I don't see why not changing the name has to mean not changing anything!
I agree.
Agree too.
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Here's some data that might help to understand how fora and changing fora work.
FIRST: Don't take this at face value! It needs analysis and deeper knowledge.
BUT: You can see how adding a popular segment can bring in new people and make a stagnating forum
worthwhile to keep.
Now, some deeper analysisThe Finnish RPG scene in the web had stagnated and split since the late 2000's. During 2010-2011 two important fora died, planned or unplanned. So this new forum became the new focal point, and many old-timers migrated there. Thus, the situation in 2010-2011 is, in essence, a continuation of the old style RPG forum discussions. Those c. 2000 messages per year, with another 1000 or so in supporting sections, is a sort of inheritance from the older fora. (There's one,
old forum still alive at this time, but the active people moved to this new forum pretty fast. That other forum continued to have c. 1000...1500 messages per year.)
On the other end, in 2015-2016 a new Facebook group was started, and it rapidly became very popular. The discussants from this forum mostly moved there, resulting in diminishing forum activity, falling joined numbers, and in early 2017 the closing of the forum. The Pathfinder fans then moved on to create a forum of their own. (That other,
old forum is still around, but there are few if any new discussants, and the activity is below 1 post per day and falling.)
But what we're interested in here is what was going on in 2011-2015, with the addition of the Pathfinder section. (If you don't know what Pathfinder is, compared to traditional types of RPGs, google it.)
So this forum was for the core RPG discussions, with the normal additions of forum development, buy/sell/contact, and a briefly flourishing game design section with actual results in shops. The majority of people who joined the RPG discussions were known from other forums before. And after the initial high (which we find in any new forum), it seemed that the core RPG discussion was stalling - there wasn't much to discuss, really, and some old grudges made themselves present and felt.
The addition and growth of the Pathfinder section, however, gave new life and new meaning for the forum. It's rise is partly tied to the interactive nature of Pathfinder gaming, compared to traditional RPG's which often flourish within a group of friends or a small club. The Pathfinder players really wanted to network, wanted to discuss, wanted to have a board where they would see the activity in the whole country. They were playing the same game, the same scenarios, sharing a new and well-supported product, so had naturally much to share and discuss.
The Pathfinder section became the major beacon of the forum. It drew in new people - people who would post regularly and participate in discussions. HOWEVER, the new people almost solely discussed within the Pathfinder section. Very few of them ventured to talk in the general 'core' RPG discussions. Some still did, and it was better than nothing.
The RPG scene is different from the tabletop miniatures game scene, so direct comparison is not easy, and maybe not worthwhile. But at least we can discuss the benefits of broadening the scope. The key benefits of adding a new popular section to an old forum are:
1. Keeping up and increasing daily messages. Maybe not into the old core sections, but still. Visitors will see the forum active, and they will find fresh discussions when they log in. There's vitality.
2. Bringing new people to the forum. Maybe not to the old core sections, but still. Oldtimers will meet new people, can answer their questions, can spread the happiness of the hobby, can support people who are new and maybe a bit lost.
3. Give room for visible, positive change. If the scene is changing anyway, it's not worthwhile to castle-up and mourn the inevitable loss. Welcome the energy, be part of the new. Even if they did close the forum in the end, the makers and keepers of that 'last' Finnish RPG forum had a lively forum for years. Additionally, they can be forever happy and proud that they helped a new Pathfinder community to grow and flourish, and revitalize the Finnish RPG scene in a totally unforeseen way.
Can we learn something from this? Should we?
Not connected to this forum solely, but to the general ongoings in the Finnish RPG scene.
4. If stagnation bites, it's really hard to recover based on what was before. The stagnation might hit a single forum section, a whole forum, or the whole forum scene. Whatever it hits, the stagnation will feed even more stagnation. There seems to be a law that people will not continue on a stagnating forum, and new people will not join if they think/hear that a forum is stagnating. It needs very special and super-dedicated people to increase the activity in a stagnating forum. We're speaking of people
who would alone write some 10...30 % of the forum messages, making sure that everyone has someone to talk to, and no questions are left unanswered. Super-positive people who never say against anything, but make sure everyone is welcome. And even that usually isn't enough, because these people will migrate or have a burn-out after a couple of years.
5. Internet fora are/were a late 1990's and early 2000's phenomenon. People really found each other via the fora, and the fora helped a split and marginal scene to find new strength and share ideas. The real benefits of this new networking were mostly felt during 2003...2008, when fan-based games and game talks took over from central publications and companies (not that there were many in Finland). Nowadays Facebook and some other message systems are the norm, and are bigger than the fora. People must see a special benefit in the fora in order to use them. This means they want to discuss writing long messages. Any other activity can be served with the new media, often better.
For example, the Finnish RPG scene is flourishing and still growing in FB. The Finnish figure painting gallery is moving into FB, because it's usually one click easier and much more practical with a phone/tablet. FB groups are becoming information channels for blog updates. The coolest things will always spread via cross-linking, or via a blog that is specialized in gathering the news from the front. Bad for lengthy discussions and walls of text. Good for everything else.
That was about Finland. I haven't done enough data gathering from English/international fora, but I'm ready to bet that the situation is the same.
-Z