Looking at how little people join in here, i cant help feeling that the end of this forum may be looming.
I see new members join, but only to ask if a film is available.
It seems a shame but there must be so many good technical skilled collectors who dont seem to want to share their tricks and fixes or hobby stories.
While the other channel is very good, there must surely be room for this one as well. Uploading is still so much easier here.
I am also aware that many of the talented people, in this hobby are no longer on forums, many for good reasons such as, when they try and help people, there is always someone who would put them down, or make a negative comment. Thats forums i guess, i myself do get sick and tired of do-gooders and embarrassing ass lickers, but then i guess there everywhere as well.
Hope i am wrong, but i thought i'd put it out there, rightly or wrongly.

I THINK YOUR RIGHT TOM, THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY SITTING ON THE FENCE AND NOT CONTRIBUTING F**** LL IN INFO OF ANY KIND. THE OTHER CHANNEL HAVE THEM TOO BUT TEND TO HAVE MORE FOLLOWERS THAN LEADERS, I HOPE THIS FORUM DOESN'T GO, AS LIKE YOU SAY THE PICTURE UPLOADS ARE FAR EASIER ON HERE AND A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS. LIKE WITH MOST FORUMS YOU GET A QUIET PERIOD OF ACTIVITY, THE OTHER CHANNEL IS KEPT MORE LIVELY BY THE NEW SALES OF SUPER 8 FILMS, NOT SURE WHY ITS NOT BEEN UPDATED ON HERE BECAUSE DAVID IS A MEMBER, MAYBE HE WILL READ THIS AND PUT SOMETHING ON HERE TOO. i HAVE FOUND THAT EVEN IF YOU HAVE A GOOD IDEA THE OTHER CHANNEL WILL ONLY LISTEN TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AND TALK OVER YOU IF YOU DARE TO SUGGEST ANYTHING AGAINST THE "ANOINTED ONES" WELL I DON'T GIVE A S**T WHAT THEY THINK I'LL HAVE MY SAY AND YOU CAN PLEASE YOURSELF IF ITS A GOOD IDEA OR NOT, I THOUGH THE IDEA OF A FORUM IS TO CONSOLIDATE IDEAS FROM ALL MEMBERS BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE THE NEXT GOOD IDEA WILL COME FROM. I SAY DON'T CLOSE THIS ONE BECAUSE I LIKE IT.............

The "other" forum attracts newbies who find the name on search engines. They do keep it going.
Regrettably, the name "Reel Magic" does not seem to grab someone searching for help with a projector problem, which most seem to be.
Perhaps a change of name would attract new members, but it must have a name that will do this.

I personally do not think the forum will fold,we may be down on new content but I think that may be a sign of the times we are in.With restrictions lifting people are perhaps doing more outside of there hobby,when the weather changes and the evenings draw in things might pick up.We have always had the problem of people joining and saying nothing this is not new and how you change that I know not.
Regarding the other forum their “brief “ is different from this forum by having a general discussion section and also allows video and dvd.I appreciate we have a section at the bottom of the page for different things but again there is little interest in it.
As the old phrase goes” you can take a horse to water but he won’t always drink”
I am sure things will pick up now that film fairs are back on,but only time will tell.

This has been a problem since the forum was started. If you remember when David Hardy was an Admin, he tried his hardest to get people to post something, but it was ignored. I don't welcome new members to the forum because I know you won't hear from them. How many times over the years have I said 'They must have at least one film and a projector'. You get tired of repeating yourself. So many have joined and have never been heard of, why are they here? Is it for something more sinister, to get access to personal info, email addresses etc?
It seems to be a problem with all groups that there are more spectators than participants. It's the same 5 or 6 people that keep this forum going, with Tom being the biggest contributor. At the same time, I don't post much now because sometimes there was no interest shown in the type of films that appeal to me. I will comment on a good write up and screen shots, even though the film itself isn't one that I would not personally want to own, but it doesn't seen to happen the other way around. I had actually signed out of the forum and wasn't going to contribute again, but thought I would say something when I read this.
The other forum is now only a shadow of it's former self. It's the same few keeping that going. Several who were in the old forum have not re-registered. Personally, I don't like the censorship on there.
A name change wouldn't help, I think Reel Magic Film Forum is a very good name; anyone should understand that it stands for reels of film and not digital.

If Greg decides to give up, I would still want it going. Hope to be more active when my cleaning is done, just been a lot on my mind with divorce, house loan and stuff last year and it drained me a bit. Hope you all hang in

I think it is good to discuss topics like this, so thank you, Tom, for bringing this up. All of us here appreciate the strong supporting statements and suggestions from Gwyn, and Paul, Maurice, Eivind, Vidar, and other members who have contacted me privately--thank you, it is nice to hear this.

Like all of us, I wish the Forum was more active. It seems like there are a number of factors that have impacted the forum here.
One of which is fewer film collectors now than in the past "glory days" of Derann, Walton, many film fairs etc. Over time, some collectors have sadly passed, others have sold off and gotten out of the hobby entirely and these collectors haven't been replaced by new ones.

Tom and Robert do raise a good point on how there are lots of members who are 'viewers' rather than 'contributors'. I like to think the forum here is always welcoming to any posts made. So anyone should feel like they can post without being demeaned, even if others may have differing thoughts on a subject.

When we compare the number of "Visitors" to actual "Members" logging on it is significant. For example, 342 'visitor' visits (this may not correspond to unique individuals) to the site compared to only 10 members (so far today)! So there is a decent amount of traffic, but of course visitors cannot post, and I am not sure how many of those care to post as they could easily change from being an anonymous visitor to a member to do so.

I do want reassure everyone here, the Forum won't be shut down, regardless if leadership changes at some point. Even with fewer posts and members, it is still a very enjoyable place to post pics and discuss things. Also, there is a tremendous "warehouse" of valuable information here including film reviews, lots of technical details on projector repair, tons of great pictures, lots of history is captured on these pages too. That is all far too valuable to lose. And even more important are the friendships that have been made amongst us a result of this Forum.

I have thought all weekend about how to make the forum more active and it just seems to lead me back to the reality of fewer collectors and members here. Sadly, this may well be the new 'normal' for things. It is tough to accept this idea, but hopefully we can continue to enjoy what we have, even if it isn't as active as any of us would like it to be.

Well I hope it doesnt fold - I know i dont post as often as I should or used to - but i love this site - its chilled and in my humble opinion not as forthright as the other one - long may it continue.

Thanks to all for the replies, glad i got everyone's attention .
Hopefully it will continue, it does bemuse me why people do bother to join and then dont say anything. I also understand many people may join in order to just look at information. I myself am not very technical, i learn by playing, i do have a few service books to help understand how things work and are put together, but i also really like looking at some of the more experienced and technically minded people who do add to the forum, Phil Murat's electronics threads really interest me but are way out of my league, give me a soldering iron and i will guarantee what i solder will never work again.
As we go into the winter months let hope things get busier here, as for things like film reviews, please do add some, its always good to get someone else's on here, last thing i want is members thinking, "not another one from TP". .
Vidar, it's good to see you back on here as i know you were at the forefront of this forums launch all those years ago.
Greg / Robert, Thanks for your replies.

I'd post but just haven't had a chance to get my projectors going; need some servicing done. Getting bulbs is costly, belts can be a hassle... The cost of acquiring a new-to-you print can be prohibitive. Plus, I just don't have useful information compared to many of you on here. Once the Texas heat is not as bad, I hope to have an outdoor film night with the family.

Side note, I don't like "groups" on social media. I'll see random posts here and there but tend to ignore them. I'd prefer to be on a forum where I can try to track the information or discussion.

The hobby goes in waves for me. Some parts of the year I am busy with other things and don't have that much time for hobbies. And some time I have used most of my film time for Super8database. That happens more and more often. I guess I could write more about my S8D work too, but it is not always much else to report than that we have added a lot of new data. Like that we just passed 7000 films in the database after Greg did some work while I was asleep :-)

Late autumn, winter and early spring is by far the best time for me for film. The lighter parts of the year I spend much more time outside for other activities.

7000 In such a short space of time, very good.
Its all the box art work that collectors can now download on there as well, no need to go searching for box art, its all on there.
I often forget that many people dont have a permanent room for the hobby so spring and summer months are not always practical, i do get that but often forget.
BTW, very pleased to see that, hopefully, the forum will stay.