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Post by richard on Feb 27, 2020 8:23:10 GMT
In the 'Can it be true?' thread (where else? 😉), there was a little diversion into 'Why don't more members post?' I think Colin (onlyabba4me) stated truth: it has all, pretty much, been said before over the decades - at least for those of us who are not new, or not newish, fans. Very occasionally, a fresh little angle crops up, and that is very welcome, of course. Otherwise, it strikes me as being much like some restaurant's restricted menu: familiar dishes that appear in predictable rotation. Still worth eating, but perhaps a little over-familiar. And there is no easy way round this because the ABBA chefs have not been able to perfect their new recipes yet.
To be fair to members who don't post, perhaps a lot of them pick up on this 'dilemma'? So I won't recommend what a classical guitar forum used to do (and maybe still does): stipulate that all members must post at least once a month - doesn't seem a lot to ask, does it? - otherwise their membership will end. I'm sure most new members intend to post, but that intention just sort of fizzles out, I'm guessing.
But at least a few of us need to post, otherwise there is no forum even for non-members to read!
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Post by angela on Feb 27, 2020 12:23:52 GMT
I post every now and again, I think there probably isn't much to post about unless someone says something that you like to comment about.
It would have been different if these forums were around when ABBA were active.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2020 17:14:06 GMT
Whilst plagued with anxiety issues, I do enjoy conversing with other members of the forum. I agree with Richard, although we may tread on familiar territory we always raise interesting topics of discussion. I find it quite stimulating interacting with others. It is important that we keep the forum going with further views and comments.
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Post by josef on Feb 27, 2020 19:25:39 GMT
In many years to come, it's possible that new fans may still discuss ABBA and it will all be new to them, you know?
That's assuming there will actually be new fans?! Are there forums discussing The Beatles, etc?
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Post by richard on Feb 27, 2020 20:29:14 GMT
Angela, yes, just imagine the buzz of an ABBA forum in their heyday!
I had ignored the social/community aspect, Edmund. And ABBA, even if it often entails going over old ground, is much more interesting for most of us than discussing the weather! Though sympathies for those experiencing extreme conditions - I don't mean to be insensitive.
Yes, there are Beatles forums, Josef, and you get the same topics coming back quite often, inevitably more interesting to newer, younger, fans, I guess. But I found the discussion about whether it really was George and not Paul (as would be assumed) playing bass on 'Old Brown Shoe' rivetting. 😀
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2020 23:49:38 GMT
Josef, I hope new fans will still discuss all things ABBA as you mention in many years to come. I for one, Richard, am more interested in discussing ABBA and their music than the recent atrocious weather, Coronavirus, Brexit, general gloom and doom and the rest. You ask yourself whether all this on the news is over-hyped. But I too sympathise for those who have experienced the worst flooding for years. I'm deviating from the topic of conversation on this forum which is all about ABBA.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2020 9:19:11 GMT
For the time being I've decided to only Post, at ABBA Chat, when I feel that I have something to say.
Today I've Posted in the 'Can It Be True?' Thread, as I felt that I had something to impart, that may
interest some other ABBA Fans.
I don't think it would be fair to try to force Fans to Post here, by making it a condition of their Membership.
A lot of Fans are really nervous about Posting. They may worry about saying the 'wrong' things, or getting
negative Posts, from ABBA Fans, who don't like what they've said. I Post here quite a lot, but in 'Real Life'
I'm really incredibly shy. Cripplingly so. I hardly ever mix with anyone from outside my Family. Even with
my Family, I feel very uncomfortable, if there are more than 1 or 2 of them in the room with me.
However, I don't feel too shy to Post. Even so, I worry that I'll get negative responses, as I sometimes do. It
is amazing what can upset or anger some people. I cope with that, by never responding, to Posts that criticise
what I've said. I just carry on Posting as if nothing has been said. I do that for a 'quiet life' and to stop myself
engaging in quarrels. Also, it is unpleasant, for other Fans, if Threads turn into rows...
However, I know that a lot of ABBA Fans, (here), are too nervous and self conscious to Post, and no-one should
try to force them. It would be wrong to put pressure on them. I just wish that more ABBA Fans did Post here, as
most of us would not dream of being unkind about what they've written...
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Post by richard on Mar 9, 2020 14:19:58 GMT
Well, although I mentioned that one forum stipulated that members should post once a month at least, I didn't recommend it. Shyness is a good point; and I also think it's natural to sometimes feel a bit reluctant to post for fear of negative response/s. But such fear is groundless - the 'worst' you'll get is fairly low-level disagreement, which is only to be expected occasionally.
What puzzles me is that although there isn't much, perhaps, to be posted about ABBA at the moment, there's still plenty to discuss about other artists and other aspects of music, and yet this section of the forum has been pretty quiet, too. Of course, a lot will depend on members' ages and interests, but it occurs to me that before I joined the forum (last June, I think) Chuck Berry and George Martin, the Beatles' producer - two notable people in the history of popular music - had passed away, but no mention here, if I'm not mistaken. But, as I said, that's simply down, to a large extent, to our interests.
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Post by richard on Sept 18, 2020 9:19:17 GMT
Because of the slowness if this forum, someone can post, at length, in Vietnamese, about gambling (?), and that post remains the most current in the section it appears for a day or more. Didn't someone with a different name do something similar a little while back?
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Post by foreverfan on Sept 18, 2020 10:45:57 GMT
Very true...🙄 where are the mods!!😂
I wasn’t going to look incase of bad link to virus or something, but curiosity got better of me, and without being “ phobic” totally intelligible to 99.99 % of us I guess...
at least its caused a discussion ..lol
Things will pick up again once new stuff is out there... eventually..
I thought the airing of MM2 on UK TV for the first time, would’ve kick started something, but alas...on 2nd viewing, I was disappointed, , it did very little for ABBA in the charts, but did propel the Album Soundtrack to number 1. Its such a specialist chart, I doubt it had to sell very many to get to number 1, a few hundred ?
so we wait, meantime I would like to read views of the new fans , and their thoughts, it would be like going back 40 years ! Or more and our oldie fans first thoughts...so come on newbies get finger to typing.. we can discuss..🙂
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Post by gary on Sept 19, 2020 8:02:22 GMT
Yes, could the moderator(s) please not only delete the ‘Vietnamese’ posts but also remove that poster’s membership?
By the way, I saw a new post by Colin (onlyabba4me) on another forum (ukmix), so he must be OK. Assuming he did end his membership of abbachat, I wonder why? I miss his chart-related knowledge.
I also saw part of Mamma Mia 2 the other day. It only confirmed my opinion that it’s almost complete rubbish. It makes the first film look like a masterpiece!
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Post by richard on Sept 27, 2020 17:36:00 GMT
Should we laugh or... what?
Whatever else it is, it's pathetic.
Of course, you know what I'm referring to.
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Post by HOMETIME on Sept 27, 2020 18:45:59 GMT
It's annoying - spam always is. I block the user each time and the block function allows me to hide their posts. It's a temporary solution until there's a way to block the source of the nonsense.
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Post by Alan on Sept 28, 2020 16:06:22 GMT
Zeebee is the moderator here but he hasn’t been online since 10 September. I’m guessing he’ll remove all of those posts/members when he’s next on.
Roxanne is the admin, but she’s not been online since November 2019.
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Post by richard on Dec 19, 2020 16:58:02 GMT
All of us on this forum, no doubt, eagerly anticipate the new ABBA songs in 2021. Indeed, I wonder what this forum will be in 2021 if those songs, for whatever reason/s, don't appear. At the moment, it seems to me that the forum gets about one post, or less, every two days.
I know it's a much bigger forum covering any and all groups and artists, but the contrast in activity is still startling: the Steve Hoffman Music Forum feels to me like it gets more posts in a couple of hours than this one gets all year! Yes, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but even so...
Because of it's much larger membership base with, consequently, more members willing to post, an ABBA topic, when it it crops up now and then on the Steve Hoffman, will likely get more of a response there than it would here on ABBAChat.
So, if only another extra six or so of ABBAChat's nearly 500 members would post somewhat regularly, in addition to the few that already do, that would help.
By the way, of the more regular posters, I notice Josef, and Edmund [edmfio76], haven't posted in a while. Hope they're well, and that they haven't lost interest in the forum. But even if they have, all the best to them.
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Post by richard on Apr 8, 2021 11:45:24 GMT
Just two posts on this forum in the last nine days - apart from this one - after a little, brief, flurry of activity on a couple of threads. Over 500 members and so little to discuss about music? Disappointing. I'm sure many of us could come up with thread ideas, but maybe we're reluctant because, whether good or bad - in whoever's opinion - we know the thread is highly likely to get not much of a response and soon fade away.
Am I out of order or being unfair?
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Post by onlyabba4meagain on Apr 8, 2021 13:45:50 GMT
There just isn't much to discuss - about ABBA - that has not been said before.
Even if someone does start a Thread, there is never much desire, to Post in it.
Every now and then, the latest rumours about the 'New' Songs, starts up a bit
of activity, but it all quickly dies down again.
In the mean time, we are told that 'ABBA Gold' - on Gold Vinyl - is to be released
again. It is hardly exciting. 'More Gold' deserves a fresh chance - perhaps on White
Vinyl. But, it is always 'Gold', that gets re-issued, in one way, or another...
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Post by richard on Apr 8, 2021 14:06:08 GMT
I think you've summed it all up, Colin.
I've had a few ideas for threads - at least in this section of the forum - but I have doubts now whether to bother. If it's simply down to lack of interest, then that's fair enough, of course.
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Post by richard on Apr 9, 2021 13:52:09 GMT
Just a few extra thoughts on this. When a forum has less than 1% of its stated membership active at any one time, that's not very good. It means it's a struggling forum, in my opinion, over-reliant on a very small number of contributors. And contribution is the word! The need to start threads and respond to threads! And of course it doesn't always have to be about agreement, provided it's respectful. But at least there's that need for contribution. Otherwise what's the point of such a forum?
Yes, as Colin (onlyabba4meagain) says, it's not easy to offer fresh opinions about ABBA after all these years, but there are enough members of this forum, surely, to keep the conversation going.
And, of course, there's plenty to discuss about other artists and music in this section of the forum, also. It all helps to move things along.
Thought it worth mentioning. Hope some might agree! :-)
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Post by Michal on Apr 11, 2021 8:56:38 GMT
The question is... what's the point of keeping the conversation going, if there's really not much to discuss (I mean ABBA-related). Personally, I come here almost exclusively to chat about ABBA-related stuff, as I'm not in touch with many ABBA fans. But I don't feel the urge the discuss other things, as I can easily do that with my real-life friends, colleagues, family... What I don't understand though is that there are so many members here but most of them have probably never posted anything... why to bother with registering then at all?
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Post by foreverfan on Apr 11, 2021 9:46:25 GMT
I tend to check/look in everyday, just in case of any new news. Yes its frustrating and for many of us, we've discussed time and time again, subjects like favourite/worst track etc etc.
However I must admit i do find it strange to actually registrar on a site like this and never post, there are now approx 500 of us and how many actually post 20-30 if that... disappointing.
I personally find a "new" fans points of view interesting, all artists need new blood to keep it alive.
If this site was to go, it would be increasingly hard to find any group with a view to discuss/share.
I'm sure it will bounce back for a bit , possibly for 6 months/year, when the new stuff actually hits our ears, whenever that may be, 2021 ? or 50th anniversary year.. who knows..Also the possibility of MM3 , love or hate it, at least its a discussion, but i think we all know there's only a finite period of time left, This , probably, is going to be the last we will get, unlikely we will get any more in the vault tracks...
So we wait... and hope this site picks up....
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Post by Alan on Apr 11, 2021 15:59:54 GMT
Personally, I come here almost exclusively to chat about ABBA-related stuff, as I'm not in touch with many ABBA fans. But I don't feel the urge the discuss other things, as I can easily do that with my real-life friends, colleagues, family... I agree. If I want to chat about other things I’ll go to a forum such as PopJustice (which I’m on). I’d say most of the members on here are completely inactive. It’s been going since 2014 and in that time, many have come and gone. And some indeed may have registered and never posted anything. Most likely they’ve long since forgotten their usernames and passwords. All forums are like that. Very few delete their accounts so a membership will always be over-inflated. Every so often forums do need a clear-out of dead wood. When A4E closed and this one opened (along with ABBA Forum that only lasted two years), it provided the opportunity to start again. Generally, I’m not going to post for the sake of it but when there’s something to talk about. It’s not everyone’s thing but the vinyl singles/albums anniversary issues provide that something. They’ll be one for The Visitors towards the end of the year and I imagine they’ll do them for the first three albums after that. I honestly don’t think there’s anything to worry about, as long as this forum does stay open. I much prefer the forum setting to, say, Facebook groups. They don’t work for me at all (and I don’t just mean ABBA ones). If there’s something new to talk about (and generally there will be in the not-too-distant future) then forums have a purpose. |
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Post by onlyabba4meagain on Apr 11, 2021 16:33:18 GMT
I worry that this Forum may be expensive, to keep 'Running.
Even though the Forum is very 'quiet', I really don't mind contributing
cash, to keep it functioning.
I'm sure that the Forum will become more 'lively', when something, (ABBA
related), starts to happen, once more.
Even if it is only 'Mamma Mia! 3', being made and released!!!
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Post by richard on Apr 11, 2021 17:32:30 GMT
Belatedly, I realise - and Michael and Alan's respective responses underline it - that starting threads in this section of the forum (that is, non-ABBA music topics), is largely a waste of time because there just aren't enough members who are interested to reply - whatever the non-ABBA music topic, perhaps. Again, Alan gives some of the reasons why this is probably the case.
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Post by Michal on Apr 11, 2021 19:39:22 GMT
... starting threads in this section of the forum (that is, non-ABBA music topics), is largely a waste of time... I'm afraid you're right and the reason is we all have different music tastes. For example I was excited to buy one of the last two remaining tickets for Celine Dion's Prague concert but I wouldn't think for a second of mentioning it here, let alone starting a thread about it, as I'm well aware she's not much popular among the members of this forum. You're simply not likely to find enough members interested in this or that singer or band who would join in the discussion. On the other, I enjoy threads such as this one: abbachat.com/thread/1261/great-female-singers - one can find inspiration there and maybe discover new artists. |
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Post by Alan on Apr 11, 2021 20:14:09 GMT
I worry that this Forum may be expensive, to keep 'Running. Even though the Forum is very 'quiet', I really don't mind contributing cash, to keep it functioning. I don’t know anything about that side of it, but the admin (Roxanne) hasn’t been online since 28 October last year and the moderator (Zeebee) was last logged in on 10 September. I think forums have to be renewed each year or else they go offline (I’m not sure about that though). I know with ABBA Forum (that I was a moderator on), they put the costs up and the admin, Carlo, decided not to continue. |
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