Trading Post Activity?

Nightmare Muffin

Bushwoolie
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
206
I came across something rather interesting in my Tumblr feed, today. A post by heckyeahponyscans addressing the issue that the MLPArena having more activity than this place, the MLP Trading Post, in spite of this site being better in the field of functionality and design (and being created first, I think?). This is actually something that's been at the back of my mind since migrating here from over there.

Are members here content with the activity of its members here? Could there be an increase (in both activity and membership?) What do you think draws more people to be more active over on the Arena, as opposed to the Trading Post?
 
I was around the MLPTP from near the beginning, many, many years ago. I had never heard of The Arena until last year. I much prefer life here, because I dislike most people :p

I love my Ponies here. The Arena is too many, too much. I'm also super irritated with many new collectors. Not all, but the majority for sure tick me off.

I also yell at children to get off my lawn.
 
I am a member of both the MLPTP and the Arena. I find the TP more friendly despite the Arena having more activity. I think what draws more people over to the Arena is the same as what draws them to Facebook. They like to show off their finds, brag about their deals and complain when something doesn't go their way. Whereas the TP seems to be more laid back in my opinion.

Also, I feel everyone's opinion is valued here where on the Arena, if you respond to someone's post you may either be completely ignored or they may condemn or shame you for your answer. At least I have had those results before. So I am careful about responding to anyone over there.
 
I am a member of both the MLPTP and the Arena. I find the TP more friendly despite the Arena having more activity. I think what draws more people over to the Arena is the same as what draws them to Facebook. They like to show off their finds, brag about their deals and complain when something doesn't go their way. Whereas the TP seems to be more laid back in my opinion.

Also, I feel everyone's opinion is valued here where on the Arena, if you respond to someone's post you may either be completely ignored or they may condemn or shame you for your answer. At least I have had those results before. So I am careful about responding to anyone over there.
I haven't been here for very long, but I can see a vast difference between members over there compared to here, and I agree 100% with you that people here are so much more friendly and easy-going. It's really a relief. Back at the Arena, it just feels like I was singled out and attacked for the topics I liked and wanted to talk with people about. It was truly disheartening and stressful.
 
Although I still prefer the Arena, it is a much different environment than it is here. I agree that it feels more laid-back here, but I love how active the Arena is. It's much more G1-centric, while it feels more generally "My Little Pony" here. G1 has become my favorite generation, but for G4 love and such? I'd expect more positive reactions here.
I do think the "like" function here is useful. Part of the reason my post count is so high over there is because in order to agree to someone's post, you need to post that.
I would love to see an increase in activity here. While I check the Arena a few times a day, I usually just have to check here once to see everything from that day. It feels like a very small group of people here as opposed to the people coming out of nowhere at the Arena.
Perhaps with G5, membership and activity will go up in both websites.
 
Yeah a little more activity here would be nice but here's an observation- whenever you get adults in mlp fandom in a high volume, it tends to explode.

The new gen is just as bad but it's like old gen fandom without adderall
 
I do agree with the observation that the Arena is more active than the TP. I've made this observation myself which was the reason why I signed up at the Arena about half a decade ago. (Time goes WAY too fast).

It was with great reluctance I did so, though, because I joined the TP back in '97 and up until 2012 it was the only MLP forum I had been a part of. Much due to loyality, plain and simple.

When I came back to the MLP world in 2012 after a long break, though, it seemed that the TP had died down quite a lot :( I found it hard to get any responds here whereas several people responded to topics there I noticed. And to a certain extent that still seems to be the case.
I'm guessing one reason why that is, is because people are going to be drawn to the places with most people active since the whole point of an online community is to interact with others. Something which has created an upward spiral of activity on the Arena. Now, I'm like @Cactusflower, not much of a people person to begin with :p So for discussion purposes I don't really mind where I post. When reaching out to get a responds to a question, though, or when looking for ponies to buy I am guilty of going to the place where I know I will be getting a responds. Feels like the logical thing to do.

But yes, the community is a bit different. One reason is probably because the Arena seemed to draw most of the Bronys during the FIM craze. That has largely died out now though as have their activity. So now the forums are essentially back to square one with actual collectors. And most of them are old school collectors who are members of both forums, so I don't think there's THAT much of a difference. It's just that some people prefer to post over there and others over here I guess which makes it seem like very different communities.

I do wish that the TP was as active as it once was back in the days. But I think with the Arena having grabbed one chunk of the collectors and social media having grabbed the rest there's not much that can be done to boost activity =/

My own personal activity on both forums will probably continue to be low seeing as my MLP collecting has been somewhat sidenlined by other things. I still love my ponies dearly and whenver they beckon I will return and post a bit on both of the forums :)
 
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I was around the MLPTP from near the beginning, many, many years ago. I had never heard of The Arena until last year. I much prefer life here, because I dislike most people :p

I love my Ponies here. The Arena is too many, too much. I'm also super irritated with many new collectors. Not all, but the majority for sure tick me off.

I also yell at children to get off my lawn.

Basically what she said. O-O

I have accounts on both but I only wander over there if I’m looking to purchase a specific pony or just want to see what ponies are currently selling for by collectors and not strict eBay sellers.

I love everyone here and oddly consider everyone friends and would do a lot for mah guuuurls here. ;) I feel comfortable and safe staying my opinions or sharing personal stories here. :flutter2:#lovemyonlinecommunity
 
Although I still prefer the Arena, it is a much different environment than it is here. I agree that it feels more laid-back here, but I love how active the Arena is. It's much more G1-centric, while it feels more generally "My Little Pony" here. G1 has become my favorite generation, but for G4 love and such? I'd expect more positive reactions here.
I do think the "like" function here is useful. Part of the reason my post count is so high over there is because in order to agree to someone's post, you need to post that.
I would love to see an increase in activity here. While I check the Arena a few times a day, I usually just have to check here once to see everything from that day. It feels like a very small group of people here as opposed to the people coming out of nowhere at the Arena.
Perhaps with G5, membership and activity will go up in both websites.

Well, you obviously haven't been talking to me. I'm all about G1. Actually, I thought all of us here were primarily G1 collectors. Maybe it's just that I only pay attention to the G1 stuff. I rarely go on The Arena, but I'm still a member. Although I did like MLPTP back in the day, I remember leaving because there were too many people and certain too many immature people floating around. I feel closer to my community here now than I ever did before. I think I might be disappointed if this site became more popular. I've become terribly crotchety in my old age. :p
 
I been at the arena until someone introduced me to come over here. So I have and I met some good people here. I feel like this place is what they say an old small town where everyone knows everyone. The arena is like the big city and I really like both. I do not understand there was a topic about this recently that some arena people cant work with the layout over here and I wonder why its not that non user friendly. :/
 
I would love to get some more traffic here, but not to the extent of the Arena, if that makes sense. I love the sense of community we have here, whereas the Arena tends to lose people in sheer numbers. It's hard to make connections there and I'm not being a jerk, but it's got some 'cliques' of people who seem to believe they are the last word on MLP. I like things more inclusive. I've seen people get ignored on the Arena, not out of rudeness, but because there are simply too many voices. It's also more of a show off board, which is fine, but some people tend to be so overboard in showing off that io find it offputting. I'm not talking bad about the Arena, really. These are just my observations as a behavioral scientist. Take it as you will. :D I used to do a lot of lurking over there, and just never found the courage to speak up like I do here.

Like most of you, I'm shy. So I need a more accepting, encompassing group, even though I'd love more people here. A strange dichotomy , I suppose.
I been at the arena until someone introduced me to come over here. So I have and I met some good people here. I feel like this place is what they say an old small town where everyone knows everyone. The arena is like the big city and I really like both. I do not understand there was a topic about this recently that some arena people cant work with the layout over here and I wonder why its not that non user friendly. :/

This is an excellent analogy. We do have a neighbourly feel here.

As to technical issues, we have some very hard working gals trying to address that. With all their efforts, I believe they'll get things hammered into place soon.

So, I must ask... what do you all think would help us to draw in some good members, who would enjoy a small community and contribute to the fun? Should we invite folks, have contests, whatcha think? I'm very open to suggestions!
 
I would love to get some more traffic here, but not to the extent of the Arena, if that makes sense. I love the sense of community we have here, whereas the Arena tends to lose people in sheer numbers. It's hard to make connections there and I'm not being a jerk, but it's got some 'cliques' of people who seem to believe they are the last word on MLP. I like things more inclusive. I've seen people get ignored on the Arena, not out of rudeness, but because there are simply too many voices. It's also more of a show off board, which is fine, but some people tend to be so overboard in showing off that io find it offputting. I'm not talking bad about the Arena, really. These are just my observations as a behavioral scientist. Take it as you will. :D I used to do a lot of lurking over there, and just never found the courage to speak up like I do here.

Like most of you, I'm shy. So I need a more accepting, encompassing group, even though I'd love more people here. A strange dichotomy , I suppose.


This is an excellent analogy. We do have a neighbourly feel here.

As to technical issues, we have some very hard working gals trying to address that. With all their efforts, I believe they'll get things hammered into place soon.

So, I must ask... what do you all think would help us to draw in some good members, who would enjoy a small community and contribute to the fun? Should we invite folks, have contests, whatcha think? I'm very open to suggestions!

If your looking to gain more foot traffic here, maybe an instagram or Facebook page for the group may help? Lots of people seem to be going this way for buying/selling toys these days.
 
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I would love to get some more traffic here, but not to the extent of the Arena, if that makes sense. I love the sense of community we have here, whereas the Arena tends to lose people in sheer numbers. It's hard to make connections there and I'm not being a jerk, but it's got some 'cliques' of people who seem to believe they are the last word on MLP. I like things more inclusive. I've seen people get ignored on the Arena, not out of rudeness, but because there are simply too many voices. It's also more of a show off board, which is fine, but some people tend to be so overboard in showing off that io find it offputting. I'm not talking bad about the Arena, really. These are just my observations as a behavioral scientist. Take it as you will. :D I used to do a lot of lurking over there, and just never found the courage to speak up like I do here.

Like most of you, I'm shy. So I need a more accepting, encompassing group, even though I'd love more people here. A strange dichotomy , I suppose.


This is an excellent analogy. We do have a neighbourly feel here.

As to technical issues, we have some very hard working gals trying to address that. With all their efforts, I believe they'll get things hammered into place soon.

So, I must ask... what do you all think would help us to draw in some good members, who would enjoy a small community and contribute to the fun? Should we invite folks, have contests, whatcha think? I'm very open to suggestions!

If your looking to gain more foot traffic here, maybe an instagram or Facebook page for the group may help? Lots of people seem to be going this way for buying/selling toys these days.

Yeah not having the screaming high volume is best but a little more active would be nice, a good balance

Like the customs board is kinda dead right now and that's my main place to be

I'd say active pages and groups in Facebook and Instagram. You gotta reach out though and advertise with tags, and seek out other groups within the social media platform and drop links to groups pages and have your trading post page post around a lot.
 
I've been a member of here for so long now that I feel comfortable here. I wouldn't want to join another site simply because it's more active. Plus this is where it all began for me and I met a lot of lovely friends along the way. So I enjoy this place for sure! :) You all are my pony friends. :satisfied:
 
So, I must ask... what do you all think would help us to draw in some good members, who would enjoy a small community and contribute to the fun? Should we invite folks, have contests, whatcha think? I'm very open to suggestions!

I’m going to be a bit of a Debbie Downer and say that I don’t think you can =/ At least not to any larger extenet. Forums in general are a dying phenomenon - ever since the arrival of social media.

If you want to increase activity on a forum you’re going to have to offer people something that social media can’t. What that could be I don't know.
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't have any social media accounts and I never will (I hate those sites with a passion) so I'm hardly advertising them. But I am forced to admit that they do offer people all they seem to want (or what most people want anyway). Easy ways to connect with other likeminded people all over the world, groups or communities with those people where they hold contests and such, easy ways to get attention/show off, and from what I've heard people are also easily making transactions over there. Sure, it’s easy to do all that here too, but it’s easier there. So I'm guessing that very few people who are more comfortable on social media are going to give that up and join forums to any larger degree.

I think the only reason the MLP forums overall has survived this long is because they've had a pretty extensive base of collectors on them to begin with, and a few of those (us) are still holding on to the 'old ways' as we're more comfortable with it/are too nostaligic to leave it behind. But to actually get 'fresh blood', especially amongst younger generations who are growing up with social media, is something I don't see happening to any larger extent anyway :(

Of course I hope I'm wrong!
 
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I'm on most of the FB groups and I don't like them. I use them as a means to buy and sell and there are a few cool people, but mostly they are just money grubbing, annoying, self absorbed people. Not my cup of tea. This place is special. We have young and old and we all seem to get on well and are bonded by the love the ponies.
 
If your looking to gain more foot traffic here, maybe an instagram or Facebook page for the group may help? Lots of people seem to be going this way for buying/selling toys these days.

I don't know enough about forums to speak to popularity, but this caught my eye! I was on Instagram and I was looking at pony photos, and I saw an account named 'MLPTP' pop up. So I guess someone already claimed that handle!

For me, I think I originally joined the MLPTP for the contests! :} So maybe that's a good draw! I like the laid-back energy too, although I do wish there was more chatter/replies in general. I really like how you can 'agree' to topics!
 
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