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Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 2:25 am
by dark
I remember even 2 or 3 years ago this forum had a decent amount of activity. Now it's pretty much a ghost town. If the prices of 3DO items and videos of 3DO stuff online are any indication, there is still interest in the hardware and the games, so what gives ;) Where is everyone!

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:44 am
by a31chris
I dunno. This should be the best, most active.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:45 am
by a31chris
Because I like this one the best

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 7:05 pm
by Martin III
I didn't even know there were other 3DO forums on the web. Not that it matters, since apart from the recent dearth of activity here, I like this one too much to switch to another.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:30 am
by goldenband
One of the admin somehow banned the Google spider, and now the site is blacklisted from both Google and Bing. (The CD-i side of things isn't blacklisted, just the 3DO half.)

That, more than anything, is why it's so quiet -- and frankly the CD-i side isn't doing much better, since as far as I can tell there's no way for new members to get approved. It looks to have been many years since Devin has participated in the forums, which makes me wonder whether the whole site might abruptly disappear someday.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 3:42 am
by dark
Is it possible to unban the spider? I know I initially found this forum via google.

It looks like Devin visited recently
http://www.3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/memb ... rofile&u=2

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:06 pm
by goldenband
dark wrote:Is it possible to unban the spider? I know I initially found this forum via google.
I think they may have tried to, but it could be that the ban precipitated a blacklist that remains in effect & needs to be addressed manually, e.g. by contacting Google directly. Unfortunately the diagnostics one might use to identify the exact problem aren't available to anyone but site admin.
dark wrote:It looks like Devin visited recently
http://www.3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/memb ... rofile&u=2
Say, that's good news! :) If it had been earlier in the day I'd have thought he had an alert on his name, but it looks like it was before my post. Devin, if you're out there, what's happening?

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:53 pm
by dark
From viewing the users of the forum there is a huge slowdown in new users starting in 2015.

New users registered during the year:
2012: 118
2013: 67
2014: 77
2015: 18
2016: 6

Basically the forum is getting no new users. That's a shame, I really don't think that the number of retro game enthusiasts interesting in 3DO significantly cooled off in 2014, especially while various other retro game forums are going gangbusters, people are buying 3DOs left and right on ebay and there are tons of youtube videos about 3DO from the past few years.

Can we back up the forums and upload the historical content to a new forum provider just so people will be able to find us, and leave a topic here in the main forum to point to the new location? This is silly, this is by far one of the best 3DO forums out there in terms of the historical content and knowledge and folks on it, and I'd hate to see it just dry up into nothingness since the only people who know it exists are those that bookmarked it and/or registered prior to 2014.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:16 am
by goldenband
Unless someone is willing to do something to get us back listed on the major search engines, I think moving to a different forum is a great idea. I've actually made inquiries about that, and will post if/when I have an update.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 2:24 am
by dark
Let me know what happens. I started looking into free forum providers and I could simply make something and start a PR blitz on other sites and YT videos to try and get people to join and post, but if we're able to branch off of a site that already has users and some visibility, that ought to help drive traffic, create content and help it show up in search engines without as much effort involved.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 2:47 am
by Austin
I think the most logical solution is to try to get the Google spider un-banned. The CD-i forum has no issues with that as it comes up in a Google search, so I don't see why it can't be fixed for the 3DO side.

I admire the passion some of you guys have with the want to make a new forum. However, I have seen someone else try the same in the past and the project just fell flat on its face (3DOage). It's a lot of work and not as simple as just making a few YouTube videos to get some "buzz" going.

Something else I have noticed on other retro gaming forums (and surely goldenband can back me up on this), there's just not a lot of interest in the 3DO in general. You mention the 3DO, you get a lukewarm response at best. There's not much actual talk happening on forums, and when it does, it fizzles out pretty quickly. I guess the point is, the 3DO already has a home on the web, and it is here. Better to get this fixed than attempt to migrate somewhere else.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:14 pm
by a31chris
I love my 3D0!

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:42 am
by CasetheCorvetteman
Austin wrote:I think the most logical solution is to try to get the Google spider un-banned. The CD-i forum has no issues with that as it comes up in a Google search, so I don't see why it can't be fixed for the 3DO side.

I admire the passion some of you guys have with the want to make a new forum. However, I have seen someone else try the same in the past and the project just fell flat on its face (3DOage). It's a lot of work and not as simple as just making a few YouTube videos to get some "buzz" going.

Something else I have noticed on other retro gaming forums (and surely goldenband can back me up on this), there's just not a lot of interest in the 3DO in general. You mention the 3DO, you get a lukewarm response at best. There's not much actual talk happening on forums, and when it does, it fizzles out pretty quickly. I guess the point is, the 3DO already has a home on the web, and it is here. Better to get this fixed than attempt to migrate somewhere else.
I made a forum years ago for Sega Model 2 emulator online racing, and while it did ok here and there, it wasnt overly busy, and we only really got a couple extra actual players to join us.

Id say youre right about the likelyhood of a 3DO forum starting and going a simular path, because it is discussed on other busy gaming forums, and even then its not much.

There are some forums that just take off and cant be stopped no matter how many f**kwits are on there, look at NEO•GEO.com... Full of arrogant twats, run by elitist arrogant wankers, and for the most a total mess. It will never change though, because it has the volume.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 8:34 pm
by MathUser
unbanning the google bot is a smart idea. I only found this site cause someone mentioned it on another forum.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 3:41 am
by goldenband
Austin wrote:I think the most logical solution is to try to get the Google spider un-banned. The CD-i forum has no issues with that as it comes up in a Google search, so I don't see why it can't be fixed for the 3DO side.
I completely agree, but the admin have been completely non-responsive. :( I think maybe 3DOKid or 3DO Experience tried once, but had no luck. Maybe Devin is the only one who can make the necessary site changes to satisfy Google, and he didn't reply to my PM a while back.

Though it can at least be found on Google, the CD-i side of this site is kind of a mess, too -- the admin aren't activating new forum accounts as far as I can tell.
Austin wrote:I admire the passion some of you guys have with the want to make a new forum.
FWIW I wasn't thinking of a new forum, but a dedicated 3DO subforum in the Classic Gaming area of AtariAge. If that ends up happening (and it appears that it will), it'll at least offer an alternative for 3DO-specific discussion, whether or not it replaces our endangered space here.

It's hard to foresee whether a dedicated space will increase participation or quietly fizzle out, but the Intellivision forum there is a good example of how a subforum can really take off.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 3:37 am
by dark
I think a subforum on atariage is a fantastic idea. We've got a Jag forum here that at times has had more activity than the main 3do forum ;) and many folks who own a jaguar or are interested in that era of gaming have some experience with the 3DO or own/owned one themselves.

That's way better than my idea of quietly starting a new 3DO forum, trying to encourage folks to come to it and create some content in order to get found by google. Which incidentally, I started doing (not showing up in google searches yet though).

Feel free to join my forum ;) All posts/replys/users are all me at the moment trying to create some 3DO content to get found by search engines.
http://3docentral.freeforums.net/#category-1

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 6:39 am
by blabla
A 3DO subforum on AtariAge would be the way to go but i'm unsure how to convince them to add such subforum...

I wish admins & mods would approve new accounts as Optimus was unable to get his account approved due to that.
This guy has managed to have 3D working on the 3DO and it's a real shame he can't post here...

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:13 am
by goldenband
blabla wrote:A 3DO subforum on AtariAge would be the way to go but i'm unsure how to convince them to add such subforum...
No need, because...it's alive!

http://atariage.com/forums/forum/191-3d ... ltiplayer/

Big thanks to Albert at AtariAge for creating it. :)

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 6:47 am
by Austin
Very cool. I suppose that will suffice for now. I'd really like to see this forum get fixed though. Still, considering AA is basically my forum home on the web.. I'm OK with this.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:13 pm
by T2KFreeker
This site is awesome and it has been the center of the 3DO for years. It should stay that way and I don't necessarily think a new site would do as well. I tried several years back and the site died a very slow and painful death. It is what it is. This site rocks though, just needs a little more activity.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:12 pm
by Kyosho
Ooh, thanks for the heads up on the Atari Age 3DO forum. I think part of what caused the google spider to bug out also had to do with the name change of the forum from 3DO Zone. At least, it appeared to happen at that time. Could be the spider was banned during the same period of changes.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:39 pm
by sneth
AA is mostly regurgitated topics and discussions from this forum.
I would say interest as a whole has gone down. Games from this generation didnt age well.
Sure, there are some gems, but not many hidden gems.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:46 pm
by goldenband
We are back on Google! Hopefully that should liven things up around here. :D Thanks, Devin, for your efforts in getting us visible to the wider world once again.

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 11:48 pm
by Tinsair
goldenband wrote:
Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:46 pm
We are back on Google! Hopefully that should liven things up around here. :D Thanks, Devin, for your efforts in getting us visible to the wider world once again.
That's excellent news! :D

Re: Is this the most active 3DO forum on the web?

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:45 am
by Austin
goldenband wrote:
Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:46 pm
We are back on Google! Hopefully that should liven things up around here. :D Thanks, Devin, for your efforts in getting us visible to the wider world once again.
Old news now but still great news nonetheless! :D