Are you ready for the deluge?

[Seraphim]

If Trek XI is the crossover mainstream hit that Paramount is hoping for like Wrath of Khan there will be a deluge of new posters on the board. Plus when the new Trek series is announced in the wake of its success we are going to see the greatest deluge of new members since the series V time frame speculations and rumors of Captain Jackson archer.

So are you ready?

 

[STIntergalactic]

not in the slightest. i mean, who wants all those n00bs around?

 

[Seraphim]

not in the slightest. i mean, who wants all those n00bs around?

Its all a part of the fun. I love the ebbs and flows of board membership and personalities. Its like looking at a city at night from an passenger jet at 30,000 feet. Landing and getting in the midst of the flickring lights is what the internet is all about.

 

[Tralah]

Sure! I think it'll be a lot of fun to see more people discover Star Trek in larger numbers. Of course we'll get some trolls in the process, but hopefully the good will out weigh the bad.

 

[Seraphim]

New blood to the board is like fresh skin for phage suffers. Well not quite, but you get what I mean. Finally the BBS will seem more like a newspaper about trek and not a pdf newsletter about a former genre.

 

[Therin of Andor]

If Trek XI is the crossover mainstream hit that Paramount is hoping for like Wrath of Khan there will be a deluge of new posters on the board.

By its numbers at the box office, TMP was a bigger crossover hit. Ditto ST IV.

I was one of the newbies attracted to ST due to TMP. My colleagues and I helped pump up the interest in ST communities.

We saw the same type of surge of interest with ST IV, and again with TNG (in Australia, there was another huge surge of TNG newbies when "Doctor Who" went on hiatus).

Why would I object to more newbies after ST XI?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

What makes you think they'll come here?

 

[PKTrekGirl]

not in the slightest. i mean, who wants all those n00bs around?

Its all a part of the fun. I love the ebbs and flows of board membership and personalities. Its like looking at a city at night from an passenger jet at 30,000 feet. Landing and getting in the midst of the flickring lights is what the internet is all about.

I just want to know what happened to Rob Merritt.

 

[Kegek]

What makes you think they'll come here?

What he said. If the film is a big hit; that means people who would never in a million years post on a forum dedicated to Star Trek will go and see and like the picture - and will continue to never post on a Star Trek forum.

If the film is a big hit an uptick may occur; but I wouldn't expect anything overly drastic.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

If the film is a big hit an uptick may occur; but I wouldn't expect anything overly drastic.

Yup.

The board's more likely to be strained by a big temporary surge in posting (that is to say, arguing and ranting online) by people who are already registered and who post occasionally now.

 

[Gepard]

What makes you think they'll come here?

The unadulterated awesome.

...Aww, hell. I left my pocket protector at home.

 

[cultcross]

If the film is a big hit an uptick may occur; but I wouldn't expect anything overly drastic.

Yup.

The board's more likely to be strained by a big temporary surge in posting (that is to say, arguing and ranting online) by people who are already registered and who post occasionally now.

I think this is what we'll see, exactly.
Posters who are very occasional or who rarely post here anymore coming back for a while to post/rant/complain/gush about the film, then a few might be drawn into other active forums and stay for a while, but most will fade again as the film discussion dies away and Trek XI becomes just another source of caption contest entries in the Movies forum.

 

[Lumen]

I don't know -- we'll probably see more of the regular or casual crowd going through the motions immediately, but if Abrams can actually reinvigorate the franchise, then we've pretty much got to see a new fanbase emerge, one that talks about different things. And if they don't come here, TrekBBS might become irrelevant.

The "deluge" probably won't be a sudden surge, though. It should be a gradual process as Abrams' film gains popularity, measured against the rapid rise and decline of typical fanfare.

 

[Is It Over Yet?]

If the film is a big hit an uptick may occur; but I wouldn't expect anything overly drastic.

Yup.

The board's more likely to be strained by a big temporary surge in posting (that is to say, arguing and ranting online) by people who are already registered and who post occasionally now.

I think this is what we'll see, exactly.
Posters who are very occasional or who rarely post here anymore coming back for a while to post/rant/complain/gush about the film, then a few might be drawn into other active forums and stay for a while, but most will fade again as the film discussion dies away and Trek XI becomes just another source of caption contest entries in the Movies forum.

I also concur. We may see a ton of new members for a short period of time after the release, but they will fall away fairly soon after posting their comments about the movie.

 

[Seraphim]

I'm betting that if the show does well a new series will be announced. The movie plus a new series equals the deluge I am predicting.

 

[cultcross]

I'm betting that if the show does well a new series will be announced. The movie plus a new series equals the deluge I am predicting.

If that is the case, then yes, you'll probably be right. It would certainly be nice to have something new to discuss in the Trek forums.
Having something new certainly brings people in - there are people who post solely in this forum, for example.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

You know, it's not my intention to insult or criticize anyone (which I thoughtlessly did, off the board, on this topic a few weeks ago) but what draws new surfers and potential members to a media website initially is news - particularly if the place is a reliable source of leaks or breaking news.

Some people remember the bump-up in TrekBBS participation when "Star Trek Series V" was announced, and expect that to happen again. But the main event that drew so many new people here then was that Christian obtained and published the first detailed inside info about the premise and the characters of the new series - "Enterprise." TrekWeb got on the map because of earlier reporting about "Star Trek: First Contact" (and some of their staff was publicly sore about TrekBBS scooping them on "Enterprise").

That was then. Boards like Trekweb and TrekBBS are old news now, literally - they both function mainly as bundlers of stories that appear first on other sites. It's the sites that are getting early and inside info on the movie that are already growing and will continue to grow. The expected "deluge of new fans" are going to find and settle in those places as they start commenting on the stories there (and arguing with one another).

Now, if TrekToday gets hold of the first full-on effects shots of Abrams' Enterprise or costume photos of Pine on the bridge or a detailed synopsis of the script and publishes those before everyone else then that changes the ball game again.

 

[Rat Boy]

You know, it's not my intention to insult or criticize anyone (which I inadvertently did, off the board, on this topic a few weeks ago) but what draws new surfers and potential members to a media website initially is news - particularly if the place is a reliable source of leaks or breaking news.

Some people remember the bump-up in TrekBBS participation when "Star Trek Series V" was announced, and expect that to happen again. But the main event that drew so many new people here then was that Christian obtained and published the first detailed inside info about the premise and the characters of the new series - "Enterprise." TrekWeb got on the map because of earlier reporting about "Star Trek: First Contact" (and some of their staff was publicly sore about TrekBBS scooping them on "Enterprise").

That was then. Boards like Trekweb and TrekBBS are old news now, literally - they both function mainly as bundlers of stories that appear first on other sites. It's the sites that are getting early and inside info on the movie that are already growing and will continue to grow.

Now, if TrekToday gets hold of the first full-on effects shots of Abrams' Enterprise or costume photos of Pine on the bridge or a detailed synopsis of the script and publishes those before everyone else then that changes the ball game again.

We already have seen an uptick thanks to the new film...at TrekMovie.com.

 

[Divinity Davey]

Unfortunately, I've become more a 'Grazer' around here rather than a Participator due to the onslaught of Real Life.
But I do manage to peek in at least 3 or 4 times a week to keep up with the rumor mills.
I don't have a clue as to whether or not things will pick up or die around here, with the advent of Trek-XI, but I do know I'll keep coming back till the day I either can't turn on the computer anymore or the Trek BBS disappears into the nether regions of the Internet.

 

[Unionized Elf]

If Trek XI does become some sort of mainstream hit, I'm going to have fun picking on the new fans. I'll say to them "you're not a true Trek fan. I am. I've been a Trek fan since before it was trendy. I've been ridiculed and humiliated because I'm a Trek fan. You're just latching onto a popular movie and saying you're a fan to fit in. You make me sick."