American Zombie

This is a help site but I have noticed nobody posting for help as I assume Win 7 runs so well.

XP and Vista had problems but where are all the Win 7 issues?

perris

I think when the site first started hardly anyone knew anything about computers, everyone was new to the hardware and software, oerating systems were still experimenting with principles and had to use buyers as beta testers, and finallyt, software pushed the limits of available resources

now operating system principles are so good the companies look for knew things to do with them, software hardly ever challenges resources and there isn't much you can do that will speed your computer or make it more stable

most people already know all they need to know, like a teevee, you don't really care to make it perform better, even if you could you wouldn't notice the differance

it's the market az, this was comming under xp, vista gave us a push since it really wasn't what people wanted or needed at the time but that would have subsided even if 7 didn't come out

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Bman

Yea I have noticed the change.

I am probably the person who asks the most questions on this forum lol And even now, I end up answering them myself half the time, and the rest I want opinions.

A new person ain't going to a new site for opinions.

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Sazar

I don't think that's it.

XP still has the largest market share and a lot of new people are getting Windows 7 systems who really don't know what they are doing.

We have provided assistance to people who didn't know anything, knew a little bit and those who were power users and wanted to expand their repertoire of knowledge.

For various reasons, the forums are just not as alive as they used to be. The regulars who were there in the various iterations of this site from back in the day simply are not as active for multiple reasons be it work, personal life or otherwise.

I think EP and co have done a good job in drumming up interest from time to time with promotions and other things but many sites are popular because of their off-topic sections and we have clamped down pretty hard on those

People come for answers and stay for the social side. I don't think we are providing that over here to the extent other places are and so, once a question is answered, it seems people just move on.

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Arniestan1

I got my first PC in 2000. Believe me when I say I didn't know how to turn the thing on. My son then 21 showed me. About a year later I discovered the right click and what it would reveal. Then in 2002 I built my first PC.

LeeJend

Posting was dropping off well before Win 7. I've been sitting here thnking about it and my 2 cents is:

Many questions used to be about pushing performance especially on PC based gaming systems. Processors and video cards have gotten so fast there isn't a need for pushing them anymore.

Building your own system is dying out because you can't beat the pricing on off the shelf systems with their subsidized pricing, and the cost of a high end system is the same it was 10 years ago but salaries are way up meaning technical pushing to save money isn't required anymore.

Finally the whole concept of tech support forums has become ingrained in the computer industry. Now evey manufacturer has a user supported help forum and many have gotten to providing decent support.

Finally there is tech laziness. Most people now don't care why or how anymore they just want to give somebody $85-150 and have the problem go away. Geek squad etc. have replaced taking you PC into a shop with in home service instead of dropping it off at one of a few local shops and waiting a week for results.

Then there is the laptop generation. Most new machines are laptops which are truly plug and play. Like a MAC, fully integrated and if maintenance is needed it is usually not realistic to attempt it. And the 3 year extended warantees. PC's are 3 year economic life now so no support is needed.

The only thing that still seems to be of interest anymore is cracking. And that's a banned subject on respectable sites.

Or maybe it's just that our Avatar's are not cool enough anymore???

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Xie

Could be people are just busy, and spending more time on twitter and whatnot. Also could be that since Vista more people are moving away from Windows.

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Bman

I think it's a mix of everything.

I spend most of my time on Twitter, Google Products, Facebook.

Though, not sure if I spend the same amount of time or more on Neowin as I do here. I should calculate that.

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Heeter

I do know that for me, moving to linux platforms (because of Vista), it ended up me searching other forums, although I do that I could of probably gotten the same answers here.

Do to less people here, my questions do go unanswered, especially on the Windows 2003 Server forum. AZ always seems to be the only one answering my Server questions. I can't even rep him anymore because the rep system keeps reminding me to spread it around.


Oh well.

Heeter

vern

I can usually find things on my own, so I come back from time to time to see old names, but not to ask or answer questions. When you don't ask questions anymore, the only reason to come back is the social aspect of the site, and that has dropped off long before Windows 7. I'm the administrator at another site and tech is a small fraction of the site and on peak hours we have around 3000 users on the site. At the time of this posting, we have a few hundred more users onlin than Neowin. Those kinds of numbers are hard to come by for tech communities, but on a more social site ... is pretty common. People come back to be social even when they are busy with a bunch of other things in life. People who come seeking for answers will only come back when they see no other way to get answers.

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Sazar

Yah, lord knows you're on twitter 24/7.

I added you and regretted it immediately

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napalmnthemorning

I still check in once in awhile. Its funny because I use to come here and ask questions about my PC and you guys all helped me teach myself about OS and software issues. Even over at Neowin in their Windows 7 support posts it seems pretty light in comparison to what XP was. Maybe its a generation thing too with so many people getting caught up with their cell phone devices these days. (make me barf, I'm so sick of cell phones and the market)

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Steevo

I haven't been around as I have kids, a wife, my job, lots of things I don't want to miss.

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LocKStocK

OSNN is the only place I come to with tech questions
This community has served me well over the years.

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Bman

And the funny thing is, compare me to some Twitter users, and I don't even tweet lol

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LordOfLA

This place is so quiet I don't stop by for 3 months for various reasons and all I get when I click new posts is 2 pages....

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melon

Speaking solely for myself, I've gone from a uni student with loads of time and some disposable income to employee with no time and even less disposable income, so that means fewer new computer parts. Nonetheless, I haven't forgotten about this place!

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Evil Marge

If I have a problem I've started searching Google for the answer. I don't post questions any more as there's too many smart arses around who come back with answers that have nothing to do with the question asked, and don't get me started about those who came back with replies like "Why you using that it's crap" or "Use so and so"

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fitz

why would you say that crap? You should say... so and so..


sorry.. couldn't resist being one of the aforementioned smart arses and give an "answer" with nothing to do with the question asked..

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lancer

Dont know about anyone else, but i am just so freaking busy. I'm gonna try and post some more when i can... i suck..

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