Forum activity??

[Mark J]

@drzaiusis back!  That's great to see!

[drzaius]

Thanks guys.

[Chet]

On 3/14/2022 at 5:01 PM, wtnhighlander said:

Nice to see you back, @drzaius!

+1

[Coop]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:57 PM, Chet said:

+1

 

On 3/14/2022 at 8:57 PM, Chet said:

+1

+2

[roughsawn]

On 3/11/2022 at 2:03 PM, Ronn W said:

Does seem like less traffic.  Regarding repeated questions.  If we are patient and enthusiastic with newcomers we may see an increase.  I would love help out a begineer in my shop, but my insurance company would probably have a fit.

I would love to spend some time with you, to learn a few techniques that I am unfamiliar with. Only an hour away.

I am completely self taught, and a youtube follower. I'm one of the new guys here, and joined to ask questions, and hopefully, cut down on the screw-ups...lol

[phinds]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Wood Barter. For me it's a like having a whole crew in the shop with me. WAY more posts than here and the same kind of camaraderie, plus a lot of buying and selling and trading of wood.

I don't do facebook or twitter or any of the social media crap, but I spend a huge amount of time on Wood Barter (full disclosure, I moderate the wood identification forum). You guys should try it out. Woodtalkonline is a good forum but the traffic is too low to get people's attention.

[Jar944]

Facebook and Instagram won out. Forums are for all intents are mostly dead. 

[Chestnut]

12 minutes ago, Jar944 said:

Facebook and Instagram won out. Forums are for all intents are mostly dead. 

Dead is a relative term. Forums still get a decent amount of traffic, once you compare it to the social media giants it seems minuscule. While activity has declined there are still quite a few posts and new threads here a day.

[drzaius]

I am of the humble (or maybe not) opinion that facebook is a terrible substitute for a forum. If you compare the content of the content here vs the WoodWhisperer facebook group, well, there's just no comparison. The facebook group is just a huge time suck trying to find content of any value. Similar results with other types of forums/groups.

[Jar944]

On 5/4/2022 at 1:23 PM, drzaius said:

I am of the humble (or maybe not) opinion that facebook is a terrible substitute for a forum. If you compare the content of the content here vs the WoodWhisperer facebook group, well, there's just no comparison. The facebook group is just a huge time suck trying to find content of any value. Similar results with other types of forums/groups.

No disagreement there. You can learn a lot from a long and sometimes off topic thread. It's also easily found again and referenced if needed.  None of that works on ig of fb, but that is where people are. 

 I often can't find a hour old fb post I wanted to reply to (but refreshed automatically out of my feed) without 5-10 minutes of searching.  Forget finding something from a month ago.

 

That said you can find the exact topic you are interested in on fb and just join the 27 groups that are dedicated to that obscure thing you are interested in.  Between those 27 groups with 30k members each you get 1000 posts a day of possibly interesting content.  

[Chestnut]

33 minutes ago, Jar944 said:

That said you can find the exact topic you are interested in on fb and just join the 27 groups that are dedicated to that obscure thing you are interested in.  Between those 27 groups with 30k members each you get 1000 posts a day of possibly interesting content.  

I pop in and out of a jeep forum that has the kind of traffic of those facebook groups. Every other day is the same content and after following for 2 weeks it's just endless repetition of the same thing. While the heavily beaten paths can have a lot of posts, it doesn't provide motivation to members to create informative content with valuable tips and tricks much less post about one of a kind designs for random furniture. They almost always turns into which tool should I buy, or Help XYZ tool is out of alignment, or Help! i screwed up this finish because i over complicated things by mixing 10 chemicals together.

The best part about this hidden gem of a form is all the project ideas I get here. If forums are dead I'm glad, having the activity of instabook meta face would just make it a miserable place to post. I tried to use Marc's new guild forum and it was awful. It was just endless posts about tools or work benches, both topics have been beaten to dead everywhere.

[drzaius]

The SawStop group on FB has about 90% of its content comprising of the same couple of dozen questions from members who clearly know nothing about woodworking and can't be bothered to read the manual. It's fine to be a noob, but at least have the common sense to read the manual.

It is an all but useless group. It's a shame because the group owner, Trent Davis, is extremely knowledgeable about the saws and really seems like a good guy.

The WoodWhisper group does have some gems, but it's just not worth having to sift through all the turds to get to them.

[Mark J]

2 hours ago, Jar944 said:

None of that works on ig of fb, but that is where people are. 

There may be a lot of "people" there, but they are not necessarily the ones I want to spend my time with, much less get or give advice.  

[sjeff70]

Youtube probably doesn't help.  I think that's where people go for instruction and FB and IG for friends with like interests. I don't think people go to FB to learn.

And since people don't talk or look at each other in public, FB and IG are the primary mediums for socializing. Very cruel world in public nowadays.  This younger generation has destroyed everything the older generation held dear but I guess this will always be the case.

[BonPacific]

On 5/4/2022 at 1:21 PM, Mark J said:

There may be a lot of "people" there, but they are not necessarily the ones I want to spend my time with, much less get or give advice.  

This has been my experience with many other forums. Bigger (at least they were last I checked) forums like Lumberjocks and SawmillCreek are filled with way to many guys complaining about their wives or obsessing about which brand of tool is better than which other brand of tool. Two things I have basically zero patience for anymore.

As others have said, Reddit and the various social media sites are just too large for any real community to develop. You'll never remember anyone's screen name. Also just so many Amy White specials. I try not to be an elitist, and I got my start screwing whitewood boards together like a lot of folks... But it's enough to drive ya batty.

Quote

This younger generation has destroyed everything the older generation held dear but I guess this will always be the case.

Every generation will blame those that comes after them for destroying something, and those that came before for leaving them holding the bag. You can find op-eds from the 1800s with the same complaints you hear today.

[drzaius]

23 minutes ago, sjeff70 said:

Youtube probably doesn't help.  I think that's where people go for instruction and FB and IG for friends with like interests. I don't think people go to FB to learn.

And since people don't talk or look at each other in public, FB and IG are the primary mediums for socializing. Very cruel world in public nowadays.  This younger generation has destroyed everything the older generation held dear but I guess this will always be the case.

I agree with your sentiments on FB and IG. But I don't like to talk about or hear about how the younger generation has ruined this or that. It's human nature to think that one's own generation is smarter and harder working that the one before or after. When talking in broad strokes, I believe one is no better or worse that the other. Remember, it was our generations and the ones before us that have left the world as it is for the younger generation to try to live in. I have a great deal of faith in the younger generation and see tons of evidence of their goodness every day. O course there are the bad apples (Mark Zuckerberg et al) and they get all the attention, which tends to paint them all with the same brush.

[Jar944]

On 5/4/2022 at 4:21 PM, Mark J said:

There may be a lot of "people" there, but they are not necessarily the ones I want to spend my time with, much less get or give advice.  

That may be the case with FB.  IG was great for finding and talking with people with similar interests and a form for getting and giving advice.  

[phinds]

On 5/4/2022 at 5:05 PM, BonPacific said:

This has been my experience with many other forums. Bigger (at least they were last I checked) forums like Lumberjocks and SawmillCreek are filled with way to many guys complaining about their wives or obsessing about which brand of tool is better than which other brand of tool.

Absolutely none of that on Wood Barter. Just friendly banter, good woodworking advice, and frequent drool-worth pics of wood plus the buying/selling and trading of wood.

I tried both of the forums you mentioned, quite some time back, and quickly gave up on them both. I like this forum for sure but it's very light in terms of traffic and WB is much more heavily populated so I spend most of my time there.

[Bmac]

It's a shame this forum has lost traffic, that loss has kept me from checking in as frequently as I once did. But saying that, and having looked into other forums, I prefer this over all others I've looked at. And the big reason for that is the quality of work done by those who participate here. There are some project journals on this forum that are just priceless/wonderful and the craftsmanship is often phenomenal.

I also firmly believe I wouldn't be the woodworker I am today without this forum. It's pushed me to show my work and nothing has helped me grow more than that. The members here are so friendly and giving, it's really an encouraging atmosphere for developing woodworkers. This is a great place to learn, share and grow.

 

[Chestnut]

46 minutes ago, Bmac said:

There are some project journals on this forum that are just priceless/wonderful and the craftsmanship is often phenomenal.

Aren't most of them yours .

[BillyJack]

My guess is the price of current material has slowed many diy projects down. Tooling is going up and most young couples are raising kids I would think it's slowed down participation on any forum..

[Ronn W]

I have always enjoyed this forum and have learned a lot from the members.  I check it every day.  I will try to do my part and increase my contributions which have lagged in the past weeks.

[Mark J]

I would certainly be happy to see more posts and more members on this forum.  But here's another thing. 

I trust the advice I get here.  I have come to know the regular members and the work they do, so I can trust the information I get here.  And when someone I am not yet familiar with posts I can see whether the information they volunteer passes muster with the other folks on here.  

[BillyJack]

All forums have ups and downs. 

[wtnhighlander]

I really appreciate the skill and character presented by the 'regular crowd' here, but do miss many others who seem to have moved on. I hope more of the guests lurking in the shadows will find us friendly enough to join the party.