Where are everybody?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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DNS
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by DNS »

auto wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 1:15 pm Yes, well 100 concurrent viewers in couple hours could be 2000 unique visitors, when it is on a popular place of traffic like youtube.
No, that is incorrect. Unique visitors means separate people using different IPs.

200 people logging in or viewing only and hitting refresh a million times and browsing multiple discussion threads still counts as only 200 unique visitors. The only way around that would be for a user to log in or view on one IP and then later at another IP, for example once at work and another at home and then yes, that would count as 2 unique visitors. But simply hitting refresh or checking on several threads from the same IP counts as only one.

The total requests of about 18 million over the last 30 days, shows the number of hits, which counts all of the different discussions and clicks of the mouse through the forum.
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by auto »

DNS wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:02 pm
auto wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 1:15 pm Yes, well 100 concurrent viewers in couple hours could be 2000 unique visitors, when it is on a popular place of traffic like youtube.
No, that is incorrect. Unique visitors means separate people using different IPs.

200 people logging in or viewing only and hitting refresh a million times and browsing multiple discussion threads still counts as only 200 unique visitors. The only way around that would be for a user to log in or view on one IP and then later at another IP, for example once at work and another at home and then yes, that would count as 2 unique visitors. But simply hitting refresh or checking on several threads from the same IP counts as only one.

The total requests of about 18 million over the last 30 days, shows the number of hits, which counts all of the different discussions and clicks of the mouse through the forum.
I checked now how the views are counted in youtube. 30 seconds watch time to be counted as a view. If there is average of 100 stream watchers and at the end there is 2000 views, then it is possible these views are all unique, but i didn't took that into account during the time of the writing and had wrong idea overall, so yes i'm incorrect. Thanks
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Antaradhana
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by Antaradhana »

Why 2012? Centuries after the Buddha's parinibbana, there were already pessimistic sentiments that the Arahants were no longer there, that no one was reaching jhana anymore, that the sangha was immersed in luxury, and that fruitless doctrinal disputes were leading to multiple divisions, and so on. Anicca...
All that is subject to arising is subject to termination, all formations are non-permanent. And that which is impermanent is suffering. Regarding what is impermanent and prone to suffering, one cannot say: "This is mine, I am this, this is my self".
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by cappuccino »

Antaradhana wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:19 am Why 2012?
Eschaton


the completion of Kali Yuga
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by auto »

It's more quiet now.
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by bpallister »

I am here, friend. :hello:
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by auto »

bpallister wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:52 pm I am here, friend. :hello:
hello there
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by Spiny Norman »

I don't spend much time here these days. Too many right-wing reactionary voices posing as "Buddhist".
Buddha save me from new-agers!
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by auto »

Spiny Norman wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 3:30 pm I don't spend much time here these days. Too many right-wing reactionary voices posing as "Buddhist".
what is a right wing? i know it is politics, but i am xenophile.
Where do you spend your time, if i may ask?
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by bpallister »

auto wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 4:41 pm
Spiny Norman wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 3:30 pm I don't spend much time here these days. Too many right-wing reactionary voices posing as "Buddhist".
what is a right wing? i know it is politics, but i am xenophile.
Where do you spend your time, if i may ask?
MSNBC :stirthepot:
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by auto »

bpallister wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:59 pm MSNBC :stirthepot:
Do you mean you spend time on watching MSNBC or you mean it is right wing or you want provoke Spiny Norman?
I searched it is liberal,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSNBC wrote:Liberal bias
Main article: Media bias in the United States § Liberal bias
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "MSNBC is generally considered to be liberal or left-leaning."[85]
wrote:Politico referred to MSNBC as "left-leaning",[87] and Steve Kornacki of Salon.com stated that, "MSNBC's prime-time lineup is now awash in progressive politics."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States#Contemporary_progressivism wrote:In the 21st century, the term is often used to describe proponents of social justice and environmentalism.
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by bpallister »

i mean spiny spends his time there, perhaps
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by SarathW »

auto wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 1:31 am It seem 2012 was the peak when people were into spirituality. 2012 were a let down for many who hoped ascension. Does this nothing happening wearing people down or perhaps it was start of no age, dark passage? no handed down rapture nor body of light.

Forums are flattening. Aliens didn't come? sad life.
I join the forum in 2012.
In my opinion, it is just the beginning!
:tongue:
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings auto,
auto wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 1:31 am It seem 2012 was the peak when people were into spirituality. 2012 were a let down for many who hoped ascension. Does this nothing happening wearing people down or perhaps it was start of no age, dark passage? no handed down rapture nor body of light.

Forums are flattening. Aliens didn't come? sad life.
Aside from ascension and politics, there's a couple of significant inter-related trends in Buddhism in the West, that I see as having happened over that period of time.

Firstly, we've had the increasing availability of on-line Suttas (and even Agamas) in the English language. Bhikkhu Bodhi did a great job of translating Suttas, albeit mostly in hardcopy or electronic books, and more recently Sujato has done his own translations, and made them and many more available (and importantly, searchable!) on the Sutta Central site. For the first time, it's easy for people to find their own answers to what the Buddha taught, meaning they are no longer as reliant on others for access to the Dhamma - whether they be forumites, or teachers... and that's where the second point comes in.

In the past people had to learn from "teachers", whether that be in the form of "traditions" and/or "individuals". One of the key individuals to die during that period was Goenka. For whatever reason, him and his technique strongly shaped how a lot of the older generation of Western Buddhists practiced. Now he is dead, it seems his organisation is in free-fall, interest is waning, and the only time we hear of it here in 2022 is when thepea complains about their mask mandates.

Likewise, the broader "mindfulness" fad is over, so people either leave the scene, or in rare cases, strive to find what the Buddha himself taught, thanks to the increased availability of actual Suttas. If and when they bother learning what the Buddha actually taught, they learn that Goenka's techniques and heterodox interpretations of the Dhamma are nowhere to be seen, and neither are Mahasi's meditation instructions. A newer generation of monks such as Ajahn Nyanamoli Thero have introduced people to the idea that external "techniques" are unhelpful, not required, and in many cases counter-productive. Obviously, for those with stronger faith in the Vipassana movement than the Buddha-Dhamma itself, it's been a tough decade. I'm sure they tired of learning that "that's not in the Suttas" as other practitioners executed their duty of The Four Great References of the Mahaparinibbana which Bhikkhu Pesala often mentions. There is now no place to hide.

Also, such is the impermanence of life, the "hippies" who initially brought these interpretations and practices back to the West in the 60's and 70's are gradually dying too. It was folly to assume such splinter movements would be built upon in perpetuity. So paradoxically, we've got closer access to the Buddha's teaching than ever before in the West, but less "movements" and trends that encourage people to actually discover them.

But yes, as noted above, politics is a big one too, and the rise of technology and the ubiquity of smart phones has enabled people to create ever-disconnected echo-chambers of like-minded voices. The resultant intolerance of different views, and the rising divergence in political views, gave rise to conflict here some time ago, and we resolved that initially by exporting worldly and political matters across to the Dharma Wheel Engaged forum. Unfortunately, it's since closed down so when people insist upon shoehorning extraneous socio-political concepts into the Dhamma, we often refer them across to Sutta Central Discourse, who have a "Watercooler" section that remains open for such explorations.

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Re: Where are everybody?

Post by Akusala »

I better clarify your point as there seems to be an irony - at least from my side.

You are talking about people becoming less tolerant of different views and how the technology creates this "echo-chamber". But, then you just bashed other traditions, such as the Goenka method and Mahasi's meditation instructions and how they are not in accordance with the suttas. Though, you did not explicitly say it, presumably your understanding/practice is the correct one based on the suttas. Can you see the irony there? :shrug:

You either take the position that there is one correct practice or a few correct practices and the rest are wrong and then you should not be afraid to call out the "wrong practices" and be viewed as intolerant. Or, you are open-minded enough and not criticise other practices but can complain about "people that are less tolerant out there". it is an irony to be intolerant and then call out other people's intolerance.
Last edited by Akusala on Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
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