Future survival of this forum
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Hi all,
I've really appreciated this forum since it was formed, out of the ashes of Trumpetmaster.com. I was very happy so many users were able to find their way here.
Obviously, there is very little activity here these days. I figured, for those few who persist in reading everything being posted here, we could take a minute to pitch ideas for what to do next.
First off, what's the competition, i.e. where is everyone now?
I've noticed there is a lot of traffic on some popular trumpet-related Facebook groups, like Positive Trumpeters Worldwide. Personally, I really dislike the Facebook product as well as its parent company Meta. They're really led the way of the notorious "enshitification of the Internet". Content is split across a multitude of groups, interlaced with ads and seemingly random "recommendations" that seem less and less relevant for each week that goes by.
What's worse, any content posted there is basically un-findable on search engines (being only accessible to members), and so the content will go the way of the dodo whenever people migrate off of that site. Web forums are at least persistent.
Moreover, Meta's latest initiative, "offering" a for-pay ad-free version of FB and Instagram feels to me like mostly an attempt to circumvent the GDPR. The EU has required that they offer a way to opt-out of the invasive tracking/advertising practices, yet now they offer it only if you're willing to pay ~10€. It will be months or years before we find out if that evasion tactic holds legal water. The fact of the matter is, few users will pay such a sum for a service whose user value has declined so much since its peak days.
I've seen a few trumpet-related Sub-Reddits, but they seem constantly inundated with sophomore highschool players with their juvenile attitudes. (r/trumpet has 40k members which is not bad, but probably most of those never participate.) Reddit has some of the same problems as Facebook, being another company driven by strange Silicon Valley economics, but at least their content is indexed on Google, accounts are free and they are not as notoriously invasive about ad tracking.
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Everybody is on Trumpet Herald. I still check this site to see if anything is happening.
I'm primarily interested in jazz and equipment discussions.
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I check this forum daily, but rarely see anything that interests me enough to reply. Most of my posts seem to interest very few people, and receive very few responses. Maybe it’s just me…lol
1977 Bach Strad ML 43 trumpet
1960 Conn 6B Victor trumpet
1982 Bach Strad ML 239 C trumpet
1970 Olds Ambassador Eb/D trumpet
1993 Bach Strad L 184G cornet
1962 Conn 9A Victor cornet
1890 Besson A/Bb/C cornet
1870? Henry Lehnert SARV cornet -
What is interesting to me is we have more and more new users but very little input from them. They chose to become users for a reason and it would be interesting (as well as hopefully initiating more discussion) as to why the have chosen to be users. What more are new users looking for, such that we more active posters can also contribute more focused discussions to their needs.
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@dale-proctor said in Future survival of this forum:
I check this forum daily, but rarely see anything that interests me enough to reply. Most of my posts seem to interest very few people, and receive very few responses. Maybe it’s just me…lol
Dale I always love your posts and try to reply whenever I can, but you say it so well, sometimes I just cannot add to the quality you deliver.
Allora Pocket Trumpet 2014
Harrelson Summit 2017
Kanstul 1526 2012
Getzen Power Bore 1961
Getzen Eterna 4-Valve Fulgelhorn 1974
Martin Committee 1946
Olds Super Recording 1940
Olds Recording (LA) 1953
Olds Recording (Fullerton) 1967
Olds Ambassador 1965 -
@dr-go said in Future survival of this forum:
What is interesting to me is we have more and more new users but very little input from them.
Do we? Color me surprised, as I'm seeing no new posts most days, or even weeks. Is there a way to see the user count?
Yamaha YTR-8335G
Monke Bb trumpet
Carol Brass flugelhorn
YTR-6810 piccolo
Burbank Eb/D
Various antique cornets & horns in various keys -
@jolter said in Future survival of this forum:
@dr-go said in Future survival of this forum:
What is interesting to me is we have more and more new users but very little input from them.
Do we? Color me surprised, as I'm seeing no new posts most days, or even weeks. Is there a way to see the user count?
https://trumpetboards.com/users shows just over 12 pages, each with 50 users. I make that to be 600 users in all.
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@jolter said in Future survival of this forum:
@dr-go said in Future survival of this forum:
What is interesting to me is we have more and more new users but very little input from them.
Do we? Color me surprised, as I'm seeing no new posts most days, or even weeks. Is there a way to see the user count?
In the sites tab, under users. It looks like this:
From this count it appears 10 new users in the past month but no comments made that I can see.
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@dr-go said in Future survival of this forum:
@dale-proctor said in Future survival of this forum:
I check this forum daily, but rarely see anything that interests me enough to reply. Most of my posts seem to interest very few people, and receive very few responses. Maybe it’s just me…lol
Dale I always love your posts and try to reply whenever I can, but you say it so well, sometimes I just cannot add to the quality you deliver.
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I would be very disappointed if this site folded.
There is no other site as good as this.
I find the Trumpet Herald site to be flawed and unwelcoming.
I believe that new members are simply waiting for an opportunity to post, I hope they settle in and become more active.
The Mouthpiece is also relatively inactive. I guess Brass playing is far less popular now compared to Guitar woodwind and strings.
Having said that I see a lot of beginners at trumpet so the future while not bright is at least hopeful.
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I'm not planning on taking it down.
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You have made me a very happy bunny
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@administrator Then I'll keep planning on sending donations.
Allora Pocket Trumpet 2014
Harrelson Summit 2017
Kanstul 1526 2012
Getzen Power Bore 1961
Getzen Eterna 4-Valve Fulgelhorn 1974
Martin Committee 1946
Olds Super Recording 1940
Olds Recording (LA) 1953
Olds Recording (Fullerton) 1967
Olds Ambassador 1965 -
@dr-go said in Future survival of this forum:
From this count it appears 10 new users in the past month but no comments made that I can see.
Ah, I hadn't found that view. Thanks! 10 per month was more than I expected, based on the limited traffic I'm seeing.
Meanwhile, the trumpet groups on facebook seem to be amassing new low-effort posts every day. I guess it's down to the convenience of posting media (photos, videos being integrated to the site)? Combined with a critical mass of users?
I guess I'm equally to blame as everyone else, since I've been posting more in a national trumpet player group on FB than here. There are groups for nearly any hobby, including particular vintage brass instrument brands, jazz impro, whatever. While that all fits here, as well, I guess few people want the added friction of creating an extra account. Personally, I see it as an added value that my forums identity is kept separate from Facebook, but seems like everyone else sees it as a drawback.
I'd love to see Meta crash and burn sooner rather than later, but the question is if it can happen before someone else arrives to eat their lunch? And who would it be, if Reddit and regular web forums like this one are not enough?
What would everyone say about a brass-instrument themed Mastodon instance?
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@dr-go said in Future survival of this forum:
@administrator Then I'll keep planning on sending donations.
Thank you!
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I'm a member of a number of Facebook groups, and, while I consider them useful, they are also incredibly irritating. Everybody already has a Facebook account, so joining a page is as simple as clicking "Join."
I have to manually approve every newcomer here so that we can avoid spam. We get several a week. That being said, I do basically nothing to advertise so it's all organic growth.
Every site fills a niche; what niche does this site fill? Well, it's up to you, the users. I created it...4 years ago, now? It was an experiment out of the ashes of "TrumpetMaster."
It costs me something like $30 a month to run, and I can write that off my taxes because I don't make a profit, so it's essentially a "community service." I'm not too worried, and we have had some generous donations over time so it all balances out. That being said, I would take it down if nobody were using it. So, keep using it.
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Apologies but I have not found in the site where I can make a donation.
I have been through the menus but no joy. I not sure what I am missing.
Can some kind soul advise me where to go (politely please lol)
Trumpets
Besson New creation 1924
Besson New Creation Large Bore 1948
Besson New Creation Medium Bore Modele Francaise 1948
Olds Ambassador LA model 1948
Selmer Invicta with french rim
Cornets
Conn 80A 1953
Conn 80A 1965
Yamaha 2330 -
@trumpetb said in Future survival of this forum:
Apologies but I have not found in the site where I can make a donation.
I have been through the menus but no joy. I not sure what I am missing.
Can some kind soul advise me where to go (politely please lol)
It does not exist at the moment. I will get this added. Thanks for the reminder!
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@trumpetb said in Future survival of this forum:
Can some kind soul advise me where to go (politely please lol)
I personally approached the administrator through our message format with my interest to donate and he instructed me as to the name for the donation and the address for which to send the check.
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Excellent thank you
