Forum Growth.....or not?

[Kirk Gittings]

June 2008:
Threads: 32,221, Posts: 340,521, Members: 13,693, Active Members: 2,234

Today
Threads: 51,598, Posts: 524,061, Members: 16,885, Active Members: 2,814


Every couple of years I like to compare the numbers. Steady growth. Why do you think?

[Eric James]

These data don't show growth, they show accumulation (except perhaps the "Active Members" datum - how is that defined?).

[Oren Grad]

These data don't show growth, they show accumulation (except perhaps the "Active Members" datum - how is that defined?).

Actually, they do show acceleration by one accounting: the average rate of accumulation in all of these measures since June 2008 is greater than the average rate of accumulation since the inception of the forum.

[Kirk Gittings]

These data don't show growth, they show accumulation (except perhaps the "Active Members" datum - how is that defined?).

As Oren said I think here is some evidence in the post numbers over time that represent growth too.

As per the "Active Members" numbers. Ralph remembers that it counts members that have made at least one post in the last 12 months, but we cannot find where this is written anywhere....still looking.

[Kirk Gittings]

Excellent question. I don't know how that is defined. I will try and find out.

[Eric James]

Perhaps I'm missing your point Oren, but wouldn't you need data prior to JUN '08 to make this claim? Certainly we can point toward the "growth" of the archives, and the growth of the "lounge" , but I don't think that this is what Kirk was hoping to show. A better measure of growth would be site visits or thread visits, comparing the month of JAN '08 to the month of JAN '10, for example.

Certainly the forum remains active, but I really wonder if it's growing. With the loss of Readyloads and the writing on the wall for Quickloads, I think there with be some attrition in the months and years to come.

[Oren Grad]

Perhaps I'm missing your point Oren, but wouldn't you need data prior to JUN '08 to make this claim?

We have such data: how old the forum is, and the fact that at the starting point all those numbers were zero.

Explaining the current level of activity is trickier. How much is it greater interest in LF? And how much is it greater interest in spending time on discussion boards?

[Ken Lee]

People spending more time on their computers ?

People discovering how helpful it can be to share questions and answers ?

[John Bowen]

It's the Boomers...

We wax nostalgic and all remember being kids and working with analog photography. We all shared a common dream as kids....we wanted to be Ansel Adams or Edward Weston or....

Now that we are starting to retire, we have the time and hopefully the cash to chase our dreams....

The film manufacturers have noted increased sales of LF film. Ebay has made LF gear available to everyone and the prices of LF gear have gotten down right reasonable since the pros all jumped to digital.

Just my 2 cents,

[Brian Ellis]

It's the Boomers...

We wax nostalgic and all remember being kids and working with analog photography. We all shared a common dream as kids....we wanted to be Ansel Adams or Edward Weston or....

Now that we are starting to retire, we have the time and hopefully the cash to chase our dreams....

The film manufacturers have noted increased sales of LF film. Ebay has made LF gear available to everyone and the prices of LF gear have gotten down right reasonable since the pros all jumped to digital.

Just my 2 cents,

Just curious - where do you see that the "film manufacturers have noted increased sales of LF film?"

I ask because I've seen this and similar claims before but have never seen any data from any manufacturer that goes into enough detail even to see sales of film in general much less LF film alone. I periodically look at Kodak's K-1s filed with the SEC and also their annual report as well. The categories there are so broad that it's impossible to know what's included in them. But I've never seen any financial statements from Ilford or its parent company and only little bits and pieces from Fuji so maybe they show sales of LF film. Or maybe there's better places to look for this information than where I've been looking.