Research on Message Board's Viability/Self-Destruct

Research on Message Boards Remaining Viable/Self-Destructing

Has anyone seen any actual studies on this? Are there people out there watching the process or is that a niche that needs filled?

What is the "typical" lifespan of a popular message board? What are the causal factors that most often result in it's ultimate self-destruction via choice or negligence?

Have there been Message Boards that have recovered successfully from near oabliteration by competitors?

Can anyone provide some links? I googled: Message Board Lifespans, Forum lifespans, Message Board research...and I'm not getting info on this kind of thing.

What are some of the hosts for message boards like that Phbbh thing or whatever? Is there one of those for Lit or is Lit run completely independently for the most part?

How do internet "regulatory" watchers affect such processes. We have recently seen one of the photo hosts discontinue it's "relationship" with Lit due to Lit's disregard of the TOS. Many people who did a lot of work here to make it interesting and entertaining "lost" that work.

We are seeing lots of original works "stolen" by other boards and posted to these sites. I am not sure how proactive Lit has been this time in fighting that...

Is there a benefit that Board owners might achieve by allowing a Forum/Message Board to self-destruct? Is it better for them to let "nature take it's course" sometimes when the Board becomes too difficult to manage? While in the meantime perhaps building somewhere new/starting over?

These are my questions. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find information on such things? If so, please share it here as I cannot find much!
**********************************************************

Later: LINKS PROVIDED BY THE POSTERS IN THIS THREAD (will continue to add them here). Thank you!

http://theadminzone.com
www.big-boards.com
http://aoir.org/
http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://forum.literotica.com
http://www.xcitenet.com/index.html

Are you sure you want a real answer?

Joaquin1975 said:

Are you sure you want a real answer?

Click to expand...

If you have one Joaquin...yes, I'm sure. Somehow though....lol....I doubt you have one.

The most common cause of message board failure is not lack of participation. What kills them is administrators who don't keep it maintained. Server companies can shut down and leave you board stranded. I had a web site once that went down, and when I called the server, I found out they had been bought out by another company. The new company did not have a licence to run the code my site was written in.

Stuff like that is what kills sites, more than people getting bored.

bronzeage said:

The most common cause of message board failure is not lack of participation. What kills them is administrators who don't keep it maintained. Server companies can shut down and leave you board stranded. I had a web site once that went down, and when I called the server, I found out they had been bought out by another company. The new company did not have a licence to run the code my site was written in.

Stuff like that is what kills sites, more than people getting bored.

Click to expand...

Oh...I think we should take it a step further.

What would cause administrators of a very successful board to neglect it to that point? To the point that it had become non-profitable? I don't know how big or how much "for profit" your site was...but Lit, I suspect, is very much interested in profit in terms of cold hard cash!

If you don't have customers, why maintain it?

Has anyone seen any actual studies on this? Are there people out there watching the process or is that a niche that needs filled?
I have never seen any specific "studies" done before. My guess is because most people are interested in getting a board to survive not go down.

What is the "typical" lifespan of a popular message board? What are the causal factors that most often result in it's ultimate self-destruction via choice or negligence? There is no typical lifespan. Some last for years, others can go down in a matter of weeks. Either the admins decide to keep it or not. Yes, it can either be by choice or negligience.

Have there been Message Boards that have recovered successfully from near oabliteration by competitors? Competition is competition. Survival of the fittest. One tries to out trump the other, some try to repeat a similar topic/niche, etc. I have not seen many competitors try to actively "obliterate" another board. There is really nothing magical about it. It either stays or it goes.

Can anyone provide some links? I googled: Message Board Lifespans, Forum lifespans, Message Board research...and I'm not getting info on this kind of thing. http://theadminzone.com

What are some of the hosts for message boards like that Phbbh thing or whatever? Is there one of those for Lit or is Lit run completely independently for the most part? Yes and yes. Depends on what you want to do. Some have the boards pre-installed, some are free, some are paid. Some run on virtual space, some on dedicated space. And yes, with lit's sheer size, it is most likely on a dedicated server.

How do internet "regulatory" watchers affect such processes. We have recently seen one of the photo hosts discontinue it's "relationship" with Lit due to Lit's disregard of the TOS. Many people who did a lot of work here to make it interesting and entertaining "lost" that work. There is really no Internet police per se. Somebody does not like what somebody does, takes too much bandwidth, etc. is to simply deny a host and that is that. Takes several seconds to do.

We are seeing lots of original works "stolen" by other boards and posted to these sites. I am not sure how proactive Lit has been this time in fighting that... I am not sure what you mean by this. You mean hotlinking pictures? Stealing stories? It all falls under copyright laws, and if somebody complains, they go to the admins with the issue.

Is there a benefit that Board owners might achieve by allowing a Forum/Message Board to self-destruct? Is it better for them to let "nature take it's course" sometimes when the Board becomes too difficult to manage? While in the meantime perhaps building somewhere new/starting over? There are many reasons why boards shut down. Too much work, too much money, not enough activity, etc... And yes, people make other message boards while running another one. Sometimes people shut one down and make another.

These are my questions. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find information on such things? If so, please share it here as I cannot find much!

Joaquin1975 provides the responses in the middle.

Has anyone seen any actual studies on this? Are there people out there watching the process or is that a niche that needs filled?

I have never seen any specific "studies" done before. My guess is because most people are interested in getting a board to survive not go down.

Well that is typically the purpose behind "studies"...to identify what works and move forward. It also happens to be useful to find out what hinders...lol.



What is the "typical" lifespan of a popular message board? What are the causal factors that most often result in it's ultimate self-destruction via choice or negligence?

There is no typical lifespan. Some last for years, others can go down in a matter of weeks. Either the admins decide to keep it or not. Yes, it can either be by choice or negligience.

I would consider how many admins would decide indiscriminantly to just let a Board go down that was increasing their personal profit a couple or several thousand dollars a month. I suspect Lit was doing that at some point...may still be at this point...but I suspect there's been a decline in profitability as their have been increasing complaints and demonstrations of admin neglect.



Have there been Message Boards that have recovered successfully from near oabliteration by competitors?

Competition is competition. Survival of the fittest. One tries to out trump the other, some try to repeat a similar topic/niche, etc. I have not seen many competitors try to actively "obliterate" another board.

Just because you haven't recognized it...doesn't mean it's not occurring. I have been reading and learning a great deal about some things...outsourcing for example...very interesting!

There is really nothing magical about it. It either stays or it goes.

It's not a random act...it is a managed one! One well or poorly managed.



Can anyone provide some links? I googled: Message Board Lifespans, Forum lifespans, Message Board research...and I'm not getting info on this kind of thing.
http://theadminzone.com
Thanks, I'll take a look.



What are some of the hosts for message boards like that Phbbh thing or whatever? Is there one of those for Lit or is Lit run completely independently for the most part?

Yes and yes. Depends on what you want to do. Some have the boards pre-installed, some are free, some are paid. Some run on virtual space, some on dedicated space. And yes, with lit's sheer size, it is most likely on a dedicated server.

I wonder which company Lit deals with...as I am sure that company is paying attention to what is happening here as well. Also I suspect there are educational resources and forums there at their site to help with the answers to these questions.



How do internet "regulatory" watchers affect such processes. We have recently seen one of the photo hosts discontinue it's "relationship" with Lit due to Lit's disregard of the TOS. Many people who did a lot of work here to make it interesting and entertaining "lost" that work.

There is really no Internet police per se. Somebody does not like what somebody does, takes too much bandwidth, etc. is to simply deny a host and that is that. Takes several seconds to do.

Somebody enforces (or doesn't) the TOS...who does that? I would think the the dedicated board operators.



We are seeing lots of original works "stolen" by other boards and posted to these sites. I am not sure how proactive Lit has been this time in fighting that...

I am not sure what you mean by this. You mean hotlinking pictures? Stealing stories? It all falls under copyright laws, and if somebody complains, they go to the admins with the issue.

There have been increasing complaints on the AH about stolen stories being posted on another forum/other forums. Several threads have been made. There seemed to be a joint consensus that Laurel was very attentive to this in the past and took such very seriously...I don't know how it's going now. I'd like to hear though.



Is there a benefit that Board owners might achieve by allowing a Forum/Message Board to self-destruct? Is it better for them to let "nature take it's course" sometimes when the Board becomes too difficult to manage? While in the meantime perhaps building somewhere new/starting over?

There are many reasons why boards shut down. Too much work, too much money, not enough activity, etc... And yes, people make other message boards while running another one. Sometimes people shut one down and make another.

Well, I've seen that happen, too, at other places...without warning the Board would shut down or BE shut down by TOS regulators of the dedicated server. The posters never had a chance to save all their work...So, it is good to keep things "backed up" elsewhere.

These are my questions. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find information on such things? If so, please share it here as I cannot find much.

poppy1963 said:

Joaquin1975 provides the responses in the middle.

Has anyone seen any actual studies on this? Are there people out there watching the process or is that a niche that needs filled?

I have never seen any specific "studies" done before. My guess is because most people are interested in getting a board to survive not go down.

Well that is typically the purpose behind "studies"...to identify what works and move forward. It also happens to be useful to find out what hinders...lol.



What is the "typical" lifespan of a popular message board? What are the causal factors that most often result in it's ultimate self-destruction via choice or negligence?

There is no typical lifespan. Some last for years, others can go down in a matter of weeks. Either the admins decide to keep it or not. Yes, it can either be by choice or negligience.

I would consider how many admins would decide indiscriminantly to just let a Board go down that was increasing their personal profit a couple or several thousand dollars a month. I suspect Lit was doing that at some point...may still be at this point...but I suspect there's been a decline in profitability as their have been increasing complaints and demonstrations of admin neglect.



Have there been Message Boards that have recovered successfully from near oabliteration by competitors?

Competition is competition. Survival of the fittest. One tries to out trump the other, some try to repeat a similar topic/niche, etc. I have not seen many competitors try to actively "obliterate" another board.

Just because you haven't recognized it...doesn't mean it's not occurring. I have been reading and learning a great deal about some things...outsourcing for example...very interesting!

There is really nothing magical about it. It either stays or it goes.

It's not a random act...it is a managed one! One well or poorly managed.



Can anyone provide some links? I googled: Message Board Lifespans, Forum lifespans, Message Board research...and I'm not getting info on this kind of thing.
http://theadminzone.com
Thanks, I'll take a look.



What are some of the hosts for message boards like that Phbbh thing or whatever? Is there one of those for Lit or is Lit run completely independently for the most part?

Yes and yes. Depends on what you want to do. Some have the boards pre-installed, some are free, some are paid. Some run on virtual space, some on dedicated space. And yes, with lit's sheer size, it is most likely on a dedicated server.

I wonder which company Lit deals with...as I am sure that company is paying attention to what is happening here as well. Also I suspect there are educational resources and forums there at their site to help with the answers to these questions.



How do internet "regulatory" watchers affect such processes. We have recently seen one of the photo hosts discontinue it's "relationship" with Lit due to Lit's disregard of the TOS. Many people who did a lot of work here to make it interesting and entertaining "lost" that work.

There is really no Internet police per se. Somebody does not like what somebody does, takes too much bandwidth, etc. is to simply deny a host and that is that. Takes several seconds to do.

Somebody enforces (or doesn't) the TOS...who does that? I would think the the dedicated board operators.



We are seeing lots of original works "stolen" by other boards and posted to these sites. I am not sure how proactive Lit has been this time in fighting that...

I am not sure what you mean by this. You mean hotlinking pictures? Stealing stories? It all falls under copyright laws, and if somebody complains, they go to the admins with the issue.

There have been increasing complaints on the AH about stolen stories being posted on another forum/other forums. Several threads have been made. There seemed to be a joint consensus that Laurel was very attentive to this in the past and took such very seriously...I don't know how it's going now. I'd like to hear though.



Is there a benefit that Board owners might achieve by allowing a Forum/Message Board to self-destruct? Is it better for them to let "nature take it's course" sometimes when the Board becomes too difficult to manage? While in the meantime perhaps building somewhere new/starting over?

There are many reasons why boards shut down. Too much work, too much money, not enough activity, etc... And yes, people make other message boards while running another one. Sometimes people shut one down and make another.

Well, I've seen that happen, too, at other places...without warning the Board would shut down or BE shut down by TOS regulators of the dedicated server. The posters never had a chance to save all their work...So, it is good to keep things "backed up" elsewhere.

These are my questions. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find information on such things? If so, please share it here as I cannot find much.

Click to expand...

Then if you know all these things, there is no reason for me to go any further. Good luck in your quest.

Joaquin1975 said:

Then if you know all these things, there is no reason for me to go any further. Good luck in your quest.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your opinions and the link. Also for the resource information where more of my actual questions might be answered beyond opinion! You actually generated more questions in my responses than conclusions. I think that is evident if you read them again. Very helpful in that regard.

Joaquin1975 said:

Then if you know all these things, there is no reason for me to go any further. Good luck in your quest.

Click to expand...

You didn't think she really wanted answers, did you?

poppy1963 said:

Thank you for your opinions and the link. Also for the resource information where more of my actual questions might be answered beyond opinion! You actually generated more questions in my responses than conclusions. I think that is evident if you read them again. Very helpful in that regard.

Click to expand...

Evidently, this is not about how message boards run but about lit. I do not know what goes on behind the scenes of lit, nor do I care. Why? I do not run it.

Again, have fun.

Queersetti said:

You didn't think she really wanted answers, did you?

Click to expand...

I should have seen the lit conspiracy shit coming. I only ran or helped run message boards since 1999, but that is no matter. She can find the answers she seeks on the other place I linked her. They may prove to be more helpful.

poppy1963 said:

Oh...I think we should take it a step further.

What would cause administrators of a very successful board to neglect it to that point? To the point that it had become non-profitable? I don't know how big or how much "for profit" your site was...but Lit, I suspect, is very much interested in profit in terms of cold hard cash!

If you don't have customers, why maintain it?

Click to expand...

I tend to think along the lines of Joaquin's comment. I spent a lot of time in research in an attempt to see what forces drive community forums like this one. The answers I found weren't what I expected and it had a negative effect on the enjoyment of participation. I came to accept them for what they appear to be because I might not participate if I know exactly what they are.

It would be fascinating to learn the truth, but I might not like the truth.

...mad as hatters I tell ya...LOL!

See HERE.

*shakes head & laughs*

There are some very prolific authors/art/photography posters here on the GB and all their work IS here on the GB. Just sayin'...

Joaquin1975 said:

I should have seen the lit conspiracy shit coming. I only ran or helped run message boards since 1999, but that is no matter. She can find the answers she seeks on the other place I linked her. They may prove to be more helpful.

Click to expand...

I respect the sincere attempt you made to help her out. I read the original post, considered replying, and decided it was probably just another attempt to start a bitchfest about the awful, awful GB.

Poppy is like Lance's little sister.

ruminator said:

I tend to think along the lines of Joaquin's comment. I spent a lot of time in research in an attempt to see what forces drive community forums like this one. The answers I found weren't what I expected and it had a negative effect on the enjoyment of participation. I came to accept them for what they appear to be because I might not participate if I know exactly what they are.

It would be fascinating to learn the truth, but I might not like the truth.

Click to expand...

Well...certainly that is your perrogative! I bid you adieu then...if you don't want to hear some truth about these things, I suggest you don't read anymore. These questions are posed for those who would seek to understand more than to comfort those who prefer not to...best wishes to you. But if you have some stuff here, you want saved...I suggest you back it up somewhere.

LOLOL!

poppy1963 said:

Well...certainly that is your perrogative! I bid you adieu then...if you don't want to hear some truth about these things, I suggest you don't read anymore. These questions are posed for those who would seek to understand more than to comfort those who prefer not to...best wishes to you. But if you have some stuff here, you want saved...I suggest you back it up somewhere.

LOLOL!

Click to expand...

So, you think that after 8 years, Lit is bound to go belly up at any moment because someone posts something nasty that the Internet Illuminati doesn't like?

Queersetti said:

I respect the sincere attempt you made to help her out. I read the original post, considered replying, and decided it was probably just another attempt to start a bitchfest about the awful, awful GB.

Poppy is like Lance's little sister.

Click to expand...

People here are not yet quite as "Jerry Springer" as the last bunch, Q. Most will read and make some wise choices even if they can't admit it openly for whatever social acceptance issues prevent them...

Queersetti said:

So, you think that after 8 years, Lit is bound to go belly up at any moment because someone posts something nasty that the Internet Illuminati doesn't like?

Click to expand...

In the end, it is up to lit what they want to do or not want to do with the site. We have no say in the matter, and if one wants full control it is easy enough to set up another board or migrate to one or more of the thousands of message boards already in use.

poppy1963 said:

People here are not yet quite as "Jerry Springer" as the last bunch, Q. Most will read and make some wise choices even if they can't admit it openly for whatever social acceptance issues prevent them...

Click to expand...

I suppose that made some kind of sense in your head, but in the real world, it's gibberish.

Queersetti said:

So, you think that after 8 years, Lit is bound to go belly up at any moment because someone posts something nasty that the Internet Illuminati doesn't like?

Click to expand...

No...I seek to identify the process of such occurrences so others' awareness might increase and they take some added action to "protect their investment", so to speak, if they haven't yet. It's outside of my ability to do anything but that!

I, and others, HAVE seen Boards open for business as usual one day and gone forever the next!

Joaquin1975 said:

In the end, it is up to lit what they want to do or not want to do with the site. We have no say in the matter, and if one wants full control it is easy enough to set up another board or migrate to one or more of the thousands of message boards already in use.

Click to expand...

Agreed. But, after 8 years of continual operation, I see no reason for concern that Lit is about to collapse. Poppy seems to be under the impression that because of racist comments, stolen stories or some other cause, some sort of higher authority is going to come in and shut the joint down.

Bye Bye...done what I set out to...now it's up to individuals to do what they need to.

*waves*

poppy1963 said:

I, and others, HAVE seen Boards open for business as usual one day and gone forever the next!

Click to expand...

It's not exactly the apocalypse. I'm sure most people would get over it.