Hi everyone One of my favorite online forums to spend time in has just announced it is closing down. It's no big surprise the number of posts has been going down and the amount of spam has been going up for a long while now, but still it makes me a bit sad. I remember back when online forums were a real big thing and had real community in them, but many of them seem to have moved to facebook groups over the last few years. I'm not a fan of facebook or they way that they process and share information so I don't take part in those. I would like to play a part in making sure that this little community does not go down the same path and disappear because I like it here and I think it is a unique place, being specific in some ways to the Baltic region but also inclusive and talking about environmental stories from the bigger world as well. I'm happy to be here and I hope that it will be around for a long time to come, I look forward to build the same kind of relationships here that I have on other forums in the past, with people who I now consider friends, both online and offline. Later in the year we will be making the huge jump from the US to a new life in Lithuania and the answers that I already received here to questions and thoughts about it all have helped me to feel happier about this decision. If, like me, you enjoy this little place online then I encourage you to be an active part of it. To start discussions, take part in the ones that others start, to make suggestions about how we can make the forum better in any way. But also to share it, to tell your friends who have similar interests and bring them to be a part of it, to help build a bright and vibrant community. I truly look forward to getting to know all of you more and to many more exciting future discussions. 😄

Julie Brooks-Girskiene I truly look forward to getting to know all of you more and to many more exciting future discussions. You too Julie 💚 Julie Brooks-Girskiene make suggestions about how we can make the forum better in any way. I think they will get upset with me if I make too many requests!

Julie Brooks-Girskiene Thanks for this post, and I agree with everything in it. It seems like building online community is hard these days if you are anywhere outside of a FB group, which is kind of sad to me. I know that we don't have earth shattering numbers of visits, members of comments here on EKO Diena, but I believe that will all increase over time and I think that already there are some good conversations taking place. Let's hope for many more to come! Oh, and Skylar I think they will get upset with me if I make too many requests! It's fine, go for it!

👏 👏 @Julie Brooks-Girskiene I'm with you. I don't like Facebook groups and miss active busy chatrooms and forums about different things. This week I have not been online so much as normal and have not been posting here but I will be more this week. It is important to comment and react to other people comments to build conversation. And to start the new conversations of course @Julie Brooks-Girskiene and @Piri are great at that. There is the chance for more people to come they just need to know that a community is here and what it is about, we need to get that out there.

We knew that to run a forum is a challenge nowadays, especially kind of competing with social media like for example FB 🙂 It would be nice to see the community growing, more people, more opinions, more things to learn and share 🌱🌍 In all cases EKOdiena is not disappearing 😁 🎐 ( it's supposed to be a jellyfish 😁😁😁 like you know they are survivors)

Some of us are here and around, but just watch more than post.

John It's fine, go for it! Ok then! 😉

I am Ashlynn but just watch Sound a bit scary 😂

Julie Brooks-Girskiene I was also with some online communities that are now dead and empty of new talk or just got closed down. In the last years it all became about the Facebook groups but now maybe it is changing again and people are some people are moving away from Facebook.

Clementine it is changing again and people are some people are moving away from Facebook. I think that's true, a lot of people are falling out of love with Facebook a bit, and some of them are looking for other social media networks to use instead, but then they realise that most of the alternatives just aren't very good, and that nobody they want to connect with is there, and many end up back at FB again.

Piri In all cases EKOdiena is not disappearing 😁 Good to know! It's one of my favorite online hangouts and set to get bigger and better.

Building an online community

Vilte

In other forums, sites, groups, that I have been part of I noticed that scheduled things attract people to take part.

It's like a post with a poll every Tuesday, or a new recipe published on Fridays, a news roundup of the last weeks news on a Sunday or a Monday morning or a weekly something on some other day. A kind of online Taco Tuesday or Wednesday night social club.

Treebeard

Vilte In other forums, sites, groups, that I have been part of I noticed that scheduled things attract people to take part.

Scheduled features like quiz, review, news roundup do make people check back once in a week.

Arvīds

Vilte Yes, I think this is a good idea.

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Vilte Nice idea 🙂

Piri

Hi everyone,

So many nice ideas! You are all welcome to start them up 😉🌿

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

As if to reinforce my original point, posts here are down and slow, and I really don't want to see another forum that I love disappear, so I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts or ideas?

John

Julie Brooks-Girskiene Posts are down but there are no plans for EkoDiena to go anywhere.

Maybe the summer weather has people outside more and it will pick back up in the autumn.

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

John Posts are down but there are no plans for EkoDiena to go anywhere.

I should hope not! 🙂

Ash

This period is always a bit weird for forums. Another time is late December because everyone seems to be occupied with Christmas and the new year. Activity will pick up again, like John mentioned.

Treebeard

It's about momentum also. If you come and there are only 1-2 new posts since the last time you logged in then you just think that you will check back again later on. Of course if everyone does the same then nothing ever changes.

Mirmar

It is really hard, and I do not get here enough and post for one.

If someone has kitchen skills and would like to write a planet friendly recipe once a week then I would like to see it 😃

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Mirmar If someone has kitchen skills and would like to write a planet friendly recipe once a week then I would like to see it 😃

Me too!

Piri

Mirmar If someone has kitchen skills and would like to write a planet friendly recipe once a week then I would like to see it 😃

We can do this it is not so difficult.

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Piri We can do this it is not so difficult.

Thanks Piri it's looking really good so far!

I am going to try to find something else that I can create and post in on a weekly basis, but not on Thursdays 🙂

Egle-K

Piri We can do this it is not so difficult.

Loving this, I will try to add something as well 🥄 🙂

Ash It might be cool to have a monthly challenge or something related to recycling or planet-friendly recipes. Not sure if Flarum has an awards functionality but the best entry could have an award added to their profile.

This is interesting, I do not understand really exactly how it would work but it sounds fun.

Ash

It might be cool to have a monthly challenge or something related to recycling or planet-friendly recipes. Not sure if Flarum has an awards functionality but the best entry could have an award added to their profile.

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Ash Not sure if Flarum has an awards functionality but the best entry could have an award added to their profile.

Lots of forums have awards or badges depending on how many posts someone has made, maybe that is an easier way to do the awards kind of thing.

Vilte

I get so easily distracted on the internet looking at things I never planned to that sometimes I forget to visit the sties that I actually want to, like this one.

Piri

@Ash @Julie Brooks-Girskiene what exactly do you have in mind by awards or badges?

If it serves some kind of purpose we could create it, but if should have a meaning 🙂

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Piri what exactly do you have in mind by awards or badges?

The way I was talking about is very literally just that you get a little badge with a 'rank' depending on how many posts you make. Maybe you start as a seed, then after 25 posts you are a flower, and then different levels going up, maybe by the time you get to 1000 you are a whole ecosystem.

You could also get badges for other things, but I can't think of an example right now. 🤔

Ash

It's just a sort of achievements thing that people can use to show off what they are up to on the forum. It just adds a bit more interactivity as well.

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