What would be your opinion on moving back to our old home at proboards? Granted the design is much simpler and there aren't as many bells and whistles.

This would include moving the "fbhwforum.com" domain there as well.

Vote and reply. We're curious to know.

I like the bells and whistles. The only thing I miss is karma, but I've been keeping a manual count of that in a notebook next to my computer.

Does this include having to go back to a PG-13 format, e.g., no more (Just About) Anything Goes and censoring the swears?

-Jiggy- Wrote:Does this include having to go back to a PG-13 format, e.g., no more (Just About) Anything Goes and censoring the swears?

The NSFW forum would be a violation of the proboards TOS. However there will only be three censored words there:

The "c word".
A-hole (to fit with show format)
and fucktard because let's face it: that shit is funnier than fuck.

Why change again ?

What's the thought process behind it? Is there a thinking that somehow the mojo was lost because of the move or is it something else? Or does it not have anything to do with that and you're just curious what people think?

Why can't we do a link redirect to recapture those people that were lost? Also, if they can't figure it out, do we really want that level of stupid on this board, considering what level we're at already?

let me expand my question...

what is the benefit of going back to proboards ?

Why did you change he first time and what has happened to make you think the site you left is now better ?

isn't proboards opposed to our dirty nasty porn encrusted NSFW forum ?

-Jiggy- Wrote:What's the thought process behind it? Is there a thinking that somehow the mojo was lost because of the move or is it something else? Or does it not have anything to do with that and you're just curious what people think?

We've been keeping an eye on the traffic between the two and it appears as if the proboards board still gets a ton of traffic and is still the top rated site on google. Traffic here took a huge shit even before the link to the forum was removed from the show's site.

As proven by the reaction every time the show changes something, FBHW fans in general despise change.

0rz0ski Wrote:Why can't we do a link redirect to recapture those people that were lost? Also, if they can't figure it out, do we really want that level of stupid on this board, considering what level we're at already?

Ha!

Unfortunately Proboards doesn't have a redirect feature (probably due to ad revenue).

We would have the fbhwforum.com redirect to proboards.

If we move back, can some new skins that don't look like ass get created?

0rz0ski Wrote:If we move back, can some new skins that don't look like ass get created?

I'll put you in charge of it!

Another thing we would lose by the move is the advertising support of Rapid Repair. This would mean the loss of the MVP prize but perhaps the MVP thing has run it's course too.

Have you mentioned this to Code God Opus? phpBB might have advantages over the proboards on his end.

Opus is aware of what is being considered, and has said he won't be upset if it is decided to move back.

When Biff first brought this up, my immediate thought was that the reason why traffic died down so much on this new location was because of how the guys on the show "left" it. But then I started to think back, and realized that traffic was down almost immediately following our migration over here, and that was even with the show giving announcements on the air about the move.

potthole Wrote:Opus is aware of what is being considered, and has said he won't be upset if it is decided to move back.

When Biff first brought this up, my immediate thought was that the reason why traffic died down so much on this new location was because of how the guys on the show "left" it. But then I started to think back, and realized that traffic was down almost immediately following our migration over here, and that was even with the show giving announcements on the air about the move.

Yeah, in a way I like Proboards more. I don't know why... but if Ally can't access it... We'll have issues.

Ok-up front-I'm an idiot when it comes to computer stuff! Will we still have a chat room if we go back to proboards? I don't remember if there was one then. And I'm all for having Karma back!!!!

Yes we will have a chatroom.

Well I put no on the poll but after giving it some thought, I think I'm really indifferent. Whatever way the rest of you wanna go, I'll go along for the ride.

I could care less either way. As long as we can still talk about drinking beer I'm cool with whatever.

i really dig this lay out over proboards. what about vbulletin? a couple other boards i'm on run that and the features are awesome and you can post in any form you like.

What's this NSFW forum I keep hearing about?

schuyler16 Wrote:What's this NSFW forum I keep hearing about?

:think: ....what? NSFW forum?....don't know what you're...talking about

I always wondered too, then one day it just magically appeared haha

damn what do I have to do to discover this fabled forum?

schuyler16 Wrote:damn what do I have to do to discover this fabled forum?

Really! Is there a secret handshake, or something? (Or, is this a snipe hunt?)

I have seen several posts in this thread that suggest the show at one time supported and legitimized this forum, but now no longer does. Can anyone point me to a thread that would explain what happened? Sorry if this question opens up an old can of worms; resisting curiosity is not my strong suit.

As for the poll, I have no opinion. I have not been a member long enough to become attached to the forum on its current host and, obviously, never experienced ProBoards. FWIW, I subscribe to several forums that use vBulletin, and I generally like that format better than this one.

Last time it switched, my info got all messed up and I couldn't keep the username I had on the previous board. Is there a way to ensure this doesn't happen?

Rebel Wrote:I have seen several posts in this thread that suggest the show at one time supported and legitimized this forum, but now no longer does. Can anyone point me to a thread that would explain what happened? Sorry if this question opens up an old can of worms; resisting curiosity is not my strong suit.

Not actually sure if there's really one devoted thread to that story. If somebody else feels like finding one, feel free to link it. According to my (sometimes failing) memory, here's what happened...

Back when Biff first started the board, probably June/July '08, the guys on the show noticed it and started talking about it on the air. They put a link on their website and even created accounts on here. Occasionally they'd post, but mostly they'd lurk. For a few months they'd talk about this board on a somewhat regular basis-- mention funny posts, talk about specific threads, stuff like that. All the while, membership kept growing and growing and growing. For note, we were still on the old ProBoards site at this point still.

Don't really remember when it first started to happen, but at some point the guys started to sort of complain about people on the board being negative about the show. At first they just sort of joked about it, but it seemed like it started to get under their skin. They started to call us the 'Spite Board'. It's not like people went out of their way to rip on the guys and their show, but it's true that there were some discussions that centered around stuff we didn't like about the show. Around this time the guys started to talk about the board less frequently. I believe the link was still on their website, however.

At some point Biff made the decision to migrate the board over to this site. We felt a custom URL would be easier to remember and share (ProBoards was some big long URL with random letters and numbers in it) and we also felt like a cleaner, flashier look to the board itself would be nice. We made the move, and the guys on the show seemed pretty excited to share the news on their broadcasts. They talked about the new site and told people how to transfer their accounts from the old board.

Not too long after that the show brought on their 'new help' (the syndicator and their new website guy). It seemed like right at this point the almost immediately quit talking about the board, they took down the link to it from their website, and they just sort of acted like we weren't around. Not surprisingly, this was the same time they put their VIP content up, which included a message board of their own. I think you can put 1 and 1 together. Everything is speculation, but we basically think the 'new help' told them to part ways with us.

Potthole has it down pretty good. The guys were bothered by the criticism they received whenever something happened that listeners didn't care for. Zane even admitted that some of the hate mail really got under his skin and the forum magnified that.

The drop in traffic really occurred when this forum came into being. As evidenced by the reaction of FBHW listeners whenever they change anything on the show, FBHW fans in general despise change.

We've been keeping an eye on traffic over there and are finding that there are still a lot of people who lurk over there. I opened up the forums and noticed even more activity.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fbhw.proboards.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.fbhw.proboards.com</a><!-- m -->

And yes, the NSFW forum really does exist. It's rarely utilized. In fact I've often thought that if it were hidden from view no one would notice.

potthole Wrote:Don't really remember when it first started to happen, but at some point the guys started to sort of complain about people on the board being negative about the show.

[/quote]
The bitch of it is, is most of the people that was doing the complaining were people that would just casually drop in and leave 1 or 2 posts and then never come back. Sure there were a few "regulars" that had a cry session about something, namely, when they took Name That Tune away but I think that was more because we hated seeing things we loved taken from the show we love to hear it on. Sometimes it felt like the show would judge all of us based on the opinions of a few.

potthole Wrote:Not actually sure if there's really one devoted thread to that story. If somebody else feels like finding one, feel free to link it. According to my (sometimes failing) memory, here's what happened...

That's alright, I just thought it might be easier for someone to throw out a link if they knew of a thread off the top of their head than to rehash the whole story. Thanks for filling me in; it's a shame that happened.

It seems traffic is the main consideration for you guys and I agree with that. Board design, features, and rules/TOS are all important, but content is king. For message boards, more members = more content (although not necessarily better content). If you think going back to ProBoards will attract more participating members, then I think you should do it.

Funny, just as I was trying to submit this post the board was responding very slowly and eventually threw a SQL error. So, at this particular moment, I'm pissed and strongly in favor of moving. I'm sure I'll get it over it by the time I finish typing this paragraph.

...

Nope, not yet.

...

There it is. I'm over it now. Back to the "whatever you think is best" position.

I don't think moving would have anything to do with it. To get new members to a "Free Beer and Hot Wings" message board, you need them to talk about it and put a link on their site. They definitely don't owe it to us or anything to mention us, but that would be the only way to attract new people again.

I can understand their frustration about how spiteful some of the posts can get. It must be very annoying. I work for Walmart, so I can understand people complaining ALL the time. I just hope they realize that most of their listeners aren't like that. I admit, I've complained a few times, most notably about how I miss the funny local segments that were on the podcast before that aren't there anymore. I do feel a little let down by some of the changes made with the new website and the new syndicator, but it's making them more successful and I'm in no position to complain about that. I've been a listener since they got one of their early stations, and my friend and I have been a podcaster for almost 4 years now. I went through a horrible divorce right before I discovered them, thought I'd never laugh again, and as ridiculous as it sounds, they helped me find my voice.

Due to geographical boundries, I'm not able to be as close to other forum members as some of them are, but I have had good conversations with a few... and I've noticed that a lot of us here on the forum have similar stories. We have one thing in common... we are all fans of a certain radio show, but the conversations on here go WAY beyond that. I can tell that you Grand Rapiders (and some beyond) have made friends for life from this board, and I really hope the guys on the show have noticed that. It's just a shame that it seems that more people go away than come back.

Maybe they'd let us advertise the forum on their Facebook site or something at least.

Well said Ashleyme!!

mainerliser Wrote:Well said Ashleyme!!

i concur

Ashleyme Wrote:I don't think moving would have anything to do with it. To get new members to a "Free Beer and Hot Wings" message board, you need them to talk about it and put a link on their site. They definitely don't owe it to us or anything to mention us, but that would be the only way to attract new people again.

Your point is well taken, but this isn't exactly true. I discovered this board by using Google. A Google search for "free beer and hot wings forum" brings this board up as the third hit--ahead of the official show forum. Interestingly (and quite relevant to this conversation), the first two hits point to the old one on ProBoards.

If you search for just "free beer and hot wings," the only hit on the first page for any forum is the one at ProBoards. If you search for "free beer and hot wings message board," this forum is the fifth hit, behind a couple for the one on the show's web site.

But then you're the ONLY example I know of that How many people think, "Hey, great show... wonder if there's a forum?" Glad you you did though

Ashleyme Wrote:But then you're the ONLY example I know of that How many people think, "Hey, great show... wonder if there's a forum?" Glad you you did though

There are a lot of people who do that. I'm associated with a number of forums (I've been on one for 13 years).