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Originally Posted by David
Yeah, that comment baffled me as well. Maybe the Swap Forums need newbie collectors to survive, but the forums would remain strong places of discussion regardless of new membership. Not that new members are being discouraged. Fresh blood always has something new to offer. But long time members who like to trade with other members will always be able to do so and their collections will be constantly be growing from a myriad of other sources so there will always be new items to swap. No need to do any active recruiting. I don't think any of these "Senior Collectors" have built the bulk of their collection through our little swap forum. I have never bought or swapped a single thing in the Swap Forum, yet my collection keeps growing.
BTW, changes in the Swap are not being considered in order to drive the combination collector/dealer off the site. We have many collector/dealers here who are highly valuable, respected and active members.  |
Explanation: If newbies feel like there's an inner circle they can't crack, then most of them don't stick around. I spend a lot of time with other interest groups, and it's a huge problem.
The non-profit group I'm most active with is currently struggling with a declining membership and an average member age that's increasing. One of the chief complaints of the faction that's trying to open up the membership is the perception by newbies that there's an old, established, in-group who aren't much interested in them. Most of that in-group protest that nothing could be further from the truth, yet we don't get many truly new members to stay around and become old members. I'm an old member, but I think there's a lot of truth in the newbies' complaint.
Similarly, some (not all) of the moderators seem to want things to go back to "the way things used to be." Given my experience, this is a danger signal, in that it suggests formation of a small, old guard that effectively repels newbies, even though it attempts to be open.
This is not meant as a criticism of the policies of this board, nor its moderators or members. I like this site, even though I contribute very little. What I am pointing out is that people of good will, for the best of intentions, can harm a group through actions designed to help it. I'm dealing with one of those situations right now, and I'm hoping that it doesn't happen here as well.
Best,
F