Cafe no longer withering; sets record for most users online

[spodog]

Maybe it's the oppressive heat of summer. Maybe re-organizing the board has everyone off their game. Maybe I'm expecting too much. Maybe, though, my suspicisions are true

We all know that this place will be buzzing once we are in the midst of the season, but it sure seems to me that this period in mid to late June was a LOT busier around the Cafe in years past than it is this year. Seems there was a time around here where you could pull up the Football Leftovers category 24 hours after your last stop in the Cafe and your screen would fill with mutliple responses to the prior day's posts, and the top 2/3 of your screen or more would be new random thoughts about all kinds of NFL topics burning on Cafe' members minds.

Seems lately, I wander into the Cafe, see a few familiar faces now and then, collected around old worn tables, with a lot of vacant seating.

Is it just too early still, or is the Cafe kind of withering on the vine here?

[biju]

It's a little early in the season, but I noticed it last year too a little.

I think there are a lot of factors that contribute to the slowdown but I'm guessing that the bottom line is that SEO (search engine optimization) plays a large factor in where people go first. If you search for "fantasy football" or even "fantasy football message board" you don't find the Cafe on the first page. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but the Cafe used to be one of the first few links a couple years ago.

I don't know a lot about SEO but I do know that usually people are lazy searchers and if they don't hit what they are looking for in the first search they usually don't move on too far down the pages; they instead adjust their search. If the Cafe doesn't get on the first page for any of those searches it might explain something.

[mrblitz]

I see what you both are saying. I am hoping that as the season nears, it will pick up as normal. I was away for almost 2 years, and I have certainly seen alot of differences here. Old familar faces gone, but some really intuitive new faces have taken their places. I'm not too concerned.

[Azrael]

If you just got back from a year or two hiatus you won't see old schoolers like Homey, GP, slow, aww, plindsey and some others. Back in 06-07 some of those guys had some sort of disagreement with admin here (I think) and defected to create their own message board.

I think you'll start to see traffic pick up here in the next month.

[eagles21]

Weird timing. Just this morning I noticed how Leftovers was lacking any recent topics about certain players or drafting strategies or whatever. Although the Cafe will most likely be busy during the season, I wish it was the same way during the offseason. I love reading debates about specific players and how they will perform next season, and it just seems that this has been lacking so far.

It is still only June, though, so hopefully it will pick up.

[mrblitz]

If you just got back from a year or two hiatus you won't see old schoolers like Homey, GP, slow, aww, plindsey and some others. Back in 06-07 some of those guys had some sort of disagreement with admin here (I think) and defected to create their own message board.

I think you'll start to see traffic pick up here in the next month.

Wow, really? Guys like Awwchrist, Swiper, Deluxe, Plindsey, they are all gone huh? That's too bad, I really liked all those guys.

[mattb47]

Have you been around in the other off seasons? It's ALWAYS slow in the off season and will start to pick up in mid to late July and August as more people start to have drafts and the seasons nears. This is probably the absolute worst time to evaluate the health of the cafe as a whole...

[bungle613]

I would say it is a bit quieter but about the same level, as Azrael mentioned, in 06/07 when several active members left the cafe. Some just had enough with the hardcore FF, some had other reasons. It like anything, and you can describe it as generational or cyclical. There is only so much time to devote to certain things. I also noticed in 06/07 that many guys I was playing with cut down leagues and posting in a big way. Almost all of them was just life that got in the way. May starting school, or final year or whatever.

Several members have stepped up like Metroid, WaCoug, Daullaz, Madas etc... to keep things humming. IT's now up to the hardcore FF goofballs like ourselves to be the posters and to keep the forums active.

I would assume most of you have looked at other message board sites and the traffic there is minimal at this time as well.

[Azrael]

If you just got back from a year or two hiatus you won't see old schoolers like Homey, GP, slow, aww, plindsey and some others. Back in 06-07 some of those guys had some sort of disagreement with admin here (I think) and defected to create their own message board.

I think you'll start to see traffic pick up here in the next month.

Wow, really? Guys like Awwchrist, Swiper, Deluxe, Plindsey, they are all gone huh? That's too bad, I really liked all those guys.

Deluxe and Swiper are still here I believe.

[Cowboys 4 life]

I have noticed a decline in topics and activity within each topic. Alot of new faces now.

But I still enjoy the banter.