Dec 20, 2019

Disagree completely. Not that Kendrick stans were the best people to target, clearly that didn't work out as planned besides a few like myself. KTT2 is popping and so is the Coli and both are almost completely filled with new rap fans [Coli has a big oldhead fanbase too]. Nobody on either site talks much about Eminem, and they are the biggest rap forums out rn. I don't know how many people here used KTT but maybe I can offer some insight into why KTT2 was made and why its popular.

KTT was f---ing dying. S started working on KTT2 because he sold KTT a while ago to some f---ing company that owns hundreds of sites just for the ad revenue, the owners of the site dont even know wtf it is. Its just a money maker to them. About a year ago KTT userbase started plummeting for whatever reason. The site was consistently reaching under 200 members online at a time, which for ktt is really f---ing bad. So users started making their own forums [me included], because KTT is so f---ing unusable and the admins were s---, nobody knew S was working on KTT2. He released KTT2 a week or so before JIK dropped, we all agreed to shut down the other forums. KTT2 instantly saw traffic skyrocket compared to what KTT did the past year. S didn't even want to release it that early but released it with perfect timing to get traction to the site. KTT2 was built from the ground up, he did most the coding himself so the site clearly doesn't look half as nice or functional as S80 did during 2.0 [Its kind of a f---ing mess now tbh] but it leaves more room to grow functionality wise in the future. KTT2 can do things S80 can't since s80 is stuck on Xenforo [which is the best forum software imo] but limited nontheless. Rebranding to an Eminem fan site would be idiotic and might have a small boost in traffic initially but eventually die out to what it is now. Even KTT2 isn't branded towards Kanye anymore besides the original title of KTT. It's just called KTT2, S says KTT doesn't need to stand for KanyeToThe, its just for the brand.

Kendrick clearly isn't extremely relevant to the culture rn. The only one I can think of on Kanye's level, someone who will always be relevant is Drake but who wants to turn this into a f---ing OVO forum. I suggest rebranding this as some type of music/rap forum not dedicated specifically to one artist. I like the name S80 a lot and I honestly dont think that had any major involvement in turning people away from the site in the first place but if it is to change going with ''Shady Season'' or whatever the f--- is a dud imo. S80 literally was founded with the idea that they could use the name 4-5 years in the future. I mean look at leakthis, s--- died so fast because it was based on a stupid premise basically just a new version of studioleaks. But its still more popping than s80.

I like s80 a lot but there's nothing bounding people to stay here when there is nothing to talk about but Eminem. I like Eminem but wtf is there to talk about honestly. There's still a few users who actually don't care much for eminem but its not enough to drive discussion. h--- a big part of KTT2 isn't any music/film sxn but the life sxn. The life sxn on here has always been useless. Anyway I hope @Slyk reads this because I do think s80 has the functionality to be big but it just doesn't have the look or content rn.

 

Dec 20, 2019

This is very simple, have you ever used Nulled or Snahp.it. We'd simple need to show that there is a download section, force people to sign up to see the content of the subforum, make the links hidden and force them to reply/like to see the hidden link.

There is literally xenforo plugins that will implement this easily.

 

Dec 20, 2019

I never said this. I don't think we should be branded as a fan site for anyone. We should be branded as a hip hop/lifestyle forum. All I said was I disagree with the people (like you) who believe things like "unironically lock the Eminem section" or "hide the Eminem posts" will help increase activity on this forum. Of course rebranding this site as "Shady Season" or something would be r-----ed, and would probably attract enough s--- posters to make me not want to visit anymore. I literally never suggested anything like this lol.

Bruh you wrote an entire essay replying to a complete misinterpretation my first paragraph and then ignored the rest of my post. Save yourself some time and read my post twice next time before you get to typing.

 

Dec 20, 2019

I replied to you about because my entire second point addresses why I think em sxn should be hidden

also you didn't say change the site to a em fan site but a few others did. My point still stands. For some reason half of your quote got cut idk what happened

as for the rest of my post I was explaining why ktt2 popped like it did and suggesting maybe s80 follow in its footsteps. Replying to multiple things, and ofc I still think is a good idea.

 

Dec 20, 2019

Haha I’m not bro!

 

Dec 21, 2019

is that swift from d12 on your avi? he looks weird

 

Dec 21, 2019

I see you’re now too big and important to go into the Em section these days. You’re now one of those “Elitist’s” of Section 80.

 

Dec 21, 2019

No one said to block Eminem content, we simply just need one big Eminem thread instead of ten useless threads all in a row like, “Eminem prediction thread,” (wtf even is that thread?), “Yelawolf talks about Eminem,” “Eminem songs with censored lyrics,” “Eminem Boner,” and “Revival > Kamikaze.” Why can’t the discussion be funneled to one thread?

I mean, s---, J Cole is bigger than Em in 2019 and all his discussion is in one thread

 

Dec 22, 2019

this. Absolutely this.

I've suggested it before but apparently it would detract from people finding the site through Google. I'm still all for it though.

 

Dec 22, 2019

@Slyk Although I do not post at all, I’d like to say thank you for your efforts for keeping this forum alive. It is quite obvious you care deeply about this site and everything you have done to try to work towards progressing this site is very appreciated.

With that being said, the first suggestion I am going to make is one you’re not gunna want to hear, but please hear me out. As many others in this thread have said, revert back to 2.0. Since the initiation of 3.0, there have been countless threads pushing for this. You’ve come to the community before asking for help and there was an overwhelming amount of people suggesting this (including myself), and you dismissed them all. If the community voiced their opinion to you that much that you felt the need to address and dismiss it in your original post, then obviously you are convincing yourself (maybe subconsciously) that there is not an issue with the design when in fact there is. Since 3.0 is like your baby, I completely understand why any criticism is hard to accept. As someone else in this thread mentioned, yes it is clear that doing this would s--- on all of the hours you all spent working on improving the site, but if it’s what is best for the forum moving forward, then it should seriously be considered. Cut your losses and move forward. We are wellllllll past the point now of the initial shock of the change. People are naturally resistant to change, this is a known fact. But given time people should adjust to it. Several sites (forums, blogs, social media) have changed (sometimes drastically) throughout the years. There is always resistance to it at first, lots of complaints of wanting to go back because they are not used to it, and then people adjust and move on and forget about it as the change becomes engraved into their daily use. It’s been such a long change since this site switched to 3.0 and I can say I still have not gotten used to it, and it’s apparently a lot of people have not. We have not adapted or adjusted the way we should have with an effective update. Instead I check the site out a whole lot less. I have joined a different forum that ironically has a setup much like 2.0 did. They layout and design is simply intuitive and just makes sense. Even given your “warning” of hunting people down for mentioning this, it appears that a majority of the community is suggesting a change to the layout, design, homepage, and navigation of the site. These are people giving genuine feedback, not hating, trolling, or bitching. If the core functions are so close to 2.0 then obviously the 3.0 design is not the most effective way to design these functions. I don’t recall anybody complaining, at least this long-term, about the usability or design of 2.0 after switching from 1.0.
People are recommending that we remove the “bells in whistles” which I had suggested the first time you asked for help, but you claimed that there really isn’t any and it’s all optional. Obviously I’m not he only one who had that impression. There is too much to do on this site outside of discussions and that draws away from what the site is supposed to be made for. As another said, we have integrated too many social media aspects into the site. Why have a section for status updates on a forum? For one that is giving people an outlet to express themselves and their ideas in a way that pulls them away from posting in an actual thread (which would be more content that could lead to more engagement). If the site is made for discussion, design it in a way that it simply promotes discussions. Right now there’s just a bunch of stuff that people can choose to ignore. Make it a forum and only a forum.

Secondly, I’d like to suggest reinstating leaks/downloads such as what others have mentioned. This community (being formed from D12 World/Rap Basement, to Studio Leaks, and ultimately Section Eighty) was originally created on the basis of two things: Eminem fandom and Leaks. It then grew from its sleek design, engaging content, and becoming a place for people fleeing other dying or poorly-run forums. Eventually we had to take away the downloads section and Eminem’s popularity/relevance is on the decline in this day and age. At the same time, the design has become more complex and unintuitive. What I assume is a combination of these three things has lead to the loss of lots of members, and therefore content, and now we have become the dying forum that people have fled from. I have already touched on the design aspect. As far as Eminem relevance goes, many older fans have gradually drifted away from his newer music and a lot of younger people are not particularly interested in him. As he is a bit of a recluse and out of the spotlight a majority of time, he is not the most engaging artist as far as things go to discuss him. As we have no control over him as an artist/person, the best thing we can do is to welcome and promote communities that support other/newer artists. Leaving the downloads issue to be addressed.
An idea for leaks/downloads is to create an automatic, non-replyable PM option when someone is creating a new thread, with which they could include a download link in. This option would create a button (or something of that nature) on the original post. That way you have to be a member to get the download link (increasing member signups) in order to receive the PM; it keeps it from being flagged by google or DMCA or whatever (possibly? I’m not sure how this works, but if people are currently able to send links in PMs this should be a loophole possibility I would think); and since the member who receives the PM can’t reply to it, they will feel the need to respond with their thoughts in the original thread. This will make both the community and site content grow. New songs leak or are released literally every day. It is a constant source of reliable content that music fans are interested in. Capitalize on that. We did in the past, we can once again. Newer communities have formed to take the place of what we were once able to provide.

Another suggestion is possibly rebranding. Main content should be music related, but not related to a specific artist. Artists go through different phases of popularity. Eventually they retire and/or die. Eventually their unreleased music dries up. And when there is no more music to be put out and the artist isn’t in headline for doing anything since they are no longer around, there is no more discussion to be had. You need a generic (but still somewhat niche) approach to the branding. We have a Kendrick Lamar-based title of our site and his fans don’t even make up the largest portion of this community. We label ourselves as a Music/Life/Sports forum but the name of our site doesn’t necessarily depict that. Capitalizing on the creative section should definitely be considered in the branding process as others have mentioned. There are millions of starving artists out there. People wanting to share their music, people wanting to learn how to improve and get feedback and learn how to do new things. All of this is completely in line with the site’s core value of music.

Finally, give people an incentive to post. Certain perks, no matter what they are, drive people to post. Some people have suggested reinstating the plus section, or the rep system, etc. Not saying any one thing is better than the other, but when people have something to work for, or to work to maintain, gives them the drive to want to continue posting. Very few post simply to create content.

None of the ideas I just presented are necessarily "new", but I feel like it cultivates a majority of the suggestions that were already made in this thread. I believe you should really put some consideration into implementing these changes.

 

Dec 22, 2019

We appreciate the enthusiasm but dear god no one is going to read this all...might as well be the book of genesis with that length.

 

Dec 22, 2019

That’s fine, it’s only intended for Slyk to read. And if he is serious about wanting help to grow the site then I am sure he will. Would rather make one long clear post to address everything completely than to make a million posts clarifying everything.

 

Dec 22, 2019

Just f---in around dawg. #Revival
@Slyk the man the myth the legend

 

Dec 22, 2019

That PM download is a terrible idea

 

Dec 22, 2019

I totally agree with that at some extend, The thing is tho that Em has a section unlike Cole and it's always been like this inside the section, same as with other artists. The problem is that other artist sections are kinda dead.
With that said I think the first thing that the site needs is an overhaul. It is sad to say knowing what this site was but after spending one posting day at ktt2 I have to say that s80 feels dated af.
s--- ktt2 is even interesting just looking at the home page with all that real time stuff thats going on.
After that I really dont care about even deleting em section and keep a thread or whatever.
I just dont think its the main problem for the time being.

 

Dec 22, 2019

Maybe I missed it but what is the solution then? What are ktt2's footsteps that s80 should follow? I agree that rebranding to an eminem site won't accomplish anything, but that hasn't happened and as of right now and since it's inception it is/was very clearly NOT a mainly eminem centred forum. S80 has never been Stan-dominated even if there are Stans they've always been quarantined in their own threads. S80 has tried to appeal to fans of any and all artists from day one. And for a period of time successfully too. It wasn't always just eminem talk. And even general stuff like news/life/sports/tv/off topic etc all used to be active, just like KTT2. And yet, here we are. So what gives?

Regarding the interface, what exactly is xenforo preventing S80 from doing that KTT2 can? Even if 3.0 is a downgrade from 2,0, the forum was still dying and on a decline with 2.0. I don't think sticking with 2.0 or 1.0 would've prevented anything

I'm down to try it anyway. Let's ban eminem threads and go back to 2.0 or even switch to vbulletin if thats possible at all. But I don't think these are the causes

I don't think there is any specific cause apart from the fact that like others have said message boards are getting less and less popular due since social media/twitter and the rapid rise of reddit too imo. They've stolen potentially new and ex forum posters of any kind of forums not just music by the literal millions. There's just so many places for people to talk about music nowadays. Some forums are still active and some aren't despite all efforts

 

Dec 23, 2019

4 years ago. I remember it vividly, because The Force Awakens was spoiled for me there lol. Probably by theg.

 

Dec 23, 2019

I agree with that you're saying but I do think S80 is pretty stan dominated. Look at any of the recent posts for one. Xenforo is great, vbulletin is meh. I said that to say while KTT2 is more open sourced and is actively taking recommendations on how to improve the forum, there are some things that could be implemented to S80 pretty easily, because its running on Xenforo. Someone mentioned a private sxn and that would be incredibly easy to do, and to hide content.