ATTENTION BELL TREE VETERANS !!!! Is The Bell Tree Forums dying????

[Goth]

Wow! Okay it's like every time I login to this site, (maybe once a year) I'm surprised with the lack of posts! It kinda is melancholic to me because I have so many good memories of how active it used to be. It's true that forums in general are dying in general cuz I guess less and less people are wanting to login to a computer to make a post and wait hours for responses....

Bell Tree circa like 2013-2018 was PRIME. The New Leaf era was SOO prime. I used to **** post on here, logging into my little school chromebook during class! The basement used to be ACTIVE even at like 4 am EST. Like posts are literally hours and days apart now, it's so sad!

I honestly don't see this site going anywhere, everything is mobile now and no one really wants to post on a forum on their phone when they can use different apps and chatrooms. Speaking of, does anyone know where most people looking for ACNH multiplayer and trading are going? (lol idk if i should ask that but ).

It would be nice for this website to stay up as kinda like my own personal little archive of my adolescence, but realistically I see this website shutting down within the next 5 years, (I would bet money on this.) unless some crazy Animal Crossing update or new game announcement revives site activity (probably would only be a short period of higher activity anyways.)

There's more nostalgic memories for me that I could bring up, exchanging SKYPE info on here, made friends I still talk to this day. But I honestly wish the owners good luck on their future projects because I don't see this place going anywhere unfortunately.

Manic teachings, Peace & Love, user Goth ​

 

[Chris]

The slow down in activity post-ACNH was expected, especially when we don't have an active event. Come back over the summer and it'll be busier (more information coming soon - keep your eye on the Bulletin Board!).

We have no intentions of closing anytime in the next few years.

 

[Goth]

Well I'm glad there's no plans of closing! I feel like a lot of unexpected things have been happening since the COVID-19 pandemics effects on us. You can't deny the decline in site activity over the span of a few years though. In like 2015 they'd be 40 logged in active users and I just checked and it's like 4 active users The Basement and Brewsters cafe used to be poppin !! it just makes me nervous for the inevitable. But we'll probably outlive ACC so I guess thats good

 

[Yanrima~]

This forum (or any other forum sites) had better atmosphere than most social media sites especially Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. Because of that, I won't be leaving it completely behind. I've met really cool people in this forum and I do hope there's more events coming soon.

This forum holds dear to my heart because I get to communicate online without so much worry about saying something or stating an opinion without any arguments.

Social media in itself is stressful and I felt more comfortable posting sketches and works in progress in this forum and Animal Crossing related screenshots and posts. And this forum helped me in improving my writing. To those who stick to this forum for years to come, here's to another years of sticking around, thank you and I appreciate your presence!

 

[Corrie]

It's a little disheartening to see activity low but like Chris said, it's not surprising seeing how nobody really plays ACNH much anymore. I love this place and will be here for many more years to come as well. I feel at peace and welcome here, especially compared to other social media out there. Everyone is so friendly and I love seeing the regulars!

 

[Shellzilla_515]

It's to be expected that the forums is pretty quiet outside of events, especially since New Horizons haven't been getting updates in almost two years now aside from quick bug fixes here and there. But wow, I'm really grateful that TBT exists because of the welcoming community and that I made some friends on here I wouldn't have met otherwise! The events were pretty memorable too, so we should also give thanks to the staff members on here for organizing them in the first place.

 

[Midoriya]

Putting new AC game aside, I highly doubt that the forum will close anytime soon anyway. The forum's longevity is already proven as it is one of the longest-running forums I've ever seen (and I've been around to many different forums on the internet in the past). It would most likely take something really drastic in order for the forum to close, something I don't foresee until many years from now.

TL;DR The forum is just fine for now!

 

[Nunnafinga]

Is this place as busy as it was ten years ago(when I joined shortly after New Leaf was released)?No,but the fact that it's still here and is still fairly active says a lot.Most online forums don't last for even half of that time.If the next AC mainline game is really good with major improvements over New Horizons,I can see TBT lasting for many more years.

 

[Roxxy]

I’m sadly not a veteran but wish I’d joined earlier (older than a newbie, when can I be a veteran?) This forum can be quiet outside of events (then it is full of life and getting to know people that you might have seen around but never had the chance to chat). It is just a lovely place to chill and chat with friends, enjoy collectables and be amazed by our talented artists. Everyone is welcomed and I have loved being accepted and making lifelong friends it isn’t even just about our love for AC. It is the people who make this forum home to many. Thank you to dear friends and staff (hopefully also friends as you are all so lovely). I feel blessed to be part of such a special family

 

[Goth]

Is this place as busy as it was ten years ago(when I joined shortly after New Leaf was released)?No,but the fact that it's still here and is still fairly active says a lot.Most online forums don't last for even half of that time.If the next AC mainline game is really good with major improvements over New Horizons,I can see TBT lasting for many more years.

awe omg ur making me feel old as **** ... my ten year forumiversary will be next january. I'm gonna be 22 do you ever like look back on your life as a forum veteran being like you know what the **** am I doing on here still, or are you able to manage a productive life and an active online influence at the same time? Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Croconaw]

I didn’t even start becoming active on here until about 2020, so you can still consider me new. My join date doesn’t accurately represent how long I’ve been active here. I don’t see the forum closing anytime soon, if at all. I’ve been on forums in the past that no longer exist and it came as a surprise to me. I come back to check in and they’re just gone.

This has to be the most active forum to this day. The activity will be back during the summer event which should be announced soon. Some people only pop back in for events and their activity drops again once the event is over. Nothing new, but I wish I could’ve been part of the forum at its most active. Better late than never, I suppose.

 

[Mutti]

You need to remember, the last full game was 3 years ago now, with no inkling of any update or teaser of a new title.
the forum is way more active during holiday events, showing just how many still activity use this site.

 

[Nunnafinga]

awe omg ur making me feel old as **** ... my ten year forumiversary will be next january. I'm gonna be 22 do you ever like look back on your life as a forum veteran being like you know what the **** am I doing on here still, or are you able to manage a productive life and an active online influence at the same time? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Naw,I never wonder what I'm still doing here because TBT is still entertaining for me.If I felt otherwise I'd be long gone.You're only 22 and you've been with TBT for almost half of your life so I can see how you might feel like you've spent a little too much time here.Heh,I was already 49 when I joined so TBT has taken up a considerably smaller portion of my life.Besides,being an oldster I can't spend too much time here.I tend to fall asleep if I sit in the same spot for too long.

 

[oath2order]

It's a little disheartening to see activity low but like Chris said, it's not surprising seeing how nobody really plays ACNH much anymore. I love this place and will be here for many more years to come as well. I feel at peace and welcome here, especially compared to other social media out there. Everyone is so friendly and I love seeing the regulars!

It's wild, because I just recently got back into NH and am having a surprising amount of fun with it, especially now that I've managed to luck my way into some catalog islands.

But wow did NH fall off real quick. Maybe it's just me misremembering, but I feel like New Leaf absolutely lasted a bit longer post-release. I feel like it was definitely still going pretty strong 3 years on.

Now, for NH, it's pretty difficult to find catalog islands and the like.

 

[Firesquids]

It's wild, because I just recently got back into NH and am having a surprising amount of fun with it, especially now that I've managed to luck my way into some catalog islands.

But wow did NH fall off real quick. Maybe it's just me misremembering, but I feel like New Leaf absolutely lasted a bit longer post-release. I feel like it was definitely still going pretty strong 3 years on.

Now, for NH, it's pretty difficult to find catalog islands and the like.

I actually got into TBT about 2 years after New Leaf came out, and it was definitely more active than New Horizons was 2 years out. Like others have said that's probably due to the lack of updates for NH.

I'm curious if we'll get another spin-off game before the next main line release. And if so, would TBT's traffic increase? New Horizons brought Animal Crossing into the public eye more than ever before. So it's possible that with the next main-line game release (depending on how good it is, and how much support Nintendo decides to give it) we could see more users than ever.

 

[Croconaw]

I actually got into TBT about 2 years after New Leaf came out, and it was definitely more active than New Horizons was 2 years out.

You need to take into consideration, though, that forums were also less obsolete in 2014-2015 than they are now. As much as it sucks, forums in general are dying.

 

[Xara]

i’m not really sure if i’m a veteran considering i’ve only been active 5 out of 8 of my years being a member here haha, but the forums definitely aren’t dying. i miss how active the community was 2015-2017 and when new horizons came out, but it makes sense that activity’s been low considering new horizons isn’t as popular anymore and there’s no active tbt event going on right now. i think a lot of people (including myself, i just came back from a semi-hiatus) are also just busy right now; people have work and other responsibilities, it’s approaching the end of the school year for some so people have assignments, exams etc to do, and so on. i think summertime and any tbt event(s) that go on during it will help activity increase again. usually the big summer event (typically tbt fair or camp bell tree) brings a lot of members back.

this place is a safe space for a lot of people (including myself), so i don’t see it dying completely any time soon. i think as long as animal crossing games continue to be made, and tbt continues to be as wonderful as it’s been, and of course there’s still lovely people around willing to run and manage the place (obligatory thank you to staff for everything you guys do ), it’ll be around for a long time to come — even if it isn’t super active all of the time

 

[Kitsuragi]

come back during the site events. it's at a lull right now because people are finishing school, busy irl etc but once the forum events like the fair come around, it'll be poppin'. the april fools event was SUPER dang busy for the forums.

 

[Corrie]

It's wild, because I just recently got back into NH and am having a surprising amount of fun with it, especially now that I've managed to luck my way into some catalog islands.

But wow did NH fall off real quick. Maybe it's just me misremembering, but I feel like New Leaf absolutely lasted a bit longer post-release. I feel like it was definitely still going pretty strong 3 years on.

Now, for NH, it's pretty difficult to find catalog islands and the like.

No you're correct. The NL train lasted for many more years than NH did. I was part of it too and yeah, even in 2018 it was still active. NH came and went in under 3 years. I'm still playing too to try and finish up my island.

 

[DJ-Mika]

I'm nowhere near being a TBT veteran, but I feel this place is decently active; I don't have much of a comparison for when it's "more active" as I'm still somewhat new and not on 100% of the time, but there's new posts/replies almost every day and enough people are consistently active that I recognize at least a few names here and there.

Compared to something like ACC however... very different situation. I actually just discovered that place and was excited to make an account there and meet new people, but once I saw how dead it was I decided against it