What happened to this board? (Detroit, Wyandotte: restaurants, food, ranking)

[jonnynonos]

The forum reached its peak generally about 5-10 years ago.

There were at one time legitimately interesting threads (and debates) about the history, state, and future of cities and neighborhoods.

What happened? I think anyone interested in these things can find anything they want to know very easily now. There's just been an almost unimaginable Big Bang of information.

Like indie culture before it, the esoteric became mainstream. Your everyday banal Top 10 email lifestyle site started writing about the same formerly little-discussed esoterica that was formerly the lifeblood of this forum.

Sites started popping up aggravating historical census data and crime stats that pretty much removed any real questions regarding many issues.

If you want to know what Warrendale was like in the 80s or even things as obscure as the last few old restaurants left in any given neighborhood you don't need to ask anyone anymore. Just google it; you will find more than you could read in a lifetime in many instances.

[Geo-Aggie]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

The forum reached its peak generally about 5-10 years ago.

There were at one time legitimately interesting threads (and debates) about the history, state, and future of cities and neighborhoods.

What happened? I think anyone interested in these things can find anything they want to know very easily now. There's just been an almost unimaginable Big Bang of information.

Like indie culture before it, the esoteric became mainstream. Your everyday banal Top 10 email lifestyle site started writing about the same formerly little-discussed esoterica that was formerly the lifeblood of this forum.

Sites started popping up aggravating historical census data and crime stats that pretty much removed any real questions regarding many issues.

If you want to know what Warrendale was like in the 80s or even things as obscure as the last few old restaurants left in any given neighborhood you don't need to ask anyone anymore. Just google it; you will find more than you could read in a lifetime in many instances.

This is pretty much what happened to forum culture in general. This isn't Detroit or City-Data or even demographic data, this is simply forums. There are a few major forums that skew younger that are still abuzz, but for the most part niche forums have been in decline for yeah 5-10 years. I remember as a kid forums and topic-specific chat rooms were my favorite places to waste time online. Today, bah, facegram, instabook, snaptwit... throw in the endless sea of garbage sites jonnynonos is talking about and their Top 10 lists, well, they move faster and posting a question, waiting 2 days and coming back really takes too long for our desire for instant gratification.

But I'll stick around because none of that can replace the real character of a forum. None of that can tell you the story that is lost in the data, and even as a scientist I understand data doesn't tell everything, it only gives empirical measurements. Real people, and groups of people like we've got here, we can give better community feedback than a writer being paid to promote the restaurant that their blog cut a deal with for ad revenue. Plus, it's fun to chat and argue with most of you.

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

This is pretty much what happened to forum culture in general. This isn't Detroit or City-Data or even demographic data, this is simply forums. There are a few major forums that skew younger that are still abuzz, but for the most part niche forums have been in decline for yeah 5-10 years. I remember as a kid forums and topic-specific chat rooms were my favorite places to waste time online. Today, bah, facegram, instabook, snaptwit... throw in the endless sea of garbage sites jonnynonos is talking about and their Top 10 lists, well, they move faster and posting a question, waiting 2 days and coming back really takes too long for our desire for instant gratification.

But I'll stick around because none of that can replace the real character of a forum. None of that can tell you the story that is lost in the data, and even as a scientist I understand data doesn't tell everything, it only gives empirical measurements. Real people, and groups of people like we've got here, we can give better community feedback than a writer being paid to promote the restaurant that their blog cut a deal with for ad revenue. Plus, it's fun to chat and argue with most of you.

This forum is a PRODUCT. Products get obsolete unless you constantly seek to be innovative and improve to keep customers buying the product. You have to be nimble and adapt to the times....or eventually you will lose your advertisers....if you can't keep the traffic.

This site does offer some great demographic tools, however.

[huckster]

It is because no one posts anything interesting. No one answers if one is bored. Uninteresting.

[highlanderfil]

Threads like this one have happened to this forum. As long as new members don't have a certain post number requirement in order to create new threads, this is going to keep happening and it will not improve the image of the forum any.

[usroute10]

In general, this forum has been slow since August 2017.

I disagree that there is not a lot going on, although during the holiday season there was not much going on.

This forum is driven a lot by people who are considering moving here or actually are re-locating here or are visiting here, and posts from those people have declined lately.

[huckster]

Argue and fight? Whom? I will argue that, debate it, turn it inside out an upside down but scant little there is to read anymore. Argue what? Liberals and the right wing in Michigan lately?
Why aren't there more Bar-B-Que Restaurants ? Midwesterners aren't too sold on the general idea of Bar-B-Que I think.
For all the wood there is to be used for making Bar-B-Que around here.......I am surprised. Slows is pretty good.

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

This is pretty much what happened to forum culture in general. This isn't Detroit or City-Data or even demographic data, this is simply forums. There are a few major forums that skew younger that are still abuzz, but for the most part niche forums have been in decline for yeah 5-10 years. I remember as a kid forums and topic-specific chat rooms were my favorite places to waste time online. Today, bah, facegram, instabook, snaptwit... throw in the endless sea of garbage sites jonnynonos is talking about and their Top 10 lists, well, they move faster and posting a question, waiting 2 days and coming back really takes too long for our desire for instant gratification.

But I'll stick around because none of that can replace the real character of a forum. None of that can tell you the story that is lost in the data, and even as a scientist I understand data doesn't tell everything, it only gives empirical measurements. Real people, and groups of people like we've got here, we can give better community feedback than a writer being paid to promote the restaurant that their blog cut a deal with for ad revenue. Plus, it's fun to chat and argue with most of you.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by huckster

Argue and fight? Whom? I will argue that, debate it, turn it inside out an upside down but scant little there is to read anymore. Argue what? Liberals and the right wing in Michigan lately?
Why aren't there more Bar-B-Que Restaurants ? Midwesterners aren't too sold on the general idea of Bar-B-Que I think.
For all the wood there is to be used for making Bar-B-Que around here.......I am surprised. Slows is pretty good.

There's plenty of places that sell BBQ... especially in or right near the city. Their about as easy to find as seafood or chicken. I think I had slows once, maybe twice.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

, it's fun to chat and argue with most of you.

No it isn't

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by huckster

Why aren't there more Bar-B-Que Restaurants ? Midwesterners aren't too sold on the general idea of Bar-B-Que I think.
For all the wood there is to be used for making Bar-B-Que around here.......I am surprised. Slows is pretty good.

Funny when we moved here from Orange County CA we were disappointed by the food offerings. The only good thing we could find were barbecue places. In our area that is still mostly the case. Many or most of the better restaurants are barbecue. Round house in Trenton and Smokies in Wyandotte come to mind and if you venture into Detroit with guests, Slows is always on the list. There are others, but we have our favorites so we do not ten to drift around to other places. My wife claims Round House is better than Slows. I disagree (except for ribs and cornbread. Round house has awesome corn bread and slows ribs have been consistently awful for us - maybe just bad luck).Smokies is only kinda sorta barbeque now, but its origins are in barbecue. There is a place on Fort that had giant outdoor charcoal barbecues cranking whenever it is warm enough. There was also a really good barbeque place in the Mexican villiage area. It also had barbeques made of half ct 55 gallon drums. Not the cleanest place it the world but the food was awesome. Not sure whether it is still around, it has been a while.