[WoMDeb]

As anyone who has been here more than a year has noticed, our traffic has dropped considerably in that year. If you joined us in the past year, you wouldn't know this, but trust me, we used to be a lot more active.

I'm very sad about this, as I started the forum 11 years ago, and I never thought I would see this decline. The main Wing of Madness site, in contrast, has seen a doubling in traffic since early this year. The only conclusion I can draw is that our forum is too isolated, and perhaps the format is being left behind due to sites like Facebook. There certainly are other depression forums that are still thriving. I wish I knew what their secret is, but I'm baffled.

I believe that what we need is an infusion of constant traffic like we used to get from Delphi forums. After looking around for a bit, I settled on Ning, which allows you to create your own social network with forum, chat, blogs and personal pages. I have set up our network and am putting the finishing touches on it as far as help documentation. It's at http://wingofmadness.ning.com if you want to give it a trial run. I plan tentatively to move to Ning on Wednesday. This forum will be changed to read-only within the next couple of weeks.

This is not a perfect solution. The functionality of the features are not what we are used to. I believe that they will improve over time. But I believe that this is the last chance to reverse this decline. If traffic does not improve with the move to Ning, I will consider shutting the forum down, rather than let it become a ghost town.

I welcome any constructive comments or input. Please let me know where the help documentation on our Ning network is lacking; I'm sure it is to a great extent.

[victoria]

Deb, i think you're making a wise and well thought out decision. Changing to a new host site is always hard at first, but we can all support each other in getting to know the new site.

I just signed up for the Ning site, and from what i've seen so far, I LOVE it. i think it has a lot of potential to grow. and anything that is less labor intensive for you is a huge plus in my book.

A suggestion i have for everyone is that if you are able to contact folks who aren't on here as often and let them know of the change, i think it would help ease the transition.

Deb, you have done such a great job in hosting this forum. Thank you.

[WoMDeb]

Thanks for the support! I know that the move will be hard, and I wouldn't do it unless I thought it was necessary. But I think that there are a lot of pluses about Ning. It seems much more vibrant.

[Alyss]

I checked out the new site and it looks great. Kudos to you, Deb, for making a brave decision. And as always, thanks for everything you do in keeping this site a nice place to be. I'd like to extend that sentiment to all the posters here, too.

:grouphug:

[WoMDeb]

Through all the changes over the last eleven years, the members have been consistently helpful and supportive of one another. I'm confident that Ning will feel like home soon.

[maggiemay]

Thanx Deb,

I tried it out earlier but couldn't join up as was on phone... wrote u a reply here and then lost it.. grr!! basically it said how sad i was numbers were falling here.. this place has literally been a lifeline for me in the past and the support i've recieved most definately kept me alive during my darkest times and i will be forever indebted for that... i know the value of this place and would hate to see it go... i feel guilty for not being so active here as of late.. i remember a time when i was posting like 30 times a day, but i guess life has got in the way, which isn't a bad thing as means i'm recovering and making a life for myself, but yet i feel sad i can;t be there for people the same way as they were there for me... i don't feel like i know many people here now and feel like a stranger and hate that... i reallly am going to try and log on more and support this place.. that's a promise :)

xoxox

[Shelsea]

(((Deb)))

You're giving us a chance to survive. Thank you. I think everyone knows this is not easy for you.

I signed up at Ning and it didn't even hurt. :D

Shelsea

[WoMDeb]

Shelsea, on Sep 21 2009, 02:02 PM, said:

I signed up at Ning and it didn't even hurt. :D

Shelsea

Glad to hear it!

[phoenix-rising]

Hi Deb...I just saw your post and wanted to reply . Thanks so much for giving us a chance to stay afloat. Honestly facebook/ etc. just does not compare support wise, WOM is in a league all of its own. There are so many people that I have passed the site onto for basic info dealing with mental illness, so WOM has been very valuable to many. Thanks much, and I'll go sign up for nina.

PR :heartpump:

[stars__Cascade]

never mind! :)

This post has been edited by stars__Cascade: 09 June 2010 - 01:27 AM