JackDaydream wrote: ↑June 15th, 2022, 12:02 pmIt appears your concern is on popularity and attention. The page on Most Popular Topics "lists some most popular topics from the last week, by month and from all time."
I am afraid that I am writing in your thread because I am feeling so despondent about using the forum at the moment. It may seem that I am happy because I create loads of threads but it is only because it seems hard to create a thread which lasts more than a few days. However, it is not simply that people are only interested in the top 5 but that threads which are years old or over 50 pages long are often the ones which are being replied to most.
The problem as far as I see is about how often it is only a couple that threads which are getting lots of responses, often in response to someone who appears provocative or annoying. I wonder if this is what drives many people away, as it makes the forum seem like a clique. I do read a lot of threads which I don't reply to and what seems to be happening is that people are discussing similar discussions in various threads, as if they are in little houses or in different tongues, like the Tower of Babel. It all seems fragmented. I have stuck around and do still try to find worthwhile interaction but others may simply give up on the site entirely.
It is normal for "provocative or annoying" threads to grab more attention than serious ones. None can beat the former to invite casual passing comment off the cuff. Example: No second chance against Life is full of Opportunity. Pick any side and you can argue till you drop. Serious threads, on the other hand, demands the window of thoughtful deliberation which you cannot find here, now and into the future. The latter must be the loser. I recall Thomas Hardy's title: Far from the maddening crowd.
Look from another angle. Forget popularity. Admittedly many threads are trivial. and some are junk merely by reading the title, but there are always some once in a while to freshen your perspective, like prodding you to a direction which you would not consider to take in the first place. Indeed, this is what I find the forum useful.