Is it me, or....

[AgGEM]

What has happened to the builds? Even when they pop up, there is minimal contributing discussion. 

Come on WN, get your act together!

Regards from Perth

Derek

I think this is true. Even in my short time here, it seems there were many more "look what I built" threads. And they were always interesting and inspiring.
Ag

[GNP]

I like the old format better.

[JClark]

How much irony is there in young people wanting to use only the latest technology to communicate about hand tools?

Oh, and there's Reddit of course. If you want proof that there are a _lot_ of young woodworkers out there go checkout /r/woodworking. The hand tool subreddit is a bit slow, but there is a good amount of participation. 

I'm sure there are a dozen other apps/Internet places that the kids are using these days that I don't know about because I'm old. I rely on my 19 year old babysitter to keep me abreast of what the the younger generation is using. She helped me figure out Instagram.

[AHill]

LIL.

WN was the first woodworking forum I joined a mere 10 years ago.  It was full of folks who had a LOT of knowledge to pass along.  Some were driven off by idiots sniping at them.  Some just got busy with other things.  Some left the hobby after the dot.com demise and the recession.  A few remain, and I still learn from them.  I agree that there are fewer threads showing builds these days.  Lots more reposts of things someone found online and found interesting.  Too many discussions on controversial subjects that really don't make us better woodworkers (and I'm guilty of that , too).

Remember  Bob Smalser?  John Fry?  Remember how often Joel Moskowitz used to post?  How about Ron Brese and Jameel Abraham?  Chris Schwarz used to post every once in a while, then someone decided he wasn't a real woodworker because he didn't make fine furniture.

Every so often, some members cross the line and get personal.  I don't think the mods do a very good job of nipping that kind of behavior in the bud.  I've been called an person several times, but I have a thick skin.

As far as the new format goes, I am getting used to it, but I'm finding it very quirky.  It's more difficult to switch between forums.  There's still no FAQ on features with basic information on how to use the new software.  Bits and pieces, but no real "instruction manual".  It would be nice to have a more visible cue that you have a PM in your inbox.  I didn't answer one for several days because I didn't notice the Unread Private Messages note in the header.  I liked the flashing inbox flag on the old software.  Sometimes the software is a lot slower to display what I'm typing.  Drives me nuts when I try to backspace to correct an error and overshoot the error.  Maybe all these things will get sorted out.  I hope so.

[hbmcc]

Apathy or malaise could describe my symptoms. A change of forum format--or OS upgrade--can trigger forum or application departures for me. 

After a while, discussions of what block plane (or, other tool) to buy grow old. How do you convince the OP that it's the sharpest, or the one nearest that I use? It's really a very personal choice we have for our preferred tools. [My view.]

I don't post projects because they are rarely finished, rarely more than "prototypes" or designs in process. The ones I recall uploading images for aren't used. I have two very expensive "adirondack" chairs I call "Cascade" that were designed for comfort and never used. They are expensive because several efforts preceded and stuttered; even the completed ones are rife with changes. If I say anything about them in retrospect it will regard finish. Besides, the majority of my "projects" are repairs, fixes, and remodels. I would rather kill a new clematis my wife brought home than make a trellis for the thing. I am not sure which is the motivation, her choice or my disinterest.

Projects are shy. Derek has been a regular poster, always stimulating, yet his challenges are increasingly complex. He can go that route. Yet a woodworking magazine must dream up alternative joints for more appropriate but mundane techniques. I can't wait for Chris Schwarz to publish a text about Asian (Japanese) work benches. My goal is, and always has been, simplicity. Obviously, Schwarz' design direction also.

One fix for the current forum is simplifying image uploading. It's never easy to match a physical image insertion, but the accepted process can be more pleasant. And, woodworking discussion relies on images.

[ No signature.... And I did find Control Panel, or CP. ]

[Window Guy]

+1 ......... I think it is better than the old in a lot of way's.  Just my $.02




Steve

[Pedder]

To get more traffic there is just one solution: Post your own questions, post your own work.

But showing your own work is so much easier on blogs, facebook, Iinstagram etcetera, that many people go that route.
And there you decide about the spam. And you can use your phone easily.

I don't think fora will die soon, but they will be used mostly for questions in future. And nasty discussions.
Even the old tools mailing list lives (does it?).

On the german hand tool forum a few members started to show one picture per week each. That works pretty well.

Regarding the design, I liked the old design better. Clearer without that many lines and frames. But form has to follow function.

Cheers
Pedder

[ESandvik]

I'm on reddit, but I was on here first.  There just aren't enough people with expertise there.  Most of the topics are show and tell but with more show than tell so not a lot of information passed along, however I haven't checked out the handtool forum. Thanks for pointing that out to me

[Daniel S]

The new software is taking some getting used to, but I like it so far. This is about the only forum that I come to after having read a few others over the years. The reason that I like it so much is that the people here seem to genuinely enjoy woodworking and helping each other when they need it.

Compared to some of the other forums that I have seen, this forum has very few wars of words. I have seen a few sawstop threads thay turn south, but I mostly read the handtools forum. The contributors here seem to know their stuff rather than being the kind of people who regurgitate verbatim old posts. I used to go to a blacksmithing forum, but stopped due to the bad attitudes and lack of people who seemed to have ever actually forged anything.

I will try to do my part and post some more as I start upcoming projects. It is a little hard to post sometimes when the project somebody else just posted is a real knock out. I hope that everyone else keeps doing the same and keeps this forum going.

[Derek Cohen]

I will try to do my part and post some more as I start upcoming projects. It is a little hard to post sometimes when the project somebody else just posted is a real knock out. I hope that everyone else keeps doing the same and keeps this forum going.

Hi Daniel

Everyone here is at a different stage of their development as a woodworker. What is advanced for some is elementary for others, and vice versa. There will always be many who will learn from your work, and that will be part of your audience. The others will be waiting to help and advise, and they do it because it brings them pleasure to do so. All good reasons to post your projects, no matter what level they are at.

Regards from Perth

Derek