[Stevey]

Why is this place running so silent these days? I mean people here have very good knowledge but they seem to be quite inactive these days, Are all the experts on vacation?

This post has been edited by Stevey: 24 September 2012 - 06:10 AM

[LiveBrianD]

I think it's because they hid the forum link... (PCMag did that, and a lot of people left...)

[Stevey]

And why did they do so? Is it because they may be planning to discontinue this forum? Didn't see coastie and LS around in a while?

This post has been edited by Stevey: 24 September 2012 - 07:28 AM

[LincolnSpector]

Stevey, on 24 September 2012 - 07:23 AM, said:

And why did they do so? Is it because they may be planning to discontinue this forum? Didn't see coastie and LS around for a while?

The forums were down for more than a week, which lost a lot of momentum.

Another problem: If you click the Log In link in the forum, you get a 404 error page. This kept me from commenting on the forum for days, before someone told me the work-around: Log on from the regular PC World site, then go to the forums. I suspect there are a lot of people trying to figure that one out.

Lincoln

[Stevey]

Hi Lincoln, this is the main issue because new members are being directed to 404 so they're confused and hence leaving...
PS: Actually I figured the other login way myself but It did take a while...

This post has been edited by Stevey: 24 September 2012 - 07:40 AM

[A41202813]

A - First Discouragement - A 404 Page.

That 404 Page Has The Logo Of The Company In It.

If People Click That Logo They Will Be Redirected To The Main Page.

B - Second Discouragement - An Overwhelming Ad.

There Is An Ad On The Top Of The Main Page That Covers The Login Link For A Few Seconds, But Then It Disappears And Voila.

Login Available At Last.

Unfortunately, Most People Are Immediately Discouraged When They See That 404 Page Or They Just Do Not Wait Long Enough For That Ad To Disappear.

[coastie65]

I've been slipping in and out, although remaining logged in. Sometimes, I am quietly lurking around in here.

[LiveBrianD]

Say, has there been a decrease in spam as well?

[mjd420nova]

Since the un-announced outage, quite a few users have been frustrated as they were not logged in at the time of the outage and couldn't get logged on until yesterday. There has been a noticable decrease in posts but I don't know about the spam, it kind of runs in streaks.

[A41202813]

Spammers Prefer Easy Targets.

A Lot Of Easier Ones Out There, Other Than PCW, Right Now.

[coastie65]

LiveBrianD, on 25 September 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

Say, has there been a decrease in spam as well?

Actually, it has been a Godsend in that respect. Been very little. Yes, I have been quietly lurking around here.

[smax013]

I think the other have largely cover it.

The fact that the whole PCWorld site was down for a week or so in terms of logging in killed a lot of forum traffic for that week.

Once you could login in general again by way of the actual www.pcworld.com pages, it took a while for even the "regulars" to figure out that you could login by that method. It helps that Bill posted an announcement to that effect on each of the forum pages, so that helps (I will note that this is more than what Macworld has done). But, the fact that the login on the forums page still results in a 404 error likely still deters some.

And then there is the fact that they have made the forums even harder to find. Several years or so ago, there was still a completely visible forum link in the "top" menu on each PCWorld page (like the forum button/link that is still at the top of every forum page). They relegated that forum link to a "hidden" submenu of the main "top" menu a couple years ago. While hidden from plain view, it was still relatively easy to find the forums. Now with the latest incarnation of the website, they removed even that hidden link at the top of the page...now there is only the link at the bottom of page in the "fine print". This will likely reduce traffic overall. Many "regulars" to the PCWorld site (but not forum regulars) might mistakenly think that the forums are completely gone. Maybe that is what the "powers that be" want, I dunno.

Then there is the overall design change to the PCWorld website. The one thread "announcing" the new site give the impression that a lot of people don't like the new site design. If that is an accurate representation of the overall feeling (tough to really tell as "people with gripes" tend to be more vocal than those that like things), then the overall PCWorld site traffic might be down. And if the overall site's traffic is down, that logically means there is less potential traffic to the forums.

Overall, I suspect right now it is largely still the login issues that is affecting traffic in the forums, but as those login functions get fixed (i.e. we can actually login now, just not through the forum pages) traffic levels will likely be more a function how easily people can actually find the forums (i.e. it is too early to determine if PCWorld has done a good job of effectively hiding the forums or not).

[Flashorn]

Smax,

You sound pissed at the whole idea of hiding the forum link.

You're not the only one.


FLASHORN.

[LiveBrianD]

Ditto.

[smax013]

Flashorn, on 26 September 2012 - 01:12 PM, said:

Smax,

You sound pissed at the whole idea of hiding the forum link.

You're not the only one.


FLASHORN.

Not pissed...more disappointed with the decision.

In the end, life will go on either way. I already don't come nearly as often as I used to years ago, so if traffic declines further due to making the forums harder to find, then it just means that I come even less frequently to the forums (and/or the PCWorld site in general).

This post has been edited by smax013: 01 October 2012 - 06:41 AM

[Rommel]

smax013, on 01 October 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

so if traffic declines further due to making the forums harder to find, then it just means that I come even less frequently to the forums (and/or the PCWorld site in general).

That is tue.

I've read articles that if it wasn't for coming to the forums, they would not had caught my attention because it is the forums that brings me here.
It's like bait. LOL

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has interacted with pcw because of the forums.

[smax013]

Rommel, on 01 October 2012 - 07:04 AM, said:

smax013, on 01 October 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

so if traffic declines further due to making the forums harder to find, then it just means that I come even less frequently to the forums (and/or the PCWorld site in general).

That is tue.

I've read articles that if it wasn't for coming to the forums, they would not had caught my attention because it is the forums that brings me here.
It's like bait. LOL

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has interacted with pcw because of the forums.

I just don't come to read the articles on the website typically. It is mainly due to not really liking to read long article (or PDFs or eBooks) on a computer.

These days, I do use the PCWorld Daily iPad app. While it has flaws, it does a reasonable job for allowing me to read some PC news. And, on the plus side, it is MUCH better than the new website in terms of "navigating".

I can say that if I were to regularly read stuff from the PCWorld (or Macworld) website, then I would be pretty pissed with the new design. They seem to take joy in making you have to scroll an awful lot to find stuff.

[Rommel]

smax013, on 01 October 2012 - 07:18 AM, said:

Rommel, on 01 October 2012 - 07:04 AM, said:

smax013, on 01 October 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

so if traffic declines further due to making the forums harder to find, then it just means that I come even less frequently to the forums (and/or the PCWorld site in general).

That is tue.

I've read articles that if it wasn't for coming to the forums, they would not had caught my attention because it is the forums that brings me here.
It's like bait. LOL

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has interacted with pcw because of the forums.

I just don't come to read the articles on the website typically. It is mainly due to not really liking to read long article (or PDFs or eBooks) on a computer.

These days, I do use the PCWorld Daily iPad app. While it has flaws, it does a reasonable job for allowing me to read some PC news. And, on the plus side, it is MUCH better than the new website in terms of "navigating".

I can say that if I were to regularly read stuff from the PCWorld (or Macworld) website, then I would be pretty pissed with the new design. They seem to take joy in making you have to scroll an awful lot to find stuff.

Perhaps the job went to the lowest bidder and they got what they paid for.

[A41202813]

Before The 'Upgrade', Scrolling Down And Reading Articles Was A Smooth Ride.

Not Anymore.

What Makes That Scrolling, In The Non Forums Part Of The Site, So 'Bumpy', Now ?

Anyone Care To Give A Technical Explanation ?

[A41202813]

Edit:

It Has Been Corrected In The Last Couple Of Days, Or So ?

Lets Hope It Keeps That Way.