Where have all the members gone on this forum?

[Thunder_Mountai]

Couldn't figure any other place to ask this question... I've been here since 2005. Have no idea how many posts I've done during that time. Back a several years ago I could ask a question about something and get numerous answers quickly. In the last couple of years I've noticed a very real decline in the activity on RV.NET. So, where has everybody gone? Other forums, Facebook, etc.

[Reisender]

ford truck guy wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Your probably right. Probably getting into that tens of thousands now. The Facebook user groups are very active. Dozens of new owners every day, all with lots of questions. Not all are buying teardrops but most are. But the Ford and Rivian new owners are starting to show up as well. But again, all on individual brand tow groups. I doubt any will ever set foot here, although the toxicity of these old RV boards does get mentioned from time to time.

I'll have to take your word for it, but I'll remain skeptical until I actually see some "in the wild", so to speak.

I may NOT tow as much as some here, BUT I do travel A LOT for work ( up and down the East Coast weekly from New England to Charlotte ) and I can honestly say, I have not seen 1 EV towing.. ever...Not even a small utility trailer... :h

I don’t think it’s that common in North America. Probably a few thousand though. We belong to three towing or camping groups on Facebook. 1 in English, 1 in French and 1 in German. It seems to be more common over seas but that that’s just a matter of numbers. The adaption rate of EV’s in Europe and Great Britain is much higher than North America and the infrastructure is superior. It’ll probably catch on more on this side of the pond if the infrastructure improves but that’s probably a long way off.

Funny though, I have assisted with 5 P3 brake control installs in the last 3 months and all but one were in English. 1 guy in Arizona and three people in Vancouver BC area.

So far in the last month on our cross country camping trip we have seen 3 other EV’s pulling small travel trailers. Lots pulling boats and utility trailers though.

Cheers.

[monkey44]

Don't know how many posts I have, but enrolled here in 2002 ... shared what I know, and learned a lot since buying my first truck camper ... before that, lots of tent and van camping.

Lots of good info on here still, when you need it. Altho, member numbers do seem to be dwindling a bit. I suspect other venues, FB - TT - IG, etc. take a few away...

We use FB for friends and family - no other social media interests us -- too much BS on most of them, with little real meat for the RV commuunity. JMHO 🙂 M44

[QCMan]

Still here also! I still post when I see something I can help on but steer away from a lot of questions that scream "I learned nothing from life so far and I need someone to hug me". There are, unfortunately, way too many that bought an rv and thought it requires no work at all and then make very stupid mistakes which complicate things. Then they get upset that there is no finger snap or button click to fix it.
We have curtailed our camping to smaller high end spots because we got tired of folks that think we absolutely need to know them. At 70+ I still prefer to meet folks that are meat eating, leather wearing and fossil fuel burning.
When we lived in a different state, I had someone with a petition to condemn rain forest logging and blamed me for helping it because I had a Mitsubishi car with "lots of exotic wood in it" even though there was not even a splinter of wood in the car. He also condemned my leather belt but got offended when I pointed out that his shoes were leather. Lying and deception are things that exclude you from even my acquaintance list.
Sorry for the rant but this is my take and I am so glad that I am closer to the end than the beginning of life because I cry every time I see what morons are doing to what used to be a wonderful country to live in.

[ford_truck_guy]

fj12ryder wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Your probably right. Probably getting into that tens of thousands now. The Facebook user groups are very active. Dozens of new owners every day, all with lots of questions. Not all are buying teardrops but most are. But the Ford and Rivian new owners are starting to show up as well. But again, all on individual brand tow groups. I doubt any will ever set foot here, although the toxicity of these old RV boards does get mentioned from time to time.

I'll have to take your word for it, but I'll remain skeptical until I actually see some "in the wild", so to speak.

I may NOT tow as much as some here, BUT I do travel A LOT for work ( up and down the East Coast weekly from New England to Charlotte ) and I can honestly say, I have not seen 1 EV towing.. ever...Not even a small utility trailer... :h

[fj12ryder]

Reisender wrote:
Your probably right. Probably getting into that tens of thousands now. The Facebook user groups are very active. Dozens of new owners every day, all with lots of questions. Not all are buying teardrops but most are. But the Ford and Rivian new owners are starting to show up as well. But again, all on individual brand tow groups. I doubt any will ever set foot here, although the toxicity of these old RV boards does get mentioned from time to time.

I'll have to take your word for it, but I'll remain skeptical until I actually see some "in the wild", so to speak.

[jmtandem]

So, where has everybody gone? Other forums, Facebook, etc.

Forums has lost a lot of their luster. Back in the day you are correct there was lots of discussion on topics, some spirited. I liked that. Today most of that is lost or the mods just delete it. People move on.

[dodge_guy]

Reisender wrote:
Facebook and specific vehicle tow groups. Much friendlier and polite, you can have an answer in minutes and it won’t come with attitude. Most new RVers are joining specific to their model or tow vehicle groups.

For example, there are thousands of EV drivers pulling small travel trailers now. Not a chance they will come to a board like this and be belittled or ridiculed. Much easier to get a knowledgeable and fast answer in minutes on a Facebook group. These type of boards are more and more just hardcore old boys clubs and are toxic to new ideas and tech. Still lots of info on this board in the archives but as the old tech fades out so will the usefulness of the archives.

Jmho.

Not sure on the FB groups. If you post one thing and forget to dot an i they will suspend you for a week!
I posted a link to a product the member was asking about and I got shut down for 2 weeks because there are no links allowed! I’ve just about stopped with the FB groups because of the ridiculousness! They are started by Karen’s that only want it there way!

[dodge_guy]

I see you only have 2374 posts
I have 18,048 posts!
Where have you been? 😉

[ford_truck_guy]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
I'm still here! Do I count? :B

Have to admit, I'm in here almost every day, mainly lurking, reading stuff, posting here and there, not so often any more.

I don't do Wastebook of myface or yourspace or flutter, twistedgram or twitface or any of those things. For me it's a waste of time.

I like this forum, always have. But yeah, I've seen a lot of folks come and go, and many just disappear.

But I'm still here!

That's funny Bob, I'm almost the exact same way, except I DID join Instagram , mainly to follow camping pictures from other campers a long time ago..

Thanks for sticking around.

[way2roll]

I think a few things are at play;

FB doesn't have moderators that insert themselves into the topic to offer opinions, direct the conversation or modify and delete member's posts if they disagree with it. It's open conversation unless something gets reported for a legitimate/binary infraction of the rules. Most older forums like this one operate more like a club where the governing bodies are actively involved and manage the content. People don't want that anymore - especially younger generations. Users want to control the content in free-flowing conversations.

Then there's also google and youtube, etc which literally has tomes of anything you ever want to know in video format rather than waiting on a written answer. If I want to know how to do something on MY RV, I could find numerous videos, that I can stop and start while I'm actually doing it. Why come here as a new user, create a profile, post something, wait a day or so for a handful of written replies, hope I understand the content and suffer a few chastising replies in the process because I didn't word something right? There are other forms of media to get a quicker more concise answer.

I am sure that's what happens with most newbie hit and run posts. Post it here, and in the interim I've figured out my problem or gotten an answer somewhere else on the web. Problem solved, no need to come back. There's also a good bit of the "crotchety old man" vibe about this forum. Bucky's post is a perfect example. Some folks simply do not want new or a younger generation on here. "Get off my lawn". I'm certain without doing any analysis that there is a huge disparity between the average age of folks on this forum and the average age of people on other outlets.

[bucky]

I'll keep coming here every day. If only for Dougrainer, Old Biscuits, and many others knowledge and help.
There are a lot of idiots in the world and I have gotten kinder in my older years and just pass by when the OP exhibits that.
Another factor is that friends banter and that doesn't transfer to the written word. The younger crowd get's all rear end hurt and runs to their room for a good cry.
My sister in law has a great response to folks in that regard. Suck it up buttercup!

[southernsky]

I'm still here too.

[Nv_Guy]

I think most of the younger set have moved to FB because they are there anyway. Also as been mentioned the lack of detail and quick answers suit their short attention spans. Even if the answer is wrong or more info follows. One of many reasons I find FB a waste of time as you can't actually "follow" a thread to see what the final outcome was.

[BobsYourUncle]

I'm still here! Do I count? :B

Have to admit, I'm in here almost every day, mainly lurking, reading stuff, posting here and there, not so often any more.

I don't do Wastebook of myface or yourspace or flutter, twistedgram or twitface or any of those things. For me it's a waste of time.

I like this forum, always have. But yeah, I've seen a lot of folks come and go, and many just disappear.

But I'm still here!

[John_Joey]

Forums are old technology where new users have to seek them out with something like Google. Then join the forum with a new to them user ID/password.

Facebook on the other hand actively analyze what their interest are based on their posts and clicks, then present them with like minded groups to join with only a single click. Much more streamlined and targeted.

Forums are going the way of the buggy whip. Nothing that they did, just times have changed. Sad since I met many good people on this forum over the last 15 years. I wish them all well wherever they are.