Whew. What a roller-coaster ride. And not just recently. The whole thing. Approaching year three at light speed. I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish so far (with little to no money.)

On this Thanksgiving (thanking everyone who gave a little this past week ... and a thanks to Mike Tuesday (liquidtuesday) for the great Risk photos. I've been wanting to use them for a while now and thought they were appropriate for this piece...) Anyway, reflecting recently, I'm sensing that I'm near a turning point.

Here's just one little sign. The Herald Bulletin, a CNHI paper in Anderson, IN, near my section of the RISK board, recently banned one of their forum members. (Granted, everyone I mention that forum to says it's a rowdy place with a reputation!) Still, though, one of their original members, there for years and years (With a following) was banned (so I hear), for posting pornography. (It was a pretty gross screengrab from the movie Deliverance, I think...)

Anyway, other matters on the forum had led to heated discussions over the phone (so I hear...) and not soon after, the senior member was banned ... 'for life.'

I don't spend a *lot* of time at the HB Forums (they're all interconnected, though, across CNHI...different 'rules' in each 'town' along the highway, but that's another post entirely...) Not spending a lot of time there, I don't know the regulars, the unwritten rules, whether they have hidden mods or public moderators or if anyone from the newspaper even reads it. (Most I talk to insist they're 'above all that rot-gut...')

Here's the analogy I'm using (which is funny in an ironic way if you know the local players...) The Anderson Herald Bulletin dropped the ball. In the 'old days' newspapers could drop the ball all they wanted and still make tons of profit. Things are different now, though, because someone like me can pick that ball up and run for the endzone. Heh. I hate sports, but that's the analogy because it's apt!

It's played out pretty interesting so far. A small (medium-sized?) group of core members (veterans!) decided to check out Anderson Free Press after this fiasco. I got an email Wednesday, I think, telling me what was happening and that the AFP forums pretty much sucked. (Well, not in those words, but that's how I translated it, which isn't bad, because I agreed with it ...)

So, I went into action and started carving Drupal up a little bit. One of the first things I noticed as users began 'Operation Mass Exodus' is that they were UNFAMILIAR with threaded comments and hated them. I thought at first, "Oh, they'll get used to it..." Some of the users are older, though, and change online is hard.

I quickly made the decision to trust my instincts on Customer Service and give them what they wanted. I wish I had the money to buy vbulletin or DruBB would hurry up and get here, but I put together what I could to simulate 'normal forums' for them. And I think they appreciated it.

Participation Flourished and it's Thanksgiving, too. I can't wait to see what happens next week. They may all just disappear, but I don't think that's going to happen.

More people continue to show up. (Maybe I'll post some Google Graphs later of the spike. It's not a worthless spike, though, as these are users. My time on site and pages per visit is very high.)

My grandma (75 years old) called and said (she's so cute), "I noticed the door was open and a lot of people came over, but then I went in and saw all the people!" (Some are a little rough around the edges, but it's reality...) "I'm liking the traffic, though..." Heh. She warned me against becoming a MySpace. I wanted to explain to her that there needs to be a mix, but I moved onto other things, other family news.

In any case, traffic and participation is up at AFP (revenue to follow?) and the influx of people doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon. It will slow down eventually, but for now, I'm trying to give them as much attention as I can. It's a pleasure to have them there ... all of them.

I told them basically they had a blank slate coming over. I need to pick moderators soon (who will be anonymous) ... I'm trying to get a feel of who's who in the group, though. I'm sure the new location is changing the group dynamic some, though.

If you guys want a peek at a 'sudden life' situation on a grassroots journalism site (and how I'm handling it), I encourage you to stop on by and take a peek and critique. ;)

It's been fascinating to see a group of people show up and bring a website to life virtually overnight. Amazing. It gives me hope. (Or maybe it's just my full stomach. ;) Thanks, sis...)

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