[Rod_Cloutier]

I hate to say it but I feel that one of my most favorite websites is dying.

After over a decade, this website has had the best and most informative information on the internet. I've learned so much about peak oil, global warming, environmental issues, economic concepts and not to mention I think that all the regulars here are like buddies at the pub.

I think at one point we had a thread that indicated that we only have 35 active posters. I think we've fallen from there. At one point there was an announcement that peakoil.com was in the top 100,000 websites searched- what happened?

How do we as a intellectual community attract and retain new members? Have we explored every relevant news topic on the web? What can we do to Jazz up the site? Seriously, times they are a changing- we've got to beef it up or we will lose this community and this important source of information.

What do you think- what should we do next for act 2?

[Newfie]

Yeah, it's probably true we have few posters. I'm seeing this also occur on another site, and at my church.

At my church they are very worried about increasing attendance and are focusing on things to bring in new members. I suspect that the bigger problem is that they have lost what their message is.

My question is how do you gage success? Through total membership or through the quality of membership?

Maybe the problem is there are too few thoughtful folks seeking answers?

[jedrider]

Well, let's wait for oil prices to go back up and then, we'll have more participation.

If the economy dives WITHOUT oil prices going up, well, then, peak oil will just die an ordinary death.

[dissident]

Interest in peak oil has waned. Mainly because there is no indication, to the average web user, that the predicted peak is here or in the rear view mirror. I think this is a big mistake and things are playing out as discussed on The Oil Drum and here years ago.

[Pops]

PeakOil.com is #2 hit for peak oil on Google, right after Wiki just like everything else (same on Bing and Yahoo) so we get a bump any time a story comes out in some major publication with THE words.

Most users ever online was 25466 on Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:22 am

I can't remember what big time site linked us but that was a pretty big day. Average users just about any time are around 700-800 tho which is pretty big for us or anyone like us and much higher than in the past.

Alexa no longer gives away historical data but we've been close to 100,000 before and it says #200,000 now (out of about 600 million active sites is in the top .003%) and around #80,000 in the US but I can't remember how that rates compared to our past.

Lots of people lurk and never post, never even register. There is a big difference between views in the Members only and the open forums, this thread will get a couple dozen views a day unless there is a food fight here, in the open forums it would get 10 times that.


The simple answer to increasing participation is content. The thing that gets interest is original thought, original analysis original anecdote. Writing a little essay on [whatever] provokes people to post. Look at Desu, everyone gave him a hard time for some reason but even discounting the trolling most of his threads provoked discussion and amazingly, many were even on topic.

Threads consisting of nothing but snip after snip from whatever special interest faction are almost, not quite, but almost, worthless. Anyone can google "boil in our skins" "PV increases exponentially" "EBOLA!" and get all the links they can stand. No one is moved by 20-dozen links to cherries plucked from the public relations, Ad-Rag-Trade-Press eather — has Copious convinced anyone the economy wasn't as bad as they thought? Has MBS convinced anyone Ebola will rid the planet of 7 billion?

As well the endless Sturm und Drang of "is too - "is not!" is very off putting, whether regarding PO or GW. Better to try to come up with some original thoughts, original analysis - read 5 articles and tie them together. We are long on knee jerk and short on observation and synthesis. Try going outside your knee-jerk range and propose something that is totally against your gut, you'd be surprised what you can learn.

But threads meant to provoke, like "arrest GW deniers" and such are very off putting. People will just not post if they think they are going to get ripped a new one if they don't toe the party line — and who could blame them? Many "discussions" here consist of nothing but ad homs and casually tossed "shill" and "denier" and "stupid" at the least hint of disagreement.

In fact I've thought of moving the Environment subforum to the members only for just that reason, I haven't suggested it to the rest of the overlords but have thought about it. Many times the first page of new posts on PeakOil.com are all but devoid of any mention of peak oil, except for the fact that it might hopefully help rid the world of the human parasite.

Click on "Forum Posts Guest View" in the side bar, that brings up the search that non-registered lurkers see. Out of 60 topics, maybe 10 are related directly to the title of the site the rest are GW and various other Die-Off modes (imagined or not). Unfortunately, when some popular media mentions PO which prompts someone to google it and they click on the forums, GW and die-off is mostly what they see. No real surprise we have few new posters, our content is less and less related to our topic.

Not that I've given it any thought ...
;^)

[Rod_Cloutier]

The simple answer to increasing participation is content. The thing that gets interest is original thought, original analysis original anecdote. Writing a little essay on [whatever] provokes people to post

Good idea- there are always several hundred replies to the webpages of Kunstler or John Michael Greer following their weekly essays. Orlov and Heinburg who write essays less frequently always create substantial discussion.

So what makes a good essay? The skill to come up with a weekly 500 word essay is largely a lost art, excepting the authors mentioned above.

Pops, this is a place to start- Thank you !

[Keith_McClary]

PeakOil.com is #2 hit for peak oil on Google, right after Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil
is awful in many ways. It is presented as a "theory" of Hubbert, and is all about whether his specific predictions (which are misrepresented) are correct. If you want to restructure the article or remove obsolete or stupid stuff you get into a "wiki-lawyering" fight.
I did add the last sentence to this paragraph:

Commentators have pointed to the Jack 2 deep water test well in the Gulf of Mexico, announced 5 September 2006,[107] as evidence that there is no imminent peak in global oil production. According to one estimate, the field could account for up to 11% of U.S. production within seven years.[108] However, even though oil discoveries are expected after the peak oil of production is reached,[109] the new reserves of oil will be harder to find and extract. The Jack 2 field, for instance, is more than 20,000 feet (6,100 m) under the sea floor in 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of water, requiring 8.5 kilometers (5.3 mi) of pipe to reach. Additionally, even the maximum estimate of 15 billion barrels (2.4×109 m3) represents slightly less than 2 years of U.S. consumption at present levels.[110] Production began in December 2014 and is expected to ramp up to 94,000 b/d of crude and 21 MMcfd of gas by 2020. [111]

[ralfy]

I don't see any major changes worldwide to which the site has to adjust. After all, the fact that we are now resorting to unconventional production and that production costs remain high are obvious evidence of peak oil.

As for making more people aware of the issue, that can probably be done more effectively through the front page with the latest news on the matter. Any comments to the articles may be linked to the forum.

[Shaved Monkey]

I blame the Oil price drop and everyone is just out doing laps in their SUV

[KaiserJeep]

I arrived here two years ago after Michael Ruppert's film Collapse filled my head with alarm.

The thing is, oil/gas supplies seem to be more than adequate to satisfy demand, and with the sick economy, the aging population, etc. demand seems to be declining.



Do we all acknowledge the peak and the fact that we are in decline - and few seem to care?

[Newfie]

I acknowledge we are in decline and few seem AWARE.

[SeaGypsy]

Because simultaneous offsets in efficiency & layoffs have softened impacts from an already soft peak due to ramped up extreme production methods. Boring for us who were expecting a cliff, but it is what it is, for now at least.

[MD]

It's not the concept that's dying, it's the technology. This platform does not translate well into mobile apps. Wrong structure.

Can't do anything about it.

"The internets are changing"

[Ibon]

It's not the concept that's dying, it's the technology. This platform does not translate well into mobile apps. Wrong structure.

Can't do anything about it.

"The internets are changing"

The internet brought about the death of cursive writing and writing on paper. No longer needed. Now as the young generation go to mobile apps and abandon this platform that means even less screen space available for lengthy essays. Am I just a luddite or is this just a continuing dumbing down trend?

[dinopello]

The internet brought about the death of cursive writing and writing on paper. No longer needed. Now as the young generation go to mobile apps and abandon this platform that means even less screen space available for lengthy essays. Am I just a luddite or is this just a continuing dumbing down trend?

No, you are correct. We are adapting to the technology rather than the opposite.

Lolz and grr are now scrabble words

[Rod_Cloutier]

It's not the concept that's dying, it's the technology. This platform does not translate well into mobile apps.

Second major point- development of a mobile app.


Great idea !

[admin]

If anyone would like to help build a PO mobile app, please email admin AT peakoil.com

[dbruning]

"People will just not post if they think they are going to get ripped a new one if they don't toe the party line"

Agreed. I don't post much as people do tend to get prickly awfully fast when they aren't agreed with, and I don't like name calling anymore than the next person.

BUT I do make peakoil a daily stop, sometimes several times in a day. The discussions here often have great information that I feel has great value, which is why I keep coming back. I just don't choose to actually get into the mudpit.

[fred.greek]

“Peak oil” focus sites such as this have been / are a resource for warning / awareness of the coming problems presented by peak oil. My opinion though is once you are aware, you need to go elsewhere for specifics. There is just too much that needs to be learned and done for it to be covered on one forum.

I set up our place with some solar. I’ve taken online courses in herbal medicine, and am now in the middle of a permaculture course.

While he does not focus on peak oil, The Survival Podcast, by Jack Spirko, has a lot of valuable information. The podcasts and discussion at his forum cover much more of “what to do” for the individual / family than is presented here.
http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/

[Pops]

I agree about specifics, Fred. But the best thing about PO.com is the tacit agreement that PO is a thing. I'd love to see people go out, do research then come back and report what they found— in light of PO.

(I don't agree with you though, dbruning, you ignorant jerk)
;^)