Conflict of Interest

[Still a Youth]

There is an implicit conflict of interest on agora road.
Admins/mods want to grow the user base, but the premise of the site is that it is "the best kept secret". If Agora Road is to stay the best kept secret, then promoting the site is in conflict with the site's purpose. If growing the user base of the site is valuable, then the the purpose of the road as "the best kept secret" should be reconsidered.

just a thought. plz discuss

 

[Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意]

No better place to keep a secret than out in the wide-open.

 

[IlluminatiPirate]

There is an implicit conflict of interest on agora road.
Admins/mods want to grow the user base, but the premise of the site is that it is "the best kept secret". If Agora Road is to stay the best kept secret, then promoting the site is in conflict with the site's purpose. If growing the user base of the site is valuable, then the the purpose of the road as "the best kept secret" should be reconsidered.

just a thought. plz discuss

The problem is that the userbase constantly change every few months. And very few core members stay for the long run. So the lifeblood of the forum is literally the users. If we dont grow, the forum will die.

 

[Chao Tse-Tung]

No better place to keep a secret than out in the wide-open.

Honestly I feel like the classic forum UI is so hostile compared to the ultra-streamlined normie sites that even having it be "known" wouldn't ruin the userbase too terribly, truly how many zoomer NPCs would actually learn how to use a forum just for low-quality bullshit?

 

[Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意]

Honestly I feel like the classic forum UI is so hostile compared to the ultra-streamlined normie sites that even having it be "known" wouldn't ruin the userbase too terribly, truly how many zoomer NPCs would actually learn how to use a forum just for low-quality bullshit?

I agree with this completely and I may have used that same argument in my stance regarding gatekeeping.

I think that the look, feel, and reason for this site to exist are all deterrents to the brainwashed normie crowds. They're too stupid and full of bio-engineered sludge to take more than 10 seconds figuring out a site that, on the surface, would seem to give so little dopamine in return.

Thus, we are only left with the interesting folks or those capable of being interesting folks.

 

[Lukeas1111]

The problem is that the userbase constantly change every few months. And very few core members stay for the long run. So the lifeblood of the forum is literally the users. If we dont grow, the forum will die.

I think we should advertise this site in places where its viewership matters. I don't think we should completely gatekeep this site. But I also don't think that It should be spread as much as possible. We should be selective in who sees this place. But what do I know I'm not as active as others users here.

 

[SomaSpice]

The problem is that the userbase constantly change every few months. And very few core members stay for the long run. So the lifeblood of the forum is literally the users. If we dont grow, the forum will die.

Yeah, it's pretty impressive how the tone of the forum changed from october to now. Seems to me shitposting is down and political posting is up. If I may ask, what has been your favorite period of the Agora?

 

[SomaSpice]

There is an implicit conflict of interest on agora road.
Admins/mods want to grow the user base, but the premise of the site is that it is "the best kept secret". If Agora Road is to stay the best kept secret, then promoting the site is in conflict with the site's purpose. If growing the user base of the site is valuable, then the the purpose of the road as "the best kept secret" should be reconsidered.

just a thought. plz discuss

What if, like, the slogan is cool and that's it?

 

[IlluminatiPirate]

Yeah, it's pretty impressive how the tone of the forum changed from october to now. Seems to me shitposting is down and political posting is up. If I may ask, what has been your favorite period of the Agora?

Yo know its really hard to pinpoint to what waves that were my favorite is because its sooo unique, but they all have the same qualities of nostalgia and the wild west feel of agora road. IF I were to choose i would say I'm nostalgic about the Naa saga over the summer. She was really cool and the userbase was much older like with the military guy @reynad5150 and the shitpoating of eco, then during that summer we also had the synthwave guy that would talk about the latest vinyls. But now I think @Kolph really took over Naa's mantle, he's a really cool guy. And I feel like @CognacDefender took over eco's mantle haha. But I like the way it is now. There a reason why Agora Road users are called travelers, they wander the internet wasteland to then discover the Agora Road. Then once they are done, they pack their bags and leave this place taking only their memories.

 

[Minusfourty]

Honestly I feel like the classic forum UI is so hostile compared to the ultra-streamlined normie sites that even having it be "known" wouldn't ruin the userbase too terribly, truly how many zoomer NPCs would actually learn how to use a forum just for low-quality bullshit?

You'd be surprised. I've noticed some 4chan /g/ mannerisms here, which is both the type of people this site attracts, and that can kill a site. The y2k aesthetic is trending with hipsters these days (Dankpod's livestreams have a windows 95 theme applied), so I don't think it's as big of a turnoff as you'd think.

 

[s0ren]

Honestly I feel like the classic forum UI is so hostile compared to the ultra-streamlined normie sites that even having it be "known" wouldn't ruin the userbase too terribly, truly how many zoomer NPCs would actually learn how to use a forum just for low-quality bullshit?

Beyond the UI, the very being of a forum is a deterrent to most internet users today. The average person doesn't move past exclusively interacting with the internet via applications on their phone, remaining locked into FB, YT, Tik Tok, etc. while occasionally googling things when necessary. Even >reddit, which has regrettably conquered the traditional forum format, is heavily app-driven and keeps people locked into a closed ecosystem which conditions them to not want to venture out to different types of forums. The average person is only a tourist when they visit outside of these platforms.

 

[s0ren]

You'd be surprised. I've noticed some 4chan /g/ mannerisms here, which is both the type of people this site attracts, and that can kill a site. The y2k aesthetic is trending with hipsters these days (Dankpod's livestreams have a windows 95 theme applied), so I don't think it's as big of a turnoff as you'd think.

4chan isn't really a normie site though. It's surface level and normie in the sense that it's where a lot of people first get into forum culture but the site's niche boards, like /g/ and /x/ (a lot of people who post here hang out there), lean older and those who spend a lot of time there are more committed to the idea of forums than other well-known forum sites (the only one that really exists anymore being >reddit). While everyone on the internet at least vaguely knows about 4chan, the average person does not spend any time there. By niche boards I mean everything besides /b/ and /pol/ I guess, maybe /a/ and /v/ too, which are probably the boards that create the most newfags these days.

 

[SomaSpice]

There a reason why Agora Road users are called travelers, they wander the internet wasteland to then discover the Agora Road. Then once they are done, they pack their bags and leave this place taking only their memories.

Didn't expect that banger of a line. It got to me because there's barely any goodbyes too. Suddenly you just notice empty space where there once was a friend. Maybe I'll meet those people again, maybe not, don't really care because either way because in contrast with most of the mainstream net I got to share something authenthic with them. I'd wager that's why most of us come to the Agora in the first place.

 

[IlluminatiPirate]

Didn't expect that banger of a line. It got to me because there's barely any goodbyes too. Suddenly you just notice empty space where there once was a friend. Maybe I'll meet those people again, maybe not, don't really care because either way because in contrast with most of the mainstream net I got to share something authenthic with them. I'd wager that's why most of us come to the Agora in the first place.

Whenever a traveler leaves I think of this

View: https://youtu.be/dd-P5Y_7Mfg

The full song

View: https://youtu.be/LcqoUuJpBd0

 

[Minusfourty]

4chan isn't really a normie site though. It's surface level and normie in the sense that it's where a lot of people first get into forum culture but the site's niche boards, like /g/ and /x/ (a lot of people who post here hang out there), lean older and those who spend a lot of time there are more committed to the idea of forums than other well-known forum sites (the only one that really exists anymore being >reddit). While everyone on the internet at least vaguely knows about 4chan, the average person does not spend any time there. By niche boards I mean everything besides /b/ and /pol/ I guess, maybe /a/ and /v/ too, which are probably the boards that create the most newfags these days.

gbatemp might be a good site to recruit on, it's one of the only remaining forums with a decently large userbase. Unfortunately the community isn't the most based. They were always good about staying on topic and not straying into politics in game threads, which is why I used it for so long. But recently they tried mainstreamifying, part of which was adding custom groups. Naturally this meant a large number of alphabet-people groups formed, meaning the gays made up a large portion of the new posts to the site, at least temporarily ruining it for me. Haven't used it much since, but it's probably worth assessing.

 

[Kolph]

Yo know its really hard to pinpoint to what waves that were my favorite is because its sooo unique, but they all have the same qualities of nostalgia and the wild west feel of agora road. IF I were to choose i would say I'm nostalgic about the Naa saga over the summer. She was really cool and the userbase was much older like with the military guy @reynad5150 and the shitpoating of eco, then during that summer we also had the synthwave guy that would talk about the latest vinyls. But now I think @Kolph really took over Naa's mantle, he's a really cool guy. And I feel like @CognacDefender took over eco's mantle haha. But I like the way it is now. There a reason why Agora Road users are called travelers, they wander the internet wasteland to then discover the Agora Road. Then once they are done, they pack their bags and leave this place taking only their memories.

Yeah that Kolph guy is pretty alright I agree

 

[MorphedSnowman]

gbatemp might be a good site to recruit on, it's one of the only remaining forums with a decently large userbase. Unfortunately the community isn't the most based. They were always good about staying on topic and not straying into politics in game threads, which is why I used it for so long. But recently they tried mainstreamifying, part of which was adding custom groups. Naturally this meant a large number of alphabet-people groups formed, meaning the gays made up a large portion of the new posts to the site, at least temporarily ruining it for me. Haven't used it much since, but it's probably worth assessing.

I looked into Gbatemp, and the first thing I have to say is I praise Agora for having a very simple and pleasant design. I always feel like these kind of forums are way too cluttered and hard to navigate for some reason and it always results in like hundreds of threads with like 3 or 4 replies. Agora shows fewer threads, but they are filled with more replies which makes for a more focused and pleasant reading experience.

 

[Kolph]

god only knows what i'll be remembered for here

Who are you?

 

[s0ren]

gbatemp might be a good site to recruit on, it's one of the only remaining forums with a decently large userbase. Unfortunately the community isn't the most based. They were always good about staying on topic and not straying into politics in game threads, which is why I used it for so long. But recently they tried mainstreamifying, part of which was adding custom groups. Naturally this meant a large number of alphabet-people groups formed, meaning the gays made up a large portion of the new posts to the site, at least temporarily ruining it for me. Haven't used it much since, but it's probably worth assessing.

Yeah. I used to spend a lot of time on Zelda Universe when I was a kid, it served as one of my main forums alongside GameFaqs and a few others. A little while ago I popped on to see if it was still alive and was shocked to see that there was a whole official section of the forum for LGBTQ+ posters and allies. I haven't looked through it because it is a hidden board that you have to ask for permission to access, but I suspect it looks a lot like the "clan" forums the site has where they are basically just General Discussion. Not sure why this is necessary on a Zelda forum and it probably siphons activity from an already dying site. It's not like people were running around ZU calling people faggots and posting the YWNBW-pasta either.

 

[consonant]

Yo know its really hard to pinpoint to what waves that were my favorite is because its sooo unique, but they all have the same qualities of nostalgia and the wild west feel of agora road. IF I were to choose i would say I'm nostalgic about the Naa saga over the summer. She was really cool and the userbase was much older like with the military guy @reynad5150 and the shitpoating of eco, then during that summer we also had the synthwave guy that would talk about the latest vinyls. But now I think @Kolph really took over Naa's mantle, he's a really cool guy. And I feel like @CognacDefender took over eco's mantle haha. But I like the way it is now. There a reason why Agora Road users are called travelers, they wander the internet wasteland to then discover the Agora Road. Then once they are done, they pack their bags and leave this place taking only their memories.

agora road... is so cool....