Why isn't there more participation on these discussion forums?

[Troy]

There are so many reasons why there is not much participation on these forums, but there are many reasons why people do participate.  Trying to appeal to people on the positives and downplay the negatives is challenging, but I'm open to ideas.

 

I should be clear what I mean by participation: I mean people who post comments and start conversation

 

There are currently 9,652 people who have an account on this forum, but only 917 of them have made at least one comment. Only 250 have made 5 or more comments--that is less than 3% people who have created account.  65 People have made 100 or more comments, but many of those people have not posted in years

 

It is not like the forum is not being visited and read.  In the past year almost 774 visitors spent an average of almost 13 minutes per visit on the site!  That is a long time. 

 

In the past 12 months, 18.861 people visited this conversation "Blacks commit 60% of ALL violent crime — but only 14% of the population" and spent almost a minute there on average. "Pete Davidson And Jewish History" is also a popular conversation started by @Pioneer1 almost 2 years ago; in that past year that page was visited on average, by 11 different people a day--every day.  Another Pioneer conversation, "People Ignoring Their Smoke Detectors" is visited by more than twice as many people, a day, than the Pete Davidson page!

 

Visibility is not really the problem.  I think the problem is visibility within the community I'd like to attract--Black people who participate.

 

At any given moment there are at least a couple dozen people on the site.  The screen shot (shown below) shows people on the site as I write this.  The vast majority are people without accounts (or no logged in):

 

 

Also, I approve new accounts on a daily basis.  People are still signing up, but not participating in conversations.  

 

In the old days before the corruption of Google's Search engine.  The site was far more popular as it was able to attract more readers and participants organically through search. Still, there is no reason this platform is not far more popular, given the existing traffic.  I guess I need a professional to do more active promotion...

 

In the world of AI generated content the ability to engage online with actual humans (as opposed to social media bits) may result in a resurgence in the popularity of independent discussion forums like this one.  One can hope  

 

[Chevdove]

34 minutes ago, Troy said:

Also, I approve new accounts on a daily basis.  People are still signing up, but not participating in conversations.  

 

That is odd that people sign up but will not participate. 

 

36 minutes ago, Troy said:

In the world of AI generated content the ability to engage online with actual humans (as opposed to social media bits) may result in a resurgence in the popularity of independent discussion forums like this one.  One can hope  

 

There is so much offered today, maybe and this may lead to laziness, imo.

When people become passionate about certain topics, perhaps they may feel motivated to participate.

There are so many reasons today to become motivated and become a part of discussion communities. 

 

 

 

[ProfD]

Of course I enjoy hanging out here. Then again, I'm not on the main social media platforms.

 

I'll see what I can do about coming up with more interesting topics from my armchair.

 

Maybe I'll start a thread entitled the pimp chronicles.

 

@Troy, don't turn off the lights. I'm still here mayne.

[Delano]

I think that just the way of it. I have a FB group of 850 people. Probably about 10 people respond with likes. No that I post gets 10 likes but there are ten people that like a post.

 

I think some years back occasionally a post would get five or six people interacting.

 

For myself I have a bit if fatigue. I used to be online for hours. Now it's minutes.

 

I also have less tolerance for arguments. Upn reflection I talk less overall. Since quite often it seems pointless or of little value 

[Troy]

@ProfD I've been doing this since 1998.  I ain't turning off the light unless I'm the last one.  

 

Please don't try to come up with a topic to please Goolge's algorithm--unless it is something you really want to discuss.  Besides there is already a LOT of competition to rank on the term The Pimp Chronicles.

 

4 hours ago, Chevdove said:

There is so much offered today, maybe and this may lead to laziness, imo.

 

Yeah, people have been programed to scroll through a feed.  Again, you don't search you just scroll through what is delivered to you. It is mindless, but very a compelling way to be entertained.  The feedback you provide on how long you dwell and watch videos helps determine which video you are served.  People tell me it is uncanny how well TikTok knows what you want to watch.

5 minutes ago, Delano said:

I think that just the way of it. I have a FB group of 850 people. Probably about 10 people respond with likes.

 

Is it a business or personal page?  I've been told that is it best to use a personal page as business pages are not shown unless you buy and ad.  

 

The other problem with social is that you don't know which accounts are bots. Unless it is someone you know -- even then you can't be sure -- there is a meaningful probability the account is bogus.  That 850 may be 600, 500 -- who knows?

[ProfD]

4 hours ago, Troy said:

@ProfD I've been doing this since 1998.  I ain't turning off the light unless I'm the last one.  

 

Please don't try to come up with a topic to please Goolge's algorithm--unless it is something you really want to discuss. 

Of course I'm kidding mayne.

[Delano]

5 hours ago, Troy said:

@ProfD I've been doing this since 1998.  I ain't turning off the light unless I'm the last one.  

 

Please don't try to come up with a topic to please Goolge's algorithm--unless it is something you really want to discuss.  Besides there is already a LOT of competition to rank on the term The Pimp Chronicles.

 

 

Yeah, people have been programed to scroll through a feed.  Again, you don't search you just scroll through what is delivered to you. It is mindless, but very a compelling way to be entertained.  The feedback you provide on how long you dwell and watch videos helps determine which video you are served.  People tell me it is uncanny how well TikTok knows what you want to watch.

 

Is it a business or personal page?  I've been told that is it best to use a personal page as business pages are not shown unless you buy and ad.  

 

The other problem with social is that you don't know which accounts are bots. Unless it is someone you know -- even then you can't be sure -- there is a meaningful probability the account is bogus.  That 850 may be 600, 500 -- who knows?

No there are few bits since bits don't know how to answer questions. Although a few people joined just to promote their business or isy something unrelated to Astrology 

 It's not a business page

 

[Troy]

On the contrary, Del boy are particularly good at answering questions.
 

In the old days before the proliferation of AI I had a bot that would go out and look for conversations about books and post a comment with the link to Amazon. I made a little bit of money every day with that until Twitter shut down the ability to do that sort of thing.

 

I had another bot that would go out search for profiles that had anything to do with Books or African-Americans and follow that profile. Sometime later, it will go back and Unfollow that profile. This was an easy way to increase your followers. The reason is that a percentage of people you follow will follow you back again. This was all automated.
 

I recall reading an estimate that 60% of the traffic on Twitter was bot traffic. Facebook is obviously different and I don’t recall the bot traffic figures for Facebook

 

I’m sure the tools and bots used by people with resources are far more sophisticated and effective today. 
 

I’ve been told by social media marketers that personal pages perform better than business pages in terms of organic reach.

 

I deleted my original Facebook profile page so I’m not about to rebuild a new one to find out if personal Pages perform better than business ones.

[aka Contrarian]

Well, this place is a tad intimidating.  You  have to be a somewhat  opinionated person to want to participate in or initiate a conversation. an undertaking that could require more effort than people feel like putting forth.  In addition to being  reasonably well informed, you also need to be articulate enough to make your point. A lot of folks would rather just check out what others say because they are not passionate enough about their  convictions to express them. Over time, the format here has evolved into a cast of characters performing for an  audience of  lurkers whose status never gets past the curiosity stage.

These onlookers  may also not feel like wading through and getting lost in the marathon dialogs between  regulars, when they simply drop by to see what's new.

The  "way we were" back in the day, will never be duplicated. It was a special moment in time before, as Troy noted, social media sucked the air out of the room. (Still wondering whatever happened to Chris Hayden, Troy)

 

Maybe things would pick up if Troy  posed a provocative question of the week and invited viewers to log in and give their responses. Even encourage lurkers to submit their own questions.

[Troy]

@aka Contrarian that explanation sounds perfectly plausible and reasonable; indeed, it appears to be an accurate description is what is going on. 

 

The nameless, faceless lurkers keep the forums alive.

 

I think the software and perhaps how I have organized things here is perhaps a bit confusing for a newcomer.  I thought about streamlining things by consolidating the forums and ditching the underlined features.

 

I really wish I could get rid of the registration process. The creates additional effort that really hurts participation, but the huge amount of spam and racist hate makes having an open forum impossible.

 

I'll consider a provocative question for the week.  I'll add it to a newsletter and see what happens. My problem will be keeping it up. Here is the first provocative question of the week ▶ (given the state of the net it may not be provocative enough)

 

 

[Pioneer1]

Troy

I keep telling you............
Many people today...especially the younger people under 35...aren't smart or stable enough to participate on a discussion forum.

They don't have the intelligence, desire, or emotional stability to engage in online dialogs where entire structured sentences and paragraphs are the methods used to exchange ideas.

I'm not trying to be dramatic or facetious, I'm serious in my assessment.

Many of them find it too boring.
Besides not being able to post more than 3 sentences......
If there is no beefing with other posters, no insults, or no threats being made...they don't find it interesting enough.

frankster attributes it to the dumbing down of society.
I'm not inclined to disagree.

There are many factors, however the fact appears to be that most people today aren't intellectually or emotionally built for these type of discussion forums.


 

 

[Troy]

@Pioneer1 even if what you wrote is true.  There are still enough sub-35-year-olds who are capable of stringing more than two sentences together to make an argument.

 

All the data I've been seeing does suggest that literacy rates are declining, so @frankster may have a point too.  But still, there are enough people with the ability to participate.  They just too many other more compelling things to do.  On the web, the pull of the algorithm is tough to compete against it.

 

Even without the algorithm.  Nobody is going to go through the effort of creating entertaining videos and post them here, the way they post them on TikToc, Youtube, Instrgram.  It is a brilliant business model -- -take free content and push it to people to the point of addiction.

 

The vast majority of content creators don't make much money or notoriety -- but the promise of doing so is enough to keep them trying, thus creating a never-ending supply of free content for the platform.

[Troy]

Below are the signups since the last newsletter went out.  As you can see, I banned most of the accounts out of the gate.  This is typical.  I believe there are only two new accounts as a direct result of my outreach. The outreach has to be a sustained effort. 

 

There were more than 2K new views on the "Child Rearing 50s Style," most of that was from views it would have gotten any way from search. There was a brief bump in the number of views on the "Do We Really Need 'The ReidOut?'” (none of which came from organic search, which will take more time, if it ever happens).

 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Troy said:

@Pioneer1 even if what you wrote is true.  There are still enough sub-35-year-olds who are capable of stringing more than two sentences together to make an argument.

I haven't been to Michigan in a very long time.  So, I'm not sure what brotha @Pioneer1 sees there.

 

As I've mentioned before, take a trip to any college or university campus especially HBCUs and there will be plenty of young Black folks who can read, write, speak and spell just fine.  Factor in the number of folks who have matriculated through those institutions. 

 

I see young people using modern technology better than adults.  These babies can navigate cell phones and tablets.

 

I also realize it's a generational thing to think and/or believe younger folks are less educated and/or more clueless or whatever.  It's simply untrue. 

 

Social media does allow folks to be more antisocial.   Social butterflies are going to fly regardless.

 

Younger folks just may not want to hang out here with opinionated old people.

[Pioneer1]

ProfD

Back in the day (80s and 90s), Michigan, like many other northern states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and even New York to a certain extent suffered from mass AfroAmerican intellectual brain drain as many of the brightest young Black people left the major cities of the North to move back down South.
Especially to places like Georgia, the Carolinas, and Texas.

Infact, the only thing that saved New York's Black intellectual population was the huge amount of West Indian and African immigrants who came into the city to replace the AfroAmerican youth who moved out in large numbers.

But today as the South has become more corrupt and racist and ratchet than the North, most AfroAmericans have decided to just stay where they are.  
Some are moving to Texas, but for the most part....Black youth aren't flocking to the South like they used to.
Infact, I'm seeing more and more Black folks in Western Michigan who moved here not only from Detroit and Chicago but from all parts of the South except for Texas.
I'm talking Mississippi, Alabama, the Carolinas, Florida....they're coming from all over because the wages are high enough and the cost of living is low enough in Western Michigan to still make a good living for yourself.  Especially if you don't have a college education.



As are as Black young intellectualism.......
Yes, there are plenty of them...still.

Remember however, that a HUGE number of Black youth in America today...if they are educated...are African and Caribbean!
They don't share the same comradery and opinions that AfroAmerican youth do...educated or uneducated.

If the average Nigerian was to participate on this forum....you'd think it was a straight up White dude posting.

[Mel Hopkins]

@Troy

Do Black Readers Prefer White Authors on Black Subject Matter?

I remember a study you conducted on Black book sales where you discovered that Black subject matter books written by white authors tend to outsell those written by Black authors. Drawing from that information—and taking a bit of a leap—it almost seems like:

• Black readers may buy books to see how white authors perceive Black people.

• White readers may purchase these books to confirm what they already believe about Black people.

Why the Sales Gap? Since Black readers live the Black experience daily, they may not see a strong return on investment (ROI) in reading narratives that reflect their lived reality. This idea might also explain why fewer Black users engage with this forum now that other platforms offer more tailored spaces.

---

The Changing Landscape of Online Engagement

Forum regulars here probably come from eclectic backgrounds, which has always been our strength. We bring a diversity of thought and learn from each other. However, we may be facing a challenge:

• We're not Gen Z or Gen Alpha, which makes it harder to attract younger users.

• Online engagement dynamics have shifted, and we may no longer appeal to the new crowd.

• Possible Solution: You may need to bring in influencers to boost forum engagement, even if it means hiring them.

Reality Check: Our regular posters may have outgrown their attractiveness to newer audiences. We're primarily conservatives with a progressive slant, and we often observe and gather information without aiming to convert or engage in activism.

---

Pioneer's Smoke Alarm Topic – A Case Study in Environmental Sociology

Pioneer’s topic about smoke alarms is a prime example of a thesis-worthy environmental sociology discussion. It made me think about my own neighborhood:

• I live in an 800+ single-family home subdivision and walk it regularly with my pup.

• The only time I’ve heard a chirping smoke detector was when my next-door neighbor moved to a 10-acre property and couldn’t change the battery right away.

• Even though the house was empty, they still changed the battery because of the risk of property loss.

Black People, Wealth, and Home Maintenance Pioneer’s observation overlooks the possibility that Black, single, or married individuals with financial means are more likely to pay someone to handle maintenance tasks, including changing smoke alarm batteries. Kevin Samuels often spoke about a specific demographic, but in reality:

• Black women with money don’t need a man to handle home maintenance.

• With platforms like Thumbtack and Angi's List available, they can easily outsource these tasks.

• For context, my former neighbor (single with kids and on her way to generational wealth) ensures her smoke alarms are maintained—either by doing it herself or hiring help. (For the record, I do the same.)

---

The ROI of the Smoke Alarm Topic

The smoke alarm conversation highlights an interesting point: people like to compare themselves to others.

However, that curiosity alone isn’t enough to convince people to give up their PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and actively engage on a platform.

---

Final Thoughts: Time for New Strategies?

If we want to reignite engagement and attract a wider audience, it might be time to:

Leverage influencers to promote the forum.
Introduce fresh topics that resonate with younger generations.
Consider how we can offer value that makes people willing to engage despite privacy concerns.

What’s your take? Do you think bringing in influencers could help, or is there another approach we’re overlooking?

---

This version is structured to: Encourage thoughtful responses.
Highlight key insights with subheadings and bullet points.
Spark engagement by ending with an open-ended question.

Ready to re-energize the conversation? Let’s get the forum buzzing again!

 

 

Note: I wrote my response and then I asked ChatGPT to make it more engaging for this forum.  Just another suggestion on how to grow engagement 

[ProfD]

Hey sista @Mel Hopkins, glad to you read you here in 2025.  Hope all is well within your world.

[Mel Hopkins]

@ProfD Hi! Thank you! Same to you! Oh Snap! I didn't even realize I hadn't made a post this year! 

[Pioneer1]

Mel

 

Welcome back!
Long time no read....lol.

 

 

Black People, Wealth, and Home Maintenance Pioneer’s observation overlooks the possibility that Black, single, or married individuals with financial means are more likely to pay someone to handle maintenance tasks, including changing smoke alarm batteries.

 

Are you sure about that?
I'm not sure about most of the men down there in "Wakanda"....lol....but in the rest of the United States for the most part even if they have a little money, most Middle Class and even most Wealthy  Black MEN aren't going to want to pay somebody hundreds or thousands of dollars to do something that they can easily do themselves and a lot cheaper.
Most educated and professional Black men have a "man code" they live by that tells them certain things are a "Man's job".


Infact, that "do it yourself if you can" mentality is how a lot of Black people of financial means ARRIVED there in the first place.
By not spending money unless it's necessary.

[ProfD]

2 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

...most Middle Class and even most Wealthy  Black MEN aren't going to want to pay...

Most educated and professional Black men have a "man code" they live by that tells them certain things are a "Man's job".

Infact, that "do it yourself if you can" mentality is how a lot of Black people of financial means ARRIVED there in the first place.

Nah bro. Most upper middle class and affluent Black folks, men and women, will pay other folks to handle their maintenance related stuff. I see it firsthand and get paid as a result of it.

 

These well to do n8gglets will let those smoke detectors chirp until someone else mentions the batteries need to be changed.

 

[Pioneer1]

ProfD

If I'm wrong, I stand to be corrected...lol.

I don't know a WHOLE LOT of upper middle class and rich Black people, but I do know some....who've gotten their wealth by various means.
Most of the ones I personally know....especially the men...would rather take care of minor household issues themselves.
But the ones I know are only a fraction of the wealthy Black people in the United States, so.......


 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

I don't know a WHOLE LOT of upper middle class and rich Black people, but I do know some....who've gotten their wealth by various means.
Most of the ones I personally know....especially the men...would rather take care of minor household issues themselves.

Very few Black folks grow their own food or change oil in vehicles or do home repairs and maintenance. 

 

Access to money has afforded Black folks to buy groceries and pay others for routine maintenance and repairs. 

 

Thankfully, I know how to do all types of general construction and home improvement work. I do my own landscaping too.

 

I could easily pay amigos to cut and edge my yard. Nope. Gotta handle my own bizness.

[Mel Hopkins]

5 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Black MEN aren't going to want to pay somebody hundreds or thousands of dollars to do something that they can easily do themselves and a lot cheaper.

Are you sure about that? My married heterosexual-all-man neighbor pays many folks to maintain his property. He doesn't make money by bothering with little things; time is still money. His time is better spent handling the business that pays him, and he then spreads the wealth to the community. I paid my Nigerian carpenter to re-build my closet. I could have done it, but I was working for my married heterosexual Black man research scientist client - who pays me for my content marketing skills. Skills he could easily do for himself but would rather pay me for my skills so I could eat too. Black people pay others to produce vibrant Black communities where "everybody eats, b."   Places like Black Wall Street didn't grow because "manly-men" did everything for themselves.

 

Hi @Pioneer1 

[Pioneer1]

Mel and ProfD

I can understand hiring somebody to finish your basement, do plumbing work, or even maintain your lawn.
Really, I can.

But calling in someone just to come in and change some damn batteries in the smoke detector?

Lol...is yall serious?



Let me guess......
Before they invented those "forever" LED light bulbs....wealthy Negroes were also paying people top dollar to come in and replace their lights when they went out too?
 

[ProfD]

6 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

But calling in someone just to come in and change some damn batteries in the smoke detector?

Lol...is yall serious?

Let me guess......
Before they invented those "forever" LED light bulbs....wealthy Negroes were also paying people top dollar to come in and replace their lights when they went out too?

Depends on the height of the smoke detector or light fixture.

 

Some homes have vaulted ceilings that are pretty high up.

 

A person who's afraid of heights will make a phone call to change that smoke detector battery or light bulb.

[Pioneer1]

This is a message from the U.S. Fire Administration......





Smoke Alarms

They also say the batteries should be replaced every year.

The information is presented in a way that most residents who aren't disabled would find it rather simple and easy to do.
Unless you are physically (or mentally) disabled, if you're seriously going to PAY someone to come out and put some batteries in your smoke alarm while you sit on the couch smoking that fake weed and scrolling through your cell phone....well...lol....
 

[ProfD]

3 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Unless you are physically (or mentally) disabled, if you're seriously going to PAY someone to come out and put some batteries in your smoke alarm while you sit on the couch smoking that fake weed and scrolling through your cell phone....well...lol....
 

I doubt the fake weed smoking, couch sitting n8gglet has a house with high vaulted ceilings or smoke detectors requiring a ladder to reach.