ProfessorEcho

http://www.focusofswfl.com/#!/entry/...ew-years,28709

ProfessorEcho

Ironically, should this come to pass, it will signal the rise of independent used and new and clearance media stores who will offer the bookstore experience, but with less overhead than a big nationwide chain. Smaller chains like Half Price Books will prosper as will local stores offering the communal shopping experience. Amazon can't touch that and people still want it. So the very stores that B&N helped put out of business will rise again, though on a relatively small scale.

Alan Smithee

I don't buy a lot of books, but when I do I usually buy them at Barnes and Noble. Not all of their stores carry media, but the ones that do are the last ones I've seen that still price everything at full list- not even the one remaining regional record store mini-chain here does that. Borders was a better store, but they slipped really bad in their last years. They SHOULD have tried to take the place of Tower when they went under, but it was mostly just higher prices and lower selection.

I always like to thumb through books before deciding whether to buy them, you can't really do that with Amazon.

ProfessorEcho

I'm not sure why my original thread title needed to be dumbed down for idiots when I specifically stipulated it was a single article and not a consensus. Where was this ardent, conscientious moderation two Black Fridays ago when trolls were allowed to say whatever they wanted and caused a mass exodus from this site?

PhantomStranger

I think we all knew this was inevitable. It was always very hard to squeeze profits out of selling books in a retail environment. The Internet competition has made it nigh impossible.

I assume it will go through the typical rounds of bankruptcy and someone will attempt to salvage the better performing locations. It always had a better brand than Borders or the other national book chains, I think someone will want that for some purpose.

Future generations will see easily commodified goods like books and music being sold through retail stores as a quaint relic. It did happen faster than I imagined, I thought books would be a little more resistant at the retail level since it was always an older clientele driving sales.

DVD Josh

It's funny you think THAT is what caused the mass exodus and not say, Geoff selling the site.

ProfessorEcho

Then maybe I should have said the SECOND exodus. I was speaking about a time AFTER he had already sold the site. There has been significantly diminished activity since the holidays of 2011, which I believe is sometime after the site changed hands. But sorry, I am not an expert on the inner maneuvering and history of DVD message boards, my evidence is based on my own experiences here and ideas that others have theorized. If you know are privy to inside information and the facts thereof, please share.

BuckNaked2k

"You've got to wade through toys, umbrellas, Nook displays, chocolate bars, notebooks, birthday cards, and all kinds of other stuff that has stolen shelf space from books."

Hear, hear.

DVD Josh

Any forum goes through ebbs and flows of membership.

Why So Blu?

Probably due to the article being from some blog as opposed to a real source like Forbes or something similar to that.

ProfessorEcho

Really? Well, be sure to let me know when this one is flowing again.

DVD Josh

Part of the problem is that, like most forum, we have some members who think they hung the moon and act as though they own the place. That always makes posters leave as they simply don't feel like dealing with internet bullies who act like they are above it all. This is nothing new, it happens on all forums.

That'sAllFolks

and I just thought it was the rise of the popularity of blu-ray and the site that emphasizes that over the DVD format.

ProfessorEcho

Which goes back to my original post about the trolls and bullies who drove a lot of people away, an allegation you seemed to find fault with. That and the then apparent lack of moderation, along with the misguided focus on DVDS over Blu (as Folks correctly indicated), have driven a lot of people away. This used to be my favorite forum for discussing the hobby, but I got turned off during the holiday season of 2011 when the bullying became so widespread and unchecked. After that posting seemed to go way down and others speculated that the trolls were to blame. At least they didn't help matters. Now I only post here occasionally for old time's sake, but I used to be a very productive member. If your remarks about bullying and acting superior were aimed at me, you couldn't be more wrong. But this discussion has served to remind me why I don't enjoy posting much in this forum anymore.

Norm de Plume

Names? I'm really curious.

Alan Smithee

Sounds similar to what happened at Blockbuster during their final years- and their stores weren't even big enough to have a really good selection of movies as it was without adding all that other crap!

fumanstan

Oddly enough, when I stop by B&N I actually like looking at the toys and games that they now have.

DVD Josh

Spend some time in Other, Politics, and Sports and those members become readily apparent. I've found I enjoy this forum much more by simply avoiding those areas. Problem is, they tend to be the most active.

I only found fault in the fact that you didn't seem to attribute attrition to Geoff leaving. I agree with you on the moderation but oddly I really like most of the new mods. It's not an easy job being a mod and I've found that many people who complain about a thread never report the problem in the first place. Mods can only react to what they are aware of.

I am not directing the bullying comments at you. TBT, I had never heard of you before this thread. It's weird that you thought that actually.

ProfessorEcho

I didn't attribute anything to Geoff for the reasons I already mentioned. I was speaking of a time period in this forum's history after he had already left. Plus I barely even know who he is. I don't follow the backstage gossip about forum owners nor the trends that may be apparent from knowing such. My comments were, as I've said, based on my own experience here and posts by others. I've already asked you to provide more information on the issue with regards to Geoff selling the company, but instead you chose to criticize me again for he same thing

As for your ideas about bullying, you posted that in response to something I had said and even included a quote from me, so it was a logical conclusion that you might be targeting me. But you aren't the first to think me weird and you won't be the last. I find you to be somewhat combative for no discernible reason and as such I am reminded of less than happy times on DVDTalk. As such I will go back to refraining from posting in this thread and perhaps the rest of the site. I only posted this about B&N because I thought others might be interested in it, so that job is done.

Numanoid

Congratulations for thread-crapping and hijacking your own thread, though.

Numanoid

As for B&N, where am I to go now when I want to sit and read books and magazines for free without ever buying anything? The library?!

DVD Josh

You have an inexplicably difficult time distinguishing criticism from conversation. Perhaps message boards aren't the medium for you. No one cares if you don't post any more. No one cares if I stop posting any more. Once you realize that, you will feel better about things.

And I totally agree with Numanoid. You've managed to troll and threadcrap your own thread. That's a nice trifecta.

PhantomStranger

You are correct, a number of members live for confrontation in those subforums. I've learned it's better to simply not directly engage those members when they try to start a dialogue in a thread. It's easier said than done but it's mostly a waste of time trying to reason with them.

Norm de Plume

Well, I know two of the more notoriously intractable hyper-religious members were banned within the last few months, but other than that, no one occurs to me who is conspicuously and constantly irritating. There's a guy who bugs people in the Sports forum, but I rarely post or look in there, so I have had no first-hand encounters.

Rex Power Colt-Robot Man

The Aristocrats!