Why are local forums/clubs struggling?

[Flippers4pups]

There's a lot of factors involved with meetings/clubs.

• Location/distance (not much to say to that. It is what it is.
• Date and time (same as above)
• Family friendly (there could be more effort here. Not meeting at a bar is first step, activities for younger kids helps.)
• One location at a time, not multiple locations in one meeting. (Not everyone can run from one place to another at one time. Becomes a distraction and isn't apart of a "meeting".)
• Having a purpose for the meeting is beneficial. Topic off interest pertaining to the hobby, advanced reefing topics......etc. round table/around the room discussions with open minds and feed back.
• Drinks and food at the meeting. Clubs discretion, but family in mind.

I know a lot of clubs do some of the above at each meeting. Bravo to them!

Hey if you want to yuck it up and do whatever at someone's house, more power to you, but it's going to alienate some people that joined the club for learning, sharing, helping and advice.
Having fun is also required! Lol

 

[Humblefish]

I could not tell you how many hobbyist I have helped down thru the years save their aquariums by going to their home an showing them in person what they are doing wrong.

+1 I've seen many of our local members "mobilize" when a fellow reefer is having a tank emergency. We also have a "chaeto connection" thread going, so folks can give away their excess chaeto to those who live nearby instead of just throwing it away.

+1 Went to my local club's meeting once. Was there for an hour and couldn't get anyone to talk to me. Everyone was huddle up into their "groups". I had even brought cookies!

I'm sorry you were treated this way. Many reefers are introverts, and tend to retreat into their "clique" at meetings/club events. I always make a point to "work the room" at local meets, and shake the hands or at least say hello to everyone in attendance.

 

[AlexStinson]

There's a lot of factors involved with meetings/clubs.

• Location/distance (not much to say to that. It is what it is.
• Date and time (same as above)
• Family friendly (there could be more effort here. Not meeting at a bar is first step, activities for younger kids helps.)
• One location at a time, not multiple locations in one meeting. (Not everyone can run from one place to another at one time. Becomes a distraction and isn't apart of a "meeting".)
• Having a purpose for the meeting is beneficial. Topic off interest pertaining to the hobby, advanced reefing topics......etc. round table/around the room discussions with open minds and feed back.
• Drinks and food at the meeting. Clubs discretion, but family in mind.

I know a lot of clubs do some of the above at each meeting. Bravo to them!

Hey if you want to yuck it up and do whatever at someone's house, more power to you, but it's going to alienate some people that joined the club for learning, sharing, helping and advice.
Having fun is also required! Lol

Why would doing it at somebody's house alienate people? I always found it helpful to see someone else's tank/setup in person.

 

[reefwiser]

Dirt we have meetings and people's home with a bunch of people helping them figure out what to do. An share their ideas as to what to do. If one sit's at home and doesnt' get out there and involved you will never learn anything. I have been going to MACNA for 23 years. The amount of knowledge I have gained from the talks and then sitting with the speakers afterwards and discussing their talk is priceless. But many hobbyist do not have the time for even that. They want to run out and buy a high dollar frag at a Reefing event and run back to their home and then kill the frag and come on here an ask why they killed the coral. "My parameters are perfect." Fast knowledge is no knowledge it takes years to learn why things are done a certain way. Many new hobbyist do not want to spend the time learning the hobby they just want success. Once they find out that success is a hard fought battle they drop out of the hobby.

 

[Flippers4pups]

+1 I've seen many of our local members "mobilize" when a fellow reefer is having a tank emergency. We also have a "chaeto connection" thread going, so folks can give away their excess chaeto to those who live nearby instead of just throwing it away.



I'm sorry you were treated this way. Many reefers are introverts, and tend to retreat into their "clique" at meetings/club events. I always make a point to "work the room" at local meets, and shake the hands or at least say hello to everyone in attendance.

Takes effort and coming out of ones shell to be welcoming. Makes a big difference to a group.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Why would doing it at somebody's house alienate people? I always found it helpful to see someone else's tank/setup in person.

No, not the intended point. Meeting at different people's houses is awesome. What I meant is just hanging out with no purpose. You could do that anytime.

 

[DirtDiggler2823]

Dirt we have meetings and people's home with a bunch of people helping them figure out what to do. An share their ideas as to what to do. If one sit's at home and doesnt' get out there and involved you will never learn anything. I have been going to MACNA for 23 years. The amount of knowledge I have gained from the talks and then sitting with the speakers afterwards and discussing their talk is priceless. But many hobbyist do not have the time for even that. They want to run out and buy a high dollar frag at a Reefing event and run back to their home and then kill the frag and come on here an ask why they killed the coral. "My parameters are perfect." Fast knowledge is no knowledge it takes years to learn why things are done a certain way. Many new hobbyist do not want to spend the time learning the hobby they just want success. Once they find out that success is a hard fought battle they drop out of the hobby.

I totally get you. I'm new to this side of the hobby, but not the hobby as a whole. I've been doing what I can to study up as best as I can, and my work/life schedule does not allow for too much time away from home for events, even though I'm just learning that they exist. My goal for now is to take is slow and easy. I have learned that rushing is a good way to ruin things, and I learned that from personal experience on the FW side, and from consulting with folks on here. I would love it if there were something local for me, but there really isn't, so I'm kinda left with forums like this one and FB groups which can be hit or miss. Like I said, it was easier in podunk Jacksonville NC to get help with something hobby related, than it is here. Way more people, but way less available support.

 

[AlexStinson]

No, not the intended point. Meeting at different people's houses is awesome. What I meant is just hanging out with no purpose. You could do that anytime.

Got it, we are of the same mind then. I am hoping my new house and new build will let me host a few meetings and try to get a ball rolling again. Really thinking of getting a big shipment of sticks and doing something like a frag placing party to fill out the new tank.

 

[dieselkeeper]

You only get out of the reef club is what you put into it. Everyone should share pics of there tanks and experiences. Sharing your mistakes will help a newbie make sure it dosen't happen to them. Thus saving creatures that are getting expensive and harder to find in some cases. Admins and Mods are the back bone of a reef club. If they don't participate, then the whole forum is a waste of time.

 

[Ryan Kouns]

just to chime into this... anyone know of any local clubs in the Indianapolis area... facebook / instagram / meet ups/ websites? I cant really find much locally

 

[lapin]

In addition to being a mod here, I am also an admin for a local reefing forum/club (Louisiana). And like most local clubs nowadays, we are seeing a decline in member participation. However, local Facebook groups are on the upswing.
I get the convenience of Facebook, but it saddens me that local forums/clubs could one day be a thing of the past.
Just looking for input/opinions from the R2R community, as I try to wrap my mind around this.

My opinion is that people have more going on in their lives and find it easier to Faceplant than to actually talk to people. In this day of "throw away money" if something does not work just get a new one. Same with friends. Dont like their posts just "unfriend" them and find a chatter box that agrees with you. It takes special people to make friends and keep them. Same with reef clubs. There are always the select few that will help out. Many just post when they have an issue or want to show off. A lot of them dont want to be close. I like the meetings for "meet and greet" and to discuss and see things in real time. Kinda brings people closer.

+1 I've seen many of our local members "mobilize" when a fellow reefer is having a tank emergency. We also have a "chaeto connection" thread going, so folks can give away their excess chaeto to those who live nearby instead of just throwing it away..

Our Austin group is like this.

Disclaimer: I am not a social person.

 

[Humblefish]

You only get out of the reef club is what you put into it. Everyone should share pics of there tanks and experiences. Sharing your mistakes will help a newbie make sure it dosen't happen to them. Thus saving creatures that are getting expensive and harder to find in some cases. Admins and Mods are the back bone of a reef club. If they don't participate, then the whole forum is a waste of time.

It does take a group effort to drive a successful club. If it all gets dumped on the shoulders of one person, that individual gets burned out eventually and/or stuff just doesn't get done like it should.

 

[cracker]

My local club folded & moved to face book also. I guess it's less expensive if not free I don't know? I'm saddened by this as we had a blast or at least I did. Taking turns who would host a monthly meeting meeting . I would smoke a pork butt another I made a huge pot of spaghetti . I served turkey clubs & such . There was always hands to help move a big tank or hold livestock. it was fun socializing with Folks with the same interests etc. I guess the younger generation isn't in to this anymore .

 

[JonoB]

I also wonder how much of it has to do with the popularity of our hobby. My area has a few stores that cater to SW aquariums, so I have to imagine there is a good number of people that do it, but I still don't think it's so big that it provides enough people to want to meet consistently. I'm also part of a very active hunting forum, and we will have meet ups once or twice a year, but the forum platform is just as easy to talk to each other.

 

[ReefWithCare]

I love FB groups - but I actually like discord groups even better now. Something about the live chat/voice chat/and live screen sharing & streaming is really enticing for me. Plus, nearly everyone in the discord groups I'm in are all from Texas so it makes it even easier. The other thing I like is they are sponsor free. I don't have to deal with being sold something or constantly getting advertised new products or hear brand shilling. I think discord groups will take over as more and more younger folks enter the hobby and get sick and tired of Facebook.

 

[Grey Ghost]

I literally just had this exact conversation with a new reefer from LA Reef Club that met with me to pickup a few frags that I had for sale. While we both agreed that forum settings through social media outlets are the new normal, I feel that it takes away from the very premise of the club. Meeting new members, sharing stories, info, experiences, Q&A, tank progress photo's, build threads, etc. That's what makes the forum community so much more better than the social media outlet that have essentially become giant sale threads with little to no useful information or relevant content.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Too many people have become lazy and self absorbed.

A successful club requires people who are not selfish and who are willing to do things for the sake of the club rather than their own personal gain. Those people have become an endangered species.

This is not limited to reef clubs. I am heavily involved in other clubs such as retriever clubs and car clubs and they are experiencing exactly the same issue.

 

[Humblefish]

I literally just had this exact conversation with a new reefer from LA Reef Club that met with me to pickup a few frags that I had for sale. While we both agreed that forum settings through social media outlets are the new normal, I feel that it takes away from the very premise of the club. Meeting new members, sharing stories, info, experiences, Q&A, tank progress photo's, build threads, etc. That's what makes the forum community so much more better than the social media outlet that have essentially become giant sale threads with little to no useful information or relevant content.

I loathe social media (especially FB), so if forums ever go away then so will my online presence. So, I guess wanting to save local forums is somewhat a self-preservation instinct for "Humblefish".

 

[Katrina71]

I'd love to have a group of reefers to learn from hands-on. It is very challenging sometimes when you are a newer reefer to figure stuff out without seeing it done.

 

[AlexG]

I think that in some cases convenience is a factor. I know between family, work, and maintaining my aquariums its not always easy to find time to attend club meetings. An alternate medium that I enjoy is the google hangout live streams that are put on by many YouTube channels. I feel that when these live streams are dedicated to specific topics with a small group of guests talking about a topic and reading questions or opinions from the associated chat room that it can be a great experience. It does however require a good admin team to pull these live streams off successfully. I still feel the forums are very valuable though as they provide a different level of interaction with hobbyists and vendors.