This forum not as popular?

I'm not aware that anyone on here puts themselves forward as an expert, Scratch.

The majority of people here do have a lot of in-depth knowledge of their aspect of the horse world and/or racing and therefore have strong opinions in their line of interest, but I have never seen anyone either describe themselves as or imply that they are "an expert".

Most of us just have a strong interest in a certain aspect of the subject and therefore a depth of knowledge that reflects that interest.

It's a good source of information as there is always someone to ask about something you wish to know and they are generous enough to share.

That's not the case with the kind of people that you seem to be accusing us of being, Scratch.
 
a poor generalisation on my behalf, :<3:

i think, (and im no expert :whistle:) that the twitter talk is more personal.
and its quicker to develop a conversation with someone
(purely information gleaming of course)
than TH

the thing about TH that i have found, (and many others from other forums may i add) is that there are guys on here that are always right,
and have long memories of previous battles with whoever,
so when a person posts(previous battler), they instantly go on the attack.
and theres the downright twats who know everything about nothing

BUT

i have to say,

the 3 of you that have replied, are very gratious, and worth reading tbf.

along with many other TH folk.

but nobody remembers the good guys. :whistle:
 
krizon said:
I do have Internet connection via my desktop pc, Imagine, so does that mean I could see twitterings? How do you access it, please? I'd just like to see these things, not join in. I tried Facebook for about a week before exiting - not my thing, esp. as I don't yet know how to take or put up pix, vids, etc. I'll probably try to do more stuff after I settle down a bit more this year, after making yet another move and disrupting myself!
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Kri. I think you'd like Twitter. Its an easy format and quite simple to follow once you know what you want to use it for.

From a racing point of view its excellent. You get some interesting live feed which is instant. I follow several of the studs here in Australia along with racing journalists, trainers and jockeys.

However I didn't set up Twitter for racing. I use it mainly for a new business I am in the process of setting up and establishing. Its a fantastic marketing tool if used in that way.
 
scratch golfer said:
the thing about TH that i have found, (and many others from other forums may i add) is that there are guys on here that are always right,
and have long memories of previous battles with whoever,
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Fair point, but I think the fact that's it's a racing forum, and the stars of the show are more transient than other sports means that spite doesn't creep in as much. I post on a Tennis forum and some of the nastiness I see there is beyond anything I've encountered here.
 
If my memory serves me right, I welcomed you when you joined, Scratchy, and I'd like to welcome the three brand new members who've just joined this month - so, far from not being popular, TH is attracting people. All forums lose people for a number of reasons, it seems, sometimes just for a while when personal issues become a bit much, or longer, and sometimes forever. That's not a bad thing as long as new blood with, hopefully, fresh and interesting thinking, rolls in to take their place.

I find this site is probably mainly interested in betting, which isn't my main interest, but there's enough other stuff on it to make it worth looking into daily.

And, if Clivex and I can manage a square go twice a month, really worthwhile.;)
 
We just need more regular posters. It's the day before a major meeting and yet the forum is a ghost town at the moment. Twitter is all well and fine but if you haven't the followers it's pointless.
 
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..........and of course it doesn't help that when you do post there are very few replies.

Following Tout Seul's look at the Wokingham I did a piece about The Dash at Epsom, suggestions that it was too much of a lottery to get interested didn't encourage me to do any more.

The Hunt Cup was the next one I was going to have a go at but if it isn't going to generate interest and replies what is the point!?

.......and so it goes.

New ideas for threads are usually welcomed with an initial enthusiasm but that interest seems to wane rather quickly.

With regard to Ascot the change in the weather and the imponderable of the going makes it difficult to be too dogmatic about any race.

It's a matter of wait and see the times of the first couple of races before commiting yourself to large investments.
 
You need more regular posters whose focus is on British action, Euro, not 90% Irish. (No offence there, Emerald Islanders, but you're more fascinated by your own action than that over here in the UK.) Apart from info on wobbling SPs, there's not the same amount of insight into British (for that, read English) runners and races, trainers, courses, and jockeys. Well, that's my take on the dearth of stuff re Ascot. Plus, our Irish contributors (the bulk of the forum?) are rather more slanted towards NH, not the Flat, so that's a double negative.
 
Euronymous said:
We just need more regular posters. It's the day before a major meeting and yet the forum is a ghost town at the moment. Twitter is all well and fine but if you haven't the followers it's pointless.
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Theres currently 39 people online

Currently Active Users: 39 (14 members and 25 guests)

in comparison to TRF who's stats read

In total there are 9 users online :: 8 registered, 0 hidden and 1 guest
based on users active over the past 5 minutes

I know 39 doesn't seem many, but the fact is forums are slowly dying due to twitter, facebook etc.

A very popular forum I use has

Currently Active Users: 385 (172 members and 213 guests)

however 6 or 7 years ago that would have been more like 2000-3000 active users at this time of the day.

Even Betfair only shows

There are currently 190 people viewing this forum

For us to have around 20% of the betfair figures is actually quite good, considering the tens of thousands of people who use betfair every day.

You have hit the nail on the head though, more people need to post.

Maybe more people could use the facebook/twitter links I have installed, when people use them the thread/forum views do go up, it only takes a few seconds :)
 
I'd miss the forum - even if I'm not qualified to post about something, I enjoy reading it nonetheless. I tried Facebook for a few days and didn't like it - I don't want to collect a hundred people as 'friends' who I don't and won't know, and I found all that tosh about throwing sheep or poking people peurile. Users say it's a great way to stay in touch, but I find a better way to stay in touch is to send off the occasional email or even (gasp!) make a call and talk for a while. A forum opens up areas of knowledge and discussion/debate in a way that Facebook just doesn't seem to do. I'd be very sad if this place just dwindled away, since it actually spawned a number of real-life friendships for me, plus got me involved in the breeding side for a while. Those things are less likely to happen when you can't get thoroughly immersed in the subjects it offers, I feel.
 
I think this forum gets more lively in the winter though - we seem to have more Jumping enthusiasts. There seems a lot less interest in Royal Ascot in comparison to TRF and yet the run up to Cheltenham it seemed just as busy here.
 
TRF's layout lends itself more towards small blog type pieces (which is not to everyones taste) whereas here it is more like the twitter one liners, which again might not be to everyones taste
 
TRF does my head in these days. I posted on there from 05 till about 08/09 when I found this place and haven't left since. Too much content and too much going is not ideal, at least it doesn;t suit me. I think this is a lively and well informed board, with good contributors and plenty of humour. The relatively small and regular user base can make it seem a bit cliquey but i was accepted pretty quickly and I think people engage with everyone's views, whether or not they agree.

DVDS you did a great thing keeping the ads away and apart from attracting a few more members and having a few more (Or one regular) comp I wouldn't change anything.

Twitter and Facebook are really not for me. Personally I don't understand why anyone cares what Rio Ferdinand is doing at home. Why do I want to know what my friends are doing all the time?! More importantly why do people always want to tell everyone what they're doing?!!! I don't really get that side of it however when I was gigging a lot it was a priceless tool. It has it's place and is a great marketing tool but I would much rather post on here than be on twitter or FB.
 
I think it is an established pattern that the forum is quieter in the summer months that during the NH season.

Comparisons between the number of posts relating to Cheltenham and Royal Ascot are not really valid because one is the climax of its season and the other is not.

One improvement I would like to see is a regular series of competitions on here. Ideally the major festivals such as Cheltenham, Aintree, Punchestown, Royal Ascot, Goodwood and Galway would each be the subject of a competition. I would also like to see an annual award for the forumite with the best tipping record on the threads such as Today's Fancy, Horses To Lay, etc.

The likes of Aidan and Bar have been very generous in the past with putting up prizes for competitions. I have occasionally done so myself, and would be happy to do so again. These gestures have usually been made on the spur of the moment, but maybe we need to establish a calendar of events so that people know when they are happening and are more likely to enter.

But Krizon and others are right that the forum should not become a mere tipping factory. What brings me here almost every day of the year is the quality and humour of the discussion which takes place.

Krizon is hereby given my award for the liveliness, humour and quality of her prose, EC1 for his technical dispatches from the racing laboratory, Ardross for his commentary on legal matters and admiration of Sir Henry's jockey Not Really Queally, Bar for his wit and generosity, Luke for the drama of his reporting from the punting trenches and his ability to spot a weakness in the eye of a horse wearing blinkers inside a stall while dandling a clutch of bottle feeding infants on his knee, OTB for his enthusiasm, best exemplified by his very optimistic mating ritual with Trudi, Trudi herself for being utterly fearless, and the many other contributors on here who share their knowledge, occasional bits of information and a willingness to engage in constructive debate.
 
Thanks for that unsolicited testimonial, Grey. (Yes, yes, the fifty is in the post!)

Once I'm in funds - if anyone can find a buyer for my flat in Brighton I will send them £500, and that's genuine - I'd be more than happy to put up some prize money for a comp. In fact, if we made entry into the comps a fiver each (surely well within the range of the most impecunious of us?), that'd mean that we didn't rely on one or two very kind benefactors - who I'd like to thank again for the prizes, and those who do all the donkey work in putting up results.

I love comps - I'm either pretty good or total crap at them, as I never know how I'll run until the stalls open - so more of those would be a brill idea.

I also award Grey a straight 10 for his succinct analysis of the forum!
 
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My idea for improving the forum would be giving certain forumites their own thread,making it a stickie and allowing them to follow a certain trainer or category of horse e.g. Prescott 3yo's or Irish trained 2yo's.
The idea being they could nominate lays,plays and horses to follow.
Might be too gambling centred for some but it could attract more visitors to the site.
 
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