Text 22536, 58 rader
Skriven 2011-10-06 01:47:33 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
  Kommentar till text 22533 av Richard Webb (1:116/901.0)
Ärende: FidoNews Vol. 28 No. 40 Sustainability IV
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Hello Richard,

On Wednesday October 05 2011 12:15, you wrote to August Abolins:

 RW> IT's the content which will bring users, and today's user
 RW> looks at that computer on his/her desk as an appliance.

Richard with all due respect, I think your idea of attracting users with topic
bound content is castles in the air.

You are confusing cause and effect. The users did not leave because of lack of
content. It is the other way around: there is lack of content because the users
left. The users left because they found what they perceive as greener pastures.

I can not blame them because I do the same. When I have a problem with my car,
I have long ago stopped asking around in FidoNet. There is no percentage in it.
Instead I go directly to the web forum dedicated to my brand of car. That is
where the people are who know the answers.

Not only do I find the right people, I am not restricted to US ASCII text only.
I can add a picture to clarify my problem. And this may not appeal to you as
much as it does to you: I can use my own language. It is so much easier to
explain a problem in one's  native language.

And last but not least: have one's name displayed in the proper character set.
I am sure you have noticed that among the native US English speakers there is
little motivation to appease those who's name needs more that 7 bit ASCII to
properly spell their name. There are exceptions but many just do not want to be
bothered with upgrading FidoNet beyond 7 bit ASCII.  The InterNet has taken
that hurdle a decade ago and it is no problem at all for user to have his name
correctly spelled on a web forum.

All this - and some more - is why the users perceive the internet as a greener
pasture. You believing FidoNet is so much better, is not going to sway them.
Expecting users to come back from the internet to FidoNet is as realistic as to
expect society to dump motorised vehicles and to go back to horses.

Yes, there will be horses for entertainment and there will be some excentrics,
but unless something very drastic happens to this world, people will not return
to a society who's main means of transport is the horse.

There is no future for topic bound echos in Fidonet. No critical mass.

The only thing still viable in FidoNet is the general chat echo. Only for that
one can attract enough participation to sustain the flow on a level that keeps
things interesting. But of course one can not have to many of them. That will
dilute the sparse resource of participants.

The FidoNews echo had evolved into a general chat echo. Measured by its flow,
it was successful. That ended on the last weekend of July. :-(

Copy send to you by netmail.


Cheers, Michiel

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