Hookah Forum Is Dying

[kvtaco17]

I wanna bad bromance... lolz!

I'll post more and make things seem more lively only if I can have a Tangiers Earl Grey...

You hear that ERIC!?

jk

But really Eric I'd enjoy it...

[mushrat]

Posted about a vid section in its own thread. We do what we can here...we keep the kind of people we like, others want a different type of hookah enthusiast and can find them elsewhere. All good. Thats why i get pissed of when people use other forums to attack this one.

[Cole.]

[quote name='INCUBUSRATM' timestamp='1282622996' post='480061']
You must remember everyone's out having fun during the summer, not sitting at home on the forum. Once school starts back you'll see an increase in traffic.

As for new people leaving so soon, you gotta remember a lot of people once their question is answered they have no desire to stick around. Not everyone is as serious about the hobby as a lot of us are.
[/quote]

This for sure is relevant in my case. I will be around internet more consistently (especially since I have an online class, and what better way to do homework than with a nice bowl?) for one thing, and simply have more time. I've been ran ragged at work with my "open availability" they take such advantage of during the summer, so when I get a break I'm out and about rather than online. However, this changes once school hits. [: I think more folks will be around, and of course a good influx of new members with it.

[redjako]

[quote name='mushrat' timestamp='1282701746' post='480166']
Posted about a vid section in its own thread. We do what we can here...we keep the kind of people we like, others want a different type of hookah enthusiast and can find them elsewhere. All good. Thats why i get pissed of when people use other forums to attack this one.
[/quote]

This is actually the only hookah forum I frequent (albeit lately, rarely), and which helped me actually get into "good" hookah (coals, tangier, etc). However, the few locals I know on this forum have the same attitude of an elitist attitude prevailing the threads.

Do you want the"worlds top forum" with posts 1-4 months out (a standard in Anime forums, the top frequented forums), or do you want growth?

Chat with the same 5-15 people and miss out on the 15-100 new people who Could be accepted into your little clique. This = death of a forum, negating even this space of conversation. I am being constructive, I came here based on a google search of "hookah forum," should this die slowly on elitism?

Hows the traffic?

[Arcane]

people have stated several reasons why the traffic is slow here...summer, lack of advertising, etc...i don't think the "elitist attitude" you seem to be experiencing is going to change nor do i think the core members really mind it...

growth just to be "popular" doesn't seem to be what hookahforum is about...to be honest, this is practically the ONLY hookah forum where you can get competent information...there are others, especially one in particular, that consistently spews wrong information...i do browse that particular forum to see what ignorance some people perpetuate and feel a bit sorry for the community, yet it's popular because of the "benefits"...forums like that can keep their benefits, members looking for handouts, and the like...i'll take an intelligent discussion/debate, hookah methodologies or bs'ing with people who can give two shits about "free stuff" over a misinformed, myspace-esque forum who's main goal is quantity over quality...

i've mentioned this comparison to a few people...you have a couple forums which are more akin to a facebook/myspace who just happens to have hookah as a common interest...and you have hookahforum, who places hookah and related topics in the forefront...we attract a different breed of hookah smokers, and i actually think it's for the better...

though i do think you comments are well-intended, it seems you're more concerned for growth for the sake of growth...not necessarily for the sake of progress... Edited August 25, 2010 by Arcane

[mushrat]

seems pretty good. At 7:30 in the morning we have had over 130 people come through in the last 30 minutes.

Seems a lot of people come through just to read what YOU all have to say...odd as that may sound.

[attachment=5066:forum shot.jpg]

[chris.mallia]

[quote name='mushrat' timestamp='1282649937' post='480084']
Well, this is a common theme of late. And i'll address it if I may.

What we have in this forum is a dedicated core of people who call it home. We also have atleast 3 other forums still active and drawing people where as at one tiem we were the only real hookah forum around. As pointed out above, we ALWAYS slow down over the summer and during school breaks. [b]As also pointed out, soem people come, get their answers and leave. Always has worked that way[/b].

And no we don't have big give aways because we dont have any real vendor advertising. And we don't give away shisha for the most posts as some other places do. What we are is a dedicated group of hookah smokers talking about what we love and helping people who come by with questions. And if you use the advanced settings as intended the search engine can be quite helpful, but YOU have to put in a little effort because unlike any of the other forums we have posts going back 5 or 6 YEARS. Its not that the search engine sucks so much as there is a LOT more information to draw on than in other newer hookah forums.

And since we arent supported by advertising our traffic isn't nearly as important as what we talk about. I also suggest checking the number of visitors we have each day. While we may only have 20 or so registered users on at one time our guests often top 70 or 80 in the last 30 minutes as being reported. People look to us whether or not they make an account and post.

and finally WTF happened to our video section??

I'll call adrock later this afternoon cause we used to have one. If necessary I'll restart the Video sub forum again.

Mushrat
[/quote]

While your statement is very good and makes a lot of sense, it may not apply to everyone. In my example:

HookahForum is my number one source of information on everything hookah. I regularly login to the site and read stuff, but sometimes I find it hard to give advice, even though I've been smoking hookah with my friends for these past two years. There are plenty of stuff which I have still yet to experience, like unwashed tobacco and natural coals. So I always leave it up to the pros

On the other hand, in the General and Serious section, I occassionaly find myself hitting a barrier (call it ethnical / cultural) when trying to participate in some threads, due to their American nature. (This happens especially when you folk talk about the government, taxes, college, etc) Stuff in Europe is a bit different So due to my lack of information about the subjects, I always stay away from the post box.

I have never had any problem with this forum or it's users, It has on countless times helped me and tons of others, so all that I have to say is.... keep it up you guys.
BTW, I absolutely LOVE the site's new design, it gave HF the polished and professional look it much deserves

Chris

[Zeusophobia]

I've been posting a lot of noob questions lately, as I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground yet when it comes to hookahs. I had one major problem that it seemed like no one was going to get to the bottom of that ended up being solved. THEN I was coached in the chatroom as to what supplies I should be using.

I think this forum is 100 times better than any other forum I've been on about giving noobies help.

[Tyler]

[sup]They can't resist my sexy [/sup]

[Twisted]

Your sexy-ness reminded me of this.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtvYr7oA-go[/media]


Please sing this to us.

Personally, I don't feel as though the forum is dieing. I don't post as often as I want but thats because by the time I see a thread asking for help, someone else has answered it. I find it pointless to repeat what someone else had to say. I come to this forum everyday, and there are always new posts. Ive been to the other forums and to be honest, they don't compare to this place.

[rcracer_tx]

Well, being on this forum for a long time, I can say its in a normal pattern for the forum to go up and down substantially. Right now is the end of the summer and its always a slow time of year for the forum. I, for example don't post very often, but I'm on here quite often. Its much less busy here, so I have less post to read and respond to if I have something productive to add and therefore do not post as much.

However, delsol was one of the most interesting posters here and he's now banned, and that makes a lot of threads have less discussion...

[king_lunchb0x]

[quote name='mushrat' timestamp='1282736326' post='480218']
seems pretty good. At 7:30 in the morning we have had over 130 people come through in the last 30 minutes.

Seems a lot of people come through just to read what YOU all have to say...odd as that may sound.

[attachment=5066:forum shot.jpg]
[/quote]

traffic seems to be good. On other forum sights ill see almost same threads as i do here, but on the other sight you get 10 replies that either dont have anything to do with the topic or are advice that seems to be going the other way. I have used hookah chat a bit, not as much as some other members but every time I did it was a great experience. Most not hookah related... its was just like i was IM'ing a good friend. This place feels like home. First forum i joined..who cares about free incentives..with out the right knowledge of how to use those " freebies" you would just be wasting it. Few regulars that I consider elitist, that made this hobby so enjoyable for me, were Stuie/Arcane/Joy/Incubusratm/Joe/Twoapples. At times i'm sure these guys have been blunt with us Noobs but sometimes that's the only way to get wut their saying to sink in. I just want to say Thanks to the elitist for all the help and advice..and to mush and adrock for keeping up with HF. There is not a definite answer to this thread, just opinion. This is just my opinion you can agree or disagree you choice, can't well just get along? oh and Hookahforum FTW!

[camelflage]

i think we're doing alright...

[Cp44]

^ i agree

[mushrat]

[quote name='Cp44' timestamp='1283179803' post='480743']
^ i agree
[/quote]

Gods I hated the quote "ignorance is Bliss" growing up. I finally found out what the rest of the quote was, "If ignorance is Bliss, Tis a folly to be wise." Still too little too late in High School.

[RingsMaster]

the forum never dies just dwindles during the holiday seasons like summer and sometimes during Christmas and spring break, mostly summer though, always picks up though when colleges start up again and schools are back the forum booms.