(Actually ppl under 30 are getting OFF Facebook. They have TikTok, Instagram, maybe Twitter... and REDDIT is basically a huge forum, so I don't agree that forums don't have a place). Technique troublehsooting is a nice idea. Keep 'em coming!

It's a combination of lack of verified profiles overall

Around 8000 verified profiles who have access to posting in the forums, so I don't think that's the issue :)

You're right in that my statement was too broad. I should have said 'actively engaged' verified profiles. Most of the ones I click on haven't logged in for months, typically once verified they drop off a cliff until the next promotion. Glad to have a sustainable model to date either way. There could be more emphasis on the forums or other methods of engagement, I suppose, if that's something you were trying to pursue.

I agree to everything :) It could be nice to have a more active forum and with time, I also do think we will put more focus on it for instance on the front page. At the moment, I still think the core functionality of the site is to create a trustworthy database of practitioners, so that is the focus right now. You're right that many people disappear once they've created their profile, then to return when they're promoted. At least that's a very good sign that people come back to keep their profiles up to date with their belt promotion history. We can also see this in the user statistics. I guess the best we can do for the forum is to start some kind of drama. Anyone up for promoting themselves or something? :D

I could give myself a stripe. :D

Originally with the post I also actually thought the overall platform. While Christian cites a steady growth, the rate of actual amount of active members growing seems to have slowed down. (ACTIVE = members who visit frequently enough to participate also in voting system thereby enabling further growth of platform).

I think one thing that would definitely give the site a kick is if we had a group of higher ranked users who took the initiative to vote for strangers. The more votes/verifications we have, the more active the site is. Of course, it's a personal preference if anyone want to do that or not with their voting power.

That's not for strangers only - if MORE people would be active there would be MORE people who would vote for the people they actually know. The userbase being reliant on just a core group who is willing to make decisions based on profiled data only is a bottleneck.

Gotta take one for the team!

To this effect the academy instructor / coach / etc. requirements are excessively stringent when you think of how pod/regionalized the site is today. I can't single-handedly validate 3+ blue belts from my school, but there are very few people on here from our region, so I can't get anyone to sign up since we don't have enough votes to validate the students, which stops validating me as a coach, which stops.....

I'll take one for the team after tomorrows tournament if you want. Will be my 40th tournament and going to calm down a little bit after. I am getting to old lol. Of course this would only be in the beltchecker universe. I would still be wearing my real belt everywhere I train. Does that ruin the imaginary fun of it all? I actually think it would be more fun to just wear a white belt everywhere honestly. Got to do that last week in Florida when traveling and the instructor didn't tell anyone I was a blue belt. That's where the fun is at. Confusion not Anger. lol Confusing people is way more fun than making someone angry or bitter.

Go ahead and promote yourself, let's see what the community says about it :D

I think one thing that would definitely give the site a kick is if we had a group of higher ranked users who took the initiative to vote for strangers. The more votes/verifications we have, the more active the site is. Of course, it's a personal preference if anyone want to do that or not with their voting power.

To this end, if there was a more 'formal' set of requirements - like if X black belts were willing to vote on profiles that explicitly met requirements A/B/C and there was a specific sub-forum for asking for verification provided those things I think that would provide a few avenues: 1. It could establish the group of higher ranked users by being open to anyone who wanted to visit to vote 2. It would encourage forum interaction for new members who may not otherwise come in because they otherwise can't use it to beg for votes You could even start with a 'Beg for Votes' forum where the people who are willing to verify others they don't know personally can start threads with their personal requirements to use that people could respond to with questions as simple as 'what am I missing?' which would then prompt the subscribers of that forum to see who that person is.

Hello, I have not read the whole thread...