Why is this forum so inactive?

[Roger Caffin]

SUL means taking less stuff…and much more minimal versions of the stuff you do take. 
Exactly. ‘Do not pack your fears.’

Cheers

[Jerry A]

Wow informative..

[Edgar H]

Judging from other forums, I’d guess that it has something to do with the pay to post model.

I’ve never paid for posting privileges before,  and I’ve never seen a slower forum.

 

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Edgar

I’ve never paid for posting privileges before
Ah, but you need to know the history.

Quite some years ago the dark web released an updated spamming bot (you actually bought it), and the new version let the bots create accounts here at BPL. Within one week we were getting >50 spam messages a day, mostly advertising cheap joggers from Asia. Hence the term ‘shoe spammer’.

Really >50? Yes – I was the one trying to delete them and kill their accounts.

The only thing at the time which we could do to stop the spammers was to charge a nominal fee for posting priviledges – and I do mean nominal. It worked wonderfully.

Yes, today one could probably come up with some sort of Captcha system.

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Online Community Monitor
Backpacking Light

[Edgar H]

I see.

I really wasn’t complaining so much as observing that there might be a correlation,  and a bottle neck for maintaining a critical mass of posters.

I wanted to be able to comment,  but as I’m also working up a stove design that might have something new to offer (a bottom fed smokeless gassifier stove), and i eventually want to be able to interact with reviewers about it here, I didn’t mind paying for access.  I just wish that there was more activity.

[Edgar H]

Good and informative posts though,  I love the forum content of the posters here.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Edgar

You start a good thread, with lots of photos and data, and you will get the readers. Use Gear rather than this forum. You could even write an article about it. (I do.)

Cheers

[Author]

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