Wroughton Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 It's a simple question. I'm sure some have gone to places they can't come back from but daily traffic is down substantially. Instead of hundreds of people on the site at a time there's 20 or so. Anyone want to toss their thoughts out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Who's Online : 28 Members, 10 Anonymous, 160 Guests (See full list) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiack Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 I think between the personality conflicts with administrators and the several forum software changes that led to long periods of errors, lost pictures, lost posts, and lost content a lot of people have gone elsewhere. It seems they have mostly gone to Facebook and Instagram. I think it's a shame as I'm not really into social media. I prefer a forum where people can post a lot of detail and have discussions. I really enjoined this site several years ago when there were multiple professionals posting on a regular basis. With the lack of professionals posting this site is mostly the same rehash of beginner questions over and over ad nauseam. Don't get me wrong I still like this site and there are still good post once in a while but it's just not the same place it used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommytaptap Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Whats wrong with having a properly constructed A to Z of FAQ's for all us noobs to refer to so we don't have to fill up the 'bandwidth' with our ad nauseum? Or did I miss that/I know there is a search facility. Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 You mean the pinned threads that nobody reads even when it's suggested to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommytaptap Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 Wouldn't know a 'pinned thread' if it hit me hard...where are they Thomas please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 If you go to the different sub forums they are "pinned" at the top. (If you are like me and just look at unread content you don't see them.) I've got trouble at the mill---One on't cross beams gone owt askew on't treddle. so I'm dropping for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 At the top of the window it says "Iforge Iron". Select this button and the site's opening page opens. Scroll down to view the sections, select one that fits your interests or questions. Say forge welding, Forge, non ferrous, Chemistry, etc. The window that opens will have sub sections, say solid fuel or gas forges. Stickies are pinned at the top with posts that answer the most often asked questions in a particular section or sub section. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 26, 2017 Share Posted January 26, 2017 A 'pinned thread' is located at the top of the section or subsection. Great information and it is always located at the top for easy viewing. On 1/26/2017 at 11:49 AM, kubiack said: I think between the personality conflicts with administrators and the several forum software changes that led to long periods of errors, lost pictures, lost posts, and lost content a lot of people have gone elsewhere. I really enjoined this site several years ago when there were multiple professionals posting on a regular basis. With the lack of professionals posting this site is mostly the same rehash of beginner questions over and over ad nauseam. Don't get me wrong I still like this site and there are still good post once in a while but it's just not the same place it used to be. If you have knowledge of "the personality conflicts with administrators" please let me know, either by PM or email. I would be interested. We have no control over the soft wear. They make patches and updates and we keep them installed and current. The bugs still exist. There are multiple professionals posting on the site daily. Many wait until they are needed, then post. The site continues to grow. New members ask the same questions that other new members ask when they joined. We answered beginner questions over and over ad nauseam, and still do. We also refer those answers to the threads already written so we do not continually write and rewrite the same material. Folks can read and follow a full discussion of their question just by reading the threads on the subject. There is new material and ideas posted to the old threads on a regular basis, so it is also a matter of keeping current on the material. IForgeIron has been on line for almost 16 years. During that time ALL the information has been provided FREE to anyone who wants to visit the site. FREE does not pay the bills, the license fees, the band width, or any other expenses associated with the site. YOU visit the site, gain information, ideas, and knowledge. You use it to save money, make money, and advance your hobby or business. What did you provide in return to the site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wroughton Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 4 hours ago, Glenn said: What did you provide in return to the site? Ok. I personally have donated twice. Once during the "shutdown" and once before that. The shutdown amount was $50. I don't remember what the donation was before that. When you've hollered (i need money), I've tried to help if I've been around to notice. I haven't posted as much as some over the years but I've been here since 2008 in differing degrees. I contribute where I think I can help in my own way. I've never been warned of an imminent ban but I've had a few words ......altered. Monetarily it's probably not enough by half, but hopefully some of my more witty comments will help offset the bill. < Insert chuckle/grimace here > This site is a great resource and a place to find like minded folk. If at least, kinda like minded. Which, was the only reason I gave enough of a carp (See? I changed it for you) to ask the question in the first place. I don't care so much when I go to Pirate4x4 or CNCzone and find a dead thread or forum....or whole train of thought. Carry on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Wroughton, Your donations were, and are, much appreciated. Thank You. Donations to the site can take many forms and I appreciate those that post information, or spread the word about IForgeIron, or contribute in many other ways. Each bit helps. My comment was made for those that use the site as a one way street, providing nothing in return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.C. Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Honestly,I think there are a lot of us that have spent spent inordinate amounts of time soaking up the good information found here on IForgeIron...advice and experience given by VERY experienced smiths and work posted by extremely talented artisans. It is an intimidating knowledge base. So it's not too surprising that many of us keep quiet. When questions are asked, we wait to see if an expert chimes in first. That is something that probably needs to change. Wrong information is quickly corrected here, and as we learn, we all should be prepared to BE corrected. We can all contribute content, reviews of our tools, documentation of or work and research, and by asking questions. Hopefully many will read this thread and see it as motivation to be more involved. It is vital if we want Glenn to keep this forum open to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_HOSS Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 In the same sense if there are a lot of new users that read the pinned posts then they won't ask the same questions as a lot of new folks do. That being said the website can still grow a ton and people can just read the previous posts. That's what I try to do unless I have a question that pertains to something kind of personalized that I cant find the answer to elsewhere. Also blacksmithing is a centuries old art. There isn't going to be a ton of "new things" come out. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say pretty much everything has been discovered with blacksmithing. With that being said this website should be for folks to talk about their experiences and help other people out. Just my 2 cents from a noob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Well I'll argue that new stuff does come along----forging of titanium is not mentioned in *ANY* of my historical blacksmithing works, for instance. But I agree that it's mostly folks re-inventing the wheel and often arguing about how many sides it should have...Style of work also comes in cycles; just compare the smithing done in Art Nouveau vs Art Deco or Neo Gothic for that matter and so folks "rediscover" previous styles in later times; not new but "new again". I tell folks that it's better to not claim that they were first; but just work on being *best*! I've run into several instances where I have told folks their "NEW" idea had already been done---in the renaissance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_HOSS Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hahaha I see what you're saying. I hadn't thought about newer types of alloys coming out and the limited work done on them. I was thinking a little narrow minded I suppose with the fact that you heat metal up and hit it, weld it, heat treat it, temper it, etc. I am just amazed by this art. Every time I think im getting the hang of it I get severely humbled lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnBello Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Well, I am a complete beginer, but I have been mostly lurking this forum for 2-3 years by now. The main reason is that, as a beginer, I have LOTS of stuff to learn, so just reading takes a lot of time. Even re-reading something I have read 2 years ago sometimes brings a lot of new information. So my guess would be this: When there wasn't SO MUCH great content, most people (newbies) had to ask constantly. As the content has increased, the need to ask questions from those who like to research/read first has decreased a lot. But in these short years I have been here, I have seen new people come and become regulars. Newbies who came asking questions, and now are the ones who answer and give advice to other newbies. I'm sure that the people who have been in this forum since the beginning have seen this a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Right you are Andres. I'm largely self taught at least until I discovered "The Art of Blacksmithing" on a close out table at a local book store. Then the internet went public and I discovered blacksmiths all over the world talking to each other so I asked beginner questions. LOTS of beginner questions. Theforgelist is still up and operating, traffic is bleak but it's still there. New folk have asked the same questions forever, Little Ook probably asked Ahgk exactly the same question Ahgk asked Mmph who asked . . . back to Uh who didn't use words and just clotted the kid who asked for not paying attention. Then the mammoth grabbed Uh and slapped him on the ground half a dozen times for poking him with a sharp stick and the kid tried tying a piece of broken rock to his stick. Okay, enough attempted humor. I know for a fact I asked Dad and other folk things I should've found out myself, sometimes simply by listening the first time I was told. I remember doing that more than once so I try to cut the new guys some slack. What really reefs my helpfulness sail is having someone ask a question and argue with the answer. One fool a couple months back should've read his own question it answered itself. Frankly I think he was just trying so hard to sound more learned than he really was he talked himself in a circle and didn't notice. It was a really vague question and even though he already knew the answer we couldn't tell him how to apply it without some clarification and said so. He actually got insulting so we didn't waste anymore of his time. Sometimes I grit my teeth when one beginner answers another's question till I remind myself I learn more thinking about and answering good questions than knowing a thing already. If a newby gets the answer wrong someone will step in and correct it without rancor or making the wrong guy feel bad. Well, not on purpose, being publicly wrong can be embarrassing but it toughens em up. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I'm still here but haven't posted in a very long time 'cause I'm just too busy. Grad school keeps me jumping, so I haven't had time to do more than occasionally glance at IFI of late, sadly. Or to forge, for that matter - even more sadly. sigh.... But just my two cents worth it does "seem" like traffic is down here. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertThoreson Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I'm at work so I had to skim read this but as a new member but long time fourm user, I have to say the layout of this site is all off. There is a set way these should be and this one is not even close. There are many examples out there of how it should be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Which is not true at all! I'm a long time user and a long time net guy---I still remember the RFP to add blacksmithing as a subgroup to rec.crafts.metalworking in the old ascii news group days. I also have my degree in CIS and have worked in the field since 1989. There is *NO* set format; there are several formats in general use and many variations on them and a lot of odd formats out there. Especially for people not using microsoft based computers, (I've been using UNIX based computers since 1989; UNIX, System 5, Sun OS, Solaris, Linux,...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Although if anyone has a specific proposal for positive changes to the forum's organization, I'm sure Glenn and his merry pranksters would be happy to consider it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 4 hours ago, RobertThoreson said: I'm at work so I had to skim read this but as a new member but long time fourm user, I have to say the layout of this site is all off. There is a set way these should be and this one is not even close. There are many examples out there of how it should be Interesting how you bash our forum when a few of the staff have been using computers long before you were born. You say you feel we do it wrong and we are not doing it the right way, but refused to tell us the correct way. I looked for your website to see an example. but I failed to locate any. In your 4 weeks of membership here all I see is you asking, none helping anyone else You threw down a gauntlet so here is ours Show us.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 He said he was at work, go give him time to get home and collect his thoughts. Please contact me with any ideas or suggestions you have on how to improve the site. Off line via either PM or email is best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Where did everyone go, is a valid question, but far from having to do with the site itself it is a worldwide phenomenon. Forums are on decline for a number of reasons. One is the surge of facebook, instagram and twitter, another is natural attrition caused by the personal nature of a forum. Eventually and inevitably someone steps on someone else's toes. Couple that with an unrelated personal issue and you lost a member for some time or forever. It's human nature and no reflection on the site, any site. There is a way anyone can contribute to counteract this natural effect to a certain extent, and that is to be friendly and helpful to one another. Not saying this does not happen here. This is a very friendly site, just saying that by doing so you can slow down exit and even encourage new members. Facebook groups are completely impersonal and have zero engagement, can be described as a "look at meee" exercise, and will never replace a forum that can be better compared to an interactive specialised encyclopedia. It's up to the members to keep the site in the swing of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Well put, Marc1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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