Is BZPower Dead?

[Zeb]

Although I wasn't here back in 2013, the fact that I'm even here is a sign that BZPower isn't dying. Bionicle 2015 has definitely increased the number of active members, and it was because of the 2015 rumours that I started noticing this website and ended up joining it. Right now I think it is actually growing.

[Irrie]

Although I wasn't here back in 2013, the fact that I'm even here is a sign that BZPower isn't dying. Bionicle 2015 has definitely increased the number of active members, and it was because of the 2015 rumours that I started noticing this website and ended up joining it. Right now I think it is actually growing.

Coincidentally, I joined BZPower over the summer not because of the 2015 rumors, but because I was curious to see what the fanbase was up to. 

[IcarusBen]

I joined after I had learned Bionicle was coming back and I wanted to see how things would evolve.

[Jobber]

 

Although I wasn't here back in 2013, the fact that I'm even here is a sign that BZPower isn't dying. Bionicle 2015 has definitely increased the number of active members, and it was because of the 2015 rumours that I started noticing this website and ended up joining it. Right now I think it is actually growing.

Coincidentally, I joined BZPower over the summer not because of the 2015 rumors, but because I was curious to see what the fanbase was up to. 

 

I decided to make an account on Eurobricks to discuss all the Bio2015 stuff back in August, it wasn't until December when I came back onto this old account. Wasn't originally planning to, but nothing was going on Eurobricks otherwise. (I have a 2007 account, but the mods wont give it back, but whatevs. V-V )

Edited January 14, 2015 by Chasm

[hiddenderek]

Just curious,  how many people were usually on BZpower's in 06-08? Right now as of this post theres 130 people currently browsing the forums simultaneously. Back then, if anyone remembers, was there like 500? 1000? 

[Sir Kohran]

Just curious,  how many people were usually on BZpower's in 06-08? Right now as of this post theres 130 people currently browsing the forums simultaneously. Back then, if anyone remembers, was there like 500? 1000? 

 

I can't do much more than guess at this point, but I'd say at least 300.

[Jobber]

Is BZP dead? First, we must define what is it is to be 'alive':

 

 

 

Since there is no exact definition of what it means to be alive. Most scientists narrow it down to 6 characteristics. These characteristics are in all living organisms, but many non-living things share some of these characteristics which the definition of "life" is debatable. https://prezi.com/gvb567ybtvja/what-does-it-mean-to-be-alive/

Now with all that in mind, what exactly is the heart of BZP? It's that one guy who posts news articles and nothing else, right? And what would the brain be? The staff of course, not the forum leaders, though. And what is the blood of the site? All the donations the site receives. But most of that comes from people getting the 'Premier Membership'--I'd say about 10-15 people a year buy this special membership. The math works out to around 400$ a year. But how much money does it cost to run a site like this? Most sites tend to cost hundreds of dollars a year; a high-traffic site like this is no exception. In essence, this site is slowly bleeding out. (This is assuming of course, that the staff don't shove new money blood into the body of BZP themselves.)

Nonetheless, members can be considered the 'oxygen' of this site needs. As Sir Kohan mentioned above, around 300 people browse around at any given time. That's almost half the people there was backing in the Bionicle G1 era.  BZPower is suffocating, my friends. Bionicle G2 is the help.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Chasm

[fishers64]

Nah, the Admins pay for this place out of their own pockets anyway. The money we give them is offsetting some of the cost so they can afford it. 

[Prowl Nightwolf]

As long as Bionicle is around, BZP will flourish. Of course, Bionicle was dead for several years, which is why BZP lost so much activity.

 

Give it a couple of months, Bionicle will attract new fans, and they will inevitably find their way here.

As others have said, BZP isn't as populated at it used to be. But with Bionicle being rebooted, activity on the forums will go up. The rumors of Bionicle returning a few months back alone caused a surge of members to return. And new members will also join the site when the new story officially starts. So I don't think BZP is dead at all. It's simply the calm before the storm.

Although I wasn't here back in 2013, the fact that I'm even here is a sign that BZPower isn't dying. Bionicle 2015 has definitely increased the number of active members, and it was because of the 2015 rumours that I started noticing this website and ended up joining it. Right now I think it is actually growing.

 

Yeah, my First Bionicle figure was either Huki from McDonalds or the Toa-Mata Onua. Regardless I don't think we even had internet back then but I am not 100% on that one. Even if we did not sure if I ever remember joining any Bionicle based sites though I did my fair share of Lego.com Bionicle activity so maybe we did have some form of internet. Anyway, while I have not been a "BIG" fan I have designed my own MOC characters based off the few Matoran and assorted pieces. I once made a Tuji Huki by giving the normal Huki horns by attacking a second body and arms to the back of his head. I also still have a Bohrok-Va/Matoran hybrid I made years ago.

 

Anyway, again. The reason I found this site was because I seen a commercial either online or on my TV about the return of Bionicle and almost flipped out. So after some desirable net searching and some hints about an old Fansite that combined its resourses with another site becoming this one. So I popped over as a guest and seen RP stuff then additional new about Bionicle and alike. So I made myself at home... Hope that's not a problem .

 

So while not really a "New" fan, I was not here for Gen1 so missed out on quite a lot of content. The only reason I found this place is because of the Bionicle reboot. Otherwise I may never have done a Bionicle RP search...

Edited January 18, 2015 by Prowl Nightwolf

[Aanchir]

Just curious,  how many people were usually on BZpower's in 06-08? Right now as of this post theres 130 people currently browsing the forums simultaneously. Back then, if anyone remembers, was there like 500? 1000?

I actually joined in '06. So that period was when I got my start. I remember things being busier back then, but that wasn't always a good thing. Even just keeping track of a single particularly active topic like the Official Greg Discussion/Dialogue/Answers topic (I honestly forget what it was called back then) could be a bit of a chore.

 

I wasn't driven away by that activity, of course. Otherwise I wouldn't still be here. My first major hiatus from the site happened around 2010 or 2011, when rather than increasing or diminishing the activity here mostly became rather nasty and confrontational. And after that it was only a matter of time before the "Great Downtime" put EVERYONE on a forced hiatus. When that ended and the new site interface was introduced I found the site a lot friendlier and more close-knit than I had left it.

 

Why does that chaotic activity bother me so much more in hindsight than it did at the time? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe because this was my first online community and I didn't know a smaller and less active site could have such charm. A lot of other BIONICLE-specific sites could be a bit mean-spirited since banned BZPower members tended to congregate there — it wasn't until I was old enough to join Eurobricks that I found another general BIONICLE and LEGO discussion forum where I felt safe and welcome. Perhaps as a younger teen I had more energy, or more patience, or more of whatever it took to put up with that kind of environment and still enjoy it. Or perhaps the site was just enough of a distraction from the pressures of school that I didn't realize how much pressure BZPower itself was actually putting on me.

 

In any event, I don't think the site NEEDS to go back to that level of activity, or even if it would be a good thing. If it turns out the site is struggling to stay afloat, yeah, something needs to change. But I don't think that's the case at all, and even if it were, putting more pressure on the staff and the server would not necessarily be the answer.

[Arcee]

I think a big part of why it seems less busy is there's not as much to talk about. Love or hate the convoluted end of G1 there was just. So much stuff to talk about. I'm loving G2 so far but G1 had new books, new serials, new films, and all sorts of new content to theorize and make creative works based around.

 

That and G2 hasn't had much time to pick up momentum yet. Time will tell if it will reach the cult popularity Bionicle had around '08.