User blog:BraveNewRoyalty/The Hypothesis

During the aftermath of the boards being closed down, LMBW was faced with its worst moment of inactivity ever. You could go half a day without people saying anything in chat, blogs were empty, and the forums died off. (For better or worse) Several users either stopped coming as consistently, or completely disappeared off the wiki. They didn't even have the courtesy of leaving a classic mopey retirement blog.

Most users here were pessimistic about the future of the wiki. Nearly everyone said we'd die off, and people started to gain other means of contact to stay in touch. However, I felt very strong on the idea that if we held up until summer, then our activity will return. It was what I thought would be the most probable and best outcome. It was my hypothesis.

May and June came around, and so did summer. Users started to have their break off of school, allowing them to have more time. But however, activity did not increase. The only person I can mention that popped by was Kiff.

However, July started. We had LFY come back, (which was unknown until later) then I saw Link, Luna, and Nya visit. Yesterday, Norvik and Stickabee came around. Some other old users also came into chat momentarily. LFY was the only one that integrated back into regular activity, however.

Chat is still struggling to stay active, but I'd say we have developed a "prime time" for chat. This is during the late afternoon - early evening for most US time zones. Additionally, the amount of people complaining that chat is dead has decreased.

I think the main problem why our activity has been so stagnant is because the people who are returning back to the Wiki are not feeling very welcomed. I remember when I returned last year, after an abysmal four year long break, Alemas said, "Ah, Brave, welcome back to this mad corner of the internet. " Other people like Kepler and Satl, who remembered me from back then, also were friendly to me.

Today, these pleasantries are rare. When an old user returns, people in chat barely even say "hello". It's sickening. The lack of pleasant discussion this wiki has been known for has disappeared. People who are returning to this wiki aren't going to stay if it appears that we disregard them.

I remember at the time the boards were announced to closed, several users, such as Alemas and Rio, said that they'd be leaving soon. Seven months later, they're still here. I think it's time to ask these questions to all users again.

1. If you are, why are you still here?

2. If you will, when and why are you going to leave?

3. If you do, what are you going to do to stay in contact with the friends you've made here?