# HT Traffic has really gone down hill over the last couple of years.



## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Easycounter.com


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Trolling threads and pseudo-members who would rather start fires over gay marriage and white supremacists have a lot to do with it. What are you doing to help turn that around?


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

That is not even a year, and I'd suspect folks here are more active outside than on a forum this time of year.

I know you are all mad, but don't crap in our sandbox.


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## Robotron (Mar 25, 2012)

If all followed the advice “ not crap in the sandbox” we would be better and healthier for it. I minimize my time here because crap is always flying. Treat your neighbors better, I’m sure your mother taught you that. If she didn’t, hopefully you could learn from example.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Robotron said:


> If all followed the advice “ not crap in the sandbox” we would be better and healthier for it. I minimize my time here because crap is always flying. Treat your neighbors better, I’m sure your mother taught you that. If she didn’t, hopefully you could learn from example.


I think part of the problem is that General Chat has become the go place for social issue, and the other areas seem to be very civil, and purposeful. You can in no way judge the discourse of the whole of HT by GC.

Too many people choose not to go to the more private area, but instead air their social and political opinions in GC, and then we get what we get.


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## Gayle in KY (May 13, 2002)

Could just be because it's spring and there's a lot to do outside. Also, with covid restrictions being lifted, people are getting out and doing something other than hanging out online.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Gayle in KY said:


> Could just be because it's spring and there's a lot to do outside. Also, with covid restrictions being lifted, people are getting out and doing something other than hanging out online.


It is lowest ever than it has been at this time of year. The pattern is there.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

painterswife said:


> It is lowest ever than it has been at this time of year. The pattern is there.


I sense you celebrating that


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I find no reason to celebrate the loss of good posters and friends and the sense of community that went with them.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

HDRider said:


> I sense you celebrating that


The word "pattern" is quite applicable.


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## IMFoghorn (Jan 28, 2012)

I've gone from checking in at least once a day to maybe checking in once a week. It seem folks are more interested in "debating" their political beliefs than they are in building a community and helping each other on the homestead.

JMO
Doug


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Some of the folks have passed away in the last few months, too.


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

painterswife said:


> It is lowest ever than it has been at this time of year. The pattern is there.


Can you give the data for previous years?


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

BFF provided it for us.









HT Traffic Rollercoaster


https://www.easycounter.com/




www.homesteadingtoday.com


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## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

whiterock said:


> Some of the folks have passed away in the last few months, too.


And there are few new/regular members to replace the ones that have passed on. And those that come ask a few questions then disappear often without a thank you.

The new format recommending threads from years ago over current ones doesn't help.

The rudeness and vitriol (blame whichever side you want) destroys any feeling of community that existed even if it was heated back in the day, that is now dead. I have been told more times than I can recall by several members (of course without moderator intervention) that my opinion wasn’t valued and had no business posting here because I am Canadian.... 

The site owners would be wiser if they payed more attention to what is killing this site.

At least the search function ‘sort of’ works.


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## Robotron (Mar 25, 2012)

fireweed farm said:


> And there are few new/regular members to replace the ones that have passed on. And those that come ask a few questions then disappear often without a thank you.
> 
> The new format recommending threads from years ago over current ones doesn't help.
> 
> ...


Hits the nail on the head. We should be a community that assists each other. Yet, I tend to see plenty of rock chuckers and poop slingers, this applies to many. All should be welcome. Can’t help them, then keep your opinion to yourself.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

fireweed farm said:


> The site owners would be wiser if they payed more attention to what is killing this site.


Not gonna happen - it's big business now.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Wolf mom said:


> Not gonna happen - it's big business now.


The site owners run hundreds of sites. It is part of their bread and butter and they need people using the sites. I think they will have to address the problems or there will be a bunch of people out of jobs.


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## Bront (Jan 26, 2021)

Seasonal..no biggy. See it some on other sites..not so on others..Our neighborhood nextdoor.com

site is doing well. A miniature craigs list...


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

Even the non-homesteading sites I'm on are slower this time of year. Just the way it is.


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## kinderfeld (Jan 29, 2006)

Seasonal to an extent. But, compared to previous years traffic is down. It's nothing like it was when I joined in '06. That was before there was a separate room for political debate. Barker Hill used to see way more traffic, as well. Not as much as here, but more than three or four regulars. I'd imagine that the popularization of various social media outlets has a lot to do with it. Also, people get bored with it. People get busy. Plus...people die. Sometimes I go through old threads and see names I haven't heard from in years.


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## The Paw (May 19, 2006)

Although the interpersonal dynamics of General Chat are dysfunctional, inhospitable and off-putting a lot of the time, that really doesn't account for the downturn in traffic. I have been on this forum since 2006, and while some of the names change, GC has always been this way. 

The fact is that the core demographic of HT is aging out, and generally not being replaced by a younger generation of posters. There are exceptions, but young people have many more options in terms of social media, and a forum like this is kind of Stone Agey. People seeking knowledge can google a lot of it directly from websites, or find youtube videos on the specific topic. That wasn't as easy to do a decade or more ago.


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## 50ShadesOfDirt (Nov 11, 2018)

That is interesting (others are googling, instead of using HT) ... I googled my way _to_ HT in '18, and never looked back. The knowledge I found here far exceeded what I could find on the 'net.

I now try to give back with articles written for many of the forums where others have helped me out ...

Thank you, all!


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

I think stuff comes and goes. Does anyone on here remember their ICQ number? If you had one that is.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

Several months ago someone was banned. There seems to a rule or tradition against mentioning them by name. Posts talked around it. I thought it was PW. I have not seen her posting since then until she started this thread. I guess it was Lord Voldemort (He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) who was banned. Not named because it could conger up his re-appearance. Did someone mention PW by name?

I would think that there would be an uptick in participation in this site because of all the people that are moving to the country and working from home. Yet the homesteading forum has died. ????


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Not much going on in the gardening forums. I guess people have enough toilet paper stored up from last year they don't need to plant any more.....

And there's a big difference between "chat" and "controversy"......

My homestead needs too much for me to sit at a screen all day and do the GC thing as it has been for a long time now. But I like to follow some of the other forums and I generally bypass this one, most of the time after a quick scan of the contents and posters.

I never stop at the goat forum......but then, I _hate_ goats....

geo

🤓


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

Let's see the chart comparing Mar-Apr-May 2020 against Mar-Apr-May 2021
apples:apples are the best comparison
Maybe traffic is down, maybe it's just that homesteaders got outside when the weather got better (both years?).


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## cannonfoddertfc (Dec 20, 2020)

fireweed farm said:


> And there are few new/regular members to replace the ones that have passed on. And those that come ask a few questions then disappear often without a thank you.
> 
> The new format recommending threads from years ago over current ones doesn't help.
> 
> ...





painterswife said:


> The site owners run hundreds of sites. It is part of their bread and butter and they need people using the sites. I think they will have to address the problems or there will be a bunch of people out of jobs.


While it is convenient to blame VS for the problems here, you have to know that the owners are not the ones posting here. It is the membership that makes a site succeed or fail, not the mods, not the owners.
VS does not reach all the way down to this site just to intervene, it is not a big enough cog in their overall machine to warrant that kind of attention. 
And the purpose of the moderators is not to settle disputes or censor, it is to keep the spam and discord at bay.

If all the posts on a homesteading site are current events drama, the site will be known for current events drama and will attract the type of people that want to read soap opera drama. 
If members quit posting (and encouraging) the soap operas and start posting homesteading information, they will attract the appropriate audience.

So again, it is the members that make (or break) the site so if you have issues with the direction that it is going, look to thine self.
Be part of the solution instead of whining about the problem.

But thats just my opinion.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

cannonfoddertfc said:


> While it is convenient to blame VS for the problems here, you have to know that the owners are not the ones posting here. It is the membership that makes a site succeed or fail, not the mods, not the owners.
> VS does not reach all the way down to this site just to intervene, it is not a big enough cog in their overall machine to warrant that kind of attention.
> And the purpose of the moderators is not to settle disputes or censor, it is to keep the spam and discord at bay.
> 
> ...


I believe they go hand in hand. The owners decide the rules and what content is allowable. Their mods police that. The member's can only post what is allowed or encouraged or they can't post.


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## cannonfoddertfc (Dec 20, 2020)

Did the rules change when VS bought Second Media? 
I am honestly asking, I wasn't a member prior to the changeover to the new software.


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## cannonfoddertfc (Dec 20, 2020)

cannonfoddertfc said:


> Did the rules change when VS bought Second Media?
> I am honestly asking, I wasn't a member prior to the changeover to the new software.


Sorry, misspoke, VS bought Outdoor Hub to get this site not Second Media.


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## cannonfoddertfc (Dec 20, 2020)

painterswife said:


> I believe they go hand in hand. The owners decide the rules and what content is allowable. Their mods police that. The member's can only post what is allowed or encouraged or they can't post.


I know at least two of the mods here from elsewhere and cannot imagine either one of them enforcing any kind of true censorship, they just aren't that kind of people. 
Please don't misunderstand me, mods do make mistakes, they are people too, and text does not convey emotion very well so sometimes what is typed is not the same as what is read and as such, misunderstandings happen. 

I am truly curious if there are examples here of VS reaching all the way down to this site and "allowing or encouraging" members posts.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

cannonfoddertfc said:


> Did the rules change when VS bought Second Media?
> I am honestly asking, I wasn't a member prior to the changeover to the new software.


There have been no rule changes.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

painterswife said:


> I believe they go hand in hand. The owners decide the rules and what content is allowable. Their mods police that. The member's can only post what is allowed or encouraged or they can't post.


I haven't received any directions from ownership so perhaps you could forward me your list of instructions.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I enjoy the people here (most of them) but I'd sure like to talk about homesteading instead of politics and it gets really boring when a couple of people have to have the last word and aren't content until everyone else believes as they do.

As time goes along, this forum has become a lot less about homesteading, less about livestock, less about growing veggies, less about storing,food, taking care of the land, how to get started in small farming... the sorts of things I am interested in. Honestly, I could care less about your opinion on covid vaccine, unless perhaps you are a noted virologist at a prestigious medical school... which none of the insistent loudmouths are. 

But I still hang out because I like a lot of the people here.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Think about it. Forums like this are at least two generations behind social media. Social media is what is killings HT and other forums like this.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

At one time, I practically lived on HT. I absolutely DETEST the new platform, and will not post again.


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

Sadly I’m not surprised. This forum used to be more homesteading oriented but it has veered off track due to a handful of habitual posters that post about things completely unrelated. These types of posts should be posted in other forums where their viewpoints would be better appreciated. Personally I barely come here because of all these off topic discussions.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

nehimama said:


> At one time, I practically lived on HT. I absolutely DETEST the new platform, and will not post again.


I agree with you about the new platform. I still don't know why they took away the "comfort view" mode and why they keep bringing up zombie posts in the "recommended for you" list.

I will miss you very much. No matter what the subject, your posts are usually worth reading.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I don’t know what the comfort view was. Never was aware of it.

I think new homesteading folks don’t look for forums. It’s all about Facebook.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Comfort view had all white pages instead of the grey with white letterbox. The current contrast is hard on my eyes.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

geo in mi said:


> I never stop at the goat forum......but then, I _hate_ goats....
> 
> geo
> 
> 🤓


Wow. Goats always speak highly of you....


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

I think a lot of us are shocked by what is going on in the country the past couple years.

it seems being a prepper is going to pay off sooner than later!

kinda hard to talk about canning orplanting lettuce for the30th time, when the world is falling apart.

there really isn’t much general homesteading to talk about anyhow. If you have a homesteading topic, it should likely be nicely covered in one of the specialized forums. What is there to discuss here in general?

I think a lot of folk have gone to Facebook and other such, spend their time on social media, not real info. If you want to know about growing lettuce google it and probably 5 threads from here show up, no need to ask or discuss any new ground on it. The forum was successful enough to have covered everything......

i dissapeared from here for quite a while. I come back every few months or years..... been a lot of changes. Seems a lot of good folk left back years ago now, when some content was being manipulated or reposted other places. Things kinda went downhill after that.

I really don’t know who or what is running the place any more. Guess it doesn’t matter.

two really bad things - the suggested threads deal that pulls up 5 year old threads is very off putting.

and, I can’t hardly type and edit a message on my iPad. The text editor of this software and the iPadoutput hate each other. Big chunks of text get erased if I simply move the cursor. It capitoloses things I want lower case, and vs versa. It’s to where I stop trying to reply because it just doesn’t work.

Paul


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Pony said:


> Wow. Goats always speak highly of you....


I've heard of fainting goats, but not talking ones...........

geo


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Work alone by them long enough and they will speak to you.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

i think most forums are dying , I really don’t know why . 
I don’t like the new format or the old threads popping up , old threads should be some place separate. 
I’m on other forums that are banning them selves out of existence , I don’t like the censorship it’s like being watched from the sky . My 2 Cents


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Wellbuilt said:


> i think most forums are dying , I really don’t know why .
> I don’t like the new format or the old threads popping up , old threads should be some place separate.
> I’m on other forums that are banning them selves out of existence , I don’t like the censorship it’s like being watched from the sky . My 2 Cents


In order to move old threads to someplace else, mods would have to spend a great deal of time moving them and some are great resources. If we leave them where they are, people have the ability to search a bit easier. 

I do agree with you and hated the recommended threads feature the last time we had it and still hate it.


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## Gayle in KY (May 13, 2002)

Social media is killing the forums.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

I’m not on forums that have any thing to do with social media . 
One of my forums died when they bandemost of the contributing members in one night
Posts just disappear ? 
What’s going on is BS


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

I think a lot of people feel bad when the post in a 10 year old thread ?


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Wellbuilt said:


> I think a lot of people feel bad when the post in a 10 year old thread ?


Oh, I don't know.

Some older threads are interesting, and I'm occasionally glad to see them resurrected.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Some of those old threads have useful information. Some make me laugh like the one where a person was commenting about how cheap something was, on a 12 (IIRC) year old thread.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Danaus29 said:


> Some of those old threads have useful information. Some make me laugh like the one where a person was commenting about how cheap something was, on a 12 (IIRC) year old thread.


I like to see the threads from the folks who have passed on. I get a little teary eyed, but... you know. <3


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## mreynolds (Jan 1, 2015)

Pony said:


> I like to see the threads from the folks who have passed on. I get a little teary eyed, but... you know. <3


Same here Pony. I even missed _*some of*_ the banned ones but I have thick skin so.....


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

Wellbuilt said:


> i think most forums are dying , I really don’t know why .
> I don’t like the new format or the old threads popping up , old threads should be some place separate.
> I’m on other forums that are banning them selves out of existence , I don’t like the censorship it’s like being watched from the sky . My 2 Cents


Our old chess forum was on for 15 years. Got two preacher from Tx. that took it over and really messed it up with there church junk. We made a new forum and now it has over 100k members. Players from all over the word along with the World Chess champs playing there. Anothre good forum is the world Ladies chess forum from N.Y


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

I haven’t played chess since my dad died in the 80s , we use to have some intense games . 
I may have to start playing again if I can get a game .


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

I don’t mind reading them , but guys get really jumped on if you post in a zombie thread . 
They get me some times , but what ever . It dosent bother me .


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

We used to have a preacher type, with six kids, next door. He was trying to live way beyond his means as a handyman, so when times were tight, he would tell his kids it was "sinful" to drink Coke, Pepsi, and Mtn, Dew......But, when he got a few jobs, things loosened up and the family carried their empties back to the store for the deposit refund (MI, .10) in bulging trash bags, just like all the other neighbors.

The SHTF just over a year ago, and thousands upon thousands of people waited countless hours in emergency food lines. That suggests to me that the homesteading mindset and lifestyle of a few years ago has gone by the wayside for most of us, except for a few of the "faithful". You can still find a few of them here, and not all of them "chat" their way through the day. You can probably find a few nonmembers out in the countryside who don't need the political and psycho social stuff--they're just steadily working away, stocking up for the next time.

(The most interesting "old" thread for me was the 90 percenter thread--posts by members here who are getting closer to their goal of being at least ninety-percent self-sustaining on their own homestead. I can't find it, but I wish someone else could. Maybe we all need to read that one.)

geo


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

People should know participation in HT isn't based on confirming you are living on 143 acres with a humanure garden and a bicycle generator. But if 9 out of 10 of your posts have multiple interventions from the mods, Facebook debate might be better suited for your mission.
I'd guess from reading many threads here that there are plenty of folks who aren't currently "self sufficient" but they have the knowledge and skillset and experience that if the need arises they know where their muck boots are.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Wellbuilt said:


> I don’t mind reading them , but guys get really jumped on if you post in a zombie thread .
> They get me some times , but what ever . It dosent bother me .


I wonder why someone would jump on you if you post to a resurrected thread... 

Now, of course, I am sorely tempted to go dig up some threads and reply.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

As to the old threads, I sometimes start to read them and see people I haven't seen in a long time and get excited they are back, then I notice the dates......


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

HT is like a church that has had a few separatist events


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

HDRider said:


> I think part of the problem is that General Chat has become the go place for social issue, and the other areas seem to be very civil, and purposeful. You can in no way judge the discourse of the whole of HT by GC.
> 
> Too many people choose not to go to the more private area, but instead air their social and political opinions in GC, and then we get what we get.


More folks are in here because in the Cattle, Pig, Horse, Chicken, Rabbit forums has gone way down in posts. Been in the animal forum for 15 plus years and those forums just don't have many posts anymore. So here i am in GC. I do check the animal forums about once a day and most time nothing new. We have a Pig forum for Missouri and a lot of pig and other posts there about pigs etc. in Missouri. I trade in 4 - 5 different states for stock. I do sale some of my Pork to a retailer in N.Y.C. Almost all my lumber sales local.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

nehimama said:


> At one time, I practically lived on HT. I absolutely DETEST the new platform, and will not post again.


Bummer, Loretta! I just started hanging out again.

But the new format is pretty sucky.


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## 50ShadesOfDirt (Nov 11, 2018)

"... _thanks for all the fish ..._"

... the world is not ending, and I'm not leaving (this forum)!

I love forums in general, and I have one or more that I pay attention to for just about every homestead function I am working with. Many useful groups on HT ... why HT doesn't _pay_ some of the long-time folks to keep posting is beyond me.

All of _your advice_ tends to make me look like I know what I'm doing around the homestead ... thanks!

I do not have a facebook acct ... somewhat particular about my data being stolen.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

I was thinking the same thing , they could pay buy the post ?
I’ve been reading here for a long time and never posted before , I just started posting to try to keep the forum active , not that I have mush to say but what ever ?


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