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CL8:                            Scene Survey Results
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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.
