Lonely Milovana

[Philze]

I never noticed it before, but why is milovana that small?
The community around TD and all other kinks which are represented here on milovana should
lure a lot more people. The scene is big enough.
Is there a rivalry?
I don't think so. At least I don't know about any site with that quality and abundance of information and media
like Milovana.
Shouldn't there be thousands of users online or are they just not registered?
When i see the chat record...23 (?) ..come on..thats nothing compared to the mass of people who whould enjoy this site ..
can anyone explain that?

[LostChris]

Lonely at the top

[CheerfullyInsane]

I never noticed it before, but why is milovana that small?
.
.
.

When i see the chat record...23 (?) ..come on..thats nothing compared to the mass of people who whould enjoy this site ..

Depends on what you mean by small.
Looking at the online numbers right now, which states that there are 25 users.....
But also 191 guests.
Which probably means that while there's a lot of interest in the teases, not everyone wants to get involved on the boards.
Add to that, that all websites of this nature has a ton of lurkers.

Numbers will only decrease when it comes to chat, because now you not only have to take an interest, you have to do it real-time. Plus there's a lot of people out there who don't have english as their primary language, and who might be a little intimidated by using it live.

None of it means that there's some kind of failure, or that people aren't interested.
The board activity has increased since I've been around, and the chat is, as far as I know, inventing new ways to lure people in.
Sometimes it just takes a while for people to get their feet wet.

CheerfullyInsane

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the word you first thought of."

[mu]

I think most people don't feel comfortable enough to talk about this on a forum. I know it was a big step for me to register and I still don't completely feel at ease.

[smallitalian4]

I don't go to chat anymore because the last two times I went there I was treated rather rude. I don't feel like putting up with that crap. Don't bother asking who it was cause I don't remember it has been a while ago. So therefore I just stick to an occasional reply in the forums and reading great teases. :)

[Philze]

But you can't tell me that this record : "Most users ever online was 491 on Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:57 pm"
is comparable to the quality of this site, which is obviously on a very high level.

The chat must be smaller, no doubt.
The number of registered must be smaller, no doubt.
This is clear, but the fact that there are hardly 500 people online in one time as a record...i can't explain.
This site is great and should be a temple of satisfaction for everyone enjoying TD or similar kinks.
And nobody can tell me that there are just that few people out there enjoying this...

Sorry for bad english, it isn't my native language

[CheerfullyInsane]

But you can't tell me that this record : "Most users ever online was 491 on Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:57 pm"
is comparable to the quality of this site, which is obviously on a very high level.

Well, the online numbers aren't on a daily basis. As far as I can figure those polls are done to reflect any given 15 minute period. Or in other words, the 491 users are simultaneous connections from 491 different IPs within a 15 minute time-span.
If I'm way off-track here, one of the admins will have to correct me.
But 491 simultaneous connections, from something like 14 different time-zones on a website dealing with what is still a fringe subject, is still pretty good.
Especially considering that I have never seen Milovana advertised anywhere else.
Total registered users is as far as I remember something like 8000, and if we assume that the online numbers for guests are comparable, you have something like 50k users that aren't registered.
Would I like more of them to be more active? Of course.
But considering how long I spent lurking, I can't honestly fault them.

This site is great and should be a temple of satisfaction for everyone enjoying TD or similar kinks.

No argument here.

And nobody can tell me that there are just that few people out there enjoying this...

True enough. But there's intense competion from pay-sites.
I am in awe of the amount of work some of the regulars put into this site, but no matter how you look at it, it is still a labour of love. That is, something that gets done when ones other obligations are done.
A pay-site *has* to come up with new content, and *has* to do most of it in the same spectrum, or it'll lose revenue.
So if you're already subscribing to a pay-site that you're certain will have something kinky for you, obviously that'll be your first choice.

Sorry for bad english, it isn't my native language

Doesn't matter. It isn't mine either, and so far no-one has laughed at me.
Or at least they have enough decency to snigger quietly.

CheerfullyInsane

"Experience is a good teacher, but she sends in terrific bills."
-Minna Antrim

[MistressJean]

I agree with almost everything that's been said so far, but have another thought. I was given this website by my boyfriend, and had I found this site by myself I doubt I would have become active simply because of what you said - it's a small community. Small communities are intimidating! Even though I have been welcomed by many, I still feel like an outsider. Knowing I have my boyfriend on here as well makes things easier, but again, had I found this website on my own I would probably be more apt to look around and then go somewhere else. Also, pay sites are appealing because no one believes you can get all of this content for free! Many people have been screwed over by free sites saying that they have lots of content and whatnot only to find that it's poor quality and/or not free at all! It's rare to find a free site like Milovana, and that's one of the reasons I feel like not many people may have found or "taken a chance" with it.

Quite honestly, though, I think I would prefer a small community to a larger one. It's easier to share personal things with a smaller group because you see the same names over and over. It's easier to put a personality with a name in a small group, and while large communities are nice for diversity and knowledge, sometimes I feel like a smaller quality group is more important.

Just my thoughts.

Mistress Jean

[seraph0x]

We're probably the biggest site in the femdom genre. Paysites like Meninpain tend to have more unique visitors (because they have lots of ad banners all over the Internet), but few people sign up and actually view the content, so we recently overtook them in terms of total pages viewed and we completely destroy them in terms of time spent on site.

But as Indy recently noted correctly - we're not the biggest site in the femdom genre, because we're not in the femdom genre.

However, once you compare Milovana to the top Fetish/BDSM sites, we're toast. Sites like Fetlife or Collarme have 20-100 times more visitors. We can about match them in terms of "Total time spent on site" which is by far our strongest category.

The stats speak a very clear language: Not that many people know about Milovana, but whoever finds it tends to visit it often and view a lot of content. And I'm quite happy with this quality over quantity situation. Not least because it's a great compliment to our excellent authors.

Obviously it would be great to reach a much wider audience, but it's totally in your hands. You are all members at other places, you all know people. Feel free to promote Milovana in your forum signatures, in communities like Fetlife or whereever. Just please don't step on anybody's toes.

[Foxhawke]

Just please don't step on anybody's toes.

Since this is a BDSM/Fetish site you forgot to quantify that with "unless they're into that, of course."

[Incubo]

I think there are some very good points already mentioned and I'm not going to argue with them really.

I'll just say that when it comes to the chat numbers being low, I think it's a case of expectations. Lots of folks pop in and then right out again because it's not what they expected. It's not exclusively for our resident Dommes/Doms to go and tease/humiliate a bunch of horny little subs. It's much like any other chat room on the internet. People hanging out, talking. Teasing does happen there, but it's not the norm and I think that's what many might have been expecting. So more often than not, they aren't finding what they were after in the chat room.

I don't know that there's really a solution for that, nor do I really think there needs to be. Just an observation.

[CheerfullyInsane]

Many people have been screwed over by free sites saying that they have lots of content and whatnot only to find that it's poor quality and/or not free at all! It's rare to find a free site like Milovana, and that's one of the reasons I feel like not many people may have found or "taken a chance" with it.

Very good point.
The web being what it is, there's a lot false advertising, and while there are some fabulous websites out there, it does at times require some careful digging.
Whole lot of amphibians to kiss out there, and not enough princes, if you will.

Quite honestly, though, I think I would prefer a small community to a larger one. It's easier to share personal things with a smaller group because you see the same names over and over. It's easier to put a personality with a name in a small group, and while large communities are nice for diversity and knowledge, sometimes I feel like a smaller quality group is more important.

This is the ultimate problem with user-based websites.
There has to be some sort of balance.
Too big a group, and you have all sorts of people with varying ideas of quality of content, what kinks should be here, demands for special boards in their languages. and (horrors!) spammers galore.
On the other hand, the biggest threat is stagnation.
If the output is dependant on a few select people, ideas will eventually run out, the teases will be specialized to their individual kinks, and it will ultimately scare away newcomers.
Much like a Tennessee family who has spent a few too many generations in the mountains.

CheerfullyInsane