Inactivity?

[One Pivot]

Did I catch the forum at a bad time, or is it just really slow in general?

[Franzia]

It does have it's slow periods, and in general it was more lively some years ago. I don't know what caused the slowdown, maybe everyone is too busy with Bookface.

Others have wondered about it too:
http://www.boundforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 40#p897131

[One Pivot]

It seems like forums are losing popularity in general. I like forums though!

I do a lot of bondage gear, but I sell them so it seems inappropriate to clog the place up with my stuff. I'd rather try to add to someone's thread. I would like to contribute more.

[Franzia]

You don't have to 'clog' all the threads up with your stuff, check with a moderator- a specific ongoing thread of yours dealing with your gear might be ok. I see you already have one: 'Critique my gear'.

And feel free to contribute anything else to whatever topics perk your interest. Just avoid infamous classics like, "Where can I buy rope?" or "Who sells duct tape?"

[One Pivot]

Luckily im past needing rope!

I'll be poking around. I have my one gear thread going, it's fun for me personally just to share toys and get ideas. Not trying to come off like that's the only reason im around though. Thanks for the response!

[MsBehavin]

I think the "critique my gear" thread strikes the perfect tone for what you want to achieve. You have asked for opinions and ideas and have responded to replies in an appropriate way. I know you make quality items but maybe you could share some basic ideas on the DIY sticky thread? http://boundforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=761078#p761078

[One Pivot]

I did a little write up for diy. Hope someone finds it useful.

[MsBehavin]

Thank you

DIY Sticky thread list updated to include a direct link to your "Basic Leather Cuffs" post

[LockedInALocker]

Did I catch the forum at a bad time, or is it just really slow in general?

     I have the general impression that the forum was once more active than it usually is now. But I can really only say why I post less often now, and not why the activity generally is less.
     I'm an example of a person who in earlier years posted very prolifically (I am astonished to note that I am within the 10 most prolific posters here), yet seem to have fallen away, and probably post only a few times a year now. So the reasons for this change (as I perceive them) may interest you.
     There are probably a few reasons, if you are interested in my own perspective. One is that I think I have simply run out of things to say after all I've written in more than a thousand-and-a-half posts, some of them quite long and detailed, and I have probably already repeated myself on some things, but perhaps am becoming more self-conscious about doing so yet further. I never made a conscious choice to post less; it just seems to have happened gradually.
     I think contributing to this is a perception (whether rightly or wrongly) that the general focus of the forum has changed, and this change has been away from the areas that most interest me, and so I have little to say on some of the newer interests. For instance, I think mummification, cross-dressing, and chastity are all topics where interest has grown on this forum, and I know nothing about any of them, therefore nothing to say - either on my own, or responding intelligently to others' posts. On the other hand, one of the main areas that does interest me, being packaged, or locked in small containers, is something where I perceived that interest in the forum generally has reduced (this actually lost its dedicated sub-forum when the forum software was updated), and so I have become more hesitant to post extensively about things where I think fewer people are now interested - even if it weren't for the fact that I have probably at last run out of new things to say anyway. It's not that I am so narrow-minded that I am unwilling to talk about other things, but more that I have less to say about things I know little about, and, in some cases, don't interest me a lot. (I might be interested in mummification or wrapping if I had someone to do this with - but cross-dressing and chastity, both with sub-forums dedicated to them now, are not things that interest me.)
     There's another aspect to this, too. I do not know anyone here personally (that may be the norm for members generally, though), and I am probably also autistic or with Asperger's syndrome, and that makes it hard for me to get personally close to people - even in person, never mind on-line where it's harder to feel personally connected with others. So, while I have been accepted here and had some interesting discussions, I have probably never quite become a full member of the community - and that perhaps has led to me posting less once I started feeling I'd run out of things to say. I've never been a good person for light-hearted banter and such (that's true in real life, as well as on-line), and I think that is a lot of what happens here.
     So, for me at least, those things seem to be why I have become less active here. And the effect snowballs: once you become just a bit less active, you start to get out of the loop of things generally, and that discourages further posting, and it tends to grow.

Regards, Michael.