John E Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 I think that I posed this question before and I think the thread was (accidentally?) deleted. Traffic on this site seems to be way down from this time of the year in earlier years. Do others sense this or is it just my imagination? Have hardbooting discussions moved to other venues? If so, where? Have hardbooters just stopped communicating? Has the tribe thinned out? What gives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Yes, I can't apologize enough about that. I tried deleting a duplicate post and took out the whole thread instead. Sorry! I'm still about 10 weeks away from riding, so no alarm bells here just yet. Board sales are definitely picking up though! Maybe say something controversial to get people posting? That always works. Hardboots are dead. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Hardboots are for old guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 40 minutes ago, John E said: Hardboots are for old guys. Going by the evidence, hard to argue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 How about 'for a refined palate?' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted September 24, 2016 Report Share Posted September 24, 2016 Hardbooting: Snowboarding for grown-ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmorita Posted September 24, 2016 Report Share Posted September 24, 2016 My kids are old. Not me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted September 24, 2016 Report Share Posted September 24, 2016 (edited) Just resting up for the comming season. Edited September 26, 2016 by lowrider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted September 25, 2016 Report Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) On 24/09/2016 at 5:40 AM, John E said: I think that I posed this question before and I think the thread was (accidentally?) deleted. Traffic on this site seems to be way down from this time of the year in earlier years. Do others sense this or is it just my imagination? Have hardbooting discussions moved to other venues? If so, where? Have hardbooters just stopped communicating? Has the tribe thinned out? What gives? I have lurked this forum since its inception. I only made an account since I noticed the traffic is way down on what it used to be. It's unfortunate to say the least. The friendly atmosphere also seems to have somewhat diminished (which possibly contributes to the community not bothering to post much anymore). I guess without the Mad Killer, this forum might be completely dead. But yay for board sales ... I guess? Edited September 25, 2016 by daveo speeling ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 I think the site is about as friendly as it always was. There were actually more arguments when it was busier, just because there were more opportunities for people to clash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 8 minutes ago, Neil Gendzwill said: I think the site is about as friendly as it always was. There were actually more arguments when it was busier, just because there were more opportunities for people to clash. No it isn't! /montypython 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Who's excited for winter? I picked up a new-to-me Donek Rev 163 that needs a tune. I hope to get on that in the coming weeks. Then I'm pumped at the forecast for a colder winter, meaning the local resorts can blow snow earlier than last yet. Then, I'm super-pumped at the thought of NES in Alberta and ATC in Colorado with the prospect of an epic snow year! ATC cat trip - attempt #2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted September 26, 2016 Report Share Posted September 26, 2016 Banning somebody usually results in increased traffic. Any takers ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.a Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Just check out the extemecarving or frozen backside forums, traffic is way down from a peak in 2013 or so, summer or no summer. Attendance in European carving events is also stagnating. Dunno if its a cyclical thing or what, kind of unnerving though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 Crazy thought: What if it's forums that are dying and not the sport? Younger members of our local car racing club pretty much laugh at forums as being old-fashioned tools for old people. Aren't winter sports declining as a whole over the past few poor winters? A snowmobiler friend is saying pretty much the same thing about his sport. He rode half as much as previous seasons. If the snow forecasts are to be believed, this should be an epic season. Maybe that'll kickstart some new enthusiasm? Maybe there will be even fewer posts as people are too busy riding? There are definite trends that the forum follows, or maybe drives. 10-ish years ago, it was all about the big boards. Big, nasty, scare the kids type of boards. Then manufacturers figured out how to generate that same turn shape, as well as many others, in shorter boards with variable sidecuts that were more fun to ride all day long. 3 or 4 years ago, plates were the rage. They were almost required equipment, but they've been outed as being very specialized tools for a specific need, that doesn't align with most freecarvers' wants. This spring/summer was all about the Donek MK, reviving an interest in short and hyper-responsive boards. The industry isn't dead yet, but it doesn't exactly keep anyone up at night at Burton, worrying about the potential loss of sales of backpacks or sweaters or whatever Burton makes today. In the end, it's me and my iPod for the majority of my days on the snow. And I still gleefully leave the house at 6:30 AM (or the day before for some trips) to get to the hills for first runs on some sweet corduroy. I'll continue to spread info about the joy of hardbooting to anyone remotely interested, and check in here a couple of times a day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big mario Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 9 minutes ago, corey_dyck said: Crazy thought: What if it's forums that are dying and not the sport? Younger members of our local car racing club pretty much laugh at forums as being old-fashioned tools for old people. Quite true Corey, a fitness forum I belong(ed) to went from quite vibrant, your log would end up on page 3 if you took a rest day or 2, to an internet wasteland in the last few years. Traffic om Mtbr is way down. Forums just aren't that cool anymore, kinda like old guys on carving boards(just kidding) mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pow4ever Posted September 27, 2016 Report Share Posted September 27, 2016 I lurk :-) Don't have much to contribute but have much to learn. Last season I did have a moment depicted in the following comic: "s/coffee/snowboard/g" Wasn't making good turn; it's icy, cold, WTF am I doing here? That quickly went away when I finally get over my tiny plateau; now I can't wait for the next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 From the icons representing 8 different venues on the lower left of the page i'm not surprised forums are loosing steam. Local bump has so far failed to mail out my membership renewal for this season and i'm struggling to find as good reason to renew since it's a sh---- hill and i have other options. Unlike Corey who has a new season approaching with his little bump under new management and ownership only good thing on his horizon. And sadly i gave up coffee 25 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Posted September 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 The tribe may or may not be dying off. But it seems like the remaining members may still want to communicate on some venue (facebook, ???). I signed up for facebook several years ago to try to find info on a possible high school reunion. Since then, I haven't re-visited. From what I can discern the signal-to-noise ratio of facebook is way too low. But maybe that is where some of the remaining hardbooting communication is taking place. I saw the thread on the Madd killer but I paid no attention because I never rode a Madd (so I don't get it) and my only impression is that it is the ugliest board ever produced. Or maybe the tribe is just dying out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 1 hour ago, John E said: The tribe may or may not be dying off. But it seems like the remaining members may still want to communicate on some venue (facebook, ???). This forum moving to Facebook is the only conceivable reason I can imagine to enter that fetid wasteland. As for ugliness, Madd had a long way to go to match the unparalleled standard set by Kemper. Ugly was their brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 I hang out at a lot of martial arts forums and they are all dead or dying except maybe for Sherdog which doesn't count. The traffic is mostly moving to Facebook, which is a horrible medium for discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 (edited) face book is not a platform for intermittent group discussion. no way there'll ever be the depth & breadth of knowledge you can get here on any advertising site Edited October 1, 2016 by b0ardski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Are newsgroups still active? I LOVED reading rec.bikes.tech many years ago, but lost interest over time. Forums took over my interest, but I bet the newgroups are still going. As long as people are active, a medium will live on. Maybe that next thing is around the corner... For now, I'm still checking in here for all my carving info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 Usenet is still around but the one I used to haunt is inundated with spam and pretty much useless. I see rec.bikes.tech is still going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 I think people have a finite amount of both time and patience for the internet in their day. I think Facebook now uses up the majority of both, for a lot of people. A surefire way to kill this community would be to move it to Facebook. There are already several alpine snowboarding groups or pages or whatever there, and they get very little action. Also this population is aging, and the new-toy-factor of this site and the internet in general is wearing off. And we don't seem to be replacing ourselves here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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