Has anyone else noticed...

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I try to visit this forum as often as I can, but life gets busy with work and family so I stop by when I can. Usually when I'm here I go to the front page of the forum and one of the things that I've noticed almost every time I visit is that there is always a new member signed up, but for some reason most of them don't ever make a single post, or if they do post something then they don't bother to come back.

So I'm wondering why? What's the point of new members signing up if they are not going to participate in any conversations on the forum? I know that new members must have their first few posts approved by Chris aka HalloweenCom, and that some people only sign up to post spam so their posts won't be shown, but the rest of them just sign up and don't post anything.

As I said before, I know that forums are not as popular as they used to be since Facebook came around, and it's naturally slow at this time of year for any interest in the holiday, but even when the season is at full speed it seems like new people just don't post here anymore.

I'm aware of at least one other Halloween forum out there, and they seem to be busy throughout the year, but to me, it just doesn't have the heart that this place does. I love this forum, and I've met some great people here like Mike, Andy, and Murfreesboro, and I hope that eventually more members will join in and it will get busy again.

[Andybev01]

It can seem like a wasteland at times but I kind of enjoy the off season.

When I joined the forums (14 years ago) it was like it is now, a vast, digital abandoned house that was haunted by me and a member named 'Rising Dead Man' and a few others.

I hope that it has a renaissance and flourishes again, especially since it will be 30 years old in just 2 short years!

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

It's awesome that Halloween.com has been around this long. Who would have thought that 28 years ago when they got in on the ground floor of this new thing called the internet that it would still be around? I don't think most people would have expected the internet to become a part of our daily lives the way it has.

Also, congrats on being here this long Andy. I've glanced at your info and post count before, but I guess it didn't register until you mentioned it just now.

I couldn't even tell you how many forums I was active on about 20 years ago, but now I'm only active on 4 of them. This place of course, and there are 2 Disney forums that I post on with my kids, and a Star Trek forum that I joined way back in 1998 when I was 17, where there are only 5 other people still posting aside from myself.

[ancient whitelighter]

Yes indeed, it does seem like a wasteland these days, but there's always hope that things will turn around...there are still a few of us hanging on and surely more people out there who only need to find this forum. I don't get back as often as I'd like, but this place is in my heart. I'll admit that there is a pang of sadness that creeps in when I think of times past and how much fun everyone seemed to have when posting here, sharing our love of Halloween.

It was such a thrill to find this forum 13 years ago (ooh, a great anniversary number...I need to celebrate that!!) and it was very active, lots of friendly goings-on with gift-giving, lively conversations, running jokes, shared Halloween finds and adventures/visits to spooky places, and so much more - all of those things that we love. Sharing all of that created a feeling of togetherness. I suppose I've mostly stayed on the sidelines, soaking it all in and enjoying the atmosphere, and I've had nowhere near the number of posts that many other members have had. However, I have always loved being here, no matter what. I am not a member of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media. This forum is my connection to other souls who are as enchanted by all things Halloween as I am.

Here's to a reawakening of glad times on this, our Halloween forum.

Halloween poems that you might enjoy:

https://www.haunted-britain.com/31-spoo ... loween.htm

[Andybev01]

I mostly love that there is no a-d-v-e-r-t-i-s-i-n-g.

I get so sick of opening a site and getting assaulted with offers and discounts a second after 'accepting' the irritating 'cookie' policies.

If I walked into a brick-and-mortar and couldn't start browsing the aisles without running a juggernaut passed bright, happy sales clerks throwing coupons at me, I'd about-face and never return.

[Pumpkin_Head]

A lot of people just like to lurk on forums in order to get a feel for how they work. Others just like to read the posts, but might be afraid for some reason or another to post.

An interesting idea just popped into my head. For countless thousands of years, men and women have been dealing with various types of phobias or fears of things for no logical reason. That could include fear of heights, cats, claustrophobia, fear of water, fear of driving, and the list goes on and on. I wonder, that if it hasn't already happened, that there may actually be or soon will be a 'phobia' related to computers, the Internet and the like.


Just a thought.

Mike

[Andybev01]

I looked it up; cyberphobia

[Pumpkin_Head]

Cyberphobia. That makes sense. Over the past 200 years our inventions have created a few more phobias. For instance, there are people who no matter what you do, wan nothing to do with driving a car. They'll ride with someone or take public transportation, but they will NOT DRIVE no matter what. My older sister is like that. Then there are people who don't like needles when they go the doctor or dentist. It can be fascinating as to all the new and innovative ways we now have at our fingertips to scare people for Halloween.

Mike

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I hope everybody here had a great time on the 4th, and that you have been enjoying the summer so far.

I have known people that fear technology, but I didn't know what it was called until Andy posted it. I do know some people that have unusual fears, like we mentioned before about Friday the 13th, and I have met people that are afraid to drive, but I think one of the weirdest was a guy that would not ever use a elevator. He was in his 30s when I knew him and even at that age he would not get into a elevator, he would always use the stairs.

I think it's fine to scare normal people with normal fears on Halloween, but scaring people that have actual phobias is just cruel. I have heard of people that died because they were literally scared to death by their fears. So while we would consider them to be irrational fears, it's real to them.

[Pumpkin_Head]

I guess this post is going to be another 'plain texter,' as everything here seems to be going slow tonight. Anyway, I certainly would never knowing try to use someone's phobia as the basis for a Halloween prank, and I apologize for not clarifying myself. I was thinking more of a 'Halloween Haunt that knows all your fears" type of a deal.

As for elevators, I do use them when I need them, like if I have to go up 12 or 13 floors, or if I have a cart full of photo gear or something, but generally I am not overly fond of them. If it's only 3 or 4 floors and I'm not loaded down with a lot of things, I usually opted for the stairs myself, ESPECIALLY late at night when I would leave after a late-night photo shoot. And this is coming from a guy who weighed in at 387 pounds at his heaviest.

Mike

[MacPhantom]

Rubber snakes. Weirdest phobia ever. My older brother isn't afraid of real snakes.... he had one as a pet. He's only afraid of RUBBER SNAKES, and deathly afraid of them. If you bring one into the room he's in, he will jump out of his chair and flee.

I think we need to incentive the newbies. Give them a reason to contribute. A little carrot and stick, as it were. Like this:

If we can get ten new members to post to this topic by the end of the month, then on August 1st I will post the dirtiest Halloween joke ever told in the history of the holiday. Conversly, if our quota is not met, I will post a picture of my wardrobe malfunction at the senior center Scotchtoberfest last year.

In the immortal words of the illustrious Magnitude, "Pop Pop," ladies and gentlemen.

[Andybev01]

"...I will post a picture of my wardrobe malfunction at the senior center Scotchtoberfest last year." ?

[Pumpkin_Head]

Andy, I quite agree. That is one of the weirdest photos I ever saw, and perfect for Halloween.

Mike

[witchy]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
I have been super busy last year and this one, my dad moved in with me in January and he's 92 going to be 93 in Oct. We are are selling his house in New Mexico, we live in Missouri. My Biological mom died in April. My youngest Daughter got married last September. It's just been very stressful to say the least! I am so I'm almost back to normal, if that's even possible. It's so nice to be back!

[MacPhantom]

So sorry to hear about your mom, Witchy. But congrats on your daughter, and bravo for helping out your dad. It's more than I intend to do for my mum when she starts pooping herself without realizing it. When she and her siblings set up my 96 year old grandma in a nursing home, my mum kept saying "I'm not into elder care." I'm looking forward to the day I can play the multiple recordings I've made of her saying it back to her.