[Rhodes22-list] The List Seems to be Fading Away

[Hank]

I sold my Rhodes about 10 years ago but I've remained on the list.  I did
manage to get a sail in with Chris a few years ago but haven't made it on
the water since then.

Hank
Montgomery Village, MD

On Sun, Mar 10, 2024 at 6:27 PM Michael Corley <michael.4591 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I agree completely with Tom's comments.  They are on the mark.
> Old sailors, like old soldiers, never die, they just fade away .  .  .
>
> -Mike
> s/v Ranger 1999
> Hampton Roads, VA
>
> On Sun, Mar 10, 2024 at 5:38 PM Tom Hyatt via Rhodes22-list <
> rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:
>
> > The R22 Facebook account sees sporadic use. Kind of like the email list.
> In
> > February, there were no posts at all. In January there were 4
> > original posts with a number of comments. In December there were 3 posts
> > with follow-up comments. In November 1 post with comments.
> >
> > As a new Rhodes 22 owner, I can't speak on why there are fewer posts. My
> > observation however is that the R22 community is an aging one. Looking at
> > where the most action is on Youtube, it is not with daysailing or
> > trailer-sailers but with young couples giving up their day-to-day lives
> to
> > travel around the world on blue-water cruisers. So perhaps there are not
> as
> > many new sailors drawn to the kind of weekend sailing on small boats that
> > we all do.
> >
> > The majority of R22 owners that I have met so far tilt more toward the
> > retired crowd or toward people who once were owners and now have either
> > moved to power boats or larger sailing vessels or have given up sailing
> > altogether. Maybe those that have stayed with their R22s, as I think
> > someone indicated already, have solved most of their issues and questions
> > and don't have as much need for the community as they once did.
> >
> > Not having GB as an active and vital business certainly has dampened the
> > enthusiasm that would be generated toward new owners if Stan and the
> > business were as active as they were 25 years ago.
> >
> > Just an observation from a new owner.
> >
> > Tom Hyatt
> > S/V Eliza Jane 1978
> > Baltimore, MD
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Mar 10, 2024 at 4:51 PM Peter Nyberg <peter at sunnybeeches.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Thank you to those who shared their thoughts on this topic.
> > >
> > > Clearly it's true that people sell their boats for whatever reason, and
> > > the former owners generally no longer participate in the list.  But if
> a
> > > boat has been sold, there's now a new owner, and a new potential list
> > > member.  It seems though that fewer new owners are choosing to join our
> > > community.
> > >
> > > Several people mentioned their age as part of their decision to sell
> > their
> > > boat, which underscores the point that boat buyers will generally be
> > > younger than boat sellers.  This may be a factor in the list's
> declining
> > > participation numbers.  I've read that kids these days (probably
> meaning
> > > anyone younger that around 60) don't like to use email much.
> > >
> > > So, that's really the questing that's been rattling around in my brain
> > > lately: is the size or level of engagement in our community declining
> due
> > > (at least in part) to the fact that it is based on a technology (email)
> > > whose popularity is also declining?
> > >
> > > I offer one point of evidence for this proposition: Nabble.  As you may
> > > recall, Nabble was a 3rd party website that provided a web interface to
> > the
> > > Rhodes 22 email list.  There were never any hard numbers about how many
> > > people were using Nabble to participate, rather than using an email
> > client
> > > app, but it was clearly pretty popular.  On the downside, we never had
> > any
> > > control over what Nabble did, and towards the end of June of 2021, it
> > just
> > > went away.  That month had a total of 384 posts.  The most active month
> > > since (October 2021) had 230 posts, and that was something of an
> outlier.
> > > As I pointed out in the post that started this thread, in 2023 our
> > average
> > > posts per month was 86.
> > >
> > > Thoughts?
> > >
> > > On a related point, I don't have a Facebook account.  Can someone
> comment
> > > on how active the Rhodes 22 Facebook group has been lately?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Peter Nyberg
> > > Coventry, CT
> > > s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)
> > >
> > > > On 2024-03-08, at 17:17:49 EST, Peter Nyberg wrote:
> > > >
> > > > If you've thought that traffic on the Rhodes 22 email list has been a
> > > little on
> > > > the light side lately, you're not imagining things.  Message volume
> has
> > > been
> > > > declining for some time.  Below are the figures for average monthly
> > > posts for
> > > > the last few calendar years:
> > > >
> > > > 2020 - 229 posts/month
> > > > 2021 - 216
> > > > 2022 - 126
> > > > 2023 - 86
> > > >
> > > > 2024 has not exactly been off to a roaring start with 38 posts in
> > > January and 35
> > > > in February.
> > > >
> > > > Back in 2008, there were over 1,000 posts/month, but things fell off
> to
> > > only
> > > > around 400 in 2009 after political posts were discouraged.
> > > >
> > > > I'm hoping to start a discussion about possible causes and possible
> > > remedies.  I
> > > > have a few thoughts, but I don't want to start by steering the
> > > discussion in any
> > > > particular direction.
> > > >
> > > > So, what do you think is causing the decline, and what do you think
> we
> > > might be
> > > > able to do about it?
> > > >
> > > > Peter Nyberg
> > > > Coventry, CT
> > > > s/v Silverheels (198/2016)
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>