I'm beginning to think there's a conspiracy of silence. Quite a few regulars still log on every day but somehow never have anything to say. What gives?
I probably wouldn't mind living somewhere fairly isolated apart from that one problem. Once I moved into the centre of New Zealand's largest city, I gradually got to know enough bands (and people in bands) that hardly a week went by where I didn't know someone playing some event or other. And 90% of those were in walking distance for me. I'm hoping to get back there within a year or so as it's not quite the same living anywhere else now. But even here back where I grew up I still have one of the best small/metal-hosting live venues in the country a 25 min drive away. When Facebook's popularity exploded and I signed up, I remember it was kind of a headfuck and sorta exciting to start using our real names compared to the handles we were used to. But since most of the adults are doing it, it sure won't have any exciting appeal whatsoever for youngsters now. I dunno about that. I think it's more that people move on to other things. Especially having kids or something like the meme below, haha. A bunch of people would've ditched anything bigger than a smartphone too, and I guess the forum format is a bit much for that sometimes.
This place rules btw. I discovered that New Zealand is the same size (surface area) as Colorado (where I grew up). But I lived in the most isolated part of Colorado where the Wal-Mart was 16 miles away and there are not music venues closer than a three and a half hour drive that goes through a mountain pass. I think it's true that people move on to other things and I definitely understand busyness or changing interests (thus my many year absence over the prior decade). However, there are a lot of people that still like Metal and talk about it but do it elsewhere than the forums they used to be on. A lot of old farts on Facebook just settled into groups on there. There are some of us that are just nostalgic and value forums for that and other reasons. I do think there's a subset of people for whom Facebook is just a very utilitarian option to roll everything up into one.
I imagine it's a small minority that still talks about metal as much as they used to on forums, and even if they're not busy with other things themselves they're still affected by the people around them who are. There wouldn't be much appeal for them to go back to forums if all of their current audience and/or mates are only on Facebook. I'm one of the ones who's nostalgic and values forums. That's why I'm here... even though only start posting more on UM in 2016, and only discovered the RC section less than a year ago.
