Lack of new people is killing the backroom and the entire forum

[Togakure]

Thanks for sharing your point of view, Lord of Lent. Nice to see another Shogun 1 devotee here.

I would phrase it: certain kinds of people find the Org to their taste; certain kinds of people enjoy the Back Room. We don't expect people to be of a certain kind here--we encourage particular kinds of behavior which are a bit more, shall we say, thoughtful and considerate. That being said, the Org is pretty flexible from my point of view in that, within the rules, there's a lot of room to twitch and yap. Mostly it's just about remembering to be nice when addressing other members, and honoring the creators of the games that bring us together. One can despise a point of view without despising and berating those who hold it. It all boils down to respect.

Lull and swell happens between game releases. There are other forums out there, so we have to share the attention. The reception of a new release has a big impact on participation everywhere.

We have some control over certain things that can influence those who do come here to check things out: 1) assure that the Org contains useful, interesting content; 2) assure that the content is organized and easy to find; 3) assure that there are knowledgeable, friendly people around to answer questions and help solve problems; 4) assure that the Org interface is intuitive, aesthetically appealing, and as functionally comprehensive and efficient as possible; 5) assure a sense of freedom to express one's self within commonly accepted limits, and to participate without having to endure abuse from others; 6) provide obvious and interesting opportunities for people to get involved, without a lot of unnecessary hurdles, bell-ringing and whistle-blowing.

Finally, we need to kept this all 'alive.' None of this is static; it's never "finished." It needs us to flourish. What will the Org do? Well, I can't speak for the Org, but I've decided to get more involved to help out. What'ch'all gonna do? Chat is all well and good, but in the end, it's going to take more than that.