Are things slowing down on TB?

[ardgedee]

Right.
Google Bots probably count for 50% of the traffic!

No, most of the web bots are trivially easy to filter out (the legitimate ones have identifiable signatures on purpose, the illegitimate ones usually don't behave like human beings), and the web stats firms do a decent job of that.

A lot of the problem revolves around what "a visit" means. (is a single page a visit? No, you probably hit a few pages on a single visit. How long a gap between pageloads -- or other type of behavior -- is necessary to qualify as two visits?... and so on). It's surprisingly hard to quantify, and there are no standards around it. Third-party web data sites like the ones Wasnex linked have to work from inference, because they're using data from third parties (usually ad providers, less frequently by tracker scripts the site owners installed on the data company's behalf, both of which can be defeatable by ad blockers, content filters, firewalls, etc.).

 

[KenD]

Without seeing log files or visitor stats, I can't really tell. So I don't know if things are really slowing down or I'm losing interest myself and that is being misinterpreted by myself as "things slowing down".

I stopped visiting this site as much because increasingly I found fewer threads of interest.

All things must change; not all change is necessarily for the better.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I feel like it was probably busier years ago? But I feel like a lot of people left Reddit so that might bring more people onto TalkBass? I've been on here more the past few months anyway.

I was googling a TB thread and a Reddit post popped up criticizing TB.

Reddit is lame as hell. You get downvoted to hell for no reason. I got downvoted for suggesting that someone had installed their pickups backwards.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

I'm here a lot these days because I quit political doomscrolling. I'd prefer a forum which was just jokes. I mean good jokes, the funny kind.

 

[Liam Wald]

I guess that I am one of those old as dirt (71yo) players. I am visiting this site a lot less frequently.
I think that Talkbass is a really wonderful and useful forum but after visiting for a number of years one doesen't see too much new content.

 

[BadMonk]

Speaking as one who is about as old as dirt, it clear that I've only x amount of hours left on this planet. I try to make those hours count. "The rest of your life is the best of your life" as was stated by a well know fitness guru. When first returning to music a few years ago, this site was invaluable for getting started all over again. Now I read the site like a daily, like a daily newspaper by reading the headlines until I find something interesting. More often then not, I learn something.

 

[Polfuste]

per the OP: i'm sure participation and membership waxes and wanes, has phases, but i'm actually thinking that the number of younger players (and older noobs) has been increasing the last several years, IDK. but it bothers me when i see old-members-farts belly-aching out their 'grudges against humanity'...i think it needlessly dampens enthusiasm, generally, and maybe it chases some away from the discussions...

- "all i know is _____" seriously, all you know is all you know = don't commit your ignorance to 'forever' on the internet...you just sound old without any of the wisdom!

- "whatever happened to the good music?" you killed it by never learning anything else, anything new --- you played it out like a bad habit!

- "i've been playing bass for 50 years" yeah well, if you're as old as rocks = that's easy enough to do, big whup!

i joined the grumpy old farts club because i thought it was a fun/funny idea. but it seemed to be a hangout for the tired and weary set...i didn't post there much and i'm glad it's gone. i'm old, but i'm not disconnected.

IMO, too many old folks are using the site to complain about anything new, or even current --- becoming obvious caricatures instead of reliable characters. IME real musicians never quit, they're laying down the boogie and playing that funky music 'til they're dead!

if you want more action on these forums = take an interest in something that scares you, e.g., taylor swift!

(all of the above is an actual rant. it's not a mealy-mouthed, cloaked version.)



happens!

THIS !

 

[Egg250]

It's just us. I'm tiring of the "recommend a (bass/amp/strings/cab)" posts.

I enjoy the gig stories and informative band management posts.

 

[tbz]

Forums are kinda dying as a whole. Overall level of discussion here can be a bit…silly/pedantic fairly often.

I feel like there’s one person here in particular that posts a massive rant about whatever band they’re in, daily. Then those posts end up with 3x the engagement of anything else. Kinda drags the site down as a whole tbh.

For me personally, this was a very useful site to spend time on in the early 2010s. Learned a lot about gear. Pre-Reverb it really was *the* place to buy and sell bass gear online.

Back then it seemed like a great place to get in touch with small manufacturers, as the major bass brands often had a direct or indirect rep on the site. It seems like Agedhorse is kinda that last remnant of that vanguard.

Now, most of the strong little communities seem to have fractured and wandered off. I don’t really see the spirit of the site that existed in the 2010s. Doesn’t seem to elicit participation in the same way.

But YMMV I guess.

 

[Warpeg]

There's not much that I can add to the topic except that I hope Talkbass sticks around for a very long time. Once you take into account the decades' worth of important bass-related info on this site, it's hard to imagine a world without such a reference for us to turn to when needed.

 

[jnewmark]

I'm here everyday, pretty much, usually posting about something. But, I'm in the 7% group, age wise, so, not many of us around.

 

[InhumanResource]

Here's another analytics website:
talkbass.com Traffic Analytics, Ranking Stats & Tech Stack | Similarweb

This is surprising as people seem to think most TB member are old as dirt:
View attachment 5234971

It would be interesting to see this data for users who post, I bet we have a whole lot of lurkers! That may account for perceived differences in demographics.

Although, I will say that I tend to post less and read more as I get closer to the “more behind me than ahead of me” part of life.

 

[mrcbass]

Yeah, it feels like things have been slower for the last few years. It sure seems like there are fewer posts at least in the forums I follow. I have my theory as to one reason, but I'll not poke the bear since I don't know exactly what happened, nor do I know if the event was a reason things seemed to have slowed down.

Too bad.

 

[neddyrow]

i agree. it seems like we've talked most subjects to death and are sick of rehashing the same old discussions. I no longer desire to get involved in band drama posts as my band gets along well and nobody wants to hear that. I've got all the gear I need. I do like keeping an eye out for the next new thing which is why I stick around.

I am curious as if most of TB slows down over the summer as we are gigging too much to interact.

But I'm still having great success buying and selling gear on here as I no long want to deal with Reverb or eBay.

 

[Dust2Dust]

Here's another analytics website:
talkbass.com Traffic Analytics, Ranking Stats & Tech Stack | Similarweb

This is surprising as people seem to think most TB member are old as dirt:
View attachment 5234971

I have to question this chart info. Older players can't be the small minority that that chart makes it look like.

I made a thread asking about "Strings in the 70s". I have a 70s classic vibe and I wanted to keep with that theme so when I wanted to change the strings I asked what strings were popular in the 70s. I got pages and pages and pages of responses from people who actually played in the 70s.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I have to question this chart info. Older players can't be the small minority that that chart makes it look like.

I made a thread asking about "Strings in the 70s". I have a 70s classic vibe and I wanted to keep with that theme so when I wanted to change the strings I asked what strings were popular in the 70s. I got pages and pages and pages of responses from people who actually played in the 70s.

I'm 54 and I often feel like the youngin'. Heh.

 

[Dust2Dust]

I'm 54 and I often feel like the youngin'. Heh.

I'm 58 and I often get the same feeling

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Hard to say. I keep coming back here because in general the community is just nicer, more knowledgeable and fun than anywhere else I hang out on the internet. That's why, even if I have a guitar question, I ask it here. Chances are I'll get a good answer delivered by competent sane people. And If I ask the same question on a guitar page there's a decent chance I'll have acid thrown in my face and/or will walk away without getting an answer.

If it's slowing down, I would guess that one reason is because there are so so so many other channels where one can get similar content now. Or just content in general. And while TB is a passive site that requires us to make the effort to come to it, the other channels are constantly reaching out to us, trying to get us to engage.

All that said, I'm ok being part of this smaller community, with less dingleberries and more reliable advice.

 

[RGerhart]

Without seeing log files or visitor stats, I can't really tell. So I don't know if things are really slowing down or I'm losing interest myself and that is being misinterpreted by myself as "things slowing down".

Sounds like you just need to re-invigorate the site with a few good 'ol "P vs J" posts, or maybe some "if you could only take one bass" threads. You know, some lively conversation.

 

[steveinohio]

It still seems pretty great to me. When my interest drops I do other stuff. Eventually I come back around. Still lots of knowledge and other goofy bass stuff to entertain me.