Is WhiteBlaze dying?

[Gambit McCrae]

This topic comes up every few months lol. Other than Reddit, there are Facebook groups like rhjanes said. But frankly, the discussion there is like 95% geared towards beginners asking the exact same question as other beginners over and over again. I find most of the discussion lacking any nuance. And the search functionality sucks.
WB seems about as active as it was 5 years ago to me, though. Maybe 7+ years ago I would say it was noticeably more active. I personally think this forum is over-moderated and I believe that drove off some of the regulars that actually had some personality.
I frequent WB because I find the quality of discussion to be as good as it gets on the internet and because the search tool is so useful. I will also say that you have been a member here for over 3 years now but only have 31 posts. Be the change.

Nailed it. Facebook has more or less consumed the internet audience for most activities; its not a whiteblaze thing, or a hiking thing...its a platform thing.
We also have to look at how these platforms are presented vs the devices we are using to access them. Cell phones. Platforms like Facebook, redditt etc have apps. People are using cell phones as a huge majority to access their internet and with forums not having this accessibility they naturally fall off in use.

I have been what I would call a 2nd gen WB user. 1st gen being its 2003-2004 start. However, when I joined in 2012 (2011 first account, lost access) there was significant activity on here. I would just leave the "what's new" up all day at work and it would be a constant flow of dialogue. There were also threads created just to generate dialogue..."Coffee rooms, campfire talk" etc

I got out of the habit of starting threads directly related to my "pre trip questions" because I found that I received so much info that was either not realistic in the moment or I just got criticism for what my trip SHOULD look like vs what I had planned, and when MY plan would work without a hitch time and time again, it became annoying to receive this information. I also found that not asking the pre trip questions lent itself to myself growing more as a long distance hiker vs going through the routine directed by others.

What kind of threads do I try and create? I try to create 3 types of threads these days.

-Informative - Trip Reports & gear reviews
&
-Thought Provoking


Here is a troubling concept.
The forum isn't growing at the rate that members are dropping off. I feel like the majority of WB members experience is aging, perhaps they did a thru hike in years past and stick around to keep the "dream" alive? But the trail changes over the years. Reroutes, shelter closures, new hostels open, old ones close, shuttle drivers are the same. I know I do not contribute as much on AT relates because my information is now dated. Example: Someone asks for a shuttle driver in SoVa, well my shuttle driver for SoVa is dead now so that would be a pretty crappy suggestion. Where is the most current information? Facebook. But as Slugg said, searching for info is nonexistent in FB groups so its a very "I have a question, answer it now and move on" style of platform where as WB is more of a database of data.


I will personally stay on WB for its lifetime. It was dear to my heart thru my AT completion and I hold on to that by trying to contribute and keep it alive.

[Slugg]

Nailed it. Facebook has more or less consumed the internet audience for most activities; its not a whiteblaze thing, or a hiking thing...its a platform thing.
We also have to look at how these platforms are presented vs the devices we are using to access them. Cell phones. Platforms like Facebook, redditt etc have apps. People are using cell phones as a huge majority to access their internet and with forums not having this accessibility they naturally fall off in use. .

I have often thought about the “how we access these sites” factor but somehow forgot to mention it in my reply. I think that might actually be the biggest factor of all - most people these days access the internet from their phones. Facebook and Reddit are designed to be optimized for your phone - WB is, frankly, terrible to use on a phone compared to those apps. WB is awesome for a desktop but that’s not how most people browse the internet anymore. Typing on a computer is much easier than on a phone or tablet as well so the trend away from desktops has also brought on shorter, less thoughtful posts.