I wonder if TMF underestimates that these boards, financial or not, unite people and create ‘the community’.
Folks get to ‘know’ each other in a way just by what boards they are on etc.
This was especially important during the craziness of the pandemic and sharing knowledge was so much appreciated. (Pandemic is one of the boards on the delete list)
Reading a great joke on HURL, or getting recipes/substitutions when the grocery shelves were bare or any number of posts from non financial boards provided a bit of normal - and showed how helpful the community members are.
Oh well, sorry for rambling, but without the other boards (connecting people with something in common) I think the whole community would suffer.
Another element of this is having recognized boards for political arguing means that one can direct people there who want to post that sort of thing and it serves as a safety valve to keep them from posting that stuff all over the place. Yes, it can be policed, but that is a lot of work and caused bad feelings, while providing a place for outlet requires little effort.
I wonder if TMF underestimates that these boards, financial or not, unite people and create ‘the community’.
Sadly, I think that these boards have been basically irrelevant to TMF’s business for a very long time. Certainly they bring in some clicks and some ad revenue - but there aren’t that many of us still posting here. And nearly all of us have been around long enough that if we were ever going to take the Fool up on their paid offerings, we would have already. I think it’s been that way for a while. And it’s not going to change - “message boards” with no push notification, no native app, no image or video capability? Never going to be a viable growth product.
The boards have basically been moribund for a while. There’s only a few dozen boards that get even as much as a post a day. Almost all of the posting volume is on a bare handful of boards:
I sort of understand why they don’t think it’s a great use of even modest corporate resources to provide a platform for the fraught conversations in PA and Conservative Fools any more. There’s more corporate attention being paid to what users are doing when given these platforms, and probably less tolerance on the part of the Fool to have an area where people are going hammer and tongs on heated culture war issues that has nothing to do with their corporate mission.
In the old days, the topic-specific non-financial boards were filled with content. And NADA and LOOTP and GMS and GMR the like were necessary outlets - posters, especially new posters, were flooding the boards with all kinds of conversations about off-topic stuff or playing with the conventions of the site. But those days are gone. There’s so little volume, you don’t need to have literally half your boards (by volume) devoted to spaces for political discussions. The bare handful of financial boards that are still active enough to be maintained are close enough knit communities that they can stay on-topic without the need for the outlet boards any more (with help from TMFBanHammer, of course).
I appreciate that TMF has given us a room to hang out in and have lots of conversations that have absolutely nothing to do with finance for so many years. But I kind of understand why they might think that there’s just no reason to keep doing it any more.
The boards have basically been moribund for a while. There’s only a few dozen boards that get even as much as a post a day. Almost all of the posting volume is on a bare handful of boards:
I had started doing a bit of poking around last night and figured that the number of daily posts for the whole boards was under 1000 a day. Adding up that list, it looks like the number is more like 400-500 a day.
I’ve been around long enough to remember when there were multiple boards racking up a couple hundred posts a day just by themselves.
In a way, it’s sad to see that kind of drop. Kind of like the frog in boiling water, you don’t notice it when it happens so slowly.
I appreciate that TMF has given us a room to hang out in and have lots of conversations that have absolutely nothing to do with finance for so many years. But I kind of understand why they might think that there’s just no reason to keep doing it any more.
As I’ve posted a couple of times, I think those conversations will continue. They will just happen on the financial boards, where they might be less tolerated. And that could easily drive readership and posting down further, either by allowing a growing number of OT posts or by banning them and damaging the sense of community that has built up over the last couple of decades.
I’d also point out that once you have a set of boards in place, there really isn’t an additional cost to providing a place for off topic posts. And having such a place helps keep things ON topic for other boards, since those desiring to make such posts can be pointed to a better place for them.
I guess we’ll get to run this experiment in the real world and see what happens.
But just because there are less posts doesn’t mean there are less readers? I’m guessing at that. (Granted, they aren’t ‘buying’ anything either).
Some are quiet but still gain from the content. Perhaps they have nothing to add?
nag
who appreciates everyone for all their help with all my questions over the years
I guess we’ll get to run this experiment in the real world and see what happens.
–Peter
Prediction:
The decision will be rescinded. (Or largely modified.) Going cold turkey with such a change is too disruptive to the ‘band’ at large.
Their modeling is obviously to drive more eyes and keyboards to their thru the paywall services. Nothing wrong with that. But abruptly pulling the plug on something that is as ingrained as are the ‘talk’ (and helpful!***) boards is not well thought out, IMHO.
(***A specific example: The Excel help board. I don’t read it every week, but the nuggets I’ve gleaned from it are priceless. There are others, too.)
I’ve hinted at my position a few times today, but I’ll make my prediction clear, just for the fun of it.
I predict that non-financial posts will start appearing on the financial boards. Some of those posts will become popular enough that board posters will not want to see them removed. So they will come up with the brilliant idea of creating a new board for these non-financial posts. TMF posters are, after all, a pretty sharp group.
So TPTB at TMF will create a new board for non-financial posts. Maybe call it the Area for Non-Financial Posts, or AFNFP. That board will become popular, and multiple different types of non-financial posts will become apparent. Being smart folk, the posters will ask that another board for non-financial post be opened so that these different kinds of non-financial posts can be organized better. Maybe it will be the Area For Funny Cat Video Posts, or AFFCVP. (These acronyms are so easy to remember, aren’t they?) But then people who want to post funny dog videos will be left out. So another board begins, the Area For Funny Dog Videos (AFFDV, of course!).
But that should be about it. Three extra boards for non-financial posts should do the trick.
I think those conversations will continue. They will just happen on the financial boards, where they might be less tolerated.
I highly recommend you not try that on Saul’s board. Either he or several of his goons will run you out of Dodge in short order. You can’t even pass gas on that board.
ImAGolfer I highly recommend you not try that on Saul’s board. Either he or several of his goons will run you out of Dodge in short order. You can’t even pass gas on that board.
Just a neighborly warning.
Concur about the ‘off topic’ intolerance of the Saul’s board. Which, by its very nature, is tightly focused.
That said, the ‘splatter’ effect of the massive change in the board environment will inevitably spill over. To Saul’s, and other.
That said, the ‘splatter’ effect of the massive change in the board environment will inevitably spill over. To Saul’s, and other.
I’m not so sure about that. For some reason Saul’s board is a sacred cow. They can do what they want but visitors beware. Unless you have an MBA and your day job is in Finance your comments won’t be welcome.