

I know you might not know, but my question to everyone else is—why does it take so long to fix Tapatalk? Why have certain features been broken for over a month? Why does the forum keep crashing?

I realize we're dealing with a monstrously huge database, but I don't get why these issues can't be fixed. Is it the forum script? If it's not stable, then upgrade to a newer version; this one is over five years old anyway.

rustywalker42 said:KLCCLK, look, I’m not trying to start some massive debate about moderation, but maybe don't go locking threads in the middle of the night... I get that cleaning up the place is part of the job, but when everything is already going sideways, there's really no need to make things even more difficult...

True, you’ve got a point there, nobody's actually out to cause trouble, they're just trying to save everyone from getting banned, but it was mostly just bad timing since we were all about to log off right when the conversation shifted toward the New World Order and those conspiracies about globalist capital wanting total control over us, and so on... but generally speaking, threads should probably stay open. Whatever happens, happens...

As for the servers, we honestly haven't a clue what's going on either. And yeah, it’s pretty frustrating...

Just one small point, which might seem trivial but actually carries some weight: comparing the page count of that massacre in Paris to what happened yesterday doesn't really prove the forum has changed over the years. The Paris incident was relatively recent, and since then, nothing about the forum’s structure or essence has shifted. Of course, that doesn't account for this ongoing headache with the servers or Tapatalk, but I think we’re all well aware of how much of a nuisance that has been—it’s just as frustrating for me as it is for the rest of you.

lonebadger6, why are you handing out participation trophies just because someone took a shot at you?

It’s poor form to lock a thread simply because you’re tired or feel the conversation has veered off your preferred track.

The difference in page counts between Paris and Brussels might just come down to a simple matter of timing: Brussels was happening in the middle of the day—you know, when everyone is stuck at work and busy... whereas Paris took place in the evening. Everyone is tucked away at home, watching the live TV coverage or following the stream, while simultaneously flooding the forums (I know I certainly am 😬).
If anyone feels like checking, take a look at the activity levels during just the first few hours for both threads. Everything else that follows over the next day or so tends to settle into a much more predictable rhythm, I'd say...

William Bennett53, what did I ever do to you to deserve such a bad rating?

Emily Myers32 said:The difference in page counts between Paris and Brussels might just come down to simple timing: Brussels was happening in the middle of the day, while everyone was busy working or whatever... whereas Paris took place in the evening. Everyone’s already home, glued to the TV or some livestream, probably spamming comments while they chill 😬.
If anyone actually wants to check, take a look at the activity levels during just the first few hours of both threads. Everything else after that pretty much settles into a predictable rhythm, I'd say...

I still think my point stands—Paris just feels more engaging to the general public. Even though an attack on Brussels is technically worse since it hits the heart of the EU, most people probably find Paris "more important," plus a rock concert, a cafe, or a football game tends to trigger more emotion than an airport or a subway station...

If there were an attack in Helsinki in about a month, it would likely get fewer comments than Brussels. But if it happened in London, it would be right up there with Paris...

It doesn't have to be the case, but that's how it looks to me...

William Bennett53 said:Just one thing—maybe a minor detail, but not insignificant: comparing the page count from the Paris massacre to what happened yesterday doesn't prove the forum is changing over the years. The Paris massacre was just a little while ago, and nothing about this forum has changed since then. Sure, except for this constant headache with the server or Tapatalk, but we all know how much of a mess that is, and it’s frustrating for everyone.

You aren't reading me carefully enough:

http://www.forum.com/showpost.php?p=57768225&postcount=9

Everything is clear to me. Social media is taking its toll (God, I'll never understand how anyone can argue on social media; there's probably no stupider way to have a discussion than through comments on socials, sites, or blogs—it's awful), but this decline happened so suddenly. I wouldn't say anything if it had been dragging on for years, but it feels like everything shifted in less than a year.

I wish someone could prove me wrong with actual statistics. In my free estimation, the forum is currently in decline, and lately, it’s been bouncing between stagnation and dropping off.

Emily Myers32 said:The reason for the difference in page counts between Paris and Brussels is actually pretty trivial: Brussels happened in the middle of the day. Everyone's at work, or wherever. Paris was in the evening. Everyone is home, watching the live coverage on TV or streaming, and spamming posts as they go (I know I'm exactly like 😬).
If anyone wants to check the difference within just the first few hours of both threads, they'll see. Everything after that follows the usual pace, I'd say.

Yeah, I agree regarding Paris, but I also think many would agree with me that the most active times on the forum are the morning hours until noon and the evening hours from 8 PM to midnight.

Which means, based on what I wrote above, Brussels should have been incredibly busy.

Just to be clear, I picked this thread by chance, but it works perfectly as a comparison.

Again—I don't remember ever seeing threads on the Politics board older than a month on the front page. That never happened. There are literally only 7 or 8 topics people write about, and even those 7 or 8 can go 24 hours without a single message.

Don't get me wrong, I'd be the first one happy to be proven wrong, but I can't shake the feeling that this is a downward trend. It seems to have happened overnight, and I have no idea why.

That’s exactly why I asked about the moderation side of things. I figured maybe threads were being wiped or merged into bigger ones—but from what I can tell, that isn't happening. Still doesn't explain why activity on these 7 or 8 specific topics is basically dead.

William Bennett, seriously, does anyone actually know what's going on with this forum? Does anyone here even know Anderlon personally? I can't even remember who's in his circle anymore. Is it Nica? Can anyone give me a straight answer on what's actually happening?

Not much going on at the moment, really.

Since we aren't in the middle of any major elections or even the pre-election hype, things have naturally quieted down a bit.

A few regulars who are usually all over this place during election season have stepped back to focus on other responsibilities.😁 But don't worry, once the next campaign kicks off, they'll be right back in the thick of it.

Raymond Ross33 said:Not much happening at the moment—just keeping things steady...

There aren't any elections or even pre-election cycles happening right now—so things are naturally a bit quieter...

Some of the most active forum members around this time have moved on to other responsibilities... 😁 Once the campaign season rolls around again, they'll be right back at it...

But they didn't even write on the original PDF—they were posting over on the political scene instead...
And they haven't even left yet—not by a long shot... 🙄

Emily Myers32 said:Look, the truth is forums—every single one of them—are fighting for survival against a million other platforms and social networks. Most of them are just faster and more direct. It’s that simple.
Plus, look at the demographics. The generation that used to run these places is busy working and dealing with kids and endless responsibilities at home, so they aren't hanging out on forums much anymore. Meanwhile, the younger crowd lives on those other platforms. That's just how they operate.

The world changes, 🤷

IMHO, that's exactly the point. A lot of smaller forums that used to be buzzing have just died off because nobody shows up. Everyone is glued to Facebook or Instagram. I'm not exactly a kid, but even I spend way more time over there than here.

What’s even the point in debating what’s going down in the politics subforum when the actual site rules pretty much forbid us from talking about it anyway?🤷

I get exactly why things are happening over there and why people are staying quiet, but it’s also obvious that the forum just doesn't have the tools to fix this mess... trust me, I've already asked.