Why no discussion on Grand Prix Final?

[Lark]

This place has gone to the "dogs" as far as any type of event discussion.

It used to be that every event warranted some type of conversation or debate. Heck, even the 2006 Olympics did not get that much chat.

I remember the days of Sarah/Sasha/Michelle/Irina discussions that would last for weeks on end.

Can someone direct me to a skating site where people still talk about televised skating events?

[icedancer2]

Try FSU:

www.fsuniverse.net (http://www.fsuniverse.net)

Full discussions there -- you have to kind of work through their language and attitude, but this site is a much more TV skating discussion site than skatingforums nowadays.

[Lark]

What happened to this place and discussions?

It has just dried up.

I have been here for years, and it has never been this devoid of intelligent discussion and conversation.

When was the point that everything changed?

[Nicki]

Just an F.Y.I. I believe you have to pay to be a member of FSU. I too wish there was more talk about televised skating here. I enjoy reading about all of the Adult skaters' progress, but I do not skate so my love for figure skating comes from watching it on T.V. I also belong to the Michelle Kwan Forum and that is where I get my compettition results and skating discussion fix from these days.

It seems as though all of the adult skaters have chosen this board as their hangout, while all of the fans of televised skating have chosen FSU.

[icedancer2]

When was the point that everything changed?

It seems to me that the discussions ended when Michelle Kwan was off the scene, as most of the discussions surrounded some aspect of her skating and career and the continuous arguments about whether or not she was "the best there ever was".

Just my 2 cents. Also some list members seem to have disappeared (Bondo, anyone?).

[icedancer2]

Just an F.Y.I. I believe you have to pay to be a member of FSU.

This is only true if you want to participate in the current discussions of current events. It is actually really cheap --something like $10 for 3 months. It is worth it if you really want discussion.

Another place is goldenskate.

I believe the url is www.goldenskate.com (http://www.goldenskate.com) There are lots of knowledgable people there and there are no fees involved.

Could be just post-Olympics blahs. Although I am a skater, I have also been a fan in a big way. But this year for some reason I just have not been into it. Just watched the GP Final this afternoon -- it was nice, but nothing to write home about, so to speak.

[Isk8NYC]

I tried starting discussion threads for the ISU events, but only a few people posted anything. If you wanted to discuss the GP Final, you could have started a thread in this forum. Just put "SPOILERS" in the thread title and make the first post something that wouldn't give away too much if a poster "rolled over" it with their mouse. (The "preview" of the first post is a problem)

I also subscribed to the FSU site, but I'm not thrilled with the discussions. However, FSU does have a lot of people who post FROM the competition. That's exciting. They manage spoilers by eliminating the rollover preview of threads, and by the subscription. If you've subscribed, they assume you must WANT to discuss the topic if you open it up.

A major problem is the television broadcast schedule, which varies from country to country. Several Grand Prix events were broadcast up to a week later in the US, whereas Canadian television carried it live. Plus, many people record the coverage and watch it on their own schedule. (I'm guilty of that, a disadvantage of being an adult with a busy life. But I don't care about spoilers - with my memory, I'll forget it by the time I watch the recording! LOL)

The "fear of spoilers" keeps posters away from any thread that sounds like it might give away results and/or major happenings at the competition. If someone slips and posts a spoiler, even two weeks after a competition, someone will invariably chastise them for it. That discourages additional discussion and future posts. (It's not the mods doing that, btw.)

A final problem is that there are members who never participate outside the "On Ice-Skaters" or "Canada" forums. Starting a discussion thread anywhere else always gets less participation. That's why "Happy Birthday" threads, that technically belong in the "Non-Skating Discussions" forum, are often in the "On Ice-Skaters" for members who skate.

It seems to me that the discussions ended when Michelle Kwan was off the scene, as most of the discussions surrounded some aspect of her skating and career and the continuous arguments about whether or not she was "the best there ever was".

Just my 2 cents. Also some list members seem to have disappeared (Bondo, anyone?).I believe Bondo has his own blog that he maintains; perhaps he doesn't have the time to visit us as well. Many of our board members also have online journals, blogs, or websites and they belong to multiple message boards. Gets to be a bit much, trying to keep up with every place on the Web.

[Alexa]

I miss the discussions here as well. I have tried to start or contribute to event discussions, but find that hardly anyone else adds anything, so I have given up so to speak.

FSU has always had too many non relevant responses for me, so I have chosen not to subscribe. I think it is great so many people participate, but then you have so many people posting as a conversation throughout the threads so I find it difficult to read through.