The future of this forum

[Belike]

From the "eastern side", I'm here every day and read all the bul..hit, you write.
Seriously, my gameroom is full, I dont want a bigger one and also dont want to buy more cabs to keep it in a dark storage.
Whatever happens, I'm still keep my eyes open and everybody can count on me like before.

[Thwocker]

and then the containers started ... (which we've already talked about). for it, it somehow ruined the hobby!

I've wondered about this; how do you see this?

I would think: more games available = more people have access to them = a broader base for collecting?

[old school]

In my opinion the biggest strength of this forum has always been the gameroom stories, the roadtrip threads, the restoration threads and the friendly atmosphere.

I believe that many people visit on a regular basis and up until now we have relied on you old timers to post your stories. I feel that there has always been a small core of very active people who has kept DLF alive and interesting. Now that many of you write less often the forum appears inactive. And that brings DLF into a negative spiral, because who wants to post in a dead forum?
I am sure that most (if not all) of us wants DLF to be alive and interesting again, and the fate of the forum lies in our own hands. So I will challenge myself (and indeed all of you) to write some short restoration stories, threads about purchased cabinets and other game room related stuff. It doesn't even have to be news, most of the stuff that I did for the last couple of years I didn't publish anywhere. And I'm sure that many of you can say the same. If each of us try to make an effort to write a few lines about our games and comment in other people's threads then I'm sure that people will find it interesting and the forum activity will increase again.

Amen

[Tyrem]

I would think: more games available = more people have access to them = a broader base for collecting?

exactely. the containers gave me the chance to get into it. searching for abandoned places or hunting down closed operators is something that can only be done by very few people. the us has a huge supply of games... and the arcade scene is amazing over there. the more machines the better. and the name of the board would only matter if this place was called "Dildo Darkroom Boys". That would definately be a thing to worry about... allthough it would bring a few more new members, too.

[Superully]

I've wondered about this; how do you see this?

see here!!!

don't get me wrong, guys, i still love this forum and would love nothing else to have it back like it was a few years ago, but you guys made some good points as well. so i guess it's up to us to make it great again. thx for your comments, see how easy it is "to bring the forum back alive"

[DanP]

Hi guys,  just wanted to add a bit of perspective from someone who's "been there".  To be exact, in case you don't know I'm an Admin on UKVAC and we too went through a quiet period for many years.   For various reasons a hard core of us VACcers decided to try and resurrect the UKVAC forum, it had a wealth of historical info that we felt was worth preserving and we wanted a what we felt was a less moderated place to hang out again.   Initially there were very few of us using it, but slowly but surely we built it back up again.   We started on the premise that we only posted when we had something "useful" to say, the idea was to try and keep the signal to noise ratio high, even if that meant only a few decent posts a day.   At the end of the day if you have 10 of you posting useful/interesting stuff it will be enough to draw other people in in my opinion.

The forum name is largely irrelevant in my opinion.   Nobody refers to this place as "Dragons Lair Fans", it's just DLF which just means "The European Forum" to me and I suspect many others anyway.   Also, not many people type in a URL these days, it's just a favourites click or similar.   

On containers I can see the point that road trips become somewhat pointless to an extent.   For me the hunt wasn't really part of the appeal.   The repair part was what did it for me, taking a broken piece of "junk" and bringing it back to life as a game I wanted to play was the thrill for me.   The fact that we can now access the US market with ease is I think a bonus not a hinderance.   Whilst saying that, I did always enjoy reading the crazy road trips that were undertaken on here

I really think you guys should persevere,  DLF is a unique and fun place and it's eclectic mix of members is definitely a showcase for Europe and European diversity at it's absolute best.  It has a vibe that's all it's own, there's very little back biting or other nonsense and there's always a calm and fun attitude amongst most of the posts I see.   A diversity of forums is a good thing, no one forum can get too "big for it's boot's" when there are other alternatives just a click away.   I really hope DLF continues as it is for many years to come.

Cheers,

DanP

P.S @Thwocker - the Brexit comment actually made me LOL

[Arch]

I can't add much that haven't been said here before, but I am also interested in keeping the forum alive. I like the people and the atmosphere here, and I've made some good real life friends through this forum as well. Since the name is mentioned, I've never felt at home with the DLF - because I'm not really a fan *ducks*. But that is of minor importance really. In my opinion FB groups - that Arcade Collectors Europe group with that guy raving on about his "legendary raids" is the best example - has so much uninteresting randomness that I've turned off all notifications and consequently miss out on the quality posts. Forums like this are much more organised. So, yes, let's try to keep it alive!

[valentin27]

Same opinion here. I already noted the forum activity was slowing down since few months (it was even more obvious with the container activity).
For me reason is simple, as you said, most of you are in his 40s or 50s with collections almost complete or looking in new directions.

This is visible, less project, less cheap midway cabs... More higher end cabs. I see the result of a mature market.

I don't think the forum's name is a big deal, because most important european collectors know about DLF. Changing it would bring the new generation, the one looking for japanese cabs only. But is it really what we like here ? DLF is the bastion of old dedicated cabs.

But if we have less post, the quality remains. No sterile debates, no shitty topics, no request for valuation only...

[Muerto]

Changing it would bring the new generation, the one looking for japanese cabs only.

That hurt... 

[Luigi]

I guess I'm one of those who has been very silent within the last months.

I have seen this in other forums, it's always going up and down. Except KLOV-forums, due to the huge number of users it's always very busy over there....sometimes too busy to read all postings.

I think what Ully means (container deal ruined the hobby) is, that it was getting affordable very easy for european collectors to get the cabs they wanted from the US. Collectors could fill up their gamerooms within months instead of waiting for the wanted cabs maybe for years. After that there were no or few projects left to write about. Our gameroom is now full as well and there's not much to write about but hey, if Lloyd would ever consider selling a Midway Boot Hill to me (like he always promised when I sent an email with my wish) I would not hesitate to buy it and make room for it in our gameroom by selling one of my cabs. So Ully might be true but no one is to blame for that. Not the collectors who filled the containers and their gamerooms, and surely not the people who were/are organizing the deals and the shipping and caring for all the customs related stuff.

I'm sure there will be more busy times in the future with number of postings growing

[retrocab]

hi i have been reading the replys,i agree it has been a bit silent.

maybe everybody schould commit themselves to put one thread a week on dlf

gr robert

[Franzy21]

DLF is the bastion of old dedicated cabs.

I am relatively new in the hobby but this is exactly why I registered on DLF!!!
This is the only European mainland arcade forum of interest for me (besides some exceptional posts on PCB restoration by f4brice on Gamoover).

[Frame]

It is probably a physiological decline.
After years of fantastic thread products, the forum's leaders are quiescent now.
This for several reasons... one was exposed by Bela: saturation!
Unfortunately, we can not all be like Bruno: we will arrive, sooner or later, to no longer accommodate Cab in our space ... not everyone can move house or enlarge it only for the hobby.
Then, there are other variables reasons, as mentioned by Etienne and others: personal situations, family problems, works busy, lack of time (also to document on the forum).

The most important capital of DLF is the repertoire of the old topic, from which get inspiration for their work.

..since few time, I started to read "Arcade Lifstile" from last page. Always I find news and good ideas for my Cab work, without having to create new writings.

[level42]

Well I guess I should say a word or two about it here.

I have to say that after Eurocade 2015 I think I still did some work on my Asteroids. It was on the Hantarex monitor and it was actually pretty damn fine as it was, but I still wanted to have all pots replaced with fresh ones "just so we don't have any jitter".

I replaced them, put the monitor back in and....dead. No picture. And I swear that at that very moment something snapped in my head.

I was TOTALLY irritated by it and I left the machine there at the spot, shut the door and that was about it.....I hardly touched a machine after that.

I was just burnt up. Done with the constant fixing.

Apart from that....there were two big reasons. One is not fit for public forums. Some of my best friends in the hobby know or at least have an idea...

The other was that I switched jobs at about the same time. Although my new job is fun and really a better place to work and better colleagues than with my former job (where I worked 10 years), the kind of work is very very different. I switched from "doing what I was told the day before, carry out the work, drive home and be done" (which gave me a 100% "free" mind the rest of the evening) to having to manage every, and I mean every aspect in my work myself. From making offers, planning, doing inspections, writing reports up to chasing customers for money if they don't pay.....and that switch was tough. Added to that was the fact that my boss saw I was doing really well with the actual inspections so he gave me a few really big customers to handle like one of the largest banks in Holland.

Of course that was really nice that he trusted me with it, but on the other hand things went a bit too fast for me to get grip on it. I deliberately slowed down the pace and talked about it. My boss admitted that we (I and 2 other colleagues hired at the same moment) were "thrown in the deep" too early, but he said I managed to keep floating. I said it was only barely. Anyway, I learned how things go, you get a bit more experienced and everything is a bit more steady now.

And of course, that other reason, the personal one, really doesn't help in such a situation. I was battling on two fronts....and history shows that is never a good idea.....

So it was all a sum of a few parts.....I absolutely did nothing in the hobby. I think I powered up my SW once and played it a bit. I loaded up the Q*bert for Eurocade 2016 but it wouldn't fit the car with my son also coming along....so I took it out of the car again and put it in my kitchen. I play it every now and then...

I also did some things with my A8 machines and 2600 consoles....I totally reworked the inside of an Atari Lynx I which was fun to do. Small in size, easy to work on (light !!!) and it actually all worked right away just as I had planned !!!!

Well after a year and 3 months in my new job I could say things have settled down a bit, but I'm also doing a study for work on the side...exams will be in march.....

The personal thing is on-going and I don't know where it will end just yet. We'll see.

About my games: most of them still need loads of work...I think this is also a part. At one point in time it seems like a hobby becomes a burden, a task that MUST be done.....a shit-load of work in front of you of which you think: no way in the world I can ever really finish it all.

I am still damn proud of some of my work. Lunar Lander, Q*bert...especially Q*bert....every time I look at it I think: damn that was one empty cab when I got it....and look at it now !

But even so, there have been times (and still) that I think: it's just a thing. A box with some electronics and a simple game. I used to see something else. A part of history, emotion, a memory. My emotions were tied up with very much other things in this last period in my life though...

Maybe it's the classic mid-life crisis. Could very well be. I started to enjoy going out with friends much more and all that stuff........and actually still do.

Even when I look at the hobby now, the very moments I have enjoyed the most were the Eurocades and all the other fantastic meetings I was able to go to, meeting people, having a beer, talking, having fun...

and of course the road-trips. It was fun to discover rare/special games and go and get them. And of course I loved doing the reports on the restorations.

Maybe it is just a way of "showing off" ? Not sure....that wouldn't be a weird way to look at it....would it ?

O wel.....

Oh and then there's that other hobby....the marching band. Still doing that....I kept on doing that through it all because you really need at least something to put your mind on. I also had to pick up sports so I play tennis now 2 nights a week....

and there's only so much hours in a day

So.....what will happen in the future...? No idea really. I have moments that I think about selling all my games and stuff. Seriously. But on the other hand....what a shame would that be. Every machine has it's story on how I got it....but on the other hand, if they are just standing there.....what is the use ?

Just getting them out for Eurocade each year is not enough justification to keep them.

But I haven't made up my mind yet. It could well be that I return to the hobby when some things have changed/setlled down.

We'll see.

I do think, in all modesty, that my "silence" here might be a part in this forum getting a bit less "lived up" but I can't help it. Sometimes things in life change, and we'll see what the future will bring....

[johnsarcade]

I dunno, this place is pretty cool. I like everyone here. I need to come more often. I love the different point of view and like that it's small. You might want to change the URL. I certainly don't come here for Dragon's Lair talk.

I think you should add a "shoutbox" like I did on the John's Arcade forum.