Deep Spirits

[Sabina]

Hello dear reader,

The DS forum will be closed in about a week or so.
Instead, there will be a blogging platform.
Still a platform for sharing, and connecting, but in a more contemporary and up to date manner.

If you have any opinion about this, please feel free to share...

Sincerely,
Sabina

[Kalvis]

It touches me deeply that you're thinking about closing DP and making it to a bloggin platform.
I love DP, and i just couldn't wait to my school is over, and have more time to practice and discover this website more than i do now.

But why do you consider closing DP and all its components? Is it expensive to have, or do you feel too stressed to be a part of it at the moment? Cause if it is so, i believe that people wouldn't mind donating a few coins to keep DP going on. And if you dont feel that you have enough time to update the page at the moment, then i understand, but i don't mind you being a bit inactive for a while, as long as the website is still up.

It makes me sad. :(

Louis

[mirjana]

I can understand that you have a reason for doing it, but as you asked for an opinion, I agree with Louis. Of course that your presence is a vital energy for DS that nicely motivates us all to be part of it, but still, I also prefer to keep DS even less dynamic than usually, if this is such a moment, than to lose it complitelly. What do you think to think once more about your decision? Or to give it a bit more time?

[dermot]

I think for me there are questions to be asked, and answers given?

We have very little information on the reasons behind this proposal, if they are personal then we of course would accept any decision you might make.

It does sadden me that at a time when the site continues to attract new members, it is unfortunately dormant.
Those of us fortunate to benefit from the efforts of those responsible for setting it up and maintaining it are to a large extent responsible for this.
There is one forum with 375 views and no comments.....why would anyone involved in running this great site give even more of their time...if we do not appreciate it?

Time to speak up............??????????????????

[Naveen]

life will never be the same!!

[Ryan]

Hmmm... how to put it? I understand your motivation... I don't really understand what your expectations are for the blogging platform in relation to the forum. I mean as far as I understand it is all about the stagnation. Correct? What is the difference between the stagnation of a forum or the stagnation of a blog? And why does one exclude the other?

For me... I don't feel that I have sooo much to say... and I don't feel that there are too many that are really interested even if I did. So, a blog would go by without peaking my interest. I enjoy the "exploration" of a topic. The ability to discuss a subject.

I sincerely apologize to all because my life's situation has me preoccupied to an extreme. I wish things were different but it is currently out of my hands and I just do not have the spare time to put into participating in my "extra curricular" activities. However, after saying all that, I would like to clarify my position in regards to closing the forum... I trust you... if you think it needs to be done then I support your decision even if I don't quite understand it.

[Sabina]

Dear Louis,
I am truly sorry my post made you feel sad. I thought your reply was very sweet, so your post had the opposite effect on me than mine had on you.
Donations to support DS would be nice, but money is not the reason why I suggested to close the forum (and only the forum, not the whole site!). The main reason is that the forum section seemed pointless.
The forum would still be here, none of the old posts would be gone, so whatever one wants to read or look up, that wouldn't be a problem.

Dermot, the reasons aren't personal nor a secret.
Yes Ryan, it is all about the stagnation of the forum.

Not many people are contributing in terms of talking, so with the forum closed, it wouldn't be that different than it is now now. At least that is how it seemed to me.... and I didn't think it would make much of a difference to anyone else.

I used to come to the front page of DS every day, just to see what the latest posts are.
But, for a long time now, there is not really much going on here in terms of talks, discussions and sharing. That used to make me very sad. Well, depending on my current state of mind, it would make me a little sad or very sad, but it always touched me. So I tried to relax about it all, and give it time... it only got worse. And while the entire DS website is well visited and read, the only part of DS that is built by all of us, the joint adventure, went dormant.
That didn't and doesn't make sense to me... I don't understand it.

With the forum closed, the blogging platform would be another, a new possibility to share, for all of us, or for those who have something to say. Think of it as reporters writing for a newspaper... and whoever wishes to, can be a reporter.

How is it different from the forum?

The forum is built to handle a higher load of information, a larger number of posts by a larger number of people.
Hence the many different DS forums (Spirited Debate, Psychology, Words & Language, Imagination Exercises, etc.)

In forum is more suitable for discussions and debates.

We don't anymore have a high load of new posts, nor have there been any lively discussions here lately (I am talking about months here!)
So the question is, why should we keep a forum?

Please don't get me wrong... I wouldn't mind keeping the forum open... I would actually love to! But it shouldn't be dead nor struggling for life.

[Sabina]

Addendum to my previous post (see above):
I checked online for differences between forums and blogs, and here are a few of the results (by other people)...

Weblog Final.gif (17.12 KiB) Viewed 4610 times

- Group shares equal responsibility to post new topics...
- Group input, collaboration,..
- Replies are required for a discussion...

From another source:
"Blogs are for users, forums are for communities...
One idea is forums for involvement, questions answers... then you can have blogs for more regular contributor articles, etc. "

[Naveen]

@Ryan - True :) I think we're all striking a balance!

@Sabina - Deeply appreciate the heart behind DS.. Many thanks :) Acknowledge all concerns with keeping the Forums going.. Is it feasible to continue with the Forums but scale them down slightly.. I don't know, maybe club a few topics together and segregate later on as more and more people join DS and member interest grows..?

[dermot]

With deep apprciation to those who made this site a wonderful place to visit, it is to my mind at least obvious what has happened.

Sabina and Ryan were the heartbeat of the site, ably complimented by others most notably Mirjana.

The rest of us revolved around the efforts and direction provided by Sabina and Ryan, when that input goes missing, and it has for whatever reasons then inevitably people login see nothing is happening and logout again.

What happens now is in the hands of those who kept the place interesting, to consider otherwise in my mind is to miss the point.

There's nobody home.

d.