State of the CoasterBuzz - 2018

"Norm!"

I don't understand the reputation either, especially since YouTube comments and Twitter became a thing.

I joined Pointbuzz first, and I can’t even remember how or where I found it. After a while I came to Coasterbuzz and felt like I had married up.
I’m rather out of touch as far as social media goes, and part of that is due to my age, but most of it is due to lack of interest. Relatively recently I finally succumbed to the Facebooks and most days I want to rip my eyes out. If I’d only learn not to jump to comments and replies I’d probably be a lot happier.
But this site is my breath of fresh air. I totally agree with our Andy’s observation about discussion here, and how it’s informative and often reflective. I for one don’t mind when a topic strays away from the industry- there’s usually a good reason and frequently when it does there’s a lot more to learn from each other than what we’d get by hashing and rehashing industry speil. There are plenty of sources for that and we can spend all day and night looking at that stuff if we need to.

As far as “nasty” goes, I see both sides. As with all things typed from one’s living room, it’s easy for some posters to forget that humans are at the receiving end of the sentence. (To be fair, I can go full-on snark, but I usually save that for Pointbuzz. Like fish in a barrel some days)
This place is different. And like all families we have folks that love each other dearly, some that will never get along, and a few black sheep thrown in there. We’ve also quietly figured how to shoo away those that mean to cause trouble. I think we make it clear that you can hang with the program around here or out ya go. Opinion is one thing and douchiness is another.

So for the greatest part CoasterBuzz is a respectful and respectable place to go. I wouldn’t trade my involvement here for the world and I’d like to thank my friends and on-line acquaintances here for making my amusement park hobby all the greater. I always appreciate a sense of humor and we have some people here who are just so freaking funny, and I think we’re better for that too. Oh- We also know how to compose sentences and use punctuation so we get points in my book for that, too.

I don’t know what I’d change around here, but I tend to resist change in general. I like the Track Record, and the Top 100. One is personal and convenient and the other is fun and informative. I also like the votes-ups. It’s a good way to see who’s on your same page without a lot of noise and me-toos. I’d like to use the photo feature, but I’m strictly mobile. True, pics are available everywhere, but I think it would come in handiest for trip reports and stuff like that. But it’s no biggie, really.

All in all, this is a fine site, and I think we manage to rise above in our own little way. Thanks to all.

Lord Gonchar said:

the community of unenthusiastic enthusaists

Dude, omg...can that be the new CoasterBuzz tagline?

Lord Gonchar said:
For me, this is like an old corner bar. Not the biggest, not the fanciest, but rather the place with the coolest regulars who have the most interesting things to say... Most of us have been around for a long time and parks have taken a back seat to things in real life, but we still get together and talk shop. It's a mature community - both in the sense of the members that participate and in the sense of the life cycle of the forums.

I found the corner bar comparison to be interesting, and it is likely the reason for the reduced amount of traffic to the site.

Think back to a time when you walked into a corner bar in some new town. You'll likely remember the stares that the regulars gave you, and if I had to bet I would guess that they didn't treat you very well. You were not part of their group so they didn't care if you ever came back. In fact they probably didn't want you to come back. And most likely you didn't go back. That is all fine and dandy for the patrons because they are such a tight group of people with no need for any new blood. And it works for the bar owner until the regulars stop coming because they are too old/sick/dead to show up. Thats when things go south and the corner bars all start closing up.

I don't post much here but as I read through the various discussions I see fewer and fewer screen names showing up. Making up a number it seems like there are about 20 regulars. And when there is a new poster it seems like the first thing that happens is that they get bashed over the head for posting something "stupid". While in some cases that bashing is warranted and the harshness is deserved, many times it may not be so deserved, just like the stares the regulars give to the newbie who happens to walk in on their bar.

Like I said, an interesting comparison.

That analogy has been made time and again, but in a slightly different manor. It's usually compared to a group of friends at a party who are talking among themselves when someone unfamiliar with the group walks up and immediately starts offering their unsolicited opinion about something that barely skirts the subject of discussion. Well, that kind of thing typically doesn't go over well, and that individual will likely not be very welcome in that group. Usually in a social situation like that, the one "outsider" should observe the group to get a sense of the conversation and group dynamic before yammering away about their take on whatever subject is being discussed. That's how it's done in real life. This forum is no different. Should it be? That's debatable, but my opinion is, no, it really shouldn't.

It all works itself out. There are those who are thin-skinned who can't take any criticism they get and they leave, or just stop posting and lurk. And there are those who lurk for a while, and then start posting because they've gotten a feel for things here, and they fit in nicely. And then there's the other type of person who jumps in with both feet, says something "stupid" or whatever, gets criticized but takes it well and adjusts their demeanor because they see a community they like and want to be a part of. Cruel as it sounds, that's life.

Since we're using party analogies, and expanding on Vater's comments, anyone with any reasonable social experience knows that you don't show up at a party of strangers and expect to be the life of the party. You stand in the corner and watch people, introduce yourself when it's appropriate, and work the room until you're familiar. I think in the Internet age, some people have the expectation that those rules don't apply. The people with those expectations don't last long here.

I'll add another statistic for you... As I said, the visit count goes up every year, but only about half of those visits are totally new. That's a whole lot of people making regular visits. That people don't participate more isn't surprising when you look at the nature of the discussion here compared to, say any social media. I don't mean that to sound uppity, but it's more robust and deeper, because that's how we want to roll.

I've always enjoyed CB for the quality of content and posts by the various users. The only downfall is the lack of posts/discussion at times, but again, it's better than a bunch of filler with no depth. Always in my website rotation! Crazy to think I joined back in 2002.

Vater said:

That analogy has been made time and again, but in a slightly different manor.

I believe the analogy was originally made here.

This one is slightly different.

See, where else can you get quality grammatically induced dicketry?

I agree with much that has been said here. I do not post here regularly, but it is my go to for industry news and announcements and I enjoy reading the more intelligent conversation and discussion as opposed to other sites. I was afraid when the email was sent that the site was closing, so I am happy to hear it is simply evolving.

Social media has made things instant. Admittedly, both PointBuzz and Coasterbuzz are not where I go to for pictures of the parks or attractions. In recent years there seems to be multiple Facebook/Instagram/Twitter accounts (CP Food Blog, CP Rundown, etc.) that satisfy the need to see pictures of given events. For example, I will be using social media to view live updates at Winter Chill Out and will regularly check various accounts for live updates. That seems to be one of the biggest changes in habits the last few years. We used to have to wait a day or so before a picture update would be available from an event, where now pictures are posted instantly.

Living in Florida, I always use PointBuzz Live on Cedar Point's opening day- a feature I hope stays on that site.

I do have one request:

Please do not remove "Roller Coaster Rollback". I don't know if its the 80's fanboy in me, but I love this feature and check it out almost daily. I love scrolling through the years and clicking on the articles and reading the attached conversations. Its very nostalgic to see how far we've come in almost 20 years as an industry, and its something no other site provides. I also tie certain news stories to various parts of my life, so its just fun and reflective.

kpjb said:
I believe the analogy was originally made here.

This one is slightly different.

Damn. I simultaneously commend you and hang my head in shame.

FINALLY! Finally it happened to Vater! Oh happy day!

;-P

By my count:

Tek: 174
Vater: 1

Tilt-A-Whirl said:

Social media has made things instant. Admittedly, both PointBuzz and Coasterbuzz are not where I go to for pictures of the parks or attractions.

Total hypothetical here, so don't take this as something I'm gonna do. If there was a proper CoasterBuzz app that allowed you to post a photo from the park you're in, and it appeared in some sort of "feed" (ugh), would you do it? On the other side, would you view it?

Well, the term "feed" concerns me. The Feed is one of the reasons I despise Facebook, nothing but noise with very little substance. It would be cool to have a way to post photos in some sort of live blog, but I wouldn't want to see it turn into a type of Facebook like feed with picture after picture of people posting selfies. Some sort of moderation or rules of what is interesting to post would be welcome but I have no idea how that could be made practical.

I would like an app that had access to the forums as it’s basis with a “Park feed” where you could post photos and short bits about your day, check ins at the park, a version of he calendar on there, with the ability to follow all users or specific friends, etc. An amalgamation of the boards with Instagram/Twitter/FB integrated features. And maybe more focus on the CBuzz 100 from that as well as your coaster database.

You don't need an app to access the forums, or really anything here. Most of it works pretty well on mobile.

I realize that. You asked a hypothetical. I gave my suggestion.

Jeff said:

See, where else can you get quality grammatically induced dicketry?

As I get older I find myself coming here less for coaster talk and more to learn great terminology like "grammatically induced dicketry."

Here is where, maybe, your niche might go. When I'm on Facebook right now it is getting to the point where I don't know what is "real" and what is not. Maybe this is just an error in judgement but if I read news on Coasterbuzz or Pointbuzz I tend to accept it as real. Your personal connections with the parks make me feel like I'm getting honesty, even if you are withholding stuff at the request of the parks.

Maybe there is a space to live, and even thrive, between the wild west of social media and the slow clumsiness of corporate media.

As of today, CoasterBuzz is finally old enough to vote.