Just 7 postings in 14 days? Where has everyone gorn???

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:
Just 7 postings in 14 days? Where has everyone gorn???

I haven't bought any physical cards for a while - no sets of interest except the forthcoming Perna set. But I have been interacting on the Topps apps if that counts

Sometimes it feels I'm talking to myself!

Well for me, there are several factors.
1. It is a budgetary reason. Over the past year (even with a decent medical insurance plan) my family has incurred over 5K in medial expenses. I pay my bills when I get them so my hobby budget is an item that has been removed from the current budget. We are planning on moving in two years, my son is going to college in two years, my son is driving so auto insurance has gone up. It helps me not to look as much so I do not get into new sets. People now see the hobby as too costly to get into. I have seen an insurgence in people working on sets from the 90's and early 2000 again which does not lead to much discussion on the newer stuff.

2. Many of my trader friends have left the hobby for various reasons. Either postage costs, budget costs, no longer interested, finished up what they planned on and not getting anything new. When this happens they fade away from the site.

3. The Toser family was a large part of the community. Now that they don't own NSU there is a certain void of uncertainty in the air here. Will the site continue? Will it be folding into the Beckett site? Who knows? I think there has been a wait and see since the announcement by many cardtalkers.

4. Finally, for a few of us that have talked offsite, the mindset of a few that think they are gods among us morals here on cardtalk. I know I have no desire to post anything when it is just going to be torn to bits because it does not "fit" certain points of view on cards. Which is why you see 1 member 89 lurkers when you come onto the site sometimes.

Just my observation.

barobehere expressed it well, although I think that tone is most important of all and maybe some of that has been lost. If there really is a large group of people that lurk because they don't want to incur the wraith of a few, well I wish they would come out and support each other. I am tired of seeing all those guests and hardly anything I haven't read.

I don't mind a spirited disagreement, it is often informative, as long as it is respectful of the fact that people may never agree and collectors may think they are right for themselves, but it doesn't and shouldn't apply to everyone else.

As for people leaving the hobby recently or cutting back, that has an effect on the number of posts of course. Although you can still express an opinion on trends or general hobby topics without being an actual participant. Experience counts for something.

I do think that since the NSU acquisition was announced there has been a notable drop off on Card Talk posts as a direst result. I have seen a few new posters, perhaps coming from Beckett. I agree that some people probably don't want to hit a nerve and don't have a lot of information, so they are laying low until they know what it is they want to say. Nothing wrong with that, but hopefully it will mean that a conversation is brewing.

Me gorn to the movies.

I get charged for each word I use on the internet and I'm trying to tighten my belt so I don't run out of my pre-paid words this month before I say the vital, necessary, and important thing, a matter of the utmost importance and greatest concern to us all, that I have to say, which is, without further delay, the following

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:
Just 7 postings in 14 days? Where has everyone gorn???

See! That's how you do it! Just post saying where is everyone and immediately you get 6 posts!

I seem to have missed some critical information somewhere. I had no idea that the Tosers had sold NSU. My guess is that it was a magazine announcement because I've not read anything about it here. OMG!! we are all orphans!

Harris did make the announcement here on February 21st. Check the thread Non Sport Update News - NSU Acquired by Beckett Media in the first section of the forum for the discussion so far.

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:
I seem to have missed some critical information somewhere. I had no idea that the Tosers had sold NSU. My guess is that it was a magazine announcement because I've not read anything about it here. OMG!! we are all orphans!

Hey all --

I'm still here. But yes, as Raven says, the news is true.

The first issue to use Beckett Media's design team and printer is now out. The Jun/Jul '16 issue premiered this past weekend at the Philly Non-Sports Card Show and is shipping to subscribers starting this week. I think readers who have enjoyed NSU over the years will continue to enjoy the magazine as Beckett Media truly does not want to rock the boat. You may notice a change in paperstock and a very slight change in page size but other then that, there are very few changes. In fact, Bill Dumas, Advertising Director of Beckett Media presented a panel at the Philly Show outlining how things will (not) change. The first thing he said was that things would not be changing.

To the best of your knowledge then Harris, do you think that this chat forum will survive the change-over??

I still check in once in a while, but I haven't collected a new set in quite some time (Parks and Recreation from 2013 was the last one, I think), so there just isn't much for me to discuss.

I've also found the tone some posters use rather off-putting. It's only a few people, but they also tend to be among the most active.

quote:

I've also found the tone some posters use rather off-putting. It's only a few people, but they also tend to be among the most active.

The only trouble with posts like this one Mouseketeer is that you are commenting on certain individuals anonymously.

All this serves to do is to make those of us with fragile egos enter a state of self-analyses worrying ourselves sick if the perpetrator is us.

I've been on this forum for some years now and I must say that I have enjoyed every minute of it. I really relish learning new information from the dozens of exceptionally well informed posters and I cannot ever remember seeing anything controversial go by.

Still, I must qualify as a frequent poster so maybe I am the offender. If so then I am willing to apologise if you would only tell me what "the tone some posters use" actually means.

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:

The only trouble with posts like this one Mouseketeer is that you are commenting on certain individuals anonymously.

All this serves to do is to make those of us with fragile egos enter a state of self-analyses worrying ourselves sick if the perpetrator is us.

An unintended consequence of a quickly written remark, I assure you! I probably shouldn't have even made the comment, but since I did let me be (somewhat) more specific: There are posters who have called others names and/or who have openly mocked those who don't share their opinions. Basically, rather than "agree to disagree" it's more along the lines of "how can you possibly think that?!?". Compared to a lot of other internet discussion, it's actually quite tame. However, I still find it tiresome.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: The Mouseketeer,

A few minutes ago there were 5 members and 50 guests on the site. Maybe those guests are in the situation that I was in for years ... I couldn't remember my password and just didn't want to make the effort to recover it to log on.

But then I finally did get my password because I thought that I should at least try contributing to this community. Even though at times my thought process is probably somewhat counterculture to the majority of other non-sport card collectors (and it takes me a long time to formulate ideas to type), I find it a positive learning process being part of and reading the exchanges between collectors. Hopefully, more guests will join in to further more conversations soon, too.

I post more than I should.

I like to read things from other members, but too often threads die quickly and starting new ones falls off. So sometimes I post just to get a conversation going. Don't worry about being counterculture, it's not a one size fits all hobby. The best conversations I have are with collectors who don't necessarily agree with me, because I may learn something I didn't think about, from another point of view.

Glad you decided to jump into the pool.