SI participants ...
The people who meet on SI are probably not about to disappear any time soon, just as the regulars who stake claim to the corner seats in coffee shops will continue their long established ways. However, like most communities of people, it's the interaction among them that binds them together, not the current location of their meeting. Understanding this is crucial for those providing the medium through which these people communicate: The medium is not as important as the participants.
My point is this --- Given enough frustration, the participants will be well motivated to explore any and all media in search of alternatives. The higher the level of their current frustration, the lower the threshold of acceptability becomes for whatever competitive solutions they discover.
The Internet facilitates instant communication. One may speculate how quickly the fickle and fed-up will migrate their allegiance. I'm sure the management of SI and parent Go2Net are fully aware of the challenges of both improving their web presence and participant retention. Perhaps they would welcome user suggestions.
By nature, I'm patient and longsuffering. I also appreciate the difficulties SI faces in trying to keep their site up 24/7, handle the explosive quantity of participants and posts, and as well as improve the functionality and usability. And they are probably working with limited resources, both financial and in human talent.
Let's give them a little more time.
Cheers, PW. |
