Forum Turnover

[Cult of Dionysus]

Something got me thinking recently about forum turnover. It seems that there has been a lot of poster turnover here in the last five years. And by "this forum" I mean this specific sub-forum which is the only sub-forum I regularly frequent.

The best litmus for me is the group of 32 guys who joined the DLF Hall of Famers League and DLF Premium League in 2014. As a reminder, each one of these 32 guys was a premium member and, for the HOFL, had to have at least 1,000 posts. Here are links to the 2014 league sites, which show the names of all 32 guys:

2014 DLF PL: http://www57.myfantasyleague.com/2014/home/57021#0
2014 HOFL PL: http://www62.myfantasyleague.com/2014/home/55442#0

I would say that at least 75% of those guys no longer post here regularly, if at all. The attrition could actually be a little higher, as I think fewer than 8 of these guys are still active, regular posters. On the contrary, I would say about the majority of these guys continue to play within these leagues (so it's not like they've all stopped fantasy football, quite the contrary actually). 11 of 16 remain in DLF PL. I don't have the HOFL figures handy, as I'm not in that league.

I have a hard time identifying the basis for this turnover. Tucorex has only been here for a few weeks and Coogan has only been gone for a little while longer. Neither can be blamed for the turnover.

Is fantasy football fleeting?

Is forum participation (in general) fleeting?

Is the nature of this sub-forum not geared toward long-term participation?

Has there been a qualitative change at this sub-forum in the last few years that has driven so many guys away?

Is there another reason?

It would be very interesting, also, if DLF would check/say how many of these 32 guys remain Premium Members of this site. I wonder whether the membership attrition would correspond more closely with forum participation or league participation?

[ArrylT]

The simplest answer is that life happens & priorities change. Posters get married / have kids, change jobs (or job requires more time), move, etc. So that would account for some of the turnover.

And even when they do not have 'drastic' changes, for example, I've been playing FF for over 10+ years and that span of time I've also sampled other hobbies - such as Strat-O-Matic. When you first start a new hobby and develop passion for it, you tend to focus on that one to the detriment of others - so a poster developing or expanding other hobbies maybe chooses that first.

There are of course other FF forums, so some turnover occurs there as well, as posters find different website forums that appeal / fit them better.

Is fantasy football fleeting?

Not every hobby is for everyone so yes - there is always going to be a group of people who try dynasty, and find they prefer re-draft, or not to play FF at all

Is forum participation (in general) fleeting?

see above. But I would tend to say it can be. Lets say you had 1000 people who play Fantasy football, of which 500 find the time to check forums (rather than just using other sources). Of those 500, plenty are only going to check in when they need an answer to something, and eventually if all their questions are answered - they arent going to come back just to "chit chat".

Is the nature of this sub-forum not geared toward long-term participation?

I feel there are enough posters from years ago that any forum will always attract enough repeat / regulars. Just like you'll always find 3-4 people you know at the regular watering hole.

Has there been a qualitative change at this sub-forum in the last few years that has driven so many guys away?

There are always going to be people who move on at the first sign of confict, or personalities clash - but I dont think it is this forum in general that does that. I've seen way worse dialogue & personal/ad honim attacks on other forums and yet the same people would keep visiting. Maybe in fact the fact that the moderators do a solid enough job that "trolls" simply find easier entertainment on other forums.

But those just browsing briefly I do not feel will be scared off by "popcorn worthy" discussions. They'll get what they want and move on regardless of the level of vitrol.

[MEuRaH]

FYI, I was asked to be in the HOF league's original startup. I declined and said I wanted to be an alternate for when someone drops out, because I had more interest restoring a bad team than starting a good one.

That said, I think ArrylT said it best: Life Happens. I don't think there's one solid answer for everyone, and for some people there might be several different reasons.

I'm still around, but no kids (don't want them), still married, I have the same house, same job, same everything as I did back in 2014. No change in life, and same interests today as I did back then. Therefore, I'm still here.

I think the interest in dynasty or FF isn't fleeting btw, it's growing. I remember in 2014 that I made it my goal to respond to all the unanswered posts in the "Team Advice" forum. There would be 30 new posts a day, and maybe 20 of those would get a reply. I felt bad for the other 10 so I made a point to respond to the unanswered ones every morning.

Nowadays, there are dozens of posts and each one gets a response almost immediately. There's no way it's fleeting.

[MEuRaH]

EDIT: To tack onto this, I am a dynasty commissioner for about 160 owners. When one decides to leave, I try to ask why. The result is usually "I just had a baby" or "getting married" or "gotta focus on my career". Usually the first one btw.

[kingnesta]

I guess it could be a few different reasons. I think my top reason would be the arguing. What I mean by that is someone asks a question or for an opinion and people come through and leave a comment or an opinion. Then someone disagrees with said comment or opinion and then it turns into three pages of why you are wrong or why I am right. After multiple pages of that you finally get back on track. Why not just leave your opinion and let the OP decide on which comments or opinions he thinks is helpful??

My second reason is the lesser but being in one of the leagues you mentioned above makes it harder to ask for advice because this page is filled with your competition. I still try to help out in the advice page. Mostly closer to the season.

[FantasyFreak]

I guess it could be a few different reasons. I think my top reason would be the arguing. What I mean by that is someone asks a question or for an opinion and people come through and leave a comment or an opinion. Then someone disagrees with said comment or opinion and then it turns into three pages of why you are wrong or why I am right. After multiple pages of that you finally get back on track. Why not just leave your opinion and let the OP decide on which comments or opinions he thinks is helpful??

My second reason is the lesser but being in one of the leagues you mentioned above makes it harder to ask for advice because this page is filled with your competition. I still try to help out in the advice page. Mostly closer to the season.

Yeah, I have noticed this, and I am going trying to start gearing my answers towards the OP, and not others so much. Agreed with above that life happens. I had a job for a while that took me away from here for over a year, just didn't have time to be involved, so a lot of times it can be that type of thing.

[schiewerma21]

Saw this as I visit the forums every now and again. Used to be very active on here now I’m extremely active on twitter.

Twitter for me is a better option. But again just answering the question.

[henry1jg]

Most or my personal reasons for inactivity on DLF have been listed already.

1). When I joined DLF, I was single, now I'm a married, homeowner, with a kid. Obviously this means I have substantially less free time. I don't ride my motorcycle or play video games anymore either. Lol

2). The arguing. My goodness gracious did this get old. I got sick of everyone blasting one another over their opinion on players. I love when people have differing opinions than my own and I love when they present their reasoning for the way the feel. I love when my thought process is challenged by the case someone else presents. Imo, that is the sole reason for this DLF dynasty discussion sub forum.

3). Misinformation. So many times I will read a post that is just completely inaccurate and it drives me insane. I love to see different opinions on players, but I can't stand when ppl trumpet false info, which when I was a regular poster here, happened all too often.

4). Group think. It always bothered me that the posters at DLF all seemingly loved and hated the same few players. The past few years, I have used DLF exclusively for the purpose of finding out what the general public felt about different players.

5) My main reason for backing away from DLF is that I like to read articles/listen to podcasts and form my own opinions from the info I take in. I read the articles posted here and listen to podcasts from rotoviz, numberfire, PFF, 4for4, footballguys, Harmon, Wildman, and a few stragglers here and there. I have found substantially more success in my leagues the past 5 yrs, and I attribute that to my holding more stock in the info I take in on various sites helping me form my opinion, over the info I read on DLF forums helping me form my opinion.

The DLF forums are certainly valuable and they are a resource I'm glad I have, but I don't take them as gospel like I did when I first started posting here.

[Phaded]

^^ Reasons 2-4 are basically my reasons for not bothering to put in a ton of effort anymore..
I will randomly check out DLF when either I am at work or when I am on the toilet..

[Dynasty DeLorean]

3). Misinformation. So many times I will read a post that is just completely inaccurate and it drives me insane. I love to see different opinions on players, but I can't stand when ppl trumpet false info, which when I was a regular poster here, happened all too often.

Particularly when they do this even after being corrected.

I post a lot less these days because ultimately the conversations never go anywhere. Nobody ever changes their mind regardless of the information presented. The same topics get posted over and over again. There are 5-10 threads a year on the same player where the same information gets posted and same questions asked. The same type of players get over-hyped year after year. Then the season starts and the best laid plans get wrecked by injuries. It's like Groundhog Day.

[seahawks506]

People come and go, it happens with anything. I've been here quite a while and used to post a lot, but I care less and less about fantasy football anymore. I graduated college a couple years ago, work in an intense equity research role, and just don't have time to bother with it much anymore. I would also much prefer to have hobbies where I create my happiness, not rely on others.

As for debate here, I'll echo a little bit what has been said above- so much toxic polarization on players. You need to realize as much conviction as you might have about someone, as sure as you are, you could be wrong. Much like investing, NO ONE is right even close to 100% of the time. Have some respect for opposing viewpoints, you're not always right. Toxicity will kill this forum.

[honcho55]

I’m pretty new to this forums on Ff. However, I’ve been fairly active in other forums on other topics. Sometimes the “posting in forums” stage of a hobby just plain runs it’s course, IMO.

[FantasyFreak]

^^ Reasons 2-4 are basically my reasons for not bothering to put in a ton of effort anymore..
I will randomly check out DLF when either I am at work or when I am on the toilet..

That's why you talk so much Sh@t.

[FiremanEd]

Beyond everything else that has been said, I will add that so many people here are now playing together, such as the two leagues mentioned in the OP, and the concept of "I know my leaguemates are here so i can't give all info/my honest opinion" reduces both the value and trust in comments. How can you take people's opinions seriously when they may just be trying to sway the opinion or redirect leaguemates? When i started seeing more of these comments, I started rethinking the value of the comments in general and losing interest in commenting.

[maxhyde]

For me it has nothing to do with leaguemates knowing my tendencies or strategies. Helps us all if you know what I want and how I value it
Just seems to me alot of the time it is the same old questions with different names. Not really a problem but not exactly a conversation or discussion that I need to engage in every year. Player evaluation is the thing that keeps fantasy fun and everyone does it differently. Unless I have something to add I don't think has been brought up I don't post. Also I just don't visit as much, I burned WAY too many hours on DLF when I first discovered it