Lerkers, come out of the shadows

[corkybstewart]

I just noticed that there are currently 109 guests and 2 members viewing the forums right now.
All you human lurkers(bots and spammers crawl back under your rocks) should join the boards and participate.
And where are all the members these days? The site has been pretty quiet lately.

[chazwicke]

I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give

[S.F.B.]

I still come around once in a while. I have never been real active but I'm here a few times a week.

[M.K. Jeeves]

For me, looking at the board the previous two months, some of the posts seemed to be void of any heart and substance. It's been a while since we have had any lively discussions.

[ratman03]

I dropped off for a while, but I do check in. I like to wait until I have something to say :)

[Otis Spunkmeyer]

For me, looking at the board the previous two months, some of the posts seemed to be void of any heart and substance.

What about the Nevermind thread.

It's oozing with heart and substance.

[corkybstewart]

What about the Nevermind thread.

It's oozing with heart and substance.
Every time I look at Nevermind it seems to be people quoting song lyrics or dialogue from movies, not much substance there. It's fun I guess, but is that really what realbeer.com is about?

[ratman03]

Every time I look at Nevermind it seems to be people quoting song lyrics or dialogue from movies, not much substance there. It's fun I guess, but is that really what realbeer.com is about?

I mentioned this once a few years ago and was promptly ignored :mad:

[Otis Spunkmeyer]

Every time I look at Nevermind it seems to be people quoting song lyrics or dialogue from movies, not much substance there. It's fun I guess, but is that really what realbeer.com is about?

I was being sarcastic.
Next time I'll use the little sarcasm guy.:rolleyes:

[corkybstewart]

Much mo better:D

[skahtboi]

I check in here daily. There are times, however, when in a 24 hour period, nothing has been added to any of the threads.

[chazwicke]

Maybe Realbeer is slowly dying.....:(

[Wilson]

I check in ever so often, but dont log in. There's never much going on in the "South" forum, my home, so I tend to keep to myself. We are having a Beer tasting event though, nothing notable and only what the big fellas have distro relationships with, but its better than nothing! Trust me, this is a big deal in North Louisiana!

[M.K. Jeeves]

Maybe Realbeer is slowly dying.....:(

I have my opinion as to what may be killing it.

[gestyr]

Well please don"t be shy. Share your thoughts.

[beerking]

Yes. Please do!

[M.K. Jeeves]

I'll take the 5th :D

[gestyr]

Okay, then I will go out on a limb and say that decline of posts of substance is possibly caused by a recent shift of the socio-economic paradigm as a reflection of the recession and the feelings of general hopelessness as ennui overtakes us all.

Or it could be that a lot of people were doing summer things and are now squeezing out the last possibilities of outdoor activities as the Northern Hemisphere eases into Autumn and the begnning of bad weather.

Of course I could be wrong.

[corkybstewart]

I was hoping the fall festival and homebrewing season ould bring a bounce in participation. Banjo's been giving it his best but not getting much response. But many of the old regulars like paulcgi, dparsons, steveh have disappeared, even chaz and mad scientist have slacked off. I still have lots of "work" time I need to kill but I'm sure lots of people are hurting for disposable mney given the economy. It's hard to justify spending money on beer fests, bars and brewing supplies on unemployment. And if I can't do it I damn sure don't want to spend my time reading about other people enjoying themselves.
But what I wanted to get across with this thread is that there are literally hundreds of guests reading the forums with very little member participation. I'd like the human portion of the guests to join and contribute. I know at least one of these guys, he's told me about reading the homebrewing posts but he's reluctant to join for some reason.
I see Mad Scientist and decojuicer squandering a lot of internet time on facebook, that may be another problem-too many other ways to wste time on the internet.

[gestyr]

I agree with you. My last post was intended to get someone out there to post a reply telling me i am full of shit. lol I admit i am one of the guilty parties who post in Nevermind.

[M.K. Jeeves]

Threads like this are why I like realbeer in the first place, lots of good natured dialog between members, hell, we my even strech this one to 3 pages.
Gestyr, just remember, if we weren't all there, we wouldn't all be here. ;)
I am also in need of N.A (nevermind anonymous)

[gestyr]

But no matter where you go, there you are.


Maybe that will flush out some lurkers!

[corkybstewart]

But no matter where you go, there you are.
There have been times when I thought I was there but I wasn't, other times I was there but could have sworn I wasn't:D .

[gestyr]

Ah, but have you ever felt less like you do now than you did when you first got here?

[corkybstewart]

It's been known to happen.
BTW, where did you get that picture of my cat Hops?

[gestyr]

That kitty was BJ. She was 15 when we had to have her put down. She had FIPS.

[wortchillergoal]

It seems to me that the civility of this board in which we take pride, rightly so, could be a factor in the lack of activity. Unlike other boards, we tend to stay away from topics that lend themselves to flame wars and a good volume of posting.

I would dare say that 98% or more of our threads are beer related. This limited subject matter could cause people to lose interest and lead to less posting. I am not complaining about this but just stating my take on the situation. I still rather enjoy this place and continue to learn from members be they old or new.

Or it could be that my cop stories are chasing people away or discouraging potential members from pulling the tap and joining. Your choice of the above.

[gestyr]

Speaking for myself only, I prefer the civility. If i want to see people arguing I will go to a family reunion. :D

[corkybstewart]

Speaking for myself only, I prefer the civility. If i want to see people arguing I will go to a family reunion. :D
I've never been to one with my family-I live 1200 miles from them for a reason. But I've been to 2 of them with my wife's family in France and they are a blast. With 10 siblings her immediate family numbers around 70 people, all in the same village and they know how to throw a party.
But this is by far the friendliest, most respecting(?) group of people I interact with in the internet and I feel at home here.

[gestyr]

I agree. I feel at home here... I am the strange and quirky brother that you all tolerate. lol

[corkybstewart]

I agree. I feel at home here... I am the strange and quirky brother that you all tolerate. lol
Yeah, but I'm that strange uncle my siblings warn their kids about.:D

[gestyr]

Dude i saw the movie Tommy. He had a strange uncle. :eek:

[Mikegobrew]

Yeah, but I'm that strange uncle my siblings warn their kids about.:D

Or Uncle Lewis from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation! I can picture that.

[ratman03]

And where are all the members these days? The site has been pretty quiet lately.

There is a lot to talk about in the beer world, but I think people do reach a point where they've said enough. And this point is different for everyone. For myself, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have about beer appreciation, because in doing so I am doing my small part to contribute to the movement (back and forward) toward real beer.

If I have something interesting to share, like tasting notes, I sometimes do; but at this point I have tasted and understand all of the major styles, enjoyed beer in foreign countries, read numerous books, and sharpened my palate. I have no interest in arguing with self-professed *beer geeks* about which beers are better than other beers, or claiming that I can taste wisps of apricot and shadings of aged tobacco leaf in a pale ale (there is a competing popular beer website that caters to such silliness).

So where does that leave us? If I have a tasting note, I share it. If I hear of an industry happening I might offer my opinions about it. One area where I can see my participation possibly increasing: If I start homebrewing again, I see myself asking a lot more questions!

Perhaps competitors have stolen RB's thunder. Maybe it's a cyclical lull. Maybe, as someone has suggested, there are other newer ways to waste time online. Or maybe some of us don't have as much to say now, or have other priorities. For my part, I'll continue to check in and enjoy the discourse.

[chazwicke]

I'll be posting more as my time has become more of my own again. I post frequently on DC-Beer and I'm Facebook. BUt I think the lack of posting is because of all of the above suggested reasons. I know I traveld a lot this year and still have one more European trip coming up. I was even away this long weekend. I did visit one brewery- Williamsburg Aleworks.

[wortchillergoal]

My boys have become more demanding of my time. Though the older one is soon finished with his volleyball season. That will put some more time back on my clock. Yet, my hockey season is gearing up. My autistic child is making great strides again this school year. We have much fun doing train shows and other activities. The other thing I find, is my work schedule puts me here at times when many others are engaged in their life and other things they need to do.

[fretlessman71]

I'll at least poke my head in and say hello, how's that? Teaching has gone crazy of late, and I'll soon be at 40 private students. Add to that the gig schedule and the recording work I'm trying to do and I have little time left over.

On the other hand, maybe there's another reason for my lack of participation... I was at the GABF this year (met BeerKing/Lyle, GREAT guy), and I noticed something interesting: While just about everyone there was making a wonderful beer and had very high quality brews, not much was distinctive about a lot of it. I could have closed my eyes, spun around three times, headed off in a direction until I hit a brewer's table, and would have found a terrific porter, a great hoppy pale ale, a more-than-solid lager, a nice hefe, or a big beer that held its own... but I couldn't tell you more than two of the beers I had all night. Maybe now that you can find really good beer all over the country, there's less need to "fight the good fight" as there was 5 years ago when I joined... and it also might be a sign to the brewers that they're going to have to find a new way to distinguish themselves (hopefully with even more interesting and delicious beers).

Good to see you guys. (I know, I know, good to be seen too. :) )

[iamnick]

I'd been away from the site for awhile until a couple days ago (not that I'm a big poster). I'm really surprised by the lack of activity, especially since I've noticed the activity over at BA has seemed like it has skyrocketed over the past few months. I do hope that the posting here takes off again. About a year ago I could check here multiple times a day and have new stuff to read...

[corkybstewart]

since I've noticed the activity over at BA has seemed like it has skyrocketed over the past few months.
Yeah, but look at the quality(or total lack of) of a lot of those posts. I'd rather have an intelligent discussion with a few people than a screaming match with a bunch of ego driven beer "experts".
That's not to say that there aren't some good discussions there, but so much of it is more of a "You're an asshole because you don't like the beer I like" and a very little of that goes a long way.

[ratman03]

Yeah, but look at the quality(or total lack of) of a lot of those posts. I'd rather have an intelligent discussion with a few people than a screaming match with a bunch of ego driven beer "experts".

If there is something wrong with the craft-beer movement, BA exhibits it. It's blessing really, that this space is too civilized for that user base, the pretentious, self-appointed beer experts who in reality know very little aside from the ABV of their latest fave BIG FRIGGIN' BEER.

[iamnick]

Yeah, but look at the quality(or total lack of) of a lot of those posts. I'd rather have an intelligent discussion with a few people than a screaming match with a bunch of ego driven beer "experts".
That's not to say that there aren't some good discussions there, but so much of it is more of a "You're an asshole because you don't like the beer I like" and a very little of that goes a long way.


Oh I agree, I only pointed it out to show my surprise that a similar increase in posting hasn't happened over here.

BA is...an interesting mix of people who actually like beer and people who like the idea of liking beer. I don't discount it, though. Sometimes there is some decent information on there, especially regarding the release dates of seasonals, etc.

That said, I'd prefer a lively discussion on RB.

[xtalman]

I'd been away from the site for awhile until a couple days ago (not that I'm a big poster). I'm really surprised by the lack of activity, especially since I've noticed the activity over at BA has seemed like it has skyrocketed over the past few months. I do hope that the posting here takes off again. About a year ago I could check here multiple times a day and have new stuff to read...

I know I am one of those posting more on BA, though usually in Southwest Forum since I have found that to be a pretty good resource on beer news here in OK. I actually don't look at a lot of post since I really don't have the time. I am putting together a new research lab and our funding for it just came through in August and my new toys for the lab are starting to come in now.:D

[corkybstewart]

Currently there are 2 members and 138 unregistered guests. I'd like some of those guests to join and contribute their knowledge.

[Mill Rat]

The Rat returns after a month hiatus due to a fair volume of work and larger volume of chasing work and trying to get paid for the work I've already done. Plus painted the house, fixed cars, etc, etc. Life happens, and as pleasant as RB is, I'll always choose the real over the virtual.

[corkybstewart]

Welcome back, Mr. Rat, it's great to se you back on the site. I hope is all well otherwise. Brew on Rat Man.

Currently 5 members and 128 guests. Are we so scary that guests won't sign up?

[gestyr]

Maybe some of our avatars are frightening?

[beerking]

Did the number of people registered go down right after Corkyb changed his? :D

[corkybstewart]

Did the number of people registered go down right after Corkyb changed his? :D
I could change it back-you know how people can't help but stare at a nasty car wreck;)

[wortchillergoal]

Maybe now that you can find really good beer all over the country, there's less need to "fight the good fight" as there was 5 years ago when I joined...

I don't believe this to be the case. Though there is plenty of good beer around, people still need to be educated about our wonderful beverage of choice. My company has created signs for our beer section that had incorrect information about the differences between ales and lagers. I still hear all to often the phrase that I don't like dark beer being uttered.

So we must keep the fight going. I think that part of that fight is to encourage our lurkers to come out of the shadows. There may be people with information to help or a person who benefit from that knowledge. Join us and share thoughts of beer and keep this board the great site that it is.