Serious Critical Observations of the Mariana Bay's Progress & How to Improve Going Onward

[Sneedster]

Oh yeah here's a critique: it's a /mu/ forum. Niche of the niche.
Me I listen to plenty of music but I'm not into genres or analysis or whatever, so I just hop randomly from thread to thread to see if there's something I can reply to in a snarky manner. I like doing that but I can see people not loving that.
More specific topics would help. "Entertainment & Hobbies"? It's a cute attempt but I'd recommend an actual vidya channel (or category, whatever it's called), then one specifically for TV and films, and so on. Right now the forum's kinda just the /mu/ stuff and then a whole lot of "general talk"

 

[Khastle]

Oh yeah here's a critique: it's a /mu/ forum. Niche of the niche.
Me I listen to plenty of music but I'm not into genres or analysis or whatever, so I just hop randomly from thread to thread to see if there's something I can reply to in a snarky manner. I like doing that but I can see people not loving that.

I mean the purpose of this forum is essentially a /mu/ spinoff but for more obscure genres of music yknow? That ain't changing and we do have other boards for discussing stuff if you want to.

More specific topics would help. "Entertainment & Hobbies"? It's a cute attempt but I'd recommend an actual vidya channel (or category, whatever it's called), then one specifically for TV and films, and so on. Right now the forum's kinda just the /mu/ stuff and then a whole lot of "general talk"

Yeah no we had that around the beginning and it made certain boards look dead as fuck, that's why we combined them all into the Entertainment & Hobbies board instead and started using prefixes to identify certain threads. I get the idea of splitting them up but when certain boards just sit there with barely any activity (which is what happened) you're gonna want to combine them eventually.

Thanks for your thoughts tho bro.

 

[Pandora]

Just throwing some thoughts out here.

Building a forum in 2024 is a challenge for sure, especially when almost all Internet traffic is now centralised into a select few giant platforms like Xitter and Reddit. Reddit in particular has replaced independent forums almost entirely and is so prevalent that most people will gravitate towards it, finding and joining Subreddits that appeal most to them, and once there they will remain content with inhabiting those Subreddits indefinitely, rarely ever feeling the need to venture outside of that webspace. I imagine for many Internet users it's a case of "I have everything I want here on Reddit, I have no reason to look around and see what other platforms are out there".

As it stands right now, the vast majority of people are confined to hugboxes like Reddit. This makes it difficult for any emerging online community to achieve popularity, especially if said community prioritises a niche and/or "alternative" focus like this site does. But at the same time we don't want hyper-sensitive pissbabies who are perpetually upset and offended by everything to take up space on this site as no doubt that will shit everything up and create a mountain of problems. We don't want that. ResetEra did that and look at what it became lol.

Mariana Bay; its culture, focus, and principals, are of an acquired taste - it's a unique flavor that presumably a large number of people will likely never gain the appetite for, meaning this site's chances of capturing a sizeable, dedicated userbase is going to be a challenge from the get-go. That sounds bad, however there's a silver lining: the good news is that there are a growing number of people who miss and yearn for Internet forums like this, and there is an audience of people who are seeking alternative environments to hang out in, places where anons can shitpost freely without fear of being silenced for breaking some vague, ill-defined rule. Somewhere free from the incessant bullshit that permeates throughout places like Reddit, like getting permabanned for voicing an opinion which deviates from the ostensibly correct opinion that is tirelessly imposed onto everything and everyone deemed to be beneath the power-hungry tranny jannies in control. More and more people are getting tired of that shit. They want something new. Mariana Bay and sites like it are a breath of fresh air in that regard; a refuge of sorts.

Prior to joining this site, I had a look around to see some of the newer, small, independent forums that have appeared in the past ten years. I must have seen about 30 individual websites - this one is by far the most appealing out of those 30. I can say right now that this place has a lot of potential to be something great. @Khastle if I were to make a suggestion do you think it would be worth getting a paid advertisement for Mariana Bay on 4chan? I'm not entirely sure how the process works or how much it costs but I can't imagine it's too expensive. A paid advert will appear at the top and/or bottom of various boards on 4chan for thousands of users to see. I know Basement Community (another small and new forum) did this and had some degree of success with recruiting new users. Asides from that I'm willing to help out a bit and try and shill this site where I can. I know a few chan sites and chan-esque sites with a number of people who may take a liking to what Mariana Bay can offer. I'll see what I can do.

I do believe this site will grow over time. Give it a year or two. There's not a lot of competition right now and this place is unique and intriguing enough to those who are looking for somewhere different. Sometimes it all just boils down to luck. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Khastle]

Hot damn thanks for this feedback, I've got my work set for me lol

Just throwing some thoughts out here.

Building a forum in 2024 is a challenge for sure, especially when almost all Internet traffic is now centralised into a select few giant platforms like Xitter and Reddit. Reddit in particular has replaced independent forums almost entirely and is so prevalent that most people will gravitate towards it, finding and joining Subreddits that appeal most to them, and once there they will remain content with inhabiting those Subreddits indefinitely, rarely ever feeling the need to venture outside of that webspace. I imagine for many Internet users it's a case of "I have everything I want here on Reddit, I have no reason to look around and see what other platforms are out there".

As it stands right now, the vast majority of people are confined to hugboxes like Reddit. This makes it difficult for any emerging online community to achieve popularity, especially if said community prioritises a niche and/or "alternative" focus like this site does. But at the same time we don't want hyper-sensitive pissbabies who are perpetually upset and offended by everything to take up space on this site as no doubt that will shit everything up and create a mountain of problems. We don't want that. ResetEra did that and look at what it became lol.

Good thing about this site is it's laidback moderation and the leniency we allow on here will put those types off anyways, all our staff are pretty free speech and we only remove posts if we absolutely have to in regards to our rules (absolutely have to is the key word here). Sure Reddit will always suffocate sites like this but see it as a blanket that collects most the crap we don't want here anyways.

Mariana Bay; its culture, focus, and principals, are of an acquired taste - it's a unique flavor that presumably a large number of people will likely never gain the appetite for, meaning this site's chances of capturing a sizeable, dedicated userbase is going to be a challenge from the get-go.

Building a userbase will always be an uphill struggle here, as it stands we only have six regulars at most and only the occasional new or irregular user posting, however we do achieve daily activity and have survived the first year, something most small forum start ups can't boast. However I do aim for it to eventually get to the point where I can go and not post for a week and activity here is still bustling so regulars like myself are not the only ones keeping this place alive. Dw this place still gets a lot of love and I reckon we will go places this year, just will take time and for us to eventually get the word out there more.

That sounds bad, however there's a silver lining: the good news is that there are a growing number of people who miss and yearn for Internet forums like this, and there is an audience of people who are seeking alternative environments to hang out in, places where anons can shitpost freely without fear of being silenced for breaking some vague, ill-defined rule. Somewhere free from the incessant bullshit that permeates throughout places like Reddit, like getting permabanned for voicing an opinion which deviates from the ostensibly correct opinion that is tirelessly imposed onto everything and everyone deemed to be beneath the power-hungry tranny jannies in control. More and more people are getting tired of that shit. They want something new. Mariana Bay and sites like it are a breath of fresh air in that regard; a refuge of sorts.

Yeah and that's the exact audience we are trying to aim for, obviously we are never going to be perfect and we need to moderate things here and there somewhat but I don't want this place to ever become a place where you're shadowbanned for thinking different, online communications have been choked for too long and more small forums like this are needed for online users to take the power back somewhat like back in the wild west days of the web; I hope my forum has some impact in that fight.

Prior to joining this site, I had a look around to see some of the newer, small, independent forums that have appeared in the past ten years. I must have seen about 30 individual websites - this one is by far the most appealing out of those 30. I can say right now that this place has a lot of potential to be something great. @Khastle if I were to make a suggestion do you think it would be worth getting a paid advertisement for Mariana Bay on 4chan? I'm not entirely sure how the process works or how much it costs but I can't imagine it's too expensive. A paid advert will appear at the top and/or bottom of various boards on 4chan for thousands of users to see. I know Basement Community (another small and new forum) did this and had some degree of success with recruiting new users. Asides from that I'm willing to help out a bit and try and shill this site where I can. I know a few chan sites and chan-esque sites with a number of people who may take a liking to what Mariana Bay can offer. I'll see what I can do.

I've done paid ads on 4chan and they kinda sucked, there's better ways to advertise on 4chan if you're smart tbh but I might consider it again if I have the spare change again, I just need to ask about and know the best bid range for the maxinum views is as though the ads are cheap the system is so odd and confusing, and all in all it only brought in one user lol, but who knows maybe I did something wrong. Basement Community? I need to hit their admin up and ask what he did, could be a partner even. Also thanks so much if you can help shill it, wherever you can whatever help is awesome, I do my part where I can too just can be hard getting interest being a small site and all.

On another note, I've started a sticker campaign too lol, still have some stickers for those interested:

Announcement - Mariana Bay Sticker Campaign (Claim Free Stickers!)

Mariana Bay Sticker Campaign That's right, your boy has been busy devising new ways to shill the site and this is probably the most unique way I've come up with yet: a sticker campaign. What I have here is 70x 5x4 heavy duty stickers that will survive outdoors rain and sun, and you (our users)...

forum.marianabay.com

(Only sticker in places you legally can obviously ;) )

I do believe this site will grow over time. Give it a year or two. There's not a lot of competition right now and this place is unique and intriguing enough to those who are looking for somewhere different. Sometimes it all just boils down to luck. We'll have to wait and see.

Cheers man and thanks so much for the feedback, gave some good insight and ideas on how to go forward shilling this place, thanks again.

 

[Pandora]

Good thing about this site is it's laidback moderation and the leniency we allow on here will put those types off anyways, all our staff are pretty free speech and we only remove posts if we absolutely have to in regards to our rules (absolutely have to is the key word here). Sure Reddit will always suffocate sites like this but see it as a blanket that collects most the crap we don't want here anyways.

Definitely. Places that are pro-free speech are becoming more rare with each year that passes. This site's relaxed stance on free speech is one of its greatest appeals and there are absolutely people out there seeking out a community like this, myself included. Feels like I've been looking for a place like this for a long time now. Those with the inclination for wanting to relive the old wild west days of the Web will find their way here eventually. And I doubt users who's values are incompatible with this site's values will be a problem. As you said, they're likely to see the site and not even bother signing up. That appears to have already happened here. Reading this gave me a laugh.

Yeah and that's the exact audience we are trying to aim for, obviously we are never going to be perfect and we need to moderate things here and there somewhat but I don't want this place to ever become a place where you're shadowbanned for thinking different, online communications have been choked for too long and more small forums like this are needed for online users to take the power back somewhat like back in the wild west days of the web; I hope my forum has some impact in that fight.

I mentioned it in my last post, but I do see that the tides are turning, with things like the growing popularity of the "web revival movement" for example; people wanting to go back in time to experience the days of the early Internet where it was more free and less shit than it is now. Big platforms that have aimed to suppress free speech have led to smaller alternative platforms popping up as an act of rebellion. We need more of that, and I appreciate this site's efforts.

I've done paid ads on 4chan and they kinda sucked, there's better ways to advertise on 4chan if you're smart tbh but I might consider it again if I have the spare change again, I just need to ask about and know the best bid range for the maxinum views is as though the ads are cheap the system is so odd and confusing, and all in all it only brought in one user lol, but who knows maybe I did something wrong. Basement Community? I need to hit their admin up and ask what he did, could be a partner even. Also thanks so much if you can help shill it, wherever you can whatever help is awesome, I do my part where I can too just can be hard getting interest being a small site and all.

Yeah with advertising it can be very hit-or-miss and how successful it will be depends on many factors, but if you can pitch advertisements on specific boards I can definitely see users from /a/ (anime), /mu/ (music), /x/ (paranormal), and /r9k/ taking an interest to Mariana Bay. Pretty sure if you get an ad up on any of the main boards it's guaranteed to be seen by a few thousand people. Might be worth another shot?

It'd be awesome if we could get someone with a large devoted audience like Styx or MagicMush to give the site a shoutout haha, one can only hope.

Cheers man and thanks so much for the feedback, gave some good insight and ideas on how to go forward shilling this place, thanks again.

No worries!

 

[playFACE]

Definitely. Places that are pro-free speech are becoming more rare with each year that passes. This site's relaxed stance on free speech is one of its greatest appeals and there are absolutely people out there seeking out a community like this, myself included. Feels like I've been looking for a place like this for a long time now. Those with the inclination for wanting to relive the old wild west days of the Web will find their way here eventually. And I doubt users who's values are incompatible with this site's values will be a problem. As you said, they're likely to see the site and not even bother signing up. That appears to have already happened here. Reading this gave me a laugh.


I mentioned it in my last post, but I do see that the tides are turning, with things like the growing popularity of the "web revival movement" for example; people wanting to go back in time to experience the days of the early Internet where it was more free and less shit than it is now. Big platforms that have aimed to suppress free speech have led to smaller alternative platforms popping up as an act of rebellion. We need more of that, and I appreciate this site's efforts.


Yeah with advertising it can be very hit-or-miss and how successful it will be depends on many factors, but if you can pitch advertisements on specific boards I can definitely see users from /a/ (anime), /mu/ (music), /x/ (paranormal), and /r9k/ taking an interest to Mariana Bay. Pretty sure if you get an ad up on any of the main boards it's guaranteed to be seen by a few thousand people. Might be worth another shot?

It'd be awesome if we could get someone with a large devoted audience like Styx or MagicMush to give the site a shoutout haha, one can only hope.


No worries!

styxhexen randomly talking about a music forum would be a funny visual

 

[Khastle]

Definitely. Places that are pro-free speech are becoming more rare with each year that passes. This site's relaxed stance on free speech is one of its greatest appeals and there are absolutely people out there seeking out a community like this, myself included. Feels like I've been looking for a place like this for a long time now. Those with the inclination for wanting to relive the old wild west days of the Web will find their way here eventually. And I doubt users who's values are incompatible with this site's values will be a problem. As you said, they're likely to see the site and not even bother signing up. That appears to have already happened here. Reading this gave me a laugh.

Haha I remember that reddit shill, person was like "I love the old web stuff and style but you use mean 4chan language and are anti-semitic (somehow), tone it down or I won't join" Like bruh, why you think I made this forum in the first place? To get away from people from you who believe in banning people for not having the right government mandated opinions. Naturally I have to be careful with fedposting on here and have to dissaude certain topics as I don't want the plug pulled on us (this is a chill hobby board anyways, theres better places for it) but other than that we welcome whoever on here and welcome most discussion. I'm glad a few stupid threads was enough to scare types like those off as I don't want sensitive babies like that about honestly. It's deleted but there was another user too calling me a bad person or whatever lol, I think I still have the screenshot somewhere

Haha I found it! This was my response:

Was definitely shilling to the wrong crowd but was a funny response.

I mentioned it in my last post, but I do see that the tides are turning, with things like the growing popularity of the "web revival movement" for example; people wanting to go back in time to experience the days of the early Internet where it was more free and less shit than it is now. Big platforms that have aimed to suppress free speech have led to smaller alternative platforms popping up as an act of rebellion. We need more of that, and I appreciate this site's efforts.

Problem I see with the current web revival movement is a lot of the people who are making these old web sites don't like the very 4chan-ish culture that came with the old web, one look at the Melonland rules (for an example) and you see ones for banning people for perceived "hateful" or "discriminatory" remarks. I may need to remove stuff seen as too extreme on here but I wouldn't ban someone for a racismerino; the old web was built on edgy humour and harsh banter no matter the target, they want to return to that simplier time but don't like those foundations it was built on, more open sites like this are needed to preserve that culture or it will be lost to time, a sansitised internet is not what I want and people need to be more chill about certain speech for it to be preserved. In the end those forums are free to do what they want tbh but I'll always be open to the more free speech circles.

Yeah with advertising it can be very hit-or-miss and how successful it will be depends on many factors, but if you can pitch advertisements on specific boards I can definitely see users from /a/ (anime), /mu/ (music), /x/ (paranormal), and /r9k/ taking an interest to Mariana Bay. Pretty sure if you get an ad up on any of the main boards it's guaranteed to be seen by a few thousand people. Might be worth another shot?

It'd be awesome if we could get someone with a large devoted audience like Styx or MagicMush to give the site a shoutout haha, one can only hope.!

Lmao I wonder if they would even give a glance at this place considering its small size but hey worth a shot if theres a way to hit them up.

styxhexen randomly talking about a music forum would be a funny visual

Surpirsed to hear he is still about, how does he even align? Seems like an interesting individual.

 

[playFACE]

Haha I remember that reddit shill, person was like "I love the old web stuff and style but you use mean 4chan language and are anti-semitic (somehow), tone it down or I won't join" Like bruh, why you think I made this forum in the first place? To get away from people from you who believe in banning people for not having the right government mandated opinions. Naturally I have to be careful with fedposting on here and have to dissaude certain topics as I don't want the plug pulled on us (this is a chill hobby board anyways, theres better places for it) but other than that we welcome whoever on here and welcome most discussion. I'm glad a few stupid threads was enough to scare types like those off as I don't want sensitive babies like that about honestly. It's deleted but there was another user too calling me a bad person or whatever lol, I think I still have the screenshot somewhere
View attachment 5689
Haha I found it! This was my response:
View attachment 5690
Was definitely shilling to the wrong crowd but was a funny response.

Problem I see with the current web revival movement is a lot of the people who are making these old web sites don't like the very 4chan-ish culture that came with the old web, one look at the Melonland rules (for an example) and you see ones for banning people for perceived "hateful" or "discriminatory" remarks. I may need to remove stuff seen as too extreme on here but I wouldn't ban someone for a racismerino; the old web was built on edgy humour and harsh banter no matter the target, they want to return to that simplier time but don't like those foundations it was built on, more open sites like this are needed to preserve that culture or it will be lost to time, a sansitised internet is not what I want and people need to be more chill about certain speech for it to be preserved. In the end those forums are free to do what they want tbh but I'll always be open to the more free speech circles.

Lmao I wonder if they would even give a glance at this place considering its small size but hey worth a shot if theres a way to hit them up.

Surpirsed to hear he is still about, how does he even align? Seems like an interesting individual.

>gook whore

ok that's funny.

also lol at the reddittard manchild getting offended at the word faggot. actually a baby.

 

[ThirdyAughtSix]

>gook whore

ok that's funny.

also lol at the reddittard manchild getting offended at the word faggot. actually a baby.

View attachment 5698

Pretty sure it was some shit i said ngl lmao

 

[Khastle]

Pretty sure it was some shit i said ngl lmao

Nah iirc it was stupid webcomic that was trying to make an example and not be intentionally racist, its probably up deep in the forum's archives

 

[playFACE]

i dont know if its just me but i find racial slurs to be funny as fuck. just how the hell was Wither decided to be the defacto slur to be used black guys? gooks for chinese? chinks for japs? etc etc

plus 90% of the slurs sound funny as fuck "dirty gook burnt my damn food again. im going to mash her head in with my mallet soon"