05-15-2015, 02:06 AM
(05-14-2015, 11:22 PM)DaltontoKroftSBchamps Wrote: Yes, it was a real and unique community. The Bengals.com Message Board is the only place I can think of where die-hard Bengals fans came together in such a great way. Long-time season ticket holders mingled with those fans who can't get to the games including fans from all around the country, even internationally. The closest thing I can think of is Cincy Jungle, but it's really just a blog and the other boards are not very active.
I'm still stunned by this even though I was just a lurker and didn't even post on it. I'm also surprised no one in the media has even mentioned it, even on Twitter. No statement to explain it from Hobson or the organization. Seems like the perfect example of a franchise being disrespectful to the core of its fanbase. It's shocking considering all the good things the Bengals organization has done over the past few years. We should mass email Dehner or Coley to see what they can find out about this.
Think of it in the big picture. Even in a large forum like that, the effect of its closure means very little, even though it sucks for the regular visitors. The Bengals have hundreds of thousands of fans. Their twitter alone has 355k followers. The boards would have only about 100 regular posters and only a couple more hundred regular visitors. That is a pretty small amount in comparison to the big picture. While I don't think they should have shut down especially when it was so well run, it won't make a big difference in the long term. Hobson or the Bengals official account don't have to make an announcement on it because it would only focus on a very small amount of their fanbase. While that fanbase is typically very dedicated, they are probably more focused on getting a heavier social media following so the boards get the shaft.
That said, I think we should focus more on what we have now rather than why the old board closed.. Let's turn this into a forum people WANT to come to on a regular basis a let them forget that the old boards even existed. I might be biased being a mod now but I think we can keep this as a good thing and hopefully can attract random visitors well.
