Board Stats by Month, Starting with May 2006 Options

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi all.

One of the features with IPB is the statistics center. I will post the stats on a monthly basis for all here as an FYI.

Cheers!
Cleo


MAY 2006

POSTS (replies): 1,867
NEW TOPICS: 237
NEWBIES: 5
PM's: 120


JUNE 2006

POSTS (replies): 1,426
NEW TOPICS: 140
NEWBIES: 1
PM's: 378


JULY 2006

POSTS (replies): 2,298
NEW TOPICS: 237
NEWBIES: 6
PM's: 164

AUGUST 2006

POSTS (replies): 2,179
NEW TOPICS: 177
NEWBIES: 6
PM's: 196


SEPTEMBER 2006

POSTS (replies): 1,964
NEW TOPICS: 164
NEWBIES: 1
PM's: 109


OCTOBER 2006

POSTS (replies): 2,071
NEW TOPICS: 202
NEWBIES: 5
PM's: 131


NOVEMBER 2006

POSTS (replies): 1,566
NEW TOPICS: 174
NEWBIES: 10
PM's: 165


DECEMBER 2006

POSTS (replies): 1,310
NEW TOPICS: 146
NEWBIES: 1
PM's: 115


JANUARY 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,520
NEW TOPICS: 177
NEWBIES: 3
PM's: 277


FEBRUARY 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,164
NEW TOPICS: 133
NEWBIES: 2
PM's: 167


MARCH 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,720
NEW TOPICS: 182
NEWBIES: 7
PM's: 328


APRIL 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,412
NEW TOPICS: 135
NEWBIES: 7
PM's: 221


MAY 2007

POSTS (replies): 2,005
NEW TOPICS: 208
NEWBIES: 11
PM's: 277


JUNE 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,736
NEW TOPICS: 164
NEWBIES: 8
PM's: 165


JULY 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,478
NEW TOPICS: 177
NEWBIES: 7
PM's: 152


AUGUST 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,342
NEW TOPICS: 165
NEWBIES: 6
PM's: 212


SEPTEMBER 2007

POSTS (replies): 1,185
NEW TOPICS: 168
NEWBIES: 5
PM's: 204

This post has been edited by Cleo_Serapis: May 4 08, 20:19

[Cleo_Serapis]

Feb stats now posted.

Interesting averages for the last 10 months since converstion to IPB software:

"Post stats" average 1737 per month or 58 per day based on a 30 day month.

"New Topic stats" average 179 per month or 6 per day based on a 30 day month.

In all reality, most averages are done on a 20 day month, so that would bump the averages up to:
Posts: 87 per day
New Topics: 9 per day

[Cleo_Serapis]

April & May stats now posted.


Interesting averages for the 5 months of 2007:

"Post stats" average 1,564 per month or 52 per day based on a 30 day month.

"New Topic stats" average 167 per month or 6 per day based on a 30 day month.


May is one of the more popular months with a 'Post' average of 67 per day and a 'New Topic' average of 7 per day.

Well done all!
~Cleo

[Cleo_Serapis]

June & July stats now posted.


Interesting averages for the 7 months of 2007:

"Posts (replies)" average 1,576 per month or 53 per day based on a 30 day month.

"New Topics" average 168 per month or 6 per day based on a 30 day month.


Well done all!
~Cleo

[Cleo_Serapis]

August stats now posted.

Post (replies) average for month = 45

New Topics average for month = 6

Cheers

[Cleo_Serapis]

September stats now posted.

Post (replies) average for month = 40 (a decrease of 5)

New Topics average for month = 6 (no change)

Hopefully, we're out of the summer slow season now!

Cheers ~ Cleo

[Cleo_Serapis]

Ok - I'm a bit overwhelmed by the significance in the changes in our stats since Autumn. I knew we had been slow, but I had no idea we are THIS SLOW. Our average daily new topics and post stats have decreased by MORE THAN 60% over the previous year. :(

I really need to think long and hard if I want to keep MM going. Based on the significant decrease in activity, I would have to say no at this time. Prove me wrong, all. One step I'm taking is to move all the static pages (MM home pages, not the forum board) off Apollo Hosting, to whom I currently pay $40 per month to host. At least that will save me $480.00 per year in out of pocket expenses for this site. The other expense is intangible, that is how much time I spend every single day to admin and moderate the forum board. I can't put a $$ number to it, but I can tell you it is about 30 hours per week. The funny part is, I have been saying for 3 years now how I have this idea for a novel in my head - and I finally started the novel outlining process a few months ago, and when I spend time on that, I feel guilty because of my choice to spend it there, instead of here. That's not what I signed up for...

New Topics:	Avg per day
Jan, 07	164	5 
Feb	129	4 
Mar	178	6 
Apr	133	4 
May	200	7 
Jun	163	5 
Jul	161	5 
Aug	156	5 
Sep	162	5 
Oct	130	4 
Nov	108	4 
Dec	88	3 
Jan	93	3 
Feb	97	3 
Mar	74	2 
Apr, 08	73	2 

Post Stats:	Avg per day
Jan, 07	1457	49 
Feb	1144	38 
Mar	1707	57 
Apr	1409	47 
May	1982	66 
Jun	1732	58 
Jul	1476	49 
Aug	1339	45 
Sep	1177	39 
Oct	904	30 
Nov	849	28 
Dec, 07	694	23 
Jan, 08	657	22 
Feb	699	23 
Mar	491	16 
Apr, 08	475	16 

[Maggie]

Hi Cleo,

I know the stats look discouraging, but I personally believe it's a pretty common trend in web poetry sites right now. I belong to another site also and have belonged to it longer, much longer, than to MM. The stats for the other site have gotten much worse in the last nine months and are far, far worse than MM's stats.

Now don't ask me why participation for web poetry sites are declining, for I don't know, but I would guess that just like the stock market fluctuates, enthusiasm for web sites might fluctuate as well.

As far as web poetry sites go, MM is of inestimable value and offers and fosters a love of poetry which is difficult to measure with facts and figures.

While you may feel you're wasting time with an inactive site, I would suggest spending less time on it especially since you can do so with a bit more of a clear conscience because you can honestly tell your self that there just aren't as many topics that need critiquing as there used to be.

I'd give it a year to six months to see if the tide turns.

Oh, and indeed be assured that your time and expertise and encouragement are deeply appreciated!!!!

Peggy

[Psyche]

Hi Cleo!
Just to say I'm here, with you, and that I read the latest stats. I've got my husband at home today, so that implies no time for anything else, but I just HAD to answer your queries.

I don't think that posts & replies are at all bad at present. Maybe people got very enthused at the beginning, with ALL poetry websites, but now that the novelty has worn off a little, we tend to look elsewhere for other diversions. But in my case, certainly not by abandoning MM!!! Will really try to be more active, sorry there, Lori dear!

At present my grandsons have been insisting that I build my own Blog, they want me to be a cool gran, so I've had to spend quite a while doing that, as well as many other things...

I would love you writers & poets to visit my Blog, because I'm making an album with pics of my poet & writer friends, and I need your pics!!!! But you only need to spend a couple of minutes doing that, I don't want to rob any of your time from Lori's MM!!!

The Blog is at http://sylviamac27.spaces.live.com

So, Lori dear, I honestly don't think there's anything wrong at MM, it's just the complexities of this rather worrisome world that perhaps discourage one and all.

Love & hugs,
Sylvia***

[JLY]

Lori,
I have no idea why things are slow; I've no crystal ball that provides me with insight into the member's minds.
I fully understand your position; you have given so much of yourself in the hopes that it would channel the exchange of creative ideas, comments and dialogue.
Maybe MM in its original inception was way ahead of the curve in that it invited people to post their work in great number and now we have reached a plateau that even other boards wish they could achieve.
I can only speak for myself, but I have less free time than I did before; family demands and an increased workload at my job have curtailed some of my writing initiatives.
I cannot give you much direction on this position. You have to follow your heart and do what is best for you.
JLY

[Guest_Pat_*]

Please...I've barely had a taste of this site! Each visit has been an adventure, yet I've not even introduced myself ...let alone let any of my 'stuff' out there for other eyes...yikes!!

I, for one, will make every effort to do what I can to keep MM alive.

Thanks for all your hard work.......
P

[rus bowden]

Hi Cleo,

You know that I am trying to get discussions going with the IBPC reps. And thank you for taking the time to participate. Not all do. Part of the idea is to make the forums more attractive to poets: thus attracting poets. So I asked, what is it that poets like most about your forum? And replies have not flooded in, just trickled. I asked through Terreson's article, the antithesis, what is wrong with poetry forums.

Behind all this, I am bringing the forums together. I don't care if the success is overnight. I've been participating and serving online poetry for 10 years now. The whole idea of Poetry & Poets in Rags, my column of 5 years, is to include online poets in what's going on in the wide world of poetry. And I have seen this conversation change, we poets on average are more worldly than we were. There is more common knowledge and a broader base of style accepted--among other sophistications.

MM is booming compared to other forums. Click into the IBPC sites, and notice in how many posting statistics would do no good at all, as there is scant activity left. There are many root causes for this, an admin gets sick, or for whatever reason, the board is unattended. Or, the forum is sleepy on purpose, and attracting more poets would be like inviting invaders. Or, an explainable, or inexplicable attrition of poets that seems to have led to a ghost town.

What I want to ensure is that the reason for downturn at forums has nothing to do with our misconceptions about what might or might not drive poets away. And I want to know better what is driving poets of all skill levels away. What are they not finding, or what don't they find any more? I was thinking about e-mailing some of the past IBPC winners and placers whom I no longer see around.

Let's look, though at some of the thriving forums. Gazebo, a long-standing forum that has a periodical, and also archives works of fine poets. Poets.org, with their extensive and searchable web site of tools for surfers, teachers, and poets, not to mention the rich awards AAP bestows. About Poetry Forum, which is associated with the New York Times, and is one forum among many About forums, with a constant addition of new articles on various subjects, all searchable. People go to these sites for other reasons, and find themselves posting in the forums. Desert Moon Review, always has poets posting, and also has a review. This was the case with the old Melic Review. And the old Atlantic Writers' Workshop once had an exodus of all but a few of its posting poets, and was replenished and thriving in short order within a couple months.

Another thriving forum that I bumped into today is The Underground Poet’s Society, specifically their Open Mic forum. But, I point to the front page, because of what they offer: a gathering, people meeting face-to-face. Didi Menendez's MiPO cafe' cafe' is now a private forum, but several of them have met at least at readings before. There is this bonding that necessarily occurs. I have a very small forum that only a dozen or so people can get to. We never care about our stats. We're all set with being small potatoes. But, we don't worry about our bond.

So okay, you could create The Mosaic Review, which would increase the time you spend at your keyboard and monitor. You could call for a party or gathering somewhere. What else, though.

You could have a weekly activity, and publicize it across the forums, some poetry contest, chat share, or some such thing. Something unique and not done. It's about being creative. To one of the sites struggling to muster 3 poems in a month for IBPC, I suggested a topic called "Musebreak Motel" where poets whose poems had been overlooked for publication and IBPC selection elsewhere, would have a chance to get feedback, and have their poems selected for the IBPC contest. Or create some event. The classic event is the Real Time Poetry Contest at New Cafe. I think it is each Sunday. Everyone comes, and last week's winner comes up with a list of 10 words, and posts them into the RTPC thread. Each participant who has gathered has 15 minutes to write a poem using all ten words, and five minutes to revise. Then, voting begins, and sometime midweek, the results are posted.

You could have a newsletter, or I wonder, of you could have a reminder notice go out, "Since you have been away for so long, x-number new poems have been posted into your favorite area, and the poets would like to hear from you, and read a new one from you"--just a reminder. Even if automatically generated, it would remind also of the caring at the admin level.

Hope this helps.

But quality. You have quality here, even if quantity is on the downswing. MM is therefore very important to online poetry, especially with the hammer forums that are out their, designed to drive poets away.

Yours,
Rus

[Merlin]

Hi All,

Having received the email and being aware of how things are all over, it comes as no surprise that the question is posed - 2B or not 2B?

My take may well be different from the rest, and that is because I have performed the task of administrator. I know too well what it takes to keep a site alive. I saw our once home-place to an end, you may have noted some of us mention our former PP site. It was arguably the best in its day, and it ran its course.

I'm not a praying man, but will draw from the book >> to everything, there is a season. MM has been riding a high for a while, and has nothing to hide from. The site is/was grand. However, if there is no interest left, or if participants have wandered off to different places, go out in style before it dies completely. Yes I know and agree - all sites are dead slow; and I look at 3 others, different from the ones mentioned above.

The workload, the cost, and so on >> all valid points to consider. Is it worth staying in there for the handful of players, or should those relocate to other places? Life will go on, and we will meet on those sites, wherever our comfort zones lie. While I don't suggest closing down, I can understand it happening. I would give my full support to such a decision, and extend my congratulations for having a successful site as long as it ran. "You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em..."

Personally, I remain in the doldrums. It's been months now, and my output remains at zero. The only posting I have done in this interim was an email circular of nursery rhymes - not originals! Whenever my phase passes, I expect to participate somewhere again.

My suggestion is to consider reality, not emotion.

Merlin

[Eisa]

Hi all

This thread makes me feel sad as I have already belonged to 3 sites that have closed their doors. I see a lot of sites struggling - even more than MM and it is frustrating!

There are a number of factors here that have hindered our progress. I feel that we thrived just after we were accepted into IBPC. People seemed to come from everywhere to have a look at us, some old friends and some new comers ... but it was good. However, like everything, when the novelty wears off, they disappear. I feel the drop in posts have seemed worse, because we had that surge last year.
Also, we have had people leave to set up other poetry sites. It has to be said that this hasn't helped, as they no longer call here. It would have been better to keep one united home than 2 floundering ones.
We've had bad luck on the staff front too, with illness, work and personal problems. I had quite a long absence recently myself ... but poetry will always remain important to me and I'll always need a poetry home.

I don't want to see MM close down, Lori, but at the end of the day, I feel only you know how much time you have to continue. I'll do all I can to help and search my brains for any ideas.
It does only take a few with enthusiasm to keep MM going.

Hugs
Snow

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Peggy,

I too have noticed a downward trend, even among the IBPC sister boards. It seems as though everyone's in a similar funk - the muses have gone into hiding/hibernation for an undefined period of time. As I mentioned above, I am so busy with life in general, working full time, and trying to get a set schedule in place to proceed with my novel writing, 1 to 2 hours per day if possible and 3-4 on weekends as my goal.

My schedule is so rough as is ~ just to give all a clue to the weekday pattern:
I wake at 5am, at work by 7:30, home sometime between 5 and 6pm usually, workout for 1 1/2 hours (good stress reliever), then dinner. At that point, I'm utterly exhausted and it's 8pm then. Thank goodness Peter can cook! He's awesome! I sometimes crash on the couch shortly after wards, and end up in bed at 9 or 10 - wiped completely out.

It's a bit to juggle, and some things have had to take a back seat, like the MM awards for one. Even the Swap Quatrain chapbook design and the final judging on the last quarter's Odin comp are still underway, so many things on the to-do list. I have some concerns about riding the tide, but as I mentioned, taking over the static page hosting here at home will at least give me back $500 of the annual outlay.

Now don't ask me why participation for web poetry sites are declining, for I don't know, but I would guess that just like the stock market fluctuates, enthusiasm for web sites might fluctuate as well. As far as web poetry sites go, MM is of inestimable value and offers and fosters a love of poetry which is difficult to measure with facts and figures.

Why thank you! Maybe poetry is no longer the medium that lends itself well to the internet? Times are changing along with the styles of modern poetry - perhaps its a sign that a new medium must be introduced?

Food for thought!
~Cleo


Hi Sylvia!

Thank you for taking the time to stop in and respond. They're certainly not dire, but they're also not what they used to be - so clearly we need to do something - and this is my cry for help and suggestions. I would certainly visit your blog - just let us know where to reach you for comments.

You might very well be correct on your theory Syl - maybe part of the slowdown is due to the complexities of this rather worrisome world. Maybe some great poetry can come from it?

Love & hugs back,
~Cleo


Hi John,

Boy, if we had a crystal ball, would we really want to know the truth? Perhaps a little. We certainly had a plateau about a year and change ago. I believe we still strive to be the friendly board where genuine feedback is fostered, but if that isn't so, it could be part of the downward spiral. I guess I'm blind to it a bit, because I'm so involved, so want to stress that all ideas are welcome here - by anyone - at any time. We've always had that open door philosophy here.

I can relate to your ever increasing life demands and less free time. We do what we can, when the mood strikes. I get so tired, I couldn't possibly comment in a coherent manner in the evening after work, not like I used to a few years ago before the Cragon.
I want to do what is best for the membership - even if it means that I spend less time here, as long as others pick up the slack, we'll recover - if not, then it might be time to close down. Dunno yet.

HUGS
~Cleo



Hello Pat,

Thank you for responding to this SOS of sorts. Sorry that we haven't interacted as of yet, and I hope each visit DOES bring you a new adventure and something fun to share with all of us. Perhaps you have some ideas or observations you can share with us from your experiences elsewhere? Thank you for your support!

~Cleo

[Guest_Xanadu_*]

Hi Cleo!

Please do not be disheartened. It is slow everywhere. Even my Xanga site, as well as many of my subscriber`s sites, are barely breathing. The world seems to have gone quiet. I believe that is natural. I also firmly believe things will bounce back.
I enjoy MM a great deal. Mosiac exhibits a class that is seldom found in other forums. You have my utmost respect in keeping a "hands on" approach; something certain other boards should be paying more attention to.
I find I am posting less and less to any boards for numerous reasons:, in fighting, slow responses if any, no follow up or workshopping and board running. Mosiac Musings does not suffer these ills and you are the one to be thanked that it does not! So, thank you.
I am also spending more time trying to get published. I have had four successes in the past two months. What I have not found on any of the boards I use, is any help in this direction. Let us say I have posted a poem, workshopped the poem and now have a finished work. Now what? It would be wondeful if there was some way a poetry board could help in the endeavor of finding a publisher for poems. I spend hours researching the various magazines, then submitting the three to five poems requested.
I would hate to lose Mosaic Musings. Nuts! I haven`t finished decorating my walls yet!

[jgdittier]

Dear Lori and All,
I've found MM to be a leader amongst the many poetry sites I've frequented and still feel that its demise may be premature even though it seems to be on life support just yet.
Perhaps it started at too high a level and in time had no way to go but to its present state. Perhaps it is similar to all others in that poetry as a hobby or even for profit wears thin so soon. Those seeking improvement max out and those less ambitious tire of repetition. Perhaps the anthipathy so many are being taught for formal and correct language is taking its toll. Perhaps the loss of our poetic heritage has left the field devoid of direction, so much freedom dispersing everything. Perhaps new sites or other down sites compensate for the sites that simply die of old age. Perhaps we who use internet poetry sites are so self-centered we don't appreciate the efforts of the sponsors and they respond accordingly.
It seems to me that if the poetry of the bards of yore has become old hat, it is reasonable to believe that internet sites will suffer accordingly.

One truth seems to be that loyalty to poetry sites is minimal and that on the perception that activity is diminishing, many feel the urge to transfer. Perhaps a month is necessary to determine the true MM status now that we are facing it.

May we all thank Lori for all her tremendous efforts. She deserves better!

Cheers, Ron jgd

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hello Rus, Eric, Snow, Linda and Ron.

Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. I'm late for bed (LOL) and will plan to reply in detail in the next few days as each of you brings some great food for thought to the table that I'd like to respond to.

I appreciate your support. In addition, I've also received emails from Alan Reynolds, Alan, Lucie (Ephiny), Lindi (Aphrodite) and Beth (Nefertiti). There are some very good things coming from this SOS that I hope to share in this thread.

Thank you and have a good day!
Lori

[Ephiny]

Hello Lori and everyone,

I got your email and decided to email you back though I feel very guilty about my not-so-recent absences from MM. Anyway, I promise to begin to remedy that.

I joined MM in 2003 and of all websites I have ever visited/joined/frequented, it has so many good memories and positive learning experiences for me and that's why I feel bad that I have so lax about it in the past year.

I'm not sure if perhaps there might be other members in the same position as me but I thought I'd share my thoughts with you and see if there may be many possibilities here. I think since last year when studies took up so much of my time, I kind of got out of the habit of doing the more enjoyable things I had been doing online and haven;t really gotten back to normal! In that time, of course, MM has changed a lot. I do continue to visit quite often and don't recognise so many faces or haven't yet caught up with all of the different forums. I don't see many of the people I remember from there, although there are still quite a few I know. This is no excuse..I know all I have to do is start posting and I will get to know everyone again; MM has always been so friendly. I wondered would there be any things we could do as a group though; getting to know you things..looking at which members might be interested in getting involved in certain activities etc., maybe even sort of discussions/threads etc to see what people might like to set up or participate in. I say this of course, not wanting to create more work for you at a time when you feel disheartened..maybe there are things that those of us who get involved could help with. If members had suggestions of anything they'd like to see happening, we could take an active role. I don't mean to imply, by the way, that there needs to more happening because that's certainly not the case. What I've always enjoyed so much about MM is that there was always something new each time I visited. But perhaps a collection of thoughts in a survey or discussion form might shed light on things or be useful in some way.

Lori, in my case, it really just has been that I got disorganised with somethings and have found it hard to catch up again. But this issue has given me a push I really will begin to get involved again. My other "excuse", which perhaps could be the case for others is a severe case of writers block!!!! But things like the monthly challenges have always helped me with that so I'm going to give that a go first when I begin to post again.

I've probably lost track of quite a lot going on at the moment, and maybe plenty of this is happening already but another thing I always thought was great in MM was the challenges, like members choice etc. where people voted, and the Pandora challenges when they worked that way as well..they all created a gerat atmosphere, not of competitiveness (is that even a word!!) but of fun and participation.

They're just some of my thoughts and they probably make no sense as I'm just typing as I think!! But I'm so sorry that this has all made you feel so disheartened after the marvellous work you put into the site. I think it's important that you know what a brilliant place you have created and continue to create, and at the same time, please don't feel bad for wanting to do your own stuff as well; that is completely understandable and as things pick up, which I have every confidence they will, more participation might take the pressure off you as well.

Lori, again I send huge apologies for not being around more and I will do my very best now to "re-discover" MM and am looking forward to it! I hope you are well and that everything is going well for you; despite this small set-back. If we all pull together, I'm sure things will be back on track in no time.

Take care and let me know anything I could do to help and Sylvia, really looking forward to visiting your blog:)

Hugs,
Lucie xx

[4rum]

Dear Lori;

I've kept bumping your email up in my inbox. I've been thinking a lot about MM and I've read a lot of the responses here. I don't have a lot to add other than looking at sites... the pure vanity sites seem to be suffering less.

In the end I think that that is what will define sites of substance and poets of substance. I think that the proliferation of vanity sites has given many the urge to visit site after site looking for recognition or prominence without really putting forth an effort.

I may go a little against the flow here. My reason is knowing the personal feeling one has for 'their' site. In closing MM you would feel a sense of great loss. You have put a great deal of yourself into MM. It is a work that you can be proud of. The standards here have not faltered as they have on many sites.

My advice is, as long as you get ANY reward for your effort, keep it open even if you have to spend less time. The quality may suffer... or the membership may step up and give something back to this wonderful site. Just be aware of a change in your personal feeling toward MM. If you should ever feel spiteful (and you do have a right), then is the time to back away.

I feel that you are very capable of many things, the drive involved in keeping this site at this level of quality for this long is proof of that. I hope that as you sort through these sincere thoughts from caring hearts that you will find some resolution and peace. I know that the burden here has weighed heavily on you. Ultimately the decision is yours. I assure you, I will honor whatever it may be and cherish the friendship that you have afforded me.

Sam