Do you think folks are spending less time here now?

[Jill]

While I would not want to be in the position of deciding what is and is not okay for a topic specific message board, we all know that the controversial and heated discussion threads are both the ones with the most activity and the ones with the most views. The flip side is that these threads are very frequently not horse related. I really do not know what is best for LB but I know that LB is a big part of why I have become the horsewoman that I am and the pretty direct reason I have some of the exceptional horses that I get to call mne. LB's been an important part of my life for many, many years!

 

[Reble]

Would be nice the Like Button.

Save a lot of repeats. and easy to do.

Just a suggestion, thanks Mary Lou.

Yes joined the FB in December, and found my sister, brother, and niece and all their grown children with children.

I have not been in contact for 20 years.

Have so much to catch up on.

 

[LAminiatures]

I have noticed the same thing. I do read this forum daily but don't participate often. I feel like some people have changed programs and are moving towards the ASPC ponies. Maybe things are just changing and some new people are slowly trickling into the minis and time will tell. Maybe we all need to participate more for the better of the forum.

I have learned so much from this forum and enjoy reading and learning.

White Tail don't even think about not chiming in I am waiting for your foals and look forward to your adventures on the farm.

 

[~Lisa~]

As far as forums go there is not another one like this out there IMO for minis or ponies.

Yes sometimes those of us who have been here awhile see the same questions asked but that is a good thing - new people coming into the breed is wonderful.

I am on facebook alot as well but am still of the opinion that when it comes to small equine LB is a great tool that is helpful and has not yet even come close to being matched

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

wow, love all the comments and replies - all great points and much to consider. I've gotten some private PMs on this topic also.

Still a devoted LB member - I think I said that in the original post - was just curious if I was the only one to think things had changed here.

On the comment about FB being a sales marketing thing - that depends on whether your friends with other breeders/farms or if you wish it to remain just personal friends and family. Myself, I'm on there for the business and 90% of my "friends" are other breeders/farms so that's what my FB page is geared to - so yes I advertise. I think sometimes when you see multiple ads it is becuase first you post on your wall or profile, then another FB will pick it up and advertise it for you (as that is what their site is about). That particular site has other friends and viewers that are not your friends, so your ad gets double the exposure (meaning more people than just your own friends see it).

Mary Lou makes excellent points (doesn't she always) and I myself wouldn't want the burden of being the referree because for sure you can never make EVERYONE happy. By the way, where did the "signatures too long" post go Mary Lou? LOL I was looking for that this morning. I figure those of us that were in violation fixed it, so no need to keep it posted? ha (that's meant in fun)

I think all the comments here are great and I too will remain an LB fan -

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

I have noticed the same thing. I do read this forum daily but don't participate often. I feel like some people have changed programs and are moving towards the ASPC ponies. Maybe things are just changing and some new people are slowly trickling into the minis and time will tell. Maybe we all need to participate more for the better of the forum.

I have learned so much from this forum and enjoy reading and learning.

White Tail don't even think about not chiming in I am waiting for your foals and look forward to your adventures on the farm.

OH no worries! We're not going anywhere ......... I'm trying to think of a good topic to post so we can get some excitement going again LOL :modedit:

 

[tagalong]

Personally I don't pay very much attention to this forum anymore. Why? When I joined it was very fast paced and I was learning so much.

Now though, it seems like it's always a repetition of the exact same topics and I am very bored by that.

Well, the exact same topics are bound to come up as new people want to ask about foaling stalls or clipping and so on. Topics need to get revisited. That happens on every forum.

People come and go, posting takes off for a while and then slows down - that is also normal.

But as was pointed out - any forum is what you make of it. If you do not like the topics or think things are slow - then start a topic that you find interesting and would like to discuss!

You get out of it what you put into it.

There are also a lot more forums out there and other places to post. I post on another forum that can rip along at light speed... or slow down to a crawl for a couple of weeks. We can also have heated political discussions there that never get nasty in any way... which sadly was not always the case here. That was too bad - I like those animated discussions!

I expect things will pick up as foaling season gets into high gear.

 

[REO]

Well, the exact same topics are bound to come up as new people want to ask about foaling stalls or clipping and so on. Topics need to get revisited. That happens on every forum.

People come and go, posting takes off for a while and then slows down - that is also normal.

But as was pointed out - any forum is what you make of it. If you do not like the topics or think things are slow - then start a topic that you find interesting and would like to discuss!

You get out of it what you put into it.

There are also a lot more forums out there and other places to post. I post on another forum that can rip along at light speed... or slow down to a crawl for a couple of weeks. We can also have heated political discussions there that never get nasty in any way... which sadly was not always the case here. That was too bad - I like those animated discussions!

I expect things will pick up as foaling season gets into high gear.

I agree tagalong!

THERE ARE RULES BECAUSE.........

There is a difference between FB and LB. FB is owned by many and can't be sued if someone starts something personal or "goes" where they shouldn't. LB is owned by one lady, who pays for it out of her own pocket so we ALL have a place to talk about and learn about little equine. She has been threatened, and threatened to be sued in the past about things members posted.

Some people like "bear baiting" to get their kicks. Some like gentle conversation. Someone is always going to either get bored or their feelings hurt. On a site that has over 6000 members, ML tries VERY HARD to please everyone! It can't be done! But she always listens to people and works hard trying!!!

ML has done her best to have something here for everyone. Including a free sale board. So there's no need to post about having a horse for sale on the forums. There's a sale board for that! The only way ML can keep LB going is through paid advertisers. And they would not pay to advertise if everyone was posting away about what they were selling all over all the forums.

LB is a family place with people from all ages and personalities. Debates are fun! (I enjoy reading them myself) But when they get heated or personal (and they did) people run to ML to complain. What then is ML supposed to do??? Either way LB gets a bad rap from one side or the other. I don't feel that's fair.

See, all of the above are the REASONS there are rules here. Why there HAS to be rules (which most people here don't read)

I'm just afraid all of this will give ML one too many headaches and make her throw up her hands and shut LB down. I would rather have LB any way it has to be than not at all.

LB is a place for little HORSE people to come together. This is a forum FAMILY. I for one would be lost without it.

If people want to go to other places to talk about other stuff etc, they know that if they have a question or need help with horses, LB is always here.

LB is like a HOUSE with a HUGE family under one roof. That's why there has to be house rules.

Thank you ML for EVERYTHING.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I've only been frequenting LB since 2006, but have defiantly noticed a big decrease in new posts, even on the sales board!

There is only one other forum I frequent, which honestly, it just as slow, it just has more pages of topics.

I wish the forum was a moving a bit quicker, It's freezing outside, and Im cooped up in the house. Sure wish there was something worth reading.

 

[user 488]

I agree tagalong!

THERE ARE RULES BECAUSE.........

There is a difference between FB and LB. FB is owned by many and can't be sued if someone starts something personal or "goes" where they shouldn't. LB is owned by one lady, who pays for it out of her own pocket so we ALL have a place to talk about and learn about little equine. She has been threatened, and threatened to be sued in the past about things members posted.

Some people like "bear baiting" to get their kicks. Some like gentle conversation. Someone is always going to either get bored or their feelings hurt. On a site that has over 6000 members, ML tries VERY HARD to please everyone! It can't be done! But she always listens to people and works hard trying!!!

ML has done her best to have something here for everyone. Including a free sale board. So there's no need to post about having a horse for sale on the forums. There's a sale board for that! The only way ML can keep LB going is through paid advertisers. And they would not pay to advertise if everyone was posting away about what they were selling all over all the forums.

LB is a family place with people from all ages and personalities. Debates are fun! (I enjoy reading them myself) But when they get heated or personal (and they did) people run to ML to complain. What then is ML supposed to do??? Either way LB gets a bad rap from one side or the other. I don't feel that's fair.

See, all of the above are the REASONS there are rules here. Why there HAS to be rules (which most people here don't read)

I'm just afraid all of this will give ML one too many headaches and make her throw up her hands and shut LB down. I would rather have LB any way it has to be than not at all.

LB is a place for little HORSE people to come together. This is a forum FAMILY. I for one would be lost without it.

If people want to go to other places to talk about other stuff etc, they know that if they have a question or need help with horses, LB is always here.

LB is like a HOUSE with a HUGE family under one roof. That's why there has to be house rules.

Thank you ML for EVERYTHING.

Thank you Robin! I totally agree! People just don't understand the position Mary Lou is in and WHY we do what we do. Anyway, I just hope people take the time to REALLY READ and absorb this!!!!! I would love for others try to take on this job! Maybe then they would get it!

 

[Marty]

Where other forums can be nasty and chew you up, LB is very tame and welcoming.

LB is a really nice forum to learn about miniatures and lets not forget the archives which store a lot of good information. There is really no comparrison between LB and FB. A lot of the older posters sold out but many of them still lurk. I feel their expertise is still very valuable and would like to see them return and chime in.

Then there will be those people that only show up here in spring and summer to show you their foals and show wins only for more free advertisement and the rest of the time they don't even comment on a thread.

I haven't posted a lot anymore on the main forum because I've had nothing really to offer, but lookout because I have about 50 Neverending Sagas saved up for a rainy day!

LB is still the best place on the internet in my world.

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

Agree with Reo there have to be rules. I never complained about the rules.

I never mentioned sales in my post - I was simply asking if others thought it had gotten slow here (meaning the forums) or was I imagining things. I was worried maybe I was an evil person for enjoying alittle debate here or there ..............

I agree that the board is the place for sales (only) and I use that feature. I don't post as often anymore though as nothing is moving unless they are few hundred bucks and I won't comment on that.

I agree its nice to see fresh faces and will admit that even though questions for help and advice might be repeats along the way, what I notice is that different people answer now and sometimes the feedback is different - always nice to get different views from what works for different people no matter the subject. Its always interesting to hear what others practice at their place. We've made changes along the way over the years based on what we've learned through others experiences. I still have my experts I call of course, but I do make notes from things here too. I don't mind the simple questions as the feedback is always interesting and this IS supposed to be the ultimate place for newbies and oldies to go to for help. Kudos to LB on that.

Wow, I see my last post has a little man holding a MOD sign ............ LOL Too funny

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

while I"m enjoying the replies and agreeing with most - may I please say for others that join here (some don't read all the threads from beginning to end before they comment) - I never mentioned another forum by name nor did I ever compare other forums to this one in my original post. I am well aware of the differences between here and others and have no complaints whatsover. If I want strictly miniature conversation, here is where I"ll be always. Made tons of friends through LB.

I simply asked if people were spending more time elsewhere as I noticed the slow down of traffic here. Some comments being made don't say so but are replies to other comments/replies not necessarily mine.

With that said, it's getting quite interesting

 

[Reble]

Yes, to your question, it has slowed down, but I know myself, there is a lot of work when posting things.

and than no replys

Again the like button might just help..

Sorry ML to bring this up so often.

I go back and forth with the two sites, but do find when I post on the other, get some reply's even if it is just the like button. Does make you think it is worth while.

This topic has been the most said in a long time

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

I love it here and feel like I'v made some good friends.I just have to add that I enjoy and respect others opions but I don't like to see mean comments made to anyone. I understand when a intervention is made and also respect that,thanks everyone for your hard work

.

 

[Marty]

awwwww Whitetail I don't think you could be evil if you tried

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

https://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/data/emoticons/default_biggrin.png[/IMG] )

 

[Relic]

Well l think for sure it's gotten a lot more slack in the past year...and yes like it or not even some days down right boring. l limit my computer time to 2 hours throughout the day and used to read only LB but find there's little to spend 2 hours on lately so have ventured to other sites. l so miss a lot of the old time posters that used to be here and wish they were still around..

 

[Minimor]

I don't really think FB or any other site has anything to do with things being slow here. I also don't think it has anything to do with the fact that more people are changing from straight Miniatures to pony/Mini breeding (as one poster seemed to imply in her post

)

Winter time may seem like the time when people would have more time on the computer, but for me it doesn't work that way. Winter, especially this winter when we have so much snow and recently some really cold weather, makes my chores take longer. I have to haul warm water out to the horses, horses are in their sheds more so cleaning takes longer, feeding takes longer, especially when I'm having to wrestle with round bales as I am this year....so I'm on the computer less. When I am on, I tend to read but not post so often.

To be honest, sometimes I would post more but I read through the responses and think 'why bother'. Recently I've seen a couple posts that gave really poor--actually wrong--advice, but I'm tired, I'm short on time, and I just don't bother posting a better answer.

Here people are busy with other things in winter--kids have skating, hockey, backetball, school events, so parents are busy with getting kids to/from those events. People are taking winter holidays. There are lots of other things to do in the winter.

I do also think that the ban on certain topics puts a damper on things. I have noticed that there are so many things that are NOT being discussed here--events that I would think many people do have an interest in talking about otherwise, so I'm very surprised that there's not a word said here (or on the back porch) about them--I'm assuming it is because they "might" end up branching out into things political. So yes, I'm sure that a number of people do go to someplace where they can talk about those things without having to worry that some part of the discussion might end up being 'politics' even though the actual topic isn't political.

 

[Minimor]

ML-I can appreciate those reasons, but those kinds of things aren't what I was referring to in my post.

There was no mention of things like the shooting in Tucson, or the events in Egypt....or so many other things like that....none of these things are 'politics' as such, but any one of them could end up leading to some 'political comment' being made--and I assume that is why these things have not been brought up here.

In this vein, if 9/11 were to happen today--we couldn't even talk about it here because it might lead back to politics.