I too been concerned about the lack of participation in the Collector Forums recently as well. Thanks Rich for bringing this up.

Here are some stats to ponder:
  • 1,309 - current number of registered members
  • 219 - number of those members who have posted anything since July 1, 2003
  • 361 - number of registered members who have NEVER posted
  • 871 - number of registered members who have posted 1-5 posts (500 of these have not posted in the last year)
  • 234 - number of registered members who have achieved WACKO status (50+ posts)
  • 46 - number of registered members who have achieved Super WACKO status (500+ posts) - included in the 234 above
  • 29 - number of registered members who have 1,000 or more posts (included in both WACKO and Super WACKO counts)


Have we answered ALL the questions that HL collectors might have? And are those with unanswered questions too intimidated to ask them?

Is the interest in Harbour Lights declining? And/Or is the interest in Lighthouses declining? Or is the uniqueness of our concern for lighthouses becoming so mainstream that we no longer share the affinity?

Is Harbour Lights diversifying into Balloons and other variations of lighthouses discouraging 'hard-core' collectors?

Is the state of the economy, or our personal finances, or the state of America at war affecting our interests?

Are the Collector Forums dominated by people like myself who has almost 8,000 posts and a few others who have 1,000 posts or more? Does this make it less likely for those who have 6 or 26 or 56 posts to want to participate?

Some may recall that during the last few months of 2002, we raised support money for the Collector Forums by selling panoramic prints of Gary Martin's photograph of Grand Haven at Sunset. 100 prints were sold raising a net of about $1,800 which underwrote my costs for the dedicated server.

I didn't repeat this program for 2004, because, frankly, I wasn't sure that there would be 100 people who were still interested in the CF enough to spend $25.

Of course, these Collector Forums are no longer the ONLY forums on the Internet for those interested in Lighthouses in general and Harbour Lights. I admit I've cruised over to Ross Tracy's Lighthousing.net to see what's going on over there at times and I see many of the same people who either were or still are active on these Forums. There is also a lot of duplication of messages and posts. Sometimes by the same people.

Is there a need for both? That's not a question for me to answer. Those who follow one or both are the ones who decide by their participation.

I haven't done much to promote the Collector Forums. I could do more -- by emailing all members periodically. What more could we do?

Provide individual lighthouse support groups (such as Avery Point) with their own Forum for their members only?

Provide a Forum for those who operate lighthouses to share ideas and information?

Re-evaluate the present Cruise Directors who are no longer active and encourage others to volunteer and spike up interest in individual Forums?

Reinvent the Forums with some expanded purpose(s)? And what should those purposes be?

I believe we've done good things for lighthouses and created some long-lasting friendships over the years. We've raised several thousand dollars for Lighthouse preservation. Many of us have traveled to meet together and enjoy fellowship.

The future is up to those who are members... and those who enjoy lurking without joining.

What say YOU?

Webmaster@LighthouseKeepers.com