Suggested Sticky

[Jim F]

I’ve been a member of a music forum since ‘03 and haven’t bothered to actually log in for over 5yrs. It’s the same things, what instrument? what picks? what strings? etc and it was proposed to make stickies for those specific noob things. And it didn’t work. They were ignored and the same exact questions are still clogging the forums. And none of the guys of my era respond. But it’s like chum to the fishes the semi experienced hashing and rehashing what really all comes down to individual preference.

There is a different vibe here, so it might work to have a worksheet. But how would that work without some sounding like noob bashers when it’s pointed out they didn’t fill out the worksheet? Could there be something that would catch those noob questions when they start a thread and direct them to fill out the worksheet? That way we’d not get our “friendly forum” badge revoked

A few of the FB SB pages ask if you own a SB.......
Maybe a what do you want to do and where do you want to do with it questions on the sign up page.

 

[Jim F]

We also have this, that may be tied into this.

Can you inspect a machine for me?

Is there a forum here where you can ask for someone to inspect a machine for you? I am looking to upgrade from my ancient Leblond lathe and have been scouring the Craigslist ads around the country. I'm willing to travel for the right machine/deal but a guy isn't just going to jump in his pickup...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[mikey]

There is a different vibe here, so it might work to have a worksheet. But how would that work without some sounding like noob bashers when it’s pointed out they didn’t fill out the worksheet? Could there be something that would catch those noob questions when they start a thread and direct them to fill out the worksheet? That way we’d not get our “friendly forum” badge revoked

I suspect the general membership will catch on to a work sheet pretty quickly, especially if it provides useful information that saves effort for our responders. If a new guy pops in to ask about which machine to get and hasn't even looked at the work sheet then someone will likely ask him to do so, nicely I hope. Given that the new guy is getting valuable advice for free, the least he can do is fill out the work sheet. The better the job he does, the more specific and helpful the advice has the potential to be.

I don't think a work sheet is something we can force guys to use but if it (the work sheet) is done well then it will actually be useful if the new guy puts some effort into it.

So, who is going to step up and formulate this work sheet? If you guys get together, maybe by PM, and come up with something then I will take it to the mods and discuss it with them. If they agree, and I'm pretty sure they will, then we can make it a sticky and advise the general membership to encourage new guys to use it. Then we'll see how useful it really is.

 

[Jim F]

I suspect the general membership will catch on to a work sheet pretty quickly, especially if it provides useful information that saves effort for our responders. If a new guy pops in to ask about which machine to get and hasn't even looked at the work sheet then someone will likely ask him to do so, nicely I hope. Given that the new guy is getting valuable advice for free, the least he can do is fill out the work sheet. The better the job he does, the more specific and helpful the advice has the potential to be.

I don't think a work sheet is something we can force guys to use but if it (the work sheet) is done well then it will actually be useful if the new guy puts some effort into it.

So, who is going to step up and formulate this work sheet? If you guys get together, maybe by PM, and come up with something then I will take it to the mods and discuss it with them. If they agree, and I'm pretty sure they will, then we can make it a sticky and advise the general membership to encourage new guys to use it. Then we'll see how useful it really is.

I will provide what input I can.

 

[extropic]

I think the work sheet idea is great. I suggest opening a new thread with a title like "Worksheet - I want to buy a machine".
Start the new thread with a statement of purpose and Invite everybody to provide input. Maybe, set a time limit (1 month?) then somebody edits and organizes the inputs and types up a document for the mods to review.

Maybe a new sub-forum could be used to collect all the threads using the worksheet.

As mikey suggested, experienced members can point the noob to the sticky. The noob ignores it at his own peril. The most valuable lesson to be learned is that if you truly understand the challenge, the solution(s) often becomes self evident.

 

[vtcnc]

I think the work sheet idea is great. I suggest opening a new thread with a title like "Worksheet - I want to buy a machine".
Start the new thread with a statement of purpose and Invite everybody to provide input. Maybe, set a time limit (1 month?) then somebody edits and organizes the inputs and types up a document for the mods to review.

Maybe a new sub-forum could be used to collect all the threads using the worksheet.

As mikey suggested, experienced members can point the noob to the sticky. The noob ignores it at his own peril. The most valuable lesson to be learned is that if you truly understand the challenge, the solution(s) often becomes self evident.

I've been following (lurking) on this thread and really like all of the ideas put forth here. All of which is in the spirit of building on the friendly foundation. Thanks to all involved!

A couple of things we will do:

1) We absolutely will make a sub-forum for this. This will reduce clutter and confusion and the proliferation of ignored threads and members due to the problems already mentioned by others. I will go one step further with the suggestions and say that it may make sense to make a Category for this topic since there are so many threads started along this line of thinking. From there we can create sub-forums for newbies looking to buy a machines.

E.g.

1. Category - I want to Buy a Machine
   1. Sticky - Rules and Worksheet
   2. Sub-Forum -> I want to Buy a Manual Machine
   3. Sub-Forum -> I want to Buy a CNC Machine
   4. Sub-Forum -> I want to Buy Something Else

2) Has the working group started working on this? Let me know and if not, we will get started on this.

Thanks everyone! This is a great idea @Jim F !

 

[ArmyDoc]

As noob myself, I read this thread with a great deal fo interest. I think a worksheet that just consists of a questions to answer is not going to work, because noobs don't understand enough to be able to answer them. But if a little background information is provided with each question, I think it would be very helpful indeed.

So, I took what I have learned, and tried to put together such a questionaire/worksheet. The biggest problem I can already see is that, I'm very new to this myself, and I may have gotten somethings wrong, and/or left thing out that are very important. In anycase, what I came upwith might be a good starting place.

 

[extropic]

@ArmyDoc
That's great input. Thanks for being involved. As a self described noob, your perspective is a valuable contribution.

I had in mind a much lesser (1 page maximum) approach. It will be interesting to watch this all shake out.

 

[DavidR8]

I suspect the general membership will catch on to a work sheet pretty quickly, especially if it provides useful information that saves effort for our responders. If a new guy pops in to ask about which machine to get and hasn't even looked at the work sheet then someone will likely ask him to do so, nicely I hope. Given that the new guy is getting valuable advice for free, the least he can do is fill out the work sheet. The better the job he does, the more specific and helpful the advice has the potential to be.

I don't think a work sheet is something we can force guys to use but if it (the work sheet) is done well then it will actually be useful if the new guy puts some effort into it.

So, who is going to step up and formulate this work sheet? If you guys get together, maybe by PM, and come up with something then I will take it to the mods and discuss it with them. If they agree, and I'm pretty sure they will, then we can make it a sticky and advise the general membership to encourage new guys to use it. Then we'll see how useful it really is.

As someone who benefited tremendously from the H-M hive mind when buying my machines I’m happy to pitch in.

 

[ArmyDoc]

@ArmyDoc
That's great input. Thanks for being involved. As a self described noob, your perspective is a valuable contribution.

I had in mind a much lesser (1 page maximum) approach. It will be interesting to watch this all shake out.

I think the questions would fit on a half page. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have been able to answer any of them accurately 6 weeks ago, let alone when I started down this rabit hole 6 months ago. Even the simplest question "what do you want to do with it?" isn't easy for someone to answer who has a poor understanding of what can be done. Size was meaningless for me as a guideline also, as I am building my shop. And even budget is fluid. We buy what we want, much more so than what we need. If we convince ourselves it is necessary to for what we want to do, we will generally find a way to increase the budget.

Lol. I guess I'm kind of tearing a part my own questionaire. The problem is none of the questions have real meaning without context, and the noob doesn't have context. But it is in asking the questions, that you begin to develop a sense of context. The question shines the light on issues you've never seen or considered. Only once you have a broader view of the landscape, can you begin to locate yourself in it. But at the beginning, your just groping around in the dark.