»PIC:barclip.ilbm» »CL8: Scene Survey Results »PIC:barclip.ilbm» »CL8: Written by Darkhawk of IRIS »CL1:In the last EC, in the middle of 2002, I had included a survey sheet for you, the sceners to fill, where I asked you various questions in regards to the scene, your feelings, the future, etc. Response was quite overwhelming, infact we got much more filled surveys in than votes, until it topped at 95 surveys, sent in by sceners. Your rate of response to this was indeed high, so it made me wonder.. Maybe voting has you all puking by now, and you want to express your views in some other way? I'd understand that, since to vote is the same for each time, but then again, it is also important, each time, so you should not view voting as a very menial and repetitive task. However, in the future we might do something a bit more fun and spicy again, in this style. In any case, we go straight to the questions and your answers. They are somewhat self-explanatory, but that won't stop me from stating the obvious at places, naturally. So.. 01. The question most often asked in such scenesurveys is this: Do you think the Amiga scene will still be here in: 1 year 3 years Above 3 years It will exist for as long as I live! And the results are.. 1 year: 15.79% 3 years: 9.47% Above 3 years: 33.68% It will exist for as long as I live: 41.05% Perhaps surprisingly, most of you are quite positive in regards to the future of the scene. There are some die hard fanatics here, as well as some general optimists, although some also think the scene will die within a year.. But really, this is not the first time a scenish survey has asked this question. Infact I remember one from 1993, where people were much more negative in their answers, than you are here. Of course this is a general question, you might have answered and meant that the scene, not the Amiga scene would survive, etc., but I still think it shows that most of you have by now gotten to the realization that the scene can continue on, if you yourself want it. 02. How much time would you honestly say you spend on work in the scene each week when there's no party around: 0 hours 1-5 hours 5-9 hours Above 10 hours And the results are.. 0 hours: 26.32% 1-5 hours: 52.63% 5-9 hours: 9.47% Above 10 hours: 11.58% While it was quite common to spend well over 10 hours a week on scene work 10 years ago, it is now quite uncommon, although some of you still work as much, although most of you must have girlfriends, jobs, a life, etc., by now, while the young kids of yesterdays scene had much more spare time. So actually, I think this looks quite decent. Most of you spend some time each week working for the scene, and much else can't really be expected these days. Still, 1/4 of you do not work for the scene at all, except around parties. 03. Do you see yourself primarily as: An Amiga user A scener An Amiga scener And the results are.. No Answer: 5.26% An Amiga user: 21.05% A scener: 37.89% An Amiga scener: 35.79% The results here are somewhat balanced, and it is a bit hard analyzing whether you feel yourself more like general sceners, independent of platforms, feel a kinship with all sceners, or rather want to be exclusively an Amiga scener. Some of you also identify with the general Amiga user base, which shows solidarity. However, as we can see, most prefer to think of themselves in terms of being a scener before being an Amiga user. 04. How do you view the (many) people, who are Amiga users, but who are not into the scene: Real loyal fans, striving to recreate the past (possibly succeeding) Sad people, clinging to something that can never be (again) Amiga without scene? They have nothing, if they have an Amiga but are not sceners. And the results are.. Real loyal fans, striving to recreate the past (possibly succeeding): 60% Sad people, clinging to something that can never be (again): 18.95% Amiga without scene? They have nothing, if they have an Amiga but are not sceners: 21.05% Not that surprisingly, and quite positively, most of you share warm feelings for Amiga users who try to cling on, despite the cruel nature of the world. Many of you are these very Amiga users, but many of you voters are probably ex. Amiga owners, who still harbour nostalgic feelings for the machine. 1/5 of you are somewhat bitter, viewing the common Amiga users in a disenchanted way, which is no surprise. Then there are you hardcore sceners, who think the Amiga needs a scene to be worthwhile these days. Well, I'd certainly hate it if there was no Amiga scene, and most Amiga sceners would probably quit the Amiga then, but let's not speak of such, hopefully, unlikely possibilities. 05. How important is the Amiga to you, in terms of scening? I don't use an Amiga for scene work I use an Amiga now and then for my scene work Amiga and the scene are one for me And the results are.. I don't use an Amiga for scene work: 34.74% I use an Amiga now and then for my scene work 31.58% Amiga and the scene are one for me 33.68% It's a very even race here, but naturally the fact that everyone could fill our survey, also PC sceners, might have played a role. In any case, 1/3 of you never use an Amiga for scene work, 1/3 of you use it now and then (which must mean those people do work for Amiga productions), and 1/3 of you are still hardcore Amiga sceners, exclusively using the Amiga. Thus at least 2/3 of the Amiga scene still uses Amiga.. Hehe, that's a nice thing, naturally.. 06. How many Amiga sceners do you see as real friends? None 1-3 4-6 7 and over All true Amiga sceners are my friends And the results are.. None: 16.84% 1-3: 28.42% 4-6: 22.11% 7 and over: 15.79% All true Amiga sceners are my friends: 16.84% In a perfect world, all Amiga sceners would be friends with eachother, and thus we can conclude that this is indeed not a perfect world. Still, some amongst your number really seem to have a lot of love in you, as we can see. An almost equal amount of you have over 7 real friends in the scene, which is of course very good for motivation and for creativity. Also a sizeable number have from 1-6 friends in the scene at least, only 16% of you do not have any friends at all in the scene. However, that is both real sad and dangerous for you, as you must either be a newcomer, or one about to leave the scene. Without friendship, it is almost impossible staying in the scene these days, when other motivating factors gradually disappear. So.. Get yourself some Amiga friends, it shouldn't really be impossible, looking at these numbers. 07. How many Amiga sceners are there in your vicinity (i.e. your city/town/rural district): None 1-5 6-10 Above 10 And the results are.. None: 36.84% 1-5: 43.16% 6-10: 10.53% Above 10: 9.47% Sadly, many of you do not share the same city with other sceners. This is maybe not too surprising, the Amiga scene is small, and you might not even know, that a fellow scener lives in your vicinity. However, most of you do know at least some sceners in your vicinity, and it might also be that they are part of the reason you keep on scening. 10% of you must really live in big cities, or be connected with members of your own group, in the same area, because you write you know more than 10 sceners in your vicinity. Well, that must surely be stimulating. 08. How many of these do you meet with 'regularely': None 1-5 6-10 Above 10 And the results are.. None: 53.68% 1-5: 42.10% 6-10: 4.21% One thing is to know sceners in your general vicinity, another seems to be actually meeting them. It's a bit sad these things are not synomenous maybe, but a massive 54% of you do either not meet up with the sceners you know in your vicinity, or there are none. Which must mean you get your dose of social interaction at parties and/or on the net. This is not surprising, given the geographical spreading of sceners and groups, coupled with the importance of the net. So now the question presents itself.. How much do you meet up with your group? 09. Would you categorize your group(s) as primarily: A group where we meet on the net A group where we meet in the real world I am in both kinds of group (in the case of doublemembers only) Note: Parties do not count here. And the results are.. No Answer: 1.05% A group where we meet in the real world: 36.84% A group where we meet on the net: 48.42% I am in both kinds of group (in the case of doublemembers only): 13.68 It seems like the net is the preferred method of meeting sceners these days, might be because it is neccessary, or because it is actually the most convenient way, but the scene is close to being more of an internet scene, than a place, where we meet physically. Taken together though, the situation looks 50/50. Some of you meet up with your fellow groupmembers in the real world, some of you don't. Either way, you probably spend a lot of time on the internet, chatting with sceners. 10. Are you generally content in your group(s)? (yes/no) And the results are.. No: 9.47% Yes: 90.53% This is quite an overwhelming response, showing that 9 out of 10 sceners feel content in their groups. This might have been surprising for some, but when you look at it, we do not see that much movement between groups, where a scener quits his old group, and joins a new one. usually, he just joins the new group, and keeps his old. This might have bred some form of content, and this might in turn have created a static scene, where nothing much changes, and where people stay where they are. Proponents for the free flow of marketeconomy might say that this is a very bad thing for the scene, but I won't go into that here. 11. How engaged in the scene would you, in your own terms, not looking at hours put into it, characterize yourself as being? Marginally engaged Engaged on an on/off basis, particularely around parties Moderately engaged throughout the year I think and breathe scene Marginally engaged: 27.37% Engaged on an on/off basis, particularely around parties: 24.21% Moderately engaged throughout the year: 33.68% I think and breathe scene: 14.74% Again, I think this looks somewhat positive. Yes, there are around 30%, who're only marginally involved in the scene, but that might be normal Amiga users, of which a few surely have taken this survey. Also, we know that a lot of the Amiga sceners, aren't really all that much sceners, but hang in. On the other hand, we can see that over 70% of the people who have filled the survey, work at least occasionally for the scene, and of these, the biggest group is one, that is moderately engaged throughout the year. 12. The scene is about (only pick the one that most accurately describes the scene): Friendship between the sceners, sharing the same interest Developing creative skills and applying them Pushing the limits of the hardware used And the results are.. Pushing the limits of the hardware used: 8.42% Developing creative skills and applying them: 30.53% Friendship between the sceners, sharing the same interest: 61.05% I have been especially interested in this question, since it is the one attempting to shed light on how sceners view the scene. What is important, and what isn't? And I am a bit surprised at the results, though not overly much. Only 9% of you think that the scene is about pushing the limits of the hardware you use, a sizeable minority takes the artistical, creative approach to what the scene is about, but most of you hold the opinion that the scene is about people sharing the same interest and developing friendships in the course of this. A very nice and friendly view, and if I have time, I have done an article about this subject, which you can read elsewhere in the mag. 13. In regards to the future of the scene (whether it lives or dies, whether it will take a preferred path ahead, etc.), I am: Utterly pessimistic Pessimistic So-so Positive Very positive And the results are.. Utterly pessimistic: 16.84% Pessimistic: 7.37% So-so: 30.52% Positive: 33.68% Very positive: 11.58% The views here are naturally varied, but there are many more optimistic or neutral, and the opposite, which is important, as we might as well lay down the scene, if people were generally utterly pessimistic towards the future of the scene. Most of the people being that pessimistic will probably quit the scene quite soon, while the people in the other categories will hang on, so I see this result as quite positive, something to show that most sceners at least somewhat in the future, and their part in it.