Help us to "find ourselves"!

[b.lindsey]

Thanks Nelson....of course you can adjust, add, delete the sub-categories as needed....mine were just suggestions. Is there a way members can move posts into the sub-groups or not?

Bill

Edit: I see you are already doing that...thanks!!!

 

[RandyM]

This is a great forum with great members. The issues you are debating were around from day one when the first forum was started. This all comes down to people are different, and what works for some will not for others. As was mentioned, delivery is important, but there are some individuals that no matter how you sugar coat it will take it the wrong way. They just are negative people. You are not going to please all of the people all of the time. There is some very good discussion here just on this thread alone and from what I am reading everyone is on the same page.

Again, this is a great site with great members. Nelson some things you will try will work, and others won't. But at least you tried them. Keep up the good work everyone. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Highpower]

Well stated Randy. One thing I would like to point out, is that this is the only site I have encountered where the owner has asked for opinions and suggestions from the members on what they would like to get from the forums. And Nelson is the only one I have seen to take that input and act on it accordingly in a positive manner. He is certainly proactive to managing these forums, rather than coming in afterwards to clean up the mess. My only question is when is he going to run for President? ;D

Seriously, this is an enjoyable place to come to. Much unlike others where you check in to see what kind of train wreck occurred overnight. Truly a breath of fresh air.
Kudos to you Nelson.

On another note, I vote that the "Clockmaking" forum be changed to "Horology" in order to prevent alienating any watch makers out there. lol.

 

[Nelson]

Re: Help us to

Thanks Nelson....of course you can adjust, add, delete the sub-categories as needed....mine were just suggestions. Is there a way members can move posts into the sub-groups or not?

Bill

Edit: I see you are already doing that...thanks!!!

Bill:

Did my best to sort things out quickly- if I messed up, just let me know.

Regular members cannot move posts, but the moderators can. I'm not a stickler if a post is in the wrong category- these relatively little things don't upset me a bit.

Enjoy!

Nelson

 

[Nelson]

Re: Help us to

One thing I would like to point out, is that this is the only site I have encountered where the owner has asked for opinions and suggestions from the members on what they would like to get from the forums. And Nelson is the only one I have seen to take that input and act on it accordingly in a positive manner. He is certainly proactive to managing these forums, rather than coming in afterwards to clean up the mess.

Randy and HP- thanks for the kind words.

[Rant on]

The forum has evolved a lot from late last September- early October when I first had the idea to put it up as a lark. It all started when I wanted my own website with my name for professional use in my career. While purchasing web hosting, I noticed that the web hosting service offered some popular bulletin board software at no charge that one could install easily. I tried a couple of the packages. PhPbb thorougly confused me. I then tried SMF and it looked good. I looked at vBulletin, which was a few hundred dollars, but considering this was an afterthought, I dismissed the idea of paying for the software. So I installed SMF. Then, I needed a name and URL for the BBS, so I thought about who I was and what I was doing, and came up with hobby-machinist. I found a logo of a guy half in a suit with a briefcase and and half in overalls with a wrench. He looked like a suit guy who is a mechanic or machinist in his spare time. It seemed to fit. A hobby-machinist, or guy who machines as a hobby.

My experiences at other places taught me a lot. I really couldn't understand why an attempt at learning had to be accompanied by abuse and insults, and worst of all- grudgholding. People I really didn't know hating me, telling vendors not to sell me parts for my lathe. I also didn't understand why some things were so inflexible on sites, after all, the software allowed changes, didn't it? So what if something is out of place- no one was injured as a result, right?

I ask for opinions because everyone is a part of this site, it should be molded by everyone's suggestions. I don't think of myself as the "owner". I'm a part of the team that works on the site- my job, in particular is back-office stuff, making changes and keeping things going, making backups, monitoring signups, and making sure malicious people are kept off the site. I also ask what you want to see done because I intend to listen and respond to people's requests.
I do it routinely, without much ado.

Because we have no advertisers, we can talk about any machines we want, we can have any level users we want, we can let people comment on different brands without fear of being censored, suspended or banned. We don't need thousands of users. I'm not guaranteeing any advertisers a number of eyeballs or page views, and if 500 people introduce themselves, participate, and become part of our little online "club", what benefit do we really get from having 1000 other "lurkers" on the site? None, really. We don't have to let people come on here who hide who they are because they want to wait for trouble and then point fingers at us on other forums. We don't have to let haters, grudgeholders, or other difficult people on here. I'm not looking to sell them magazines.

Keep the suggestions coming on in, and I will continue listening to them.

Best,


Nelson

[Rant off]

 

[Grandtools]

I can easily understand a lot of the problems of running a forum like this,, it takes a lot of time and patience. I'm a 10 year veteran of another forum, billed as: "Largest Manufacturing Technology Forum on the Web". There are loads of good people on that site and tons of good information, however the arrogance of a few people there ruin it for many others. I was recently banned there, which is just fine with me, that site is VERY political, and with that you are bound to have problems. My being banned simply had to do with my politics not agreeing with the site owner and a few moderators, kinda crazy in my opinion, but they can do as they wish. I witnessed a lot that Nelson has talked about here, and how petty some can be, like refusing to sell items to a paying customer, etc. Anyway,,,, I think this site has a lot to offer, but it does truly need to attract new members on a daily basis to be sucessful, which is no easy task. As it grows, I'm sure there will be more experts to answer questions,, and in most cases those with experience are happy to share their knowledge with the beginners.

 

[joebiplane]

I've been her a few months and have gotten good solid help when i asked for it... i finally got my Logan lathe and I skim the dedicated Logan lathe site, but i have to say this Hobby machinist group offers more productive answers than the dedicated Logan sites. I guess that is because they ONLY discuss logan lathes and the membership for just One lathe type keeps their numbers lower .
On the other hand I have little or no interest in South bend lathes,, which are heavily represented in this Hobby group....at the present time! ... Meaning that could always change in a heartbeat... so the diversity is a PLUS factor " in my book"
All that being said... I truely enjoy the "Comradarie" of Hobby--machinist... Keep up the good work !

 

[Nelson]

Re: Help us to

I was recently banned there, which is just fine with me, that site is VERY political, and with that you are bound to have problems.

I want to say that I have bought from Doug in the past- he is honest and fair and good to deal with.

That having been said, I am appalled that he was banned from PM (yes, I said it), but I welcome you to the club of those of us who were banned. I think you are in good company. I also welcome you here. There is little politics here because we have no advertisers to please, and our only agenda is to learn and have fun. We let our members advertise their businesses and their personal sites for free in the dedicated forum for members' sites.

You mention that we need to attract new members. Please stick around, and join our crew. If you like the way we operate, let others who are like-minded know about us- that is the best way to get good new members.

We need participatory new members- guys who want to join in and help us share the load.

If anyone sees something I'm doing wrong, let me know- I will correct it to the best of my ability.


Take care,

Nelson

 

[Headache]

I'm just a newbie, and I really like this site so far. I have enjoyed the many tool related discussions, but I hope that more members will post pictures of the projects they are producing, and their methods. As a hobbyist, my frame of reference is quite limited. I need to see other members' projects to expand my horizons, and I think others do too. I realize people may hesitate, not only due to the time it takes to do this, but also because they may fear criticism. But for this forum to grow, it needs to provide inspiration.

 

[Nelson]

Re: Help us to

I need to see other members' projects to expand my horizons, and I think others do too. I realize people may hesitate, not only due to the time it takes to do this, but also because they may fear criticism. But for this forum to grow, it needs to provide inspiration.

Headache,

Don't forget to check out the gallery:

http://hobby-machinist.com/index.php?action=gallery

Members have albums there where they post their projects, and it may help to see what they have done. ANYONE who is an participating member on this site can have an album for the asking. Let one of the moderators or me know, and we will open one for you, upload your pics and we will approve them.

Best,


Nelson