Curious what happened here?

I was a active member here over 15 years ago. I left the group for a variety of reasons. Back then, there was almost daily activity in almost all of the many topics. I come here now and see that it seems most of the topics most recent activity is weeks old and overall activity is sporadic at best. Is this a statement on the current status of the hobby in general? Is there stiff competition to this group that has siphoned off  most of the members/activity? Or?I've had to use my son's login to get here since my previous login credentials were no longer valid and requests for a new password were apparently going to an email I no longer have. I was previously here as username "dalaitom".
 
There has been a slow but steady move from forums to FB and instagram. Everything has a life cycle and I expect forums to become popular again. 
 
The hobby is very strong.  Especially from a $$$ stand point since today's reefers seem a lot more willing to spend the big bucks on their equipment and corals.  The issue now is there so many ways to get and share your reefing information.   Plus I think the younger crowd is not into the whole forum thing.  I'm not sure it is even a FB issue.  The clubs FB page doesn't really seem to get that much posting traffic.  It could just be an issue of too many FB groups.  I know of 5 or 6 groups for the area and I'm sure there a lot more.  So you are spreading all that traffic out among all those groups instead of just one place like our forum used to be.    You also have the whole political issues of the club.  I know a few former members that still have tanks but thru disagreements with the club they are no longer a part of the group.  It is really sad.  I used to really enjoy it when the club was big and we had the big Next Wave event.
 
Dalaitom, welcome back! I think 14 years ago we used to have livelier discussions and debates ranging from politics to aquarium science. Nowadays my finding is most hobbyist quote from the same playbook and walk on egg shells (in the age of political correctness) and I don't think anyone has said anything political since I've been back on here.
 
The "walking on eggshells" was a big problem with me and a large part of why I left. Seeing members "coddle" newbies that were obviously inept and not willing to learn . Failure after failure and many animal deaths later, nobody seemed willing to provide any tough love to tell these people they should simply "NOT have a saltwater aquarium."And there were certainly an abundance of overly sensitive members that felt they were beyond criticism.Thanks for the "welcome back" but I have no plans on staying. I've just been curious for a few years about why this group seemed to have died.By the way, I have a Purple Tang that I bought back 2001 from a member in Abilene that was being deployed to Iraq. I still have the Tang and it has survived numerous tank moves, equipment malfunctions, and still seems happy and healthy.View attachment 5294 
 
Well the advancement of the hobby does take new blood and honestly I can't expect everyone to be as smart as me! :D 
 
Hi DalaiTom, long time no see.  I think people these days have far less interest documenting their own aquariums, and prefer to seek out answers to questions they are dealing with at the moment. Even what we share on social media is mainly today, forgotten tomorrow. It's a shame, because tank build threads are usually the most helpful method of learning.
 
Posted by: melev Hi DalaiTom said:
Is that why you no longer post?  I remember you used to post something almost daily and I rarely see a post from you since the board was updated.  Just curious.
 
Hi Marc! You were definitely one of the most dedicated members (and presidents) and always seemed to do what was best for the club. I hope all is going well with you.
 
I post blogs to my own site because it's my content. And my focus has been social media to share my content, rather than our club forum or any other forum. It's just how I've gravitated over the past few years.  I do a lot of Youtube videos, and post to instagram often. I run a facebook page for my business... What I don't do is re-paste the same content everywhere. It's something that bugs me on some level, so I try to keep things different between one place and another. :)
 
Yes, things are going quite well.  In 2009, I decided to make Melev's Reef my sole source of income and have been growing my brand ever since. :)  I see my banner beneath this editor, in fact. Tell us about your current reef tank while you're here.  I'll attach a picture of my 400g as well.View attachment 5299View attachment 5300
 
I've downsized a few times. From around 350 gallon total system size, to 250 gallons, the 175 gallons, and now only around 100 gallons. I've only had the one Purple Tang for the last 6-7 years (with a few mushroom corals) and when that fish is gone, I will shut my current tank down and possibly have a small "nano" type system if I decide to have anything at all. Glad to hear you're doing well.
 
Well, I don't do Youtube, Instagram or facebook, just not my thing.  The forums is my sole source of reefing content.
 
You don't know what you're missing. :)  But that's okay.  Here's the link to my Youtube Channel in case you want to look for interesting topics I've covered. http://www.youtube.com/melevsreef
 
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