Just wondering.....

I know! Seems like this site has been falling off the radar

Especially after the band season is over....

Aliens?

No. I just find that when you have lackluster seasons, conversation is at a minimum. Look at what happened when Dilligent posted about the swac, trying to give em credit.

Folk may not want to admit it but bands are not doing as well as we'd like. It's just not as interesting as it use to be.

But you also have to consider that more and more ways to communicate online are choking out the oldstyle discussion forums. You are ptobably connected to more folk on other sites than this one. So by the time something is posted here, that discussion may have already taken place on three other sites.

SP,

As convenient of a reason as "lackluster seasons" may seem, I pretty sure that has very little to do with the what I call the "exodus of the online forum".

And I say this in love, but the 5th has to reinvent itself in some other form. Social Media is the culprit. 10 years ago, we had no other online networks to come and talk abot bands as we pleased. Now? with FB and Twitter and youtube, you can say what you have to say much more quickly than it takes to "create a thread" or "comment". People arent on there computers as much as they're on there phone and this site has not made an adjustment to be mobile freindly.

I've NEVER seen this site like it is. Even during the season it is much more quiet than it's ever been. But it's not because people aren't talking or that bands are under producing, it's simply that there are many more options to talk band than an online forum. And to be honest the "forum model" that was once widley popular is nearly obsolete.

Marching band is as popular as it's ever been (There was no HBOTB in the 80's & 90's). I think programs are performing at high levels but we're over exposed to it (which is another issue) so it doesnt seems like programs arent as good as they are. Now I dont have any scientific data on any of this but i'm a marketing guy and I tend to look at odd trends and this was one I saw coming from a mile away. No one can compete with the age of social media, it's taken over our lives.

I definitely agree!

The issue here is that everyone wants to go to the uncut sites and be as ignorant as possible with no repercussions. There is no new blood coming in because no one wants to have to explain themselves or actually have a educated conversation. The people here are friends, family, heck a married couple actually met on this site.

Get 10 random folk from the uncut sites and throw them in a Skybox and compare that to 10 folk from the 5th in a Skybox.

This site is dated it needs a complete overhaul...

Yeah....it's like this in here all year round now:

No... These new cats check this site out looking for ignorance, find very little and move on.

The regulars have gotten older and posting on here has fallen in the list of priorities.

Perhaps a mobile version of the 5th....

I can definitely see this site move somewhat towards being a repository for our craft, more so than just conversation. Something like people coming to post flyers/dates/locations of concert band performances, roundtable discussions, the sharing and educated critique of videos of marching and concert band performances. Of course, there's a lot of things technology-wise that needs to be updated as well. But I do agree that the younger folk are on those few uncut FB groups cutting a fool. They, from time to time, discuss things that are worth reading learning from.

This....and its been this way for my band for a good while now....

Been watching this happen slowly over a long long time. Multiple reasons are at play. But one thing I noticed was that nobody wanted to let the young bucks come in and argue about who had the best bands etc. We all came in and did it in the late 90's, got tired of it and then started blasting the new bloods when they came in doing it calling it ignorant. They weren't allowed to have the same experience so many went elsewhere. Most won't admit it but that's what made sites like this what they were when they came out. Now its just us old folks with nothing to talk about bandwise.

Yeah, we olde people don't have the time for foolishness, and debating with ignorance is really not something I want to do on a regular basis. It also helps if the Moderators and founders would post here and there.

i remember coming in the old chat in high school and all the meac'ers telling me how garbage the swac was and those HORRIFIC uncut videos . they always said once you get older things change. i remember wanting to go on the cruise but once i made it, the 5th was dead. if it wasn't for the 5th, i never would have heard the greatness of the jukebox and introduced me to the culture.

Where have all the people gone?!?!

This my #1 reason. Forget his account name, but that guy from FAMU that was always bashing Cookman and took it to ugly levels that included disparaging the 14k and Donovan Wells while the moderators did nothing...that was it for me. I've barely visited this forum since.

"Return Of The Ronin"

This is the guy formerly know as BlaqKnight7 and Outlaw1963, now known as BlaqKnight1963, checking in.I admit that it has been a while since I fell through on here and I think part of the reason behind everybody not being on here is life and the evolution of social media. The same elements we looked here, others are taking to the other sites, but you will see me here from time-to-time giving my $19.63 with 3.57 tax on all things band. To the newbies on here Hello!!!!

This. I still check in every now and then. But yeah.

I failed to see this post initially, writing a whole new thread out, I agree with all of you!!

yet Here's what that thread says (hopefully it'll be deleted later..