The Skeptiko forum and us

I think it is better to have the two forums.

This is a handy link for getting a rough gauge of the forum's health:

http://psiencequest.net/forums/online.php?action=today

It shows the number of members logged in during the previous 24 hours. I've checked it a great many times since PQ went live back in mid-August of last year. Off the top of my head, I can say that as the forum membership total approached 100 (I think toward the end of August), the number of logins per 24-hour period often reached 60 or more. As things began to settle down a bit in September, logins per 24-hour period reached a comfortable 50+, on average. However, they fell off rather sharply toward the end of October, dropping to the high 30s. That was our first extended lull. Since that time, total logins per 24-hour period have tended to drift between the high 20s and low 50s.

Lately, we've been in the high 30s to low 40s, but the number can rise quickly to the 50s if one or more threads wind up holding the extended interest of enough people. In any case, I see nothing to worry about, so long as our core members continue to find interesting things to share with the rest of us. Those of us who post less frequently are indebted to all you stalwart communicators, and very appreciative of the time and effort you put into the civil discussions here.

I think it is better to have the two forums.

Seems a consensus is emerging that the two don't overlap to the extent that a user might choose one or the other. That was the basic question of my OP.

[Ninshub]

I'm not going back there no matter what happens here. Hopefully enough of us stay on to continue for a long time*, and flourish if possible.

(*p.s. though I may be more or less active depending on what life throws at me, I plan to keep on here indefinitely.)

[Laird]

It looks like mine is a minority view, but I think it's a pity that the community is split, and I'd prefer to see it reunited. I understand that there are reasons why it split, and strong feelings about the need for the split - all of which would have to be addressed and resolved - I just think it's best when people and communities do resolve their differences. If this view remains unpopular though, then so be it - and I remain content with our forum which seems to be doing just fine, and I remain content with helping to administer/moderate it.

Community is a good concept. However it is made up of individuals. I think there are actually differences in each person's motivations, the reasons for posting in one forum or another, or likewise for not doing so, are a little different for each person. The existence of this forum not just when it was first formed, but now and into the future, is a reflection of a complex interplay of individual hopes and fears, all a little different, and the mere fact that we find ourselves posting at all is a kind of tribute to a community spirit. I think suggesting that there is a split is to miss the point.

In my town there are a number of say pubs or clubs or shops, stores, many of which provide similar but not quite the same offering to their users. The idea of having just a single store, a single pub, and so on would sound absurd, having different choices is a positive thing, and doesn't point to something undesirable, quite the opposite.

I for one am grateful to everyone for making this forum happen, and perhaps especially (but not only) to Laird who continues to put in a good deal of effort to maintain and enhance this venture.

[Laird]

Thanks for that eloquently expressed perspective, Typoz. :-)

I guess from my perspective, the "split" occurred as much because of disagreements and even acrimony as because of the desire to provide a novel offering - and it's that which makes me feel the need for reconciliation.

I don't think it's just a question of a split in a community that happened last year. I hadn't posted on Skeptiko for a couple of years before that. I don't think I'm the only one in that position. I was pleased to see a new more psi-oriented forum without the anti-science and pro-conspiracy-theory agenda, and also without some of the unpleasant right-wing political stuff that appears on Skeptiko. Even if PsienceQuest were less active than Skeptiko, I'd find it far preferable for that reason.

I only signed up to Skeptiko about a year back and wasn't active during the 'controversies'. But I've recently checked out this place hoping for a wider range of topics to counteract Skeptiko's increasingly narrow focus and the way Skeptiko threads tend to quickly develop an unshakeable, often off-topic, single track of discussion. 

Also, although I still think Alex seems like a cool and likeable guy, I reckon his interview technique has deteriorated recently and this then follows through into the after-show discussions..... y'know, like, Religion good vs. Religion bad, conspiracies good vs. conspiracies bad, science good vs. science bad, or, and I can't believe this, racism good vs. racism bad, aaaarrrrgh.

Anyway, point is, I think this place is great, am grateful to those who make it happen, and would be very sad to see it dwindle or close.

P.S. I see Gabriel has recently announced his leaving Skeptiko, wonder if he'll pop-up here......

Anyway, point is, I think this place is great, am grateful to those who make it happen, and would be very sad to see it dwindle or close.

P.S. I see Gabriel has recently announced his leaving Skeptiko, wonder if he'll pop-up here......

Thanks for the vote of confidence in this forum.

I think maybe Gabriel was just leaving that particular thread/discussion. Though he'd be welcome here, to me it seems unlikely that he's heading in this direction.