Is ECF dying?
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Hog wash, Uncle. ECF is a business, it is not a charity, nor is it a public service. When it can't carry it's own weight then it will die. That is, unless you buy it, run it as a loss, for the greater good.
Yes you're correct and nobody denied those facts.
However, that was not the point of the question at all. It was to elicit some suggestions and opinions on how to motivate others in getting more involved and picking up movement on the threads here on ECF. . .
So if Ya' got a "Bone" to pick about how ECF is run - then start a thread with that as the subject or contact ECF Administration directly. . . Just Sayin' . . .
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Stating a fact is not a bone to pick with anyone, is it? To the best of my understanding, most fora that are not even FREQUENTED by the owner are there to a) if not generate revenue, at least break even, or draw potential buyers to the connected site. Honestly, it is not THAT many people who would maintain their own forum of this size and complexity out of the goodness of their heart and etc.
It doesn't mean ECF is not a great place, it kind of simply means if you want ECF to be around, do what you can to support it.
I am quite sure the addition of the whole CBD/MJ piece was not done for altruistic reasons or because the forum suddenly changed its moral stance on drugs. I am quite sure it was/is a business choice, nothing less or more.
I will say figuring out how to market that so ECF shows up as a venue to learn about vaping alternate products would probably be smart, although to be fair, there are far larger and better MJ forums who have been around forever, not that the ECF "smoke dope" area could not become bigger and better. Etc.
I don't get why saying something is NOT a public service (I mean, holy goodness, NPR has "sponsors" and "fund drives") but is paid for by revenue makes it somehow bad. I mean, NPR is BAD but for entirely different reasons, not sponsorship or fund drives. Etc.
Anna
It doesn't mean ECF is not a great place, it kind of simply means if you want ECF to be around, do what you can to support it.
I am quite sure the addition of the whole CBD/MJ piece was not done for altruistic reasons or because the forum suddenly changed its moral stance on drugs. I am quite sure it was/is a business choice, nothing less or more.
I will say figuring out how to market that so ECF shows up as a venue to learn about vaping alternate products would probably be smart, although to be fair, there are far larger and better MJ forums who have been around forever, not that the ECF "smoke dope" area could not become bigger and better. Etc.
I don't get why saying something is NOT a public service (I mean, holy goodness, NPR has "sponsors" and "fund drives") but is paid for by revenue makes it somehow bad. I mean, NPR is BAD but for entirely different reasons, not sponsorship or fund drives. Etc.
Anna
As an international member, I see it carrying on as it is, and has done so for over a decade.
There's always going to be new vapers wanting help or just to reach out to other vapers. There's always going to be new coil builders and us older hobbyists - and boy do we like talking about our gear
There's going to be new diy mixers requiring help, and tips - plus us old diyers talking about flavours and mixes.
And Shinyitis is very real and will never go away (unfortunately for me)
Urban Dictionary: Shinyitis
Our regulations are not that stupid if you'll compare to the US ones
You do have regulations. We don't! The U.K. has the most enlightened government when it comes to e-cigs in the whole bloody world. You even have vape shops in hospitals!!! The Royal College of Physicians' finding that vaping is 95% safer than smoking was brave and revolutionary. We had such great hopes that it would change hearts and minds here, and I think it did, to a degree, but then last summer's tragic deaths of teenagers (from vaping illicit THC cartridges) was a PR nightmare. JUUL and their idiotic advertising to teenagers didn't help, either. And we're back to square one.
Right now, all we have is a patchwork of idiotic bans by state and city governments all over the country--a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
I don't even want to think what's going to happen in September.
So cynical. Just saying...
Oliver started ECF because he really wanted to find other vapers and help them connect with each other. Vaping was new and nobody knew anything about it. He really wawsn't trying to make money (not that there's anything wrong with that). I know, I read his early posts.
e-cig.com
From Roly's post on ECF history:
2007
We think ECF was born on 11th December 2007 - unless you know different.
"Smokey Joe, an e-cigarette user in London, wanted to find a forum to discuss hardware, liquids, and legislation issues. There was none to be found, so he decided to start one up. At first he used the phpBB webapp, as it is open-source (free) and a test was needed to see if there was anyone out there.
There weren't many members and everyone more or less knew each other. In fact they used to go round each other's place for tea.
[Not really - even England is slightly too big for that... ]
Hardware: only mini and super-mini ecigs were available. (The 'super-mini' was even smaller than a mini.)
Only the 3-piece system was available: battery-atomiser-cartridge.
In general, ecigs were a shadow of what we now regard as normal: underpowered, inefficient, leaky, problematic in every area.
E-Liquid: Dekang ruled the refill liquids scene. The bulk of sales were pre-filled cartridges.
Modding: at this time, modding consisted almost entirely of trying to get the 3-piece system to work properly by modifying the cartridge. (Sad but true.) Modding is important to ecig history because it provided both the impetus and the mechanism for technical improvements; essentially, these happened almost exclusively within the community, not the trade.
As time passed, more developments came from the trade, but at first it was a community-driven activity. In fact you could draw out a timeline of ecig improvements and it would look like this: Han Li* >> ECF modders >> small-scale Western enterprises >> large Asian enterprises.
* The inventor of the modern ecig but more importantly the main driver behind its uptake, his name is often seen spelled 'Hon Lik' but that is not how he himself writes it in Western script.
2008
Membership grew. ECF was the place to find info on your new 901 mini. You could only buy a 901 at that time anyway (sort of).
The forum changed over to vBulletin software in June.
ECF was by now a busy forum, and at the end of 2008 there were several thousand visitors a day. By this time there were more US than UK members.
ECF is an international forum. Vaping is perfectly legal in all civilized countries. As long as there are people needing help--the ECF will be around, methinks. That's all. Not rant. I love this place. It's safe, clean and helpful.
Agreed! Money and profit are not popular nowadays, Anna. Everything should be free.
ETA: Thought better of it.
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I don't think the answer can be separated from politics and regulations. After Covid, protests, etal are no longer the media headlines the media will still need dirty laundry and the powers to be someone to save. If it goes back to nicotine being the devil I see DIY and the pretty much dead modding section making a revival and or whatever shade of gray market info for those that are not prepared. BT would most likely have a horse in the arena by then but with comparatively high cost. Guess the question is how much of this forum is supported by USA members if doomsday does occur here. If not a substantial portion or FDA doomsday doesn't happen then I see it pretty much like it is. Members discussing the latest shinny and a few of us whom enjoy the challenge of modding lurking while humming "Glory Days" in our heads.
I really would of thought that the positive vibes coming from the UK from the BHF and BMA stating its 95% safer than smoking would of had a good and positive effect around the world. Unfortunately the media seem hell bent in only focusing on the negative, even tho I cant see any.You do have regulations. We don't! The U.K. has the most enlightened government when it comes to e-cigs in the whole bloody world. You even have vape shops in hospitals!!! The Royal College of Physicians' finding that vaping is 95% safer than smoking was brave and revolutionary. We had such great hopes that it would change hearts and minds here, and I think it did, to a degree, but then last summer's tragic deaths of teenagers (from vaping illicit THC cartridges) was a PR nightmare. JUUL and their idiotic advertising to teenagers didn't help, either. And we're back to square one.
Right now, all we have is a patchwork of idiotic bans by state and city governments all over the country--a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
I don't even want to think what's going to happen in September.
That it is cynical does not negate the truth of the matter nor is the statement a disparaging comment. Hospitals are worthy endeavors but if they fail to make money, they die. ECF is a worthy endeavor but if it fails to make money then it will die. There is and always will be some tension between an organization's 'mission' and its 'margin'. This is why I am and have been a 'supporting member' for many years. I will have no joy in my heart if ECF should fail.
I'm not sure what we could do to draw more people in, let's face it we're the nerds of nicotine consumption.... lol..
Quite true, my daughter treats vaping like her car. Both get her where she wants to go, how? She neither knows nor cares. The knowing and the caring gets relegated to the vaping/automotive nerd, that be me.
I doubt I would have quit cigarettes without nicotine. These days, I vape more at 12mg than I do at 18mg. This I know because I mix 100ml at a time then use and refill. I keep track of the date of mixing just to see.
Actually, because vaping assuages the hand to mouth aspect is what makes it more successful than other NRT's like the patch or the gum.
They may regulate vaping into near non-existence, but other forms of nicotine replacement therapies will continue to exist.
Thereby, if we help others combine available nicotine replacement therapies with zero nicotine vaping, then they have a good chance of being more successful than NRT's alone which we know fail due to the absence of any hand to mouth consideration.
It wouldn't have to be @Uncle who buys it and is willing to operate it at a loss.
I happen to know a guy who owns and runs a forum for car nerds. He's done quite well with the business that forum supports, but the forum itself runs at a loss because it has no ads, no trackers, no direct source of revenue at all. Anyway, he's got a pretty good idea what it costs to run a forum, and he's also a vaper who's been active on ECF for many years. I'm confident he'd buy it to keep it alive as a public service, even if it ran at a loss.
I think the cynical bit referred to was the statement that making money is EFC's "mission." What I heard.
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