TwoInchBrush - Forum

.....6 days and nobody has anything to add, what a nice community this would be if only the members actually spoke to each other.
I love it here but honestly i visit far less often than ever before, seems our members have little or nothing to say apart from the occasional " Nice" or "pretty" . Come on Felix inject a bit of life into our once great forum

Apologies tel, I was away for the holidays and only approved this post 5 days after you created it.

That is a great point you're making, and something I have noticed too.
I believe most of the activity from a few years back was because of COVID lockdowns. People were stuck at home with nothing to do besides posting on forums.

What kind of discussions would you like on here? Would it be possible for you to just try and start these discussions yourself?

While there are certainly ways for me to get people to post and interact more on this site, I would rather not add them to twoinchbrush.com.
There are enough websites on the internet already that use psychological tricks to manipulate users for more engangement like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
My philosophy has always been to provide some features and inputs, but mostly let the community run itself.
I would rather have this website as a small cozy neighbourhood cafe where the regulars can enjoy a slow afternoon, than a hyperefficient fast food restaurant where thousands of faceless people go in and out.

But to all reading this: please let me know if you would rather have more engangement on here than we currently have with this "small but real community" approach.

ironically the silence speaks volumes, it's clear that except for a very small minority the users of this site are not really looking for a forum where they can interact with other members....which is fine but it kinda defeats the whole object.
Look, i'm not desperate for human contact, god knows in my daily life i sometimes pray for less of it!....BUT when i go on a forum it isn't unreasonable to expect a little interaction over and above "Nice, lovely ,pretty " etc.

This is just frustrating!....Has nobody got a comment to make about "your" forum and it's steady decline into obscurity?
If the only thing members on here are looking for is somewhere to store your paintings you are in the right place, i've been coming here for 5 years and for the first 4 years it was a hive of activity but now nobody wants to communicate beyond the occasional two word comment on somebodys latest interpretation of a tree!....JEEZ !

@tel thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate your input as a long-time member of the site, but I am not quite sure where your frustration is coming from.

As you know, since you've been on here for over 5 years now, TwoInchBrush.com has grown out of the idea of being a space where people can share their Bob Ross recreations, and that still defines much of the community. That includes being a welcoming and non-critical place where even low-entry paintings are get kind comments and encouragement. If people enjoy it mainly for that, posting their paintings and getting a few nice comments, that’s completely fine and very much in line with the original idea. While I am happy when I see more technical or deeper discussions happen from time to time, this was never the goal for the website.

As for the forum: it has always been a quieter corner of the site. TwoInchBrush is, at its heart, a painting platform rather than a general-purpose community forum. There was never really the plan to host broader off-topic discussions like cars, holidays, or news, as you might see in catch-all forums. And seeing the lack of responses to your topics this seems to also not be something the current members want.

Out of curiosity, I took a look at the comment stats for the main page: interestingly, we’re currently seeing more comments than we did in 2020 or 2021 during the height of COVID, and only slightly fewer than in 2024. 2023 was unusually active and might just be an outlier, or spam-comments from the bot attack that I missed. Plus, we’re in spring now, when people naturally spend less time indoors and in front of screens.

It's also worth mentioning that TwoInchBrush.com is completely free to use. Aside from a little ad money to take care of my running costs, it’s still very much a hobby project. Requests for new features or changes are always welcome, but I hope it’s understandable that I work on things as time and resources allow. Given how things are economically, I just can’t prioritize features like a commercial platform might, and instead focus on my real job and other projects that turn a profit. (Plus I just got engaged and will soon have a wedding to pay for)

Lastly, and just to clarify - I don’t intend to use psychological tricks or engagement loops like many other social media sites do, to get people to spend more time on here and interact more. The goal has always been to create a calm, authentic space, not a dopamine trap.

Thanks again for your input, I value your perspective. As you've probably already seen I've just started a new event that gives us all a reason for discussions and sharing our thoughts, and I'm looking forward to your contribution already.

What you describe is clearly what is wanted, simply a place to post pictures.... I concede and will press my own desires for the forum no further.
I have attempted to inject some community spirit by instigating conversations on topics other than painting but Felix you were right all along, nobody is interested. As stated elsewhere i am not desperate for human contact but just wanted to bring members together.
I will hereby promise never to attempt to get to know people better by exploring interests outside of painting and will go elsewhere for such triviality.
I

@Felix congratulations on your engagement! That's exciting!

I do not have too much to add regarding the forum. I definitely like hearing what members have to say, but individually, I'm often cautious about sharing my thoughts and opinions online...even in a lovely, good-hearted place like this!

dracula Thank you

Hello tel and everyone, I love the forum and what everyone has said here and the boards that has been created. I work in health care and do 1 2hour shifts, so when I get a chance to sleep or paint that is all i do and forget about the forum. However starting today i will make an effort to come on the forum at least once a day.

Clearly we all have a common interest and this site has brought us together. The site is friendly and welcoming. I am open to befriend any member here as long as they understand my sense of humour and don't take offence where none is intended. I'm often extremely careful how I word my comments on other members paintings especially when they ask for honest critique because they genuinely want to learn. When people start pushing the report button due to misunderstandings or misinterpretation by language barriers and its not fair on anybody, including Felix who has to deal with it. I understand exactly where Felix is coming from, opening it up to other stuff could lead to unwanted content and the site needing a serious amount of moderating, a time consuming and thankless task that he might not want to do. And tel, I can't speak for anyone else but I'm happy to spend more time in the forum.