RIP Messageboards?

[Letters]

Chatting to GB about the way GW has changed and our conversation prompted me to look at messageboards generally and whether they're declining in general. I found this

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/remembrance-of-message-boards-past/


I recently returned to AltDotLife, a big message board for women. At the top of the page, one of them wrote: “Is there reason to be concerned about the health of the board?” The writer hit the problem on the head. “We had about 20K-24K posts per month in 2008-09,” she wrote, “and that number has gotten gradually lower so that in the past several months, it’s been more like 13K-15K. And here we are 2/3 of the way through June and we’re at only 8365.”

She had some notion of what was up, and asked others to chime in. A chorus responded, suggesting that Facebook had snapped up some former posters, while others had just moved on.


“I used to come to ADL as a main source of chit chat with friends … but now I tend to go to FB for that,” one wrote. “My guess is that as time went on and the archives got larger and larger, many people are researching old topics rather than starting new threads,” another wrote. “Every possible topic has already been discussed.”

So...maybe this is just the way the internet has gone. People chat more on social networking sites and this sort of place is less popular generally. Is there anything we can do? I had thought about putting some adverts on FB. If nothing else it would make more people aware of the place. Whether anyone would sign up though...

Any thoughts?

[Joker]

Some football messageboards are still going very strong like Redcafe. Perhaps we face a lot of competition from someplace like Arsenal-Mania that more well known, which is why we struggle to attract new people. For example, on Newspaper websites where they list club forums, I think a lot of them have Arsenal-Mania on there, which helps them attract a lot of traffic.

[Niall_Quinn]

Other way around, forums are going from strength to strength as they continue to take advantage of the new social media platforms. It's just GW I'm afraid. And that woman's forum. Every other forum is on the up. It's obvious why GW is dying, because you banned the word ****.

[Coney]

The presence of crap like facebook is going to mean a lot of people are going to be busy on that site with less time for anything else.

We can maybe make some more gooners aware of the site. However, the idea of changing the site to compete with the likes of facebook is futile. Putting a reference on facebook so people are aware is fine. Changing it for the sake of letters numbers is meaningless.

[Marc Overmars]

Nothing wrong with forums.

It's just that GW is an, erm, aquired taste...

[Cripps_orig]

Nothing wrong with forums.

It's just that GW is an, erm, aquired taste...This

Too many in jokes in this place makes new comers feel awkward. Need a thread to break the ice

Time for the re-birth of the Word Association Thread imo. Its how the majority of us broke the ice

[Olivier's xmas twist]

The presence of crap like facebook is going to mean a lot of people are going to be busy on that site with less time for anything else.

We can maybe make some more gooners aware of the site. However, the idea of changing the site to compete with the likes of facebook is futile. Putting a reference on facebook so people are aware is fine. Changing it for the sake of letters numbers is meaningless.

:gp:

I Just think If people want to talk about Arsenal they will, if their not signed up its more to with them not needed a forum etc.

Don't think Adverstising on Facebook Twiiter will change a thing.

Maybe potential posters look on this forum and don't like what they see and choose on other Gooner sites.

[Coney]

Maybe potential posters look on this forum and don't like what they see and choose on other Gooner sites.

I have mentioned this before but I just got abuse. There is a lot of pretend racism and so on from people on here though we know the posters and that they are just doing a send-up. I do it myself sometimes. However, a new visitor not knowing could well be put off by it, not realising it is between people who know each other very well, internet-wise and sometimes personally.

There may be other things too. GW has to decide what it should look like to the newcomer and act accordingly. I think we can still have banter and piss-taking but with half an eye on what a new person might think.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

problem with this site is people focus too much on the negatives.

if 'selective quoting' was in the dictionary then there would be a link to this website by its side.

when i first came to the forum i made posts about arsenal and tried going into detail to generate some discussion, however they were generally always ignored and existing posters didn't seem keen to have a proper discussion or expand on any points.

then i took another approach and was more confrontational, direct, aggressive, c*ntish.. and guess what? it worked. it meant i got into discussions (and many arguments) and was noticed a lot more, so obviously this approach seemed to work better.

i think its just the ethos/mentality on this forum. not sure if ive explained it well but meh.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

problem with this site is people focus too much on the negatives.

if 'selective quoting' was in the dictionary then there would be a link to this website by its side.

when i first came to the forum i made posts about arsenal and tried going into detail to generate some discussion, however they were generally always ignored and existing posters didn't seem keen to have a proper discussion or expand on any points.then i took another approach and was more confrontational, direct, aggressive, c*ntish.. and guess what? it worked. it meant i got into discussions (and many arguments) and was noticed a lot more, so obviously this approach seemed to work better.

i think its just the ethos/mentality on this forum. not sure if ive explained it well but meh.

Thats happend on every forum tbf, when your the newbie you tend to be left out. It happend to all of us, its only when you become more known you tend to have more interaction with posters. I do agree their are a few Cliques on here which may not feel welcoming to newbies.

When i 1st game on GW i was more or less always on the Arsenal debate more then anything so i really did not get a chance to know the oldies or them get to know me, Its only as time went by and i felt more confident about poisting in other areas i felt a bit more apart of the crowd.


I have mentioned this before but I just got abuse. There is a lot of pretend racism and so on from people on here though we know the posters and that they are just doing a send-up. I do it myself sometimes. However, a new visitor not knowing could well be put off by it, not realising it is between people who know each other very well, internet-wise and sometimes personally.

There may be other things too. GW has to decide what it should look like to the newcomer and act accordingly. I think we can still have banter and piss-taking but with half an eye on what a new person might think.

Well if your looking in and you see a thread that says "RVP is shit" I doubt you'd think twice about posting on here.

[Joker]

Some aggressive advertising on twitter and facebook may help tbh.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Think we need to get these printed.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4141/44254649.jpg

[Joker]

Think we need to get these printed.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4141/44254649.jpg

:haha:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Thats happend on every forum tbf, when your the newbie you tend to be left out. It happend to all of us, its only when you become more known you tend to have more interaction with posters. I do agree their are a few Cliques on here which may not feel welcoming to newbies.

When i 1st game on GW i was more or less always on the Arsenal debate more then anything so i really did not get a chance to know the oldies or them get to know me, Its only as time went by and i felt more confident about poisting in other areas i felt a bit more apart of the crowd.



Well if your looking in and you see a thread that says "RVP is shit" I doubt you'd think twice about posting on here.

exactly, and the only way you get noticed on here is by confronting people's opinions full on and creating some kind of argument. thats when people start noticing you and then start interacting with you more often.

as i said, negative selective quoting seems to be the ethos on here. you could write an excellent paragraph analysing an aspect of arsenal fc but only the smallest mistake, or slightly controversial opinion you've included, gets highlighted, scrutinized to the max, and laughed at. whilst the rest of your post is completely ignored. thats why most posters don't bother trying to explain things fully or write a good post, whats the point if half of its ignored? might as well just jump straight to the point of saying it how it is (mostly in a rude and confrontational manner as the good bits go unnoticed). cant be arsed with unrecognised effort.

thats why so many arguments start on here; if you're constantly highlighting only the negatives then you can't expect positives to appear.

[Fats]

Problem is that this forum has ****s, luckily I am one of them.

[Niall_Quinn]

as i said, ... selective quoting seems to be ... excellent ... most posters ... explain things fully or write a good post, [and] jump straight to the point.

Don't agree with any of that, you cock.

[Letters]

I do think we have too many in-jokes, too static a membership who all know each other well and it's hard for any new-comer.
I'll try a bit of advertising on FB, it can't hurt and while I'm not sure it'll have much affect it's worth a try.
We have had some exposure in newspapers before btw and it didn't generate any extra traffic or members.

[Chrissie]

I'll put something on twitter.

Plus we need more Goonerettes.

[Letters]

Fanx :hug:
What happened to the Goonersweb Twitter account? Someone did register one.

[cricketsi]

Fanx :hug:
What happened to the Goonersweb Twitter account? Someone did register one.

You should get somebody who's happy to be very active on Twitter making witty and incisive tweets to journalists, Arsenal players, prominent Arsenal tweeters etc. thus hopefully generating some attention for here.

[LDG]

You should get somebody who's happy to be very active on Twitter making witty and incisive tweets to journalists, Arsenal players, prominent Arsenal tweeters etc. thus hopefully generating some attention for here.

This is why we signed NQ. He needs to earn his salary now and start posting without a little handbrake.

[Syn]

Twitter will attract 14 year old weirdos. We need older weirdos.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

You should get somebody who's happy to be very active on Twitter making witty and incisive tweets to journalists, Arsenal players, prominent Arsenal tweeters etc. thus hopefully generating some attention for here.

DSL (Dennis Bendtner) to take on John Cross again. :bow:

[LDG]

Twitter will attract 14 year old weirdos. We need older weirdos.

:wave:

[GP]

:wave:

not that old haha lol jk

[LDG]

:(

[Joker]

DSL (Dennis Bendtner) to take on John Cross again. :bow:

LOL I had no idea Dennis Bendtner is DSL

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I'll put something on twitter.

Plus we need more Goonerettes.

This is truth.

[GP]

With GB stepping down, we need a new mod. A rebel. Someone who's not afraid to play by his own rules. Someone who'll travel at 80mph on the motorway if he needs to get somewhere quickly.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

With GB stepping down, we need a new mod. A rebel. Someone who's not afraid to play by his own rules. Someone who'll travel at 80mph on the motorway if he needs to get somewhere quickly.

LDG?

[Coney]

With GB stepping down, we need a new mod. A rebel. Someone who's not afraid to play by his own rules. Someone who'll travel at 80mph on the motorway if he needs to get somewhere quickly.

They still won't ask me. ;)

[MissHandbag]

Hmm- we could ban perves... Guess there'd be about 60% of us left after that, then religious freaks... which takes us to 10%, then slappers... Bringing us down to 5%, weirdos... which leaves us with only MO

That's so sad

But also cleansing I feel

[Olivier's xmas twist]

They still won't ask me. ;)

Always thought you were a mod :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

This is why we signed NQ. He needs to earn his salary now and start posting without a little handbrake.

Happy to log-in a couple of times a day and call them all ****s, if that will help.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sepp Letters is still a mod... hmmm. How many years is that now, unchallenged? Despite all the in your face corruption and favouritism? And hookers and bribes.

[Marc Overmars]

Sepp Letters. :bow:

[Letters]

:lol:

Democracy :pal:

[Niall_Quinn]

:lol:

Democracy :pal:

Saddam, Stalin, Hitler, Ceausescu, Gaddafi, Mandelson - they all laughed at the little people too until they were brought crashing down (by the shining light of western liberty, freedom and justice, apart from Mandelson who was primarily brought down because he's a fag). Your reign cannot last forever. Although it might last for a while I admit. Damn eternal reigns...

[Coney]

Always thought you were a mod :lol:

:lol: You seriously think Letters would ask a snob like me? Are you new here?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

:lol: You seriously think Letters would ask a snob like me? Are you new here?

Your just not GW modding Quality yet.

Youe onlt 2% away from where you need to be though :lol:

[fakeyank]

Wait, so who all are the mods now? Letters, KK, Maccy, anyone else?

[Cripps_orig]

Should be someone totally unexpected

[Marc Overmars]

I think it should be Syn. #justsayin

[Cripps_orig]

The old Syn?

Maybe. This new whiny one? Nah

[Marc Overmars]

Although if the rumours are true about CK making more than just cameo appearances a new mod won't be needed.

[Cripps_orig]

Wait, so who all are the mods now? Letters, KK, Maccy, anyone else?Jimmy Valmer

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Jimmy Valmer

Your fave mod eh.

[Cripps_orig]

Your fave mod eh.Dont have favourites. Id pick him/her if i didnt like the others but im not in the business of praising a mod to critisise another.

Unless i critisise Letters :coffee:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Wait, so who all are the mods now? Letters, KK, Maccy, anyone else?

yep, KK and maccy.

[Cripps_orig]

SWAYR for mod imo

[Coney]

GB would be good, I reckon.

[GP]

GP would be good, I reckon.

:gp:

[Letters]

Wait, so who all are the mods now? Letters, KK, Maccy, anyone else?

In theory it's me, Maccy, CK and KK. CK and KK are dead though so it's basically just Mac and Me.
Not sure we need any more really, we're hardly swamped with stuff to do these days.

[Coney]

In theory it's me, Maccy, CK and KK. CK and KK are dead though so it's basically just Mac and Me.
Not sure we need any more really, we're hardly swamped with stuff to do these days.

We can fix that for you. You only have to ask.

[Cripps_orig]

In theory it's me, Maccy, CK and KK. CK and KK are dead though so it's basically just Mac and Me.
Not sure we need any more really, we're hardly swamped with stuff to do these days.I can give you something to do

[Letters]

I can give you something to do
You already do :angry:

In general though, there's not much to do these days.

[Cripps_orig]

Bring Marc back

Then ban him again tbh

[fakeyank]

Or Nine :cloud9:

[Niall_Quinn]

In theory it's me, Maccy, CK and KK. CK and KK are dead though so it's basically just Mac and Me.
Not sure we need any more really, we're hardly swamped with stuff to do these days.

Ah yes, power in fewer hands. The story of humanity. We know what happens next, Maccy supporters will be identified and purged and then Maccy will mysteriously resign for unspecified family reasons. Then you'll say we already have one mod and another is not really necessary. And the whole time you'll be playing out the role of Christian, telling us you talk to God and he personally commanded you to lead.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Ah yes, power in fewer hands. The story of humanity. We know what happens next, Maccy supporters will be identified and purged and then Maccy will mysteriously resign for unspecified family reasons. Then you'll say we already have one mod and another is not really necessary. And the whole time you'll be playing out the role of Christian, telling us you talk to God and he personally commanded you to lead.

http://gifsforum.com/images/gif/wtf/grand/06402767-wtf.gif

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Bring Marc back

Then ban him again tbh

Has anyone ever been Banned on new GW lol.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Yes, there have been bans.

However, ignoring the fact that there are less people on the forum, the functionality of the Admin controls on this Board means that it is much easier to moderate GW without having to resort to drastic actions.

Individuals can be prevented quickly and easily from posting in specific threads. This is a particularly useful function if someone is either wumming or having a meltdown in a post match thread when feelings are running high.

Also people have been banned for short periods - the Admin Control Panel actually defaults to a one week ban when taking this action and the system automatically reinstates people once their ban has lapsed. Those that receive such a ban are notified automatically.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Twitter will attract 14 year old weirdos. We need older weirdos.

Shout goes out to Piers Morgan!!

[Flavs]

Been saying it for years but you need to rebirth this place as a football forum not an Arsenal one, get more fans from other clubs and the WUMming and arguments go up which creates static which means more posts and more variety.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

No thanks. :sick:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

No thanks. :sick:

Yep we can see how this fourm is with the one City fan we have can you imagine if we had a bunch like that.

[Flavs]

Yep we ca see how this fourm is with the one City fan we have can you imagine if we had a bunch like that.

yes the traffic would go up massively which i thought was what people wanted

[Marc Overmars]

The traffic would go up but I don't see how it would improve the quality of the forum if the place was littered with arguments and vitriol.

We're lucky we have the only decent Liverpool fan in existence on here. :coffee:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

yes the traffic would go up massively which i thought was what people wanted

At the expense of having somewhere to vent whilst being confronted with many rival supporters? That would be shit.

[Flavs]

Stand by and watch as this place dies then tbh :rose:

[Xhaka Can’t]

So it is a choice between dying and a forum that would be my idea of forum hell.

I'm with Maccy.

See you all in hell. The good hell, with fire and brimstone

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Stand by and watch as this place dies then tbh :rose:

Maybe but if we did what you say, it wouldn't be GW anymore, it'd just be some other football site.

[Flavs]

:shrug:

[Letters]

I think you're slightly over-simplifying, Flavs.
This is board which caters for all teams:

http://ahfcchat.com/board/index.php?act=idx

Bugger all going on. It doesn't follow that just because the forum has a wider potential audience that it will be busier. Changing GW to be a more general football forum would completely change the feel of the place. Surely if people here wanted to be on a more general football forum then they would be on one already, there are plenty out there.

The issue is not that being a solely Arsenal forum is too restrictive, there are hundreds of thousands of Gooners around the world and we don't need more than a few hundred to be posting regularly to generate a lot more traffic and posts.

[LDG]

We should promote the quirkiness of this forum and use it as a selling point, not as a reason why people are afraid of posting here. I've readany forums on lits of different subject matter, and this is always way ahead in terms of humour. We just need to promote it.

[Marc Overmars]

Quirkiness?

You mean the mild racism and in-house baiting. :coffee:

[Letters]

I probably should bat my eyelashes at cazza and see if she'd give those GW fliers out after a game one time.
I know most of them would end up on the floor but they're just gathering dust in my bedroom at the moment.

[Hump]

Quirkiness?You mean the mild racism and in-house baiting. :coffee:word up my niggah

[Coney]

While I understand that having a general football forum might bring in shit rather than healthy banter, the forum does seem stale and has been for some time. Same points from the same people about the same things. I see my own posts looking totally tired now and I know many are bored with them and I think others might feel the same about their own interactions if they step back. Maybe we've got lazy and followed the easy path. Not blaming anyone - if there is no changing catalyst, things will drift unless enough people are hot on the ball to get a new dynamic going.

When GW started, no-one really knew each other, we didn't have a set format and the relatively free style with which it was moderated made for a good creative atmosphere. Topic discussions were new. etc. And there were some better people on the board.

I sometimes think I should stop posting, not because I hate GW (ignoring the occasional wobbler) but because I often find I am writing a new post and feel like I've done it 10 times the same way already to the same people, so what is the point?

The other factor might simply be that over the past few years, because the Arsenal has not actually won anything and there has been the background feeling that nothing is changing, the annual 'here we go again' stuff has become boring.

We could all of us probably write the first 30 posts of the first match thread for August if we lost 1-0 to anyone. There are dozens of examples and the only difference seems to be the order that people posted in.

Maybe we need a mental break. Perhaps a summer with some interesting transfer discussion. e.g. "It is 3 minutes into the transfer window and we still have not spent 90million buying all the world's best players so Wenger is a ****", and other such originals.

[Marc Overmars]

I sometimes think I should stop posting,

Good and don't come back this time.

[Syn]

There is that, Coney. There's genuinely nothing much new to say on the football front. Needs a few more regulars which would help general nattering. I've glanced through arsenal-mania, for example, and its all very serious and sure there are some interesting views but I don't want to read a newspaper article between work. This place has always been a pub type atmosphere - we say stupid things but I'd rather keep a non-serious viewpoint. Not much point overthinking it. A few word of mouths in and it's all good.

[LDG]

:haha:

[LDG]

That was @ MO btw. Tbf, i'm selfish and just amuse myself. I don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks. More banter in GC would be cool, and that means letting people be OTT. We're all big enough to take it. Debate has been excellent simce the move. So it ain't all doom and gloom. We'll see.

[LDG]

There is that, Coney. There's genuinely nothing much new to say on the football front. Needs a few more regulars which would help general nattering. I've glanced through arsenal-mania, for example, and its all very serious and sure there are some interesting views but I don't want to read a newspaper article between work. This place has always been a pub type atmosphere - we say stupid things but I'd rather keep a non-serious viewpoint. Not much point overthinking it. A few word of mouths in and it's all good.


We are a pub team forum.

[Marc Overmars]

People have this idea that Letters is a bumbling idiot but no one else has managed to keep GW in the top 4 Arsenal sites on the internet with a limited budget.

[LDG]

People have this idea that Letters is a bumbling idiot but no one else has managed to keep GW in the top 4 Arsenal sites on the internet with a limited budget.

Even though everyone has be "hand wringing".

[Syn]

Hmm. Maybe.

[Joker]

Some of the mild racism and homophobia is quite offensive IMO, but I guess you've got to have freedom of speech.

I think Arsenal's stagnation has something to do with the lack of activity on this forum tbh. Every season it's the same old thing over and over again, there's nothing really new to talk about.

[Letters]

People have this idea that Letters is a bumbling idiot but no one else has managed to keep GW in the top 4 Arsenal sites on the internet with a limited budget.
:lol:

:linespockets:

[Coney]

Some of the mild racism and homophobia is quite offensive IMO, but I guess you've got to have freedom of speech.

I think Arsenal's stagnation has something to do with the lack of activity on this forum tbh. Every season it's the same old thing over and over again, there's nothing really new to talk about.

Well, we've replaced Bendtner with Chamakh.

Oh. I see. :(

[Coney]

I sometimes think I should stop posting,


Good and don't come back this time.

:crying:

And I want my ball back.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

To be fair just having a few opposition fans wouldn't necessarily mean more WUM-ing. And even then, I don't really see the difference between opposition WUMing, and in-Arsenal WUMing of which there is loads here.

There are already a handful of non-Arsenal fans; Me, Rors, jofnn (?), Coney and way back when with the Manc (can't remember the name) and Nine. There are/were probably others too.

A Liverpool forum I sometimes go on has the same problem. It's the same people all the way back to 606 and it has become stagnant with people naturally drifting away and left with the core of the same people arguing the same things over and over, with the same jokes and the same people arguing.

Having a few more from other teams (doesn't even have to be English) won't dilute the Arsenal-ness of the board, imo. It doesn't have to be loads; they could even be confined to the non-Arsenal sections if needs be. Either way the same old things have been tried a few times; Twitter, blog, fliers (still say mine is the best) and nothing or taken off has worked so your strategy for growth is failing. You're worse than the government.

And I'll say it again, I use way too many brackets.

[Joker]

Someone should create an official Goonersweb twitter account, and perhaps ask someone like Goonerblog to RT a message inviting people to join. You could ask Arseblog as well but he says he'll only RT what he likes, not what he's asked to do.

[Syn]

Of course, ngibbles. A few more regulars (Arsenal or non-arsenal) fans don't matter, as long as the general theme is arsenal. The issue was about turning it into a non-arsenal forum which I'm not a fan of because I come here to read about gooners talking about the arsenal.

No matter who they back, word of mouth is the key because you know they're not a joker and they must be normal. Well, relatively. I'll get a spud on here soon.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Of course, ngibbles. A few more regulars (Arsenal or non-arsenal) fans don't matter, as long as the general theme is arsenal. The issue was about turning it into a non-arsenal forum which I'm not a fan of because I come here to read about gooners talking about the arsenal.

No matter who they back, word of mouth is the key because you know they're not a joker and they must be normal. Well, relatively. I'll get a spud on here soon.
Ah. Fair enough. :good:

[Coney]

To be fair just having a few opposition fans wouldn't necessarily mean more WUM-ing. And even then, I don't really see the difference between opposition WUMing, and in-Arsenal WUMing of which there is loads here.

There are already a handful of non-Arsenal fans; Me, Rors, jofnn (?), Coney and way back when with the Manc (can't remember the name) and Nine. There are/were probably others too.

A Liverpool forum I sometimes go on has the same problem. It's the same people all the way back to 606 and it has become stagnant with people naturally drifting away and left with the core of the same people arguing the same things over and over, with the same jokes and the same people arguing.

Having a few more from other teams (doesn't even have to be English) won't dilute the Arsenal-ness of the board, imo. It doesn't have to be loads; they could even be confined to the non-Arsenal sections if needs be. Either way the same old things have been tried a few times; Twitter, blog, fliers (still say mine is the best) and nothing or taken off has worked so your strategy for growth is failing. You're worse than the government.

And I'll say it again, I use way too many brackets.

:sulk:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Well, we've replaced Bendtner with Chamakh.

Oh. I see. :(

:haha:

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Someone should create an official Goonersweb twitter account, and perhaps ask someone like Goonerblog to RT a message inviting people to join. You could ask Arseblog as well but he says he'll only RT what he likes, not what he's asked to do.

I swear there is one?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

While I understand that having a general football forum might bring in shit rather than healthy banter, the forum does seem stale and has been for some time. Same points from the same people about the same things. I see my own posts looking totally tired now and I know many are bored with them and I think others might feel the same about their own interactions if they step back. Maybe we've got lazy and followed the easy path. Not blaming anyone - if there is no changing catalyst, things will drift unless enough people are hot on the ball to get a new dynamic going.

When GW started, no-one really knew each other, we didn't have a set format and the relatively free style with which it was moderated made for a good creative atmosphere. Topic discussions were new. etc. And there were some better people on the board.

I sometimes think I should stop posting, not because I hate GW (ignoring the occasional wobbler) but because I often find I am writing a new post and feel like I've done it 10 times the same way already to the same people, so what is the point?

The other factor might simply be that over the past few years, because the Arsenal has not actually won anything and there has been the background feeling that nothing is changing, the annual 'here we go again' stuff has become boring.

We could all of us probably write the first 30 posts of the first match thread for August if we lost 1-0 to anyone. There are dozens of examples and the only difference seems to be the order that people posted in.

Maybe we need a mental break. Perhaps a summer with some interesting transfer discussion. e.g. "It is 3 minutes into the transfer window and we still have not spent 90million buying all the world's best players so Wenger is a ****", and other such originals.

Time to do a Pep and take a Sebatical lol. I agree the forum is boring at times and im not sure id be on here come the new season.

[Cripps_orig]

Time to do a Pep and take a Sebatical lol. I agree the forum is boring at times and im not sure id be on here come the new season.Bye

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Bye

:wave:

I'll happly go to pastures new.

[Cripps_orig]

:wave:

I'll happly go to pastures new.Where?

A barca forum?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Where?

A barca forum?


No a better Arsenal forum with no Morons.


Goonersworld maybe.

[Cripps_orig]

No a better Arsenal forum with no Morons.


Goonersworld maybe.No morons but a bitch

so i hear

[Olivier's xmas twist]

No morons but a bitch

so i hear

Means nout unless you know 1st hand tbh.

[Cripps_orig]

Means nout unless you know 1st hand tbh.Used to be a member there

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Used to be a member there

Well that rules out me joining that forums then :ninja:

[Cripps_orig]

Well that rules out me joining that forums then :ninja:Used to be. I then decided to return from my 7 month sabbatical and here i stay

[Cripps_orig]

I think you're slightly over-simplifying, Flavs.
This is board which caters for all teams:

http://ahfcchat.com/board/index.php?act=idx

Bugger all going on. It doesn't follow that just because the forum has a wider potential audience that it will be busier. Changing GW to be a more general football forum would completely change the feel of the place. Surely if people here wanted to be on a more general football forum then they would be on one already, there are plenty out there.

The issue is not that being a solely Arsenal forum is too restrictive, there are hundreds of thousands of Gooners around the world and we don't need more than a few hundred to be posting regularly to generate a lot more traffic and posts.

Get the gooners from AHFC on here

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Used to be. I then decided to return from my 7 month sabbatical and here i stay

You mean letters banned you from Old GW and GP and the "Bitch" Banned you from Gworld.

[Cripps_orig]

You mean letters banned you from Old GW and GP and the "Bitch" Band you from Gworld.What?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

What?

Basically you got Banned from both forums. And i bet it was not even your fault.

[Cripps_orig]

Basically you got Banned from both forums. And i bet it was not even your fault.Never is

[Niall_Quinn]

The traffic would go up but I don't see how it would improve the quality of the forum if the place was littered with arguments and vitriol.

We're lucky we have the only decent Liverpool fan in existence on here. :coffee:

Joker is not a Liverpool fan, he's a City fan.

[Niall_Quinn]

Some of the mild racism and homophobia is quite offensive IMO, but I guess you've got to have freedom of speech.

I think Arsenal's stagnation has something to do with the lack of activity on this forum tbh. Every season it's the same old thing over and over again, there's nothing really new to talk about.

I think the head shot smiley is tired and old. We need a good wrist slashing smiley.

[Niall_Quinn]

Could always make up outrageous and fake stories to try and whore some attention. Like the papers.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I can exclusively reveal that Letters has a girl.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Could always make up outrageous and fake stories to try and whore some attention. Like the papers.

How about Joker being Arsenal's no 1 fan that should get the media happpy i mean its has much truth in it as anything in the Sun but Its News worthy.

[Coney]

I can exclusively reveal that Letters has a girl.

Cmon - it has to be vaguely plausible.

[Joker]

How about Joker being Arsenal's no 1 fan that should get the media happpy i mean its has much truth in it as anything in the Sun but Its News worthy.

ok

[Niall_Quinn]

ok

That's the most positive thing you've said in months you miserable bastard. I expect happy postings from you today when we stuff Stoke.

[Flavs]

While I understand that having a general football forum might bring in shit rather than healthy banter, the forum does seem stale and has been for some time. Same points from the same people about the same things. I see my own posts looking totally tired now and I know many are bored with them and I think others might feel the same about their own interactions if they step back. Maybe we've got lazy and followed the easy path. Not blaming anyone - if there is no changing catalyst, things will drift unless enough people are hot on the ball to get a new dynamic going.

When GW started, no-one really knew each other, we didn't have a set format and the relatively free style with which it was moderated made for a good creative atmosphere. Topic discussions were new. etc. And there were some better people on the board.

I sometimes think I should stop posting, not because I hate GW (ignoring the occasional wobbler) but because I often find I am writing a new post and feel like I've done it 10 times the same way already to the same people, so what is the point?

The other factor might simply be that over the past few years, because the Arsenal has not actually won anything and there has been the background feeling that nothing is changing, the annual 'here we go again' stuff has become boring.

We could all of us probably write the first 30 posts of the first match thread for August if we lost 1-0 to anyone. There are dozens of examples and the only difference seems to be the order that people posted in.

Maybe we need a mental break. Perhaps a summer with some interesting transfer discussion. e.g. "It is 3 minutes into the transfer window and we still have not spent 90million buying all the world's best players so Wenger is a ****", and other such originals.

:goodpost:

[V-Pig]

Cmon - it has to be vaguely plausible.

Teehee

[The Wengerbabies]

DSL (Dennis Bendtner) to take on John Cross again. :bow:
Dennis Bendtner is DSL? Wasn't DSL JacktheLad19? I liked that kid/


With GB stepping down, we need a new mod. A rebel. Someone who's not afraid to play by his own rules. Someone who'll travel at 80mph on the motorway if he needs to get somewhere quickly.

I'll do it.

[V-Pig]

Ach has 13k+ posts on here.

RIP indeed.

[Cripps_orig]

Homos back :bow:

[Marc Overmars]

V-Pig. :lol:

I remember him.

The guy who once said the result of a match is irrelevant if we played well. Unbelievable Jeff.

[Cripps_orig]

V-Pig. :lol:

I remember him.

The guy who once said the result of a match is irrelevant if we played well. Unbelievable Jeff.:haha:

I didnt see that but sounds stupid enough to be him

[V-Pig]

Speaking of which...

How misguided must you be to try and get a rise out of me by incorrectly describing my sexuality? MO's WUM had a much better chance of succeeding, because it misrepresented something I'd said. Yours was just a lazy scuffed effort.

"Stupid". "Homo". This level of WUMmery belongs to the mentally-malnourished 10-year-old children of cretins. Is this the best GW has to offer?

If so, RIP Message Boards indeed.

[Syn]

In terms of how happy I am with the players, the result is irrelevant as long as the effort levels are high and they play well.

Back on topic: Maybe laughing at #decent fans isn't a good strategy for getting more #decent fans to post here.

[Niall_Quinn]

In terms of how happy I am with the players, the result is irrelevant as long as the effort levels are high and they play well.

Back on topic: Maybe laughing at #decent fans isn't a good strategy for getting more #decent fans to post here.

Stupid homo

[Cripps_orig]

Speaking of which...

How misguided must you be to try and get a rise out of me by incorrectly describing my sexuality? MO's WUM had a much better chance of succeeding, because it misrepresented something I'd said. Yours was just a lazy scuffed effort.

"Stupid". "Homo". This level of WUMmery belongs to the mentally-malnourished 10-year-old children of cretins. Is this the best GW has to offer?

If so, RIP Message Boards indeed.Why do you think me calling you a homo is me trying to get a rise out of you?

Is calling you a homo an insult? Are you saying being homosexual is an insult?

Disgusting homophobia by you here.

Banning offence surely?

[Niall_Quinn]

Disgusting the way homophobic homosexuals are treated on here.

[Harry]

Should never have left the old GW, that place was great!

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Should never have left the old GW, that place was great!

Yep just like Arsenal, have loads of Success at the old plays, good posters mods etc. Move to the new place its goes tits up with no success in ages.

[Niall_Quinn]

This place is really boring no banter some old dross and too many cock suckers on here.

Should make it easy enough for you to fuck off then :good:

Can't understand moaning gits, don't like it then don't come here. Why waste the time moaning about it?

[Marc Overmars]

Harry/Joker/Diaby-fan/Josh/LDG. :bow:

[Cripps_orig]

Should make it easy enough for you to fuck off then :good:

Can't understand moaning gits, don't like it then don't come here. Why waste the time moaning about it?Pretty much

Apparently there are some sad fuckwits who moan about me.

They too should also do what you say

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Pretty much

Apparently there are some sad fuckwits who moan about me.

They too should also do what you say

Like the whole forum?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Should make it easy enough for you to fuck off then :good:

Can't understand moaning gits, don't like it then don't come here. Why waste the time moaning about it?

Pretty Much.

[fakeyank]

Why do you think me calling you a homo is me trying to get a rise out of you?

Is calling you a homo an insult? Are you saying being homosexual is an insult?

Disgusting homophobia by you here.

Banning offence surely?

:haha:

Shits funny!