Just me or is traffic way down?

I'd say there are several factors at work here:

• Every year, we experience a pretty significant slowdown starting Thanksgiving week and running until after New Year's Day.
• Most years, the winter months are a bit slower than the spring/summer/fall.
• Indeed, I'm sure the big updates didn't help matters, but that is why I chose to do them during the traditionally slow period. The last time we did a big update like that, it set us back for a couple of months. It might be more exaggerated this time due to my choice to do it over the holidays.
• I also recognize that it could have something to do with the various bugs and such that we are still working on fixing. It has taken longer to hunt down and kill the bugs than I had hoped, but we aren't giving up.

However, Google Analytics say that we've only dipped a few thousand unique visitors in the last month, which is a lot less than I had anticipated, based on the last time we installed a big update, plus considering the holidays.

Need to get Kent back in here to stir the pot a little ?.

On the whole social media seems to have killed the forum format. Which is too bad from my perspective as I do not participate in social media.

Well that's good to hear. I hope you're right and it's only due the the typical cycles; I love checking in here and I don't want to see things dip down too much. Thanks?ÿ

Judging from my own experience, I think the format has a lot to do with it, particularly the limitation in the Recent Posts page.?ÿ With the old software, if I'm remembering correctly, Recent Posts (I think it had a different title) presented a page of links to threads that had updates, and the links to threads for which you were already current were presented in a different color.?ÿ The new software presents a page of the most recent posts, which often includes multiple posts from a single thread, and there's no way to distinguish between posts you've read and those you haven't by link color.?ÿ Those conditions make the reader work harder to find updated threads in which he is interested, and that tends to drive the reader away.

I'm hopeful that Wendell will be able to craft a solution that substantially recreates the old experience.

I agree with Jim.?ÿ Recent posts list every post some many to the same thread.?ÿ The previous listed the threads that had recent posts made to it.?ÿ A lot more condensed.

There will never be anything that was as good as the original POB board format with the thread nesting diagrams.?ÿ Showed very simply last post and who was replied to.?ÿ It might be complicated to implement but it was REALLY GOOD!?ÿ You could find what you wanted to read or reply to very fast and simply.

A good number of surveyors are also hunters and this is also peak hunting season.

Paul in PA

https://surveyorconnect.com/community/feature-requests/please-list-recent-posts-by-thread-not-reply/

A combination of circumstances has led to a great decrease in my participation in recent months. ?ÿFirst came the update a few months ago that wiped out my ability to use my desktop PC with Windows 7. ?ÿAs there is no other major excuse to do an update on the PC, I have had to switch over to a laptop primarily used by Mrs. Cow. ?ÿMy fingers have not adjusted well to the laptop keyboard resulting in frequently using the old hunt and peck method which is terribly slow. ?ÿI have to sneak it away from her while she's not watching.

The latest update is much "clunkier" in my opinion. ?ÿI have not adapted well. ?ÿThe biggest thing is the inability to quickly scroll through threads that have new posts. ?ÿAlso, I seem to get booted off and must log in anew a time or two per week.

I do not miss Kent one bit. ?ÿA couple of others should have left far sooner. ?ÿThose who go out of their way to harass fellow posters almost every time they log on cause others to drop out. ?ÿThat is a terrible shame.

I get bored hunting. If not for the RSS feed I would have never found this topic

white-space, and readability could be factors... lots of scrolling

an example of a more pleasant experience:

I been coming around less because this website loads incredibly slow now.?ÿ I dunno what the deal is but I just don't have the patience for sites that load like it's 1995.

I'm not here as often as I was before the upgrade because there just isn't as much to read. I come here and view the list of unread posts and move on because there aren't any threads that interest me.?ÿ

It's disappointing but I'm hoping Wendels hard work will pay off and return things to normal because I love this place.

Gregg

Posted by: GMPLS

I'm not here as often as I was before the upgrade because there just isn't as much to read. I come here and view the list of unread posts and move on because there aren't any threads that interest me.?ÿ

?ÿ

Then start some threads so ? .

Posted by: Wendell

However, Google Analytics say that we've only dipped a few thousand unique visitors in the last month, which is a lot less than I had anticipated, based on the last time we installed a big update, plus considering the holidays.

The amount of user visits may be on par, but the content seems to be way way down.

I have been holding my tongue taking on the experience and trying to get used to the new format.?ÿ Unfortunately, like others I feel the new software feels like a huge step backwards.?ÿ The format seems very dated.?ÿ The user interface is clunky and there is tons and tons of scrolling and white space, which makes no sense as I think the text is actually smaller.?ÿ It seems like we lost the most useful features.?ÿ The older software seemed to run pretty fast for me, yet Wendell said several time that he was making upgrades to make things faster - yet this newer software is much much slower and seems to put us back 3 generations ago.

I don't want to sound like I am just bitching about things, I guess things just don't make sense to me.?ÿ None of the large forums that I visit run on Wordpress.?ÿ After some growing pains in teh beginning and a couple of changes, I thought that we were finally on one of the top 2-3 forum softwares out there, so I was very surprised to see the need for the switch.?ÿ All in all they really are not that expensive to buy, only a couple hundred of dollars.?ÿ I haven't checked out the behind the scenes of the preceding software (I believe Xenforo) but the small forum I run is pretty user-friendly on a very old version of Vb.?ÿ Once things were setup the running and upgrading was pretty automatic for me (I just got way way behind on it)

I almost hate to type a message like this, as I know that when you put the effort into an on-line presence like this it is really easy for others to tear you down and make you feel like crap for something that you end up sinking hour after hour of time into - so Wendell I apologize if I come across this way, and you have those feelings, I really try to limit thoughts to constructive criticism and requests.?ÿ We the participants know that you do your best to accommodate the majority of the users requests and needs.?ÿ I am not angry at any of the decisions that were made - it is your business (and people on here need to understand, this is a business), I am just disappointed that I personally feel like I get less and less out of each visit here.?ÿ ?ÿI guess what I am worried about is that history will repeat itself, lest we forget that beerleg took off because the other place did a very ill-advised social-media forum update that was horrible to use (along with the whole user base insult) Maybe it is a good thing and I should be spending more time drafting.

I am posting less because I have to go to "Recent Posts" in order to view any replies. I'm an old fart but the maneuverability has become more difficult and starting to look like that POB site. I'm adaptive to changes but apparently the recent change here is, to me, a disappointment.?ÿ

I will continue to donate to Wendell though, because I have confidence in him that things will once again be "mo' betta" in the near future.

I've decided to send a BILL to Wendell, due to time wasted on this site!

(big grin!)

@peter-ehlert

phpbb will never happen. Period.

@toivo1037

I cannot express in words how much I appreciate your feedback and the thought process behind it. I'm very accepting of all comments and I listen and respect each and every one, except for the ones that are rude and insulting. Those folks can pound sand, as far as I'm concerned. Thank you for the thoughtful approach and your understanding.

For some reason, a lot of people seem to think that if the feature isn't implemented NOW, it's not going to happen. I assure you, I'm working on a lot of issues, most notably the important ones. In the threads where they are posted (either in the Support & Bug Reports forum or the Feature Requests forum), I have followed up to indicate that we are working on it. Yes, I said "we" -- I do have some folks helping me and all of these requests are being taken seriously. Let us keep in mind that this is not a charity and I have to pay them for their efforts. It is indeed taking a bit longer than I hoped to address some of the issues, but I chalk that up to the major platform change. I knew there would be some challenges and we are currently being challenged by some of them.

As for the platform choice (WordPress), I have experienced and found that the majority of forums OUTSIDE OF THE WEB INDUSTRY use something other than WordPress. In my research prior to the big update, I found that this is mostly due to the admins lack of experience with building websites, which makes sense. It seems that most of them are folks that are professionals in their industry who decided to start a forum, so they most likely are not really all that familiar with web software and how to bring it all together. So they use a platform that is easy for the non-web-person. However, in tech-related industries, with so many people familiar with web software, you'll find that a large number of forums are built using various flavors of WordPress. Not all, of course, but a lot. I chalk it up to their ability to do custom work and willingness to do so, and the packaged softwares just don't do it for them. We don't want to reinvent the wheel, but we want to customize it to our needs and wants.

@flga-pls

We very much appreciate your support. I know it's not perfect, but we're working on it. We'll never be able to please everyone.

@everyone

As many have said, this is indeed a business. Well, it's a brand under my business. And that is a good point -- if you were running a surveying business and it wasn't pulling a profit, would you keep it running? You might, if you felt there was hope and you could find a way to keep throwing time and money at it. I do feel there is hope and I do have a passion for this website. That said, it has been doing better in recent times, but certainly not something that I would call a business success. You may see advertisements and there are a few kind-hearted folks out there that believe in me. But that doesn't mean that this website is pulling a profit. When you consider my time, which is totally non-billable for this project, most people would probably have given up a long time ago. The time I spend here for little (if any) monetary reward is time I could have spent building and managing websites for my clients. At my normal rate of $95/hour, I'm missing out on a LOT of revenue. And the work is out there, but I have to turn many clients away for lack of available time.

Considering all of those things, there's a balance to be had, which is what I'm ultimately striving for. I want to give you, the users, the features you want while still being able to manage it efficiently. The last two forum softwares were a pain in my ass and the other ones I've tested over the years sucked equally. So I decided to give it another run with something I'm actually VERY familiar with and have a better chance of building and utilizing the tools I need. Not too long ago, when I finally rid myself of the bad business partner, I decided that this website needed to be a viable entity for my financial future; if that is not possible, then a logical decision would be to shut it down. However, I have a lot of HEART for this place, and I don't want to just let it go. So I keep making runs at it. But I also have a business to run -- while it is very successful, it is only successful as far as I have time to dedicate to my clients and running the business itself. Using that logic, one could surmise that it would be more successful if I could apply more time to it. I am literally turning work away every week -- some of them are willing to wait a couple of months on a waiting list, but most need the work done now or very soon.

Whew!

What I'm basically trying to say is that the #1 reason this website still exists at all is because I HEART it and the appreciative users that use it. We've had some hard times since 2010 when we opened the website and it's still here -- I've had many opportunities to give up and almost did a few times. But that's obviously not what I want to do. But you have to take chances to get anywhere in life, so I keep throwing ideas against the wall in hopes that something sticks -- sometimes, nothing ever sticks, and that is just reality. I do have big plans for this place, but I need to get the base infrastructure up to par first, then I will tackle those big plans. I've been taking notes, jotting down ideas, and even writing business plans for this website for a couple of years now and the dream is still alive. But I also have to consider the financial future of my overall business. So I'm trying desperately to balance my dreams with reality and make something happen here. I have to put in some hard work and money out of my own pocket to get there, and it's a risk.

I started my web business in 2005 (I had been moonlighting since 1999 prior to that) in a very down economy. People told me I'd never make it. But my philosophy was different -- if I could make it in that economic disaster, imagine how much I would learn and how successful I could be when the economy is good. We struggled, but I persevered and the business is doing well. But that doesn't mean it couldn't do better. I want to give my wife the best life she can imagine and she deserves it after all the bullshit she's been through (especially in recent years). She is my everything and I want to give back.

Sorry for the long-winded response. If this doesn't prove my passion for this place, I don't know what will.

?ÿ

Posted by: holy cow

A combination of circumstances has led to a great decrease in my participation in recent months. ?ÿFirst came the update a few months ago that wiped out my ability to use my desktop PC with Windows 7. ?ÿ

My "NEW" desktop is running Windows 7 and Firefox and I have never had a problem. The last time I checked, my laptop with XP still worked but I don't remember how long ago that was.

I haven't found where the list is that shows someone quoted or liked one of my post. That was the easiest way of getting back to a previous topic.

James

:large

?ÿ

Those that matter, don't mind and those that mind, don't matter...

FWIW, I'm testing a feature on the main Community Forums page that displays the 5 latest topics in each forum without having to visit a special page. I've only activated it for the Surveying-Related forums. This feature has been here all along but I never turned it on. But since we are still working on the Latest Topics feature, I thought this other feature might be nice in the meantime. It does require more database calls, so I'm keeping an eye on it in regards to the overall affect it might have on load times.