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It seems off-season web traffic has gotten considerably lesser every year since 2008-2009, the last time KICentral had a large off-season game. (The Mole.)

At the same time, it appears web traffic during the regular season has gotten larger over the years... This summer (in my judgement) was incredibly busy. I could not keep up, so stopped posting.

Still, I've always had very poor memory in relation to objective observations I've made in the past, so these perceptions may indeed be based on fallacy.

Has anyone else noticed these things?

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It does seem to be posted on less, but that does not mean people are not reading. Plus, got to keep in mind KI's first hyper coaster was being built during that off season that kept us excited and wanting to know more details. From what I saw on 12/10/11 while at KI, I do not think they are in the big part of construction at SC to be posting a whole lot of things yet!

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I know I will get the same response as always, how the guys who run this site are busy, but, it really does need to be updated. I love the forums and don't pay much attention to the rest of the site, but what about people wanting to see Kings Island and plan a trip, from a fan's point of view? It still says Firehawk - New for 2007 on the attractions list....

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As "one of the guys that runs the site" I can attest to the fact that we are busy. We do have our own lives, and I have a girlfriend and a full time job that takes up a lot of time. (Whoever heard of a job requiring just 40 hours a week?) I know I have been posting a lot less than I used to. Mostly because I have just been really busy since the park closed. I still read things and post things from time to time.

Besides, there is not a lot to see in terms of construction activity at Soak City, other than civil work. When they start forming concrete and building buildings, that is when I get excited, as someone who is in the architecture profession can attest to! I am eagerly awaiting amusement park season again. Granted, I am slightly spoiled by the fact that I got to ride some coasters this past weekend at Dollywood!

I`ll try to post a little more often than I have the last few months, but can`t guarantee anything...

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As far as site traffic compared to years ago; Times have changed and FaceBook has since entered the picture. Back then many conversation about the park turned into personal conversations at times. Now many of those conversations are still going on and in a more personal way stronger than ever before. So yes this site has slowed down in some post topics but as a community we are friendlier and closer as friends now than ever before. Many get together happen all year long and several since the park closed. This site is adjusting to what it purpose needs to be and I think its best years are ahead (I honestly believe that). I can tell you this many say they do not come here much or post anymore but I can tell you most former and current members still check in often, so as I see it the site has interest and needs to adjust to give the members what they want to keep them interested.

Since the park closed I needed a break which was not planned but much needed as i have had time to do some things I have put off and to set new priorities rankings. Since the park just closed I knew now was the time to do so. I have still gotten together with park friends and chatted regularly but now more than ever I am getting excited for next season and to see if the guys here are ready to start getting prepared for next season. I have always said this site has some of the best members a forum site could hope for and i am glad to share so much with you all in a hobbyist way and with many on a personal way.

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I know I will get the same response as always, how the guys who run this site are busy, but, it really does need to be updated. I love the forums and don't pay much attention to the rest of the site, but what about people wanting to see Kings Island and plan a trip, from a fan's point of view? It still says Firehawk - New for 2007 on the attractions list....

Right, it needs to be updated. It's a great site, but it's been 5 years since they really updated. Things like it looks like SOB is open, and the description for The Crypt is way wrong. And they could use some new pictures. It need's to be updated. But, is it were 2007 right now, it would be a GREAT site.

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Another excellent post Jesse!

It is amazing the amount of friends that I have made through this site, and the memories that I have also made from trips to the park. Anyone remember that KIC Winter event back when Diamondback was being built? And that Coney Island presentation i gave?

Yes, Interpreter, civil work can be quite fun. And I doubt many people picked up on your hint.

I definitely can`t wait to get together again with the many friends I have made on this site sometime soon. Hopefully long before the park opens again. I had a lot of fun at that bowling event last January in Blue Ash! Maybe a repeat performance?

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Who reads the actual site anyway

I think many people (including potentially our moderators), think of the forums as the site. Prior to and when I joined, I spent much time on the site (and still reference it at times, but much less as it hasn't been updated since 2008) as well as the forums. I'd love to see it get some love, but maybe the traffic just doesn't justify it. That said, it would be interesting to know:

  • If a member wrote a "KI History - Timeline update" (in the style of the original) for 2009, 2010, 2011 and sent it in, would it be uploaded?
  • If Standbyme and Hendrick sent the 1974-2011 photo's and fades in, would they be uploaded to the "Park History - Photographs" section. Heck there are many other photographers that could easily "own" this section as well - and maybe merge the Photo Gallery and Park History Photo's section to avoid confusion.

I believe offers have been made in the past - I'm assuming that they haven't been received in a positive fashion.

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As "one of the guys that runs the site" I can attest to the fact that we are busy. We do have our own lives, and I have a girlfriend and a full time job that takes up a lot of time.

I am assuming that you didn't mean this to come off quite like I took it...I also have a life. Sometimes I joke that I don't...but the fact of the matter is I also work 40 hours a week, plus for 7 months this year I spent an ungodly amount of hours every day renovating a house...now i'm building a playhouse...and I still find time to visit this site. If just a member can find the time to contribute then why not the people who are "running" the site? If they are bored with the site why not find members who aren't? (And yes, adding Jesse/Avatar was the best thing to happen to this site in eternity.)

(Just trying to stay on "the list"!)

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Aren't they making money off the site?.. Just wondering :rolleyes:

"Arent't" should not be used with the word "they" as for if they are making money. On my part and I know of others but I will speak for myself I have never received a penny for work around this site in fact I do not consider it work but more as a fun hobbie of interest, now that I am rich in. At one time the cost of this board got expensive in a variety of ways servers, board licenses, gas and other expenses to cover park events and on and on. So "They" Ryan and Dane decided to offer restrictive ads on the site and to do some linking to Cox Publishing to raise extra revenue as to not bankrupt them in trying to provide a free membership for the members. They discussed that at the time of its inception. In addition due to some extra revenue raised above the cost of expenses they decided to cover the cost of the KI blues party a few years ago. They paid the whole bill including food and space so the members just had to show up.

I have some ideas on going forward but I am only one of four at the moment and this time of year is when those discussions should take place and will be discussed. There was talk over the summer of what was worth the money to spend on to host and license certain parts of the site. They is due to is it worth the money for the amount of traffic in that area. I believe the remaining money from the old revenue generated is used to continue paying for the site maintenance and license fees.

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I want to be a me :)

Just sayin'

I greatly appreciate the work done on this site but can most honestly say that I only use KIC for forums... and LOVE them! I used the main site constantly, when it was new to me, and it was great.

EDIT: to add... I can't imagine anyone putting in the amount of effort JD has though. To do that for anything other than passion sets a very high bar for work expectations on here.

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Oh, I love the site. I didn't mean to put in those words, but I love the forums and come here everyday. I just have a weird thing about websites and not keeping up. If I could, I would fix any problem on a website that I could (not including Wikipedia....). Like Sugar Plums CupCakery, which is in Mason and Milford - they got a new location about a year ago, and on their website it still says "NEW!!!! MASON LOCATION!!!" and it still shows summer hours. Those kinds of things just bother me! :P

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I'm totally with you guys on the whole, "site needs to be updated" thing. The truth is, I could probably find the time to do it, and would be more than willing to, but Dane has to do all of the hard programming of the site and he's been extremely busy the past few years working a couple of different jobs at the same time and moving into a house and whatnot. He hardly ever even gets to go to the park anymore. I'll talk to him after the Christmas thing has settled down and see if we can come up with a resolution. Until then... at least the forums are curent... :)

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This site has been around for a long time now. People's lives and interests change over time. I think the bigger question this thread poses is: What is the future for KIC? Many have mentioned positive memories of meeting friends on the site, having events and get togethers, etc. But most websites do take work. You have to maintain information and software to keep them going or they will die sooner than later.

I agree that money should not be a factor. If the admins can make money to pay for the site, I say go for it, whether that's through ads or membership. It costs something to run a website so I have no problem with that aspect of things. (censorship on the other hand...)

If I might offer one suggestion, look at pointbuzz. They decided that having content other than forums and photos was not worth their time. So they cut it down to just the basics. I think I would be a big fan of that, especially if it meant the forums were able to be a little more customized with a KI theme.

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Facebook has its place. And KIC does have a Facebook page. But KIC has a place, and I don`t see it going away any time soon.

Yes, Dane does the coding for the site. I do have some experience on coding (I have built ConeyIslandCentral after all and keep that pretty up to date). Granted, I have been a bit lax on the main page of that site. Coding/content takes some time, and can be frustrating at times.

And given the time of year, and the attraction that is coming to KI next year, its not really surprising the traffic volume that KIC is getting right now.

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Although I rarely post on the forums here, I check KIC multiple times a day. I've read nearly every post on every new topic since I've joined. I think there are more people like me that are guests and not registered members, and thats why there seems to be such little posting at some times.

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