Weasyl seems to have hit a dropoff. We aren't getting any more users joining here and that raises the question, what was done wrong? The design is better, the code is better, and the admins aren't anywhere near as corrupt than other sites.

Inevitable Current Path

1. Weasyl opens up to the public, losing the beta!

2. A few users begin joining, but nowhere near the expected amount.

3. Weasyl becomes another Nabyn.

This is my prediction. I honestly do believe that if nothing is done, Weasyl will disappear without a trace.

So What's Your Plan?

Simple. PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE!

There are people all around FA that still when I mention Weasyl, they still have no idea what it is Unless you are getting the word out, you wont have new users.

As of now, FA is the highest trafficking furry site around and DA is the highest ranking art site around. BOTH OF THESE SITES HAVE ISSUES, but when it comes down to it, why do people use it? If people know these sites are corrupt, if they know the site poorly coded, why do they continue to use it? This I believe is a two part answer.

The first is, EVERYONE IS THERE. To get people to leave a site, all their friends/other people have to be at the other site. If not, people lose interest. When people post, they generally want comments/favs (this is what runs the internet basically, people want others to agree with them, or enjoy the work they put into things. (Money is another big motive, but that's a different story.)) Without this basic block, interest is lost.

Interestingly enough though, I do see another big building block. Let's ask a question. "What made people switch from MySpace to Facebook? What made people join initially?"

It's really a strange answer. MySpace almost offered too much customizability. People perferred Facebook because of it's simpler approach to social networking. Everything is structured and everything is easy to find and use. Facebook since then has seemed to become more complicated, but I truly believe that this is what is keeping users. Once you get people, you need to find a way to keep them. How do you do this? DON'T LET THEM GET BORED WITH THE SITE! Now I'm not saying we need to turn Weasyl into Facebook, but I am saying that these ideas do have the ability to keep this site afloat if they are used right.

I just feel like FA has run it's course. I won't be leaving Weasyl any time soon. I feel like a part of Weasyl to a certain extent, and I won't just give up on it. It's still an ongoing project, and I would hate to see it fail over the lack of interest in the site.

As always, I wish the best of luck to Weasyl and those running it. I just hate seeing people go back to FA after they've bitched so much about it. I try to use it as sparingly as possible, and a recent issue with an admin will make the amount of use on it cut in half.