Has R2R Been Losing Popularity Lately?

[landlubber]

Humans still like us too I think!

this is great and encouraging to see. It does make me wonder what the traffic over the same period for the past 6 years has looked like.
Since Covid my local reefing clubs have dissolved and the Superbowl of our hobby (Macna) has fallen and I suspect fewer new reefers have joined in the fun.

 

[X-37B]

I don't feel it's losing popularity.
I have noticed over, say the last year, that many reefers I follow are not posting anymore.
I come here to interact with fellow reefers on a daily basis but I'm also retired and reefing is my main hobby.
Life pulls you in all directions when your young, which can make it difficult to stay focused on reefing.
Plus young people, my daughter is 25, are addicted to their phones with hundreds of things vying for their attention.
The site will always be popular to us dedicated reefers.
It's not about being popular, it's about being the best site for reefers to interact with each other.

 

[JumboShrimp]

@revhtree and crew run a tight, family-friendly site that I can recommend to my friends... no bad language, crude innuendos, heavy sarcasm, or bullying. I'm sure many of the long-timers find it challenging to 'answer the same questions again and again', but you have to remember, it's like a moving sidewalk… new people are always stepping on! (Granted, they could go first to the "Search" feature, but that's likely not human nature.) Anyway, the magician does the the same trick over and over again... why?... because the audience is always changing. So hats off to everyone here-- keep up the good work by making the hobby fun and worthwhile, in great part due to the R2R community.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Holy moly, Chris. You are 7 tacos on a Monday? Makes a guy wonder how many tacos you ate today since it's Taco Tuesday.

Since this was a topic I had to do it again. But. I have an early dinner appointment so I had to go light. But there are 3 orders of corn in that cup :)

 

[tripdad]

I think websites are cyclical in their nature. On this site and "that other one" I was on before the same thing happens. You have a core group of seasoned vets helping to answer questions. Then you get a wave of noobs who "know more" and contradict the vets at every chance. "Oh that's old think, Grumpy oldtimer, etc." Eventually the vets get tired of the battle for battling's sake and just quit helping. Who wants to spend time defending themselves? Guess what happens next? The wave of noobs exhaust their interest in the subject and move on. Then the vets jump back in to help. Then what? It all starts all over again. Just like society at large, we tend to dismiss the "old timers" as out of touch, behind the times but there is an awful lot of talent and knowledge in that demo to just dismiss it. I am a big believer in respect for those who came before. Not blind devotion, but challenge the past with critical thought, not contempt.

 

[DSC reef]

Some of my best forum times were on Nanoreef, 3Reef in the early days, RC was going strong. The content could be brutal, not for the faint of heart. Did I get banned a time or two, absolutely.

Reef2reef became a forum where a family approach was encouraged, and forum bullies were discouraged.

No forum or FB site is a perfect fit for me, I feel most comfortable at R2R, and that's the reason I support it.

I wonder what Vinny and some of the old crew are up too from 3reef? I miss those days, some really fond memories and friendships were made for sure

 

[Jasonak]

Honestly curious...I’ve been a member here for many years but havent been visiting the site regularly for the past year or so. From what I recall, there used to be far more threads posted on a daily basis and many more comments on practically every one of those threads.

For those of you who have been here for a while, has traffic on the site seemed to have slowed down over the past year or two?

 

[Jasonak]

But to be serious, I think it goes like others have mentioned in cycles I'm sure in winter more people are on as more people are indoors. I think i went 3 or 4 years without being on any reef forum. While my tank was kinda on auto pilot and I got heavier into other hobbies of which I have way to many.

 

[Freenow54]

I have observed that posting and commenting has appeared to have decreased. I am afraid that my posts and comments which are often humorous may have caused the more serious site participants to retreat from my nonsensical comments about this delicate hobby.

I am very sorry for this but so far I have not been able to improve my participation in the general discussion. I will continue to try and improve myself and my discussion comments but I don’t know if it will cause folks to rejoin in our discussions?

I’m not sure if I am joking or if this is a real situation, and I hope that our reefing buddies will engage again and be more active like prior days.

I feel the same as you although my wife and sometimes the moderator does not appreciate my outlook on Life . But you know ..... Anyway I have been more reluctant to reply a ) because most posts are from people that are too lazy to do any research . Also a lot are rude after doing your best even I notice that when some knowledgeable people try to help there is absolutely no acknowledgement from the original poster.

 

[Tahoe61]

I wonder what Vinny and some of the old crew are up too from 3reef? I miss those days, some really fond memories and friendships were made for sure

Well Dang!!!!!

I still keep tabs on 3 at 3reef. Vinny was my wing man.

 

[Freenow54]

Anytime I meet local reefers, I mention reef2reef and my user name if they want to see my current and past tanks. I think I should have earned a recruiter badge lol
#revhtree

Besides my previous statement I think that a lot of experienced members are tired of the rudeness as well, and the repeated questions . They seem to observe and I like drawing them out of their complacency by making dopey comments for them its a lot like fishing . I really Love it when some offer assistance though such as right now for me . I now know who the real serious and fields of expertise some of the members posses as well as their willingness to help are . It is a pleasure

 

[DSC reef]

Well Dang!!!!!

I still keep tabs on 3 at 3reef. Vinny was my wing man.

Say hi from Dennis if you can. Between this cancer battle and life I wish I could go back ya know. I miss those tanks full of clams and Vinny's starkii damsel

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Since this was a topic I had to do it again. But. I have an early dinner appointment so I had to go light. But there are 3 orders of corn in that cup :)

You had the fire yesterday and put it out with gasoline today.

 

[Louis Z]

The site will always be popular to us dedicated reefers.
It's not about being popular, it's about being the best site for reefers to interact with each other

This is true . Look where all of the reefing community has gotten us . We wouldn’t be this far without our collaboration on these forums . There is still more to learn and collaborate on . The traffic may rise and fall but as long as experienced reefers are on this site , the validity of this board will always be proven . I have learned so much with others trying new treatments /remedies and sharing their successes and failures. I know where to go for some assistance or identification of different organisms . Look at how we know how to tackle pests and infections on incoming invertebrates and fish . Before I would watch everything die and never know what was causing the problem. Coral disease is so relevant in todays time . All the world reefs are struggling . And. So are the inverts that sustain them . . Sharing of knowledge is so important.

 

[zebrashark]

I believe there is a general overall retreat from the hobby . Prices on everything outside of the hobby have gone up . Leaving less funds to continue the hobby . I see many sell offs of aquariums on local Facebook posts . Prices on equipment are really high . I am not complaining of the quality that I see but many can’t afford to keep up . I was in petco the other day and I saw someone come in and ask how much a new SW aquarium would cost . I told him that it was relative to what their objective was. Having coral definitely ups the price . My advice was to start slow with fish and a few inverts on a 20to 40 gal aq . Begin to enjoy it and not reach for the stars right away . I gave some advice on how to keep small tanks with low bio load and high diversity to might satisfy one’s foray into the hobby without spending a lot of money . Told him to research on reef2reef to see how to start and not rely on stores that are not SW centered . . I believe that cost is causing a major decline in the hobby and I don’t see it getting better so when one doesn’t have a tank then one does not need a forum .

I share the same thought. Prices for everything appeared to have gone up. Reefing is a luxury and usually the first things to go in general when cost are limiting are luxury items.

 

[fish_collector]

If this forum wasn't littered with memes and animated junk I might be inclined to visit more often.

 

[Mebbid]

I think traffic in general on forums has declined in lieu of other systems. Follow that with a lot of people are too broke for hobbies currently and you're going to have a natural decline in traffic.

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

Well, prices for all kinds of things has skyrocketed. Its not suprising. Plus people are having less and less time to spend on their hobbies, imo. I actually have a very unique tank build thread planned....but, i simply dont have the time. I do visit r2r everyday though.

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

Well, prices for all kinds of things has skyrocketed. Its not suprising that people are losing interest. Plus people are having less and less time to spend on their hobbies, imo. I actually have a very unique tank build thread planned....but, i simply dont have the time. I do visit r2r everyday though.

 

[Nordy]

I check in daily, or nightly. I usually wake up about now. Can’t sleep tonight, and looking at my phone won’t help that. Really enjoy looking at reefs here and garnering the knowledge from those that share it. I get to rambling and ranting off topic too easy, so most of my posts are non-reply material. It’s refreshing to see warmth and genuine conversation amongst people who love this hobby. It truly is magical to view some of the ocean in our terrestrial living spaces and have R2R as a place to learn ways of going about the hobby smarter. I’d probably fit in more with a Facebook audience, as I love to share reefing pictures, yet, I’d probably get lambasted over something minor and probably retort with some language I picked up from my days in the Navy. I like community, hate conflict.