PCF is a behemoth at this point, continually scaling upwards. Many positives and negatives from that, like the search functionality - so much more content to search from (yay), but also
so much content to search from (hard).
And the admins/mods are kind enough to keep this place free.
Due to sheer size and it being free and the limitations that creates, I'd hypothesize that normally we'd see a natural secondary/tertiary location begin in it's infancy within the last few or future few years - it's a natural cycle.
It can't be all fun running this place, take your pick.
- Every new functionality/update seems to get split positive/negative feedback (huge userbase, no meaningful public social box)
- Most new members can't "pierce the veil" unless they're a designer/meaningful contributor (a la cratty), willing to travel to attend, or geographically located to attend and make connections (a la chippitydoodah)
- Long term users have almost entirely moved to 3rd party platforms for meaningful communications despite no platform decay, in fact, I'd dare say PCF still operates under the initial phase of "attracting users"
What's the solution? I don't think there is one, you just keep pushing down the road in the same direction and do the best you can. A fantastic example is to take a quick look at the menu above. Links, Chip DB, Events, Resources, Media. Yes, there are some specific gems in there (eg abbys game cards), but those are almost non existent - their use compared to the forum and marketplace is near 0. There's been minor changes, but it's near impossible to change the tires on the car while it's driving on an out of the box solution. Add to the fact that there are no champions for those pieces of the platform and PCF doesn't seem to have lighthouse members helping lead others towards it - it's going to be impossibly hard for PCF to ever be more than what it is today.
I'm just writing this as an exercise while I wait for my 9:30, no one will read this Ben Book. But it is interesting and fun to look at.
I think the BEST thing in the world that happened for PCF was the shuttering of homepokerforum and the rise of pokerchipper. Just like there was something before the blue wall, then blue wall, then orange, all the signs are there that the userbase (current, new, and future membership) have the ability to support a small, social forward member-led platform. HPF was built in a way that specifically supported that, while chipper is flush with barriers to success - 3 years past launch and still at negative positioning/messaging, extreme low adoption rate for signed members, no specific customer (user) profile/definitions, and zero product/platform differentiation from PCF.
IMO pokerchipper bought PCF years of runway in preventing a secondary location/partial exodus. But the cracks will appear and develop over time, eg recent new member asking about discord (which if not the exact approach, the idea [real time communication] is probably supported by new members across the board, eg see the immediate comment above lol).
None of this is negative or positive commentary on any platform, or judgement cast. Just jotting down some thoughts and putting this out there, so that I can post a Negrodamus meme in a couple years when it all comes to fruition. Off to my meeting, tootles!
edit - the natural solution is often times changing to pay to play btw, which of course would be disastrous, I think everyone's thankful it's not p2p here. imo the best solution is hopefully instead of the normal cycle (like the blue to orange exodus), there's a companion platform that is not in competition, but parallel like hpf
2nd edit - noting I wish the best to all admins/mods/members of all sites in case my tone on this post is misinterpreted
