Am I just pissing in the wind about getting anyone back to BLiNC?

[Faber]

Mick we all really apritiate this forum and info bank whch cant be found anywere else in the world.
My biggest issue whith this site is that its slow loading.Im on dsl and used to get a page up fast,but often i dont wait here untill the hole site shows up.

As you write your aware about this.

I do belive that the new look has made it more reader freindly here,and making a newbie forum also helped alot.

Im one of thouse that were happy that you cant just call people what you like in here.I felt some of the discusses inhere in "olddays" could make me sick,and kept me off the board at that point instead of asking that stupied Q once again instead of doing a search.I simply were afraid that i couldnt show up in there again were "BASEgoods"could say what they wanted and **** the rest.Making this place more freindly sure makes that newbies more often will visit the site.

You made a tecnical tread/forum were we could search all we ever wanted to know about BASE.Its getting used,and thats why you might dont see that many posts anymore,you simply made it too good.

I dunno your agreements whith Sangrio,but dont blame him that his site gets more posts at this point.Hang in there and you´ll get them back.

As said i really apritiate your work here like most here arround.

keep up the good work.

[LawSchoolBlues]

I have never jumped, or even met a BASE jumper in whatever "real life" is. I found this forum in a Google search on BASE Jumping after I caught Jeb's "Year In The Life" video serendipidously. I set out to learn as much as I could and be involved in some small way before I actually started jumping.
I appreciate the style and content of this forum. I have a sense that the people here are sincerely knowledgeable and that what I learn here is good stuff. I immediately felt an inherent trustworthiness about the information here. In BASE you'd better have good info.
I was an admin at a site once and generated interest enough that we'd have 15 to 20 people on all the time. That was fun. It was mainly a free-for-all board with no real direction but it was spawned a lot of friendships. When the owner of the site quit taking his meds the whole thing went to hell. A few bad elements ruined the whole thing. So I know how you feel about seeing your work in a state of decline. But the interenet is also cyclic. What goes up and down will go up and down.
It would be nice if you strap in for the long haul. If you have staying power I would wager that you will become known as the "serious" BASE board. In a sport with such danger, that might be all the difference. People will go here to learn how not to get dead.
Finally, you might also take into consideration that this is a sport with few people in it, many of whom do not speak English. In the life of an internet forum, more is not always merrier. It tends to signal a devolution. There are less that 1,000 BASE numbers right now; there will not be a lot of traffic in any pure BASE site. And again, this IS the pure BASE site,not one where the BASE content exists in the shadow and scorn of a larger sport.
Also, check your numebrs and see how many people access the forums. You may have more interest than shows in the posting. I was suprised that responses to new posts were so slow until I remembered that this is a small sport and a private community. And that's cool with me.

[CrazyThomas]

If you were pissing in the wind, surely you would feel yourself getting wetter.
I see what you are saying, and I have been one of those line jumpers also.

I can't believe the loss of traffic was due to the
"Thomas vs. Everyone" flame wars that went on in 2001-2002. It got ugly, and I said mean and hateful and stupid things. I can see a drop in postings because of that, but not totally all my fault.

I would like to think as you do, that BASE jumper's have comraderie, and stick together. You do still provide for the community. I have bought gear from the gear ads on blinc, and am greatful you offered that service of FREE ADVERTISING. You also have a wealth of knowledge built into this board, and I think people can find a lot of answers if the begin to look here.

As far as the flame wars, I can say I took it too far. Maybe I was being oversensitive, and taking things not as a joke in my reactions. Maybe I am just an arse. Maybe I was drunk some times I responded.

Anyways, the main point is you never really know a good thing until it is gone, is something we should think about.


I don't know anything halfway about how much time you spend with this site and upkeep, but I can't imagine it is easy. You exemplify the spirit of BASE. Giving yourself freely for the community to better enjoy or understand BASE.

Hang in there Mick. I can't believe, and WON'T believe the spirit of BASE is gone.


Thomas

[Colm]

Mick,

Just wanted to throw in my two cents, though it will probably sound a lot like the rest of the voices in this thread-- I really like Blinc, and hope you keep it running.

I don't post nearly as often as I read, but when I do post I try to do it here as opposed to DZ.com. Even in some cases where posting on the other site may generate more responses. Maybe that's because I expect info offered on this site to feel more authoritative, more focused, better researched, etc etc, add your own adjectives...? Whether that impression is well-founded or not, I guess it speaks to the respect I have for Blinc's forums.

DZ.com may have quantity going for it, but as others have pointed out, it doesn't necessarily equal quality. I can read a dozen posts there, and waste a lot of time. But reading a dozen posts here, probably will be both more entertaining and more educational.

I started mining info from this site long before I actively got into BASE, and I still do that on a regular basis. The archive of posts here has always had a lot of value to me.

Yeah, and I won't be the first person to mention the slow load rate. I'm no tech-head, but maybe just having a version of the site that minimizes graphical objects could be a temporary fix? I for one do not need much flash and glitter. (As an aside, I sure don't know why the graphics on this site never cache on any system I have ever used. Be it Win98, XP, Linux, etc, using IE, Mozilla, etc... Perhaps someone more computer-inclined could enlighten me why other sites can cache graphic files on my PC but not here, if that is actually the case.)

Anyhow, to sum up, thanks for keeping Blinc running. Blinc and DZ.com serve different purposes, so holding Blinc to the same criteria as DZ (i.e. lots of posts) is not a good way of judging the value of this site. DZ.com comes up pretty short when I judge it by my standards for this board.

In fact, I like it so much I'll even make a donation towards that new hardware

Colm

[K]

Hey Mick-
I'm very new to the scene and found the BASE Board to be a wonderful and crazy mix of great information, freaky flaming, and unending personal vendettas all at the same time. The flaming and vendettas got so bad that it was nearly impossible to find the good info amidst the crap. Then came registration and moderation which I thought would bring the Board back to some sense of sanity, but alas, that did not occur. But the MAIN reason I find the dz.com board getting more of my traffic is because I typically check the boards at work, so time is of the essence, and the BLInc board was slower than molasses in Vermont in the wintertime. I would try to bring the Board up, try to post, and would just cancel and close in frustration at how long it took everything to load. Even though the dz.com board is also moderated and censored, one can still get in and out in a reasonable amount of time.

We love you Mick! We're so grateful for what you've done for BASE, we can't even tell you. I'd hate to see it go away.

Love,
Karen