How many people are still visiting the DVDizzy forum?

[Jules]

I can't help but feel that it seems to be the same 10 to 15 users keeping the threads alive. Have we really been reduced to just a handful of people?

Let's make a list! Copy my username into your post and type yours underneath it. Then the next poster does the same and so on. We should get an idea of who is still visiting.

Jules (formerly Julian Carter)

[blackcauldron85]

Jules (formerly Julian Carter)
blackcauldron85

[Sotiris]

We have many visitors who browse but don't participate. If they don't make posts in the Disney section, what makes you think they'll reply here? The truth is message boards are just not popular anymore. People are on social media now or have their own blogs.

[Disney Guru]

With myself, I still periodically browse the forum. But most of the topics that are active, just don't interest me. I keep the Disney Movie Club section up to date on exclusive titles, because I follow that site and check it periodically. But that's about it.

[Disney Duster]

Yes, it's sad that even though our site is pretty active and great, it's not as big as it gloriously once was. Maybe a lot of people don't use boards now, but I wonder why so many people left this site and yet so many stayed, too. What is it keeping some people here and not others? We had some really deep, informative, smart, funny, and cool people here, and we have plenty now, but it's sad so many have left. I saw some old users went to other forums, so is it that we just drove them away (and I could be a culprit)? Or is it really that people just got done with all boards?

[Mooky]

I'm more of a lurker now. For me, it's not the issue of message boards vs social media, but it's more about the content of the forum and the site in general. I find myself not really caring about most new Disney films or shows or products (which I find almost uniformly inferior to the Disney of even 10 years ago), and almost all discussions are dedicated to the new stuff. I pop up here and there if there's a topic that's more general in nature or if it's about something that interests me. Some parts of the forum can also feel a bit cliquey now; I guess it was always like that, but now that there are fewer visitors it's more noticeable. Topics also seem to feature more news than actual discussions now, but that's understandable given the lower site traffic.

The site itself has been going downhill for years: it's rarely updated and the interface is not really user-friendly. I didn't mind the transition from a Disney fansite to a more general film-review site, but it was done very sloppily and I think that too turned a lot of previous members away. I don't like Disney discussions on social media; they're either excessively enthusiastic or too toxic, and this forum (and IMDb as well) was the lone bright spot after the transition, but now it's really struggling which is sad because there are many members here I admire and whose posts/opinions I would regret not being able to read even though we may not always see eye-to-eye.

[Escapay]

I've largely traded talking with UD members on the forums for other means of communication (usually real life or social media) because most of the UD members I talk to have left the forums, and the ones I still maintain contact with I actually see outside the forums. I've got plenty of old-school UD members on Facebook (with some overlap on Twitter), but really, I usually just communicate regularly with a handful in real-life and that's pretty much replaced most of my forum time.

Albert (who, with this post, has reached the palindromic post count of 12421)

[ajmrowland]

I still check in on occasion.

[ProfessorRatigan]

I'm more of a lurker now. For me, it's not the issue of message boards vs social media, but it's more about the content of the forum and the site in general. I find myself not really caring about most new Disney films or shows or products (which I find almost uniformly inferior to the Disney of even 10 years ago), and almost all discussions are dedicated to the new stuff. I pop up here and there if there's a topic that's more general in nature or if it's about something that interests me. Some parts of the forum can also feel a bit cliquey now; I guess it was always like that, but now that there are fewer visitors it's more noticeable. Topics also seem to feature more news than actual discussions now, but that's understandable given the lower site traffic.

The site itself has been going downhill for years: it's rarely updated and the interface is not really user-friendly. I didn't mind the transition from a Disney fansite to a more general film-review site, but it was done very sloppily and I think that too turned a lot of previous members away. I don't like Disney discussions on social media; they're either excessively enthusiastic or too toxic, and this forum (and IMDb as well) was the lone bright spot after the transition, but now it's really struggling which is sad because there are many members here I admire and whose posts/opinions I would regret not being able to read even though we may not always see eye-to-eye.

Pretty much this. One of the big driving-forces behind me joining the forum was the excitement over Disney Blu-ray releases. Now that (most) of the catalogue have been released on Blu-ray, I don't come here as often or to share in the excitement of new releases. Also, there seems to be less merchandising of older properties lately. I remember how, even just as recently as 2013, the Disney Store was releasing dolls and plushes of villains like Jafar and Gaston and Ursula for the first time. Coming here to discuss such things was fun, and a great way to bond with people over shared interests. But, it's been literal years since Disney has done anything like that. Funko seem to be the only company making collectibles for films like Hercules, Emperor's New Groove, Lilo & Stitch, Robin Hood, etc.

[Elladorine]

I do lurk but rarely post these days, as I've likely already stated in some of my other more recent posts. Counting my original (and abandoned) profile, I've been around here since ... 2003, I think? I'm not online much in general these days due to increasing responsibilities at home, as well as dealing with a lot of personal issues. Things are going pretty well for me regardless; I've got a family to take care of now, I'm currently living in SoCal (not all that far from Disneyland!), and I do try to keep up with my online friends through social media (and even occasionally get to do quick meet-ups in RL!).

I still love Disney. I'll always love Disney. In my spare time I draw Disney-related tributes, parodies, and crossover work. I'm a Disneyland passholder and love to getting to finally experience the park first-hand at my own pace with my son & hubby. Last month I attended a Disney Afternoon-based show at an art gallery and bought an amazing signed James Silvani Darkwing print. A couple weeks ago I was at Wondercon and had the pleasure of chatting with and buying goodies from Aaron Sparrow & James Silvani again (and got an excuse to shamelessly show off my artwork to them, lol). I also got to meet Stephen Silver for the first time, heard him speak about his current passion for teaching, and bought a couple of his amazing prints to get signed!

I miss the sense of wonder and excitement that used to accompany the discussions here, especially over hard-to-find material that the eventual accessibility of the internet subsequently sucked all the mystery out of. And back in the old days I lived on a proverbial island far away from other Disney fans, but that's no longer the case. Anyway, I'll always respect and even consider many of the members here as friends of course, but this forum is no longer my only hub of the Disney Experience™. Information, fandom, and especially enthusiasm can now be found in so many other places, both online and off.

[Disney Duster]

Both Elladorine and Escapay have found people in the outside world to fulfill their Disney discussion desires! They have actually found each other, too, lol. I can talk to people in real life about it (like Escapay actually), but it's not nearly as much or with as many other people.

[Escapay]

and I do try to keep up with my online friends through social media (and even occasionally get to do quick meet-ups in RL!).

What I find hilarious is that we almost met up seven years prior when you were still living in Las Vegas! Sometimes it takes a little time before these meets can happen. Likewise, I remember when I was on my 2005 College Program, and Aaron actually private-messaged me here saying that he'd be visiting the parks and will keep an eye out for me. We didn't actually meet in person until 2012, again, seven years later. Something about that number...

I miss the sense of wonder and excitement that used to accompany the discussions here, especially over hard-to-find material that the eventual accessibility of the internet subsequently sucked all the mystery out of.

Yeah, the sense of immediacy with the internet now means that any news is already digested and regurgitated and re-examined thrice over within a day, then people move on to the next thing. But there's also no longer any sense of excitement for me with Disney news. I've not got excited for a Blu-Ray release in years. Mostly I just grumble about them because they've been turning out subpar product for years that I still ironically keep buying. Gone were the days when people wondered why a second disc was necessary if Blu-Ray had such high storage capacity. Instead, we're lucky to get any on-disc extras now that everything's digital.

Hub of the Disney Experience™

I like that, lol. It really speaks to how I do Disney these days, since it's not longer centralized on this forum.

Albert

[Nandor]

I still read the boards daily, but rarely post. That's par for the course for me though, so not much is lost there.
I do miss the times when there was lots of discussion on these boards. It's more about posting news and some reactions than in-depth discussions nowadays. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's my number one news source, but it is different.
I'll be here 'till the bitter end. You'll just hardly notice.

[disneyboy20022]

I read, but don't often post as of late due to business of being busy in college stuff that needs my full attention.

[zackisthewalrus]

I still check in, but I almost exclusively lurk. I, like Escapay, follow a few old-school UDers on Twitter and Facebook, and I’ll occasionally see them in real life, but for the most part, I don’t really post here anymore.

[Elladorine]

Yeah, the sense of immediacy with the internet now means that any news is already digested and regurgitated and re-examined thrice over within a day

WHO THE HELL SAYS THRICE?!!!
*clears throat*

What I find hilarious is that we almost met up seven years prior when you were still living in Las Vegas! Sometimes it takes a little time before these meets can happen.

It was probably more fun to hang out at Disneyland than Vegas anyway. Besides, this later outing meant we had a Little Dude to get all suspicious of you.

You may recall I was also hoping to drop by and say hi when a friend and I were planning on flying to Walt Disney World from Wisconin wayyy back in, what was it, 2005? But due to some family issues we ended up roadtrippin' it out to Disneyland that summer instead. Ha, the complete opposite direction! We just never know where life (or Disney, for that matter) is going to take us.

... Dude. That was thirteen freakin' years ago! I imagine just about everyone still on this forum from back then couldn't even begin to imagine all the changes that would take place since then. Within this very forum, within the ginormous company that brought us all together (that eventually became even more ginormous!), and even within ourselves.

Wow, that's deep. I'd better write that down!

* * *

When it comes to what I'd personally refer to as the forum's heyday, I think I had the most fun posting silly images and artwork as reactions. Much of that is now lost due to the not-so-great Photobucket purge of 2017, but I suppose we'll always have the memories of "improved" DVD covers, bad clip art, and fake products to live off of.

[Escapay]

Yeah, the sense of immediacy with the internet now means that any news is already digested and regurgitated and re-examined thrice over within a day

WHO THE HELL SAYS THRICE?!!!
*clears throat*

IT'S A WORD!

Albert

[disneyboy20022]

I'm here. I don't post as much as I use to due to busy college life stuff being on radio, but I check this site often. Hard to believe I became part of this community in 2005.

[Guitarman]

I don’t post as much as I used to, but I still use these forums. I have often relied on discussions boards as way to get information and share opinions and thoughts with other like-minded fans. I’m still sad that IMDB shut down it’s message board as I used that one a lot. I wish there was some other site like that every movie, TV, actor, director, etc. had it’s own discussion board.