FREE LETTERS.

[Julian]

Hi All,

Did you realise at the time of typing this thread there are 210 members of this forum?
Did you know the response rate to a thread looks to average a ratio of somewhere around 20:1 or rather for every twenty members who view a thread only one can be bothered to comment. If you divide the membership by that ratio it is ten and a half people!!!!

Forums are a form of discussion that circles the world. The question we have to ask ourselves is are we in this forum because we want to participate in discussions about a hobby we all love and care about or are we here just to look around and pick up hint, tips and ideas from others?

I am 46 and a new-comer to this hobby. I am very aware that when my generation dies the number of model engineers will be even lower than it is now. I don't know your ages but I bet some are in their eighties and nineties. When you guys pass on we remainders will be the worse off for it but with discussion on forums like this we can keep it all moving along.

This forum is young but will die if you only view. Forums only work if you participate. I have only been a member for two weeks but have already posted or commented more than some who have been members for months.

I bet this topic gets plenty of views because of the word "FREE" so what you ask is free. Well it's the letters on your keyboard. It doesn't cost you to press them so try participation rather than just viewing. You may find that the comments bring out more ideas, hints and tips you can use.


Julian

 

[Tom T]

Julian I thought I better reply before you relly get mad. :lol: Thank you for bringing this up. I am one of the lurkers And I will try to do better. My wilfe read your post and said if we had woman posting on this site it would not be problem they never shut up. On her fav site there can be as many as 300 posts on one topic in 24 hrs. if they get going. :roll:

 

[Tin Falcon]

Julian:
The general rule of thumb for most clubs churches etc is that 20% of the people get involved and do 80% of the work . There is always a core in any group.
IMHO people get involved in this hobby for various reasons, at various ages It seems that many start at retirement age. My son built his first engine at 16. I Am trying to work with him to build another one by January.

 

[tattoomike68]

This is a free forum but will be worth making a real one on the future.

I have other sites that get 75,000+ hits a day but it means nothing. We are here because model engines are fun, thats all.

just wait this site will be trick when the time comes.

 

[tmuir]

I'm a new member too but at the moment aren't posting much simply because there isn't much I can add, being pretty new to the hobby and I don't want most of my replys simply to be 'Wow' or 'Me too', would rather make them more meaningful.
I'm not asking any questions at the moment as I'm still waiting for my workshop to be built.

My point is just because people are only reading not posting doesn't mean it will always be so.

I moderate another very successful forum on toy steam engines and I know we now have very active members on there that took several months to just build up the courage just to join and then another couple of months to post.
I suppose to round it off just be happy that people are reading the forum at the moment and in time they will post, try to push people into posting before they are ready and they will just leave.

 

[Cedge]

I'm on several high traffic forums and it's pretty much the same on all of them. From digital graphics, web design, toy steam, 7x12 lathes, to general machining, there are always a large majority who are readers only. 20% active?... not on the forums I've been on. 5-7% is about normal. It's just the nature of the beast.

Some tune in for the entertainment, others to soak up information. Many simply never feel confident enough to join in the activity, whether from a feeling of not knowing enough to contribute or discomfort in their own ability to communicate effectively. Still others have been bashed on online forums for less than perfect spelling, grammar and syntax. The common spelling gestapo does more damage on a forum than almost any other online creature.

I once nudged a fellow member into posting. His post openly expressed that his lack of writing ability was a personal embarrassment and the reason he was a lurker . I'll have to admit to feeling a quite a bit smaller for having pushed him out of his personal comfort zone.

No Broadway show ever had a successful run without an appreciative audience. It's pretty much the same with these forums. I'm just happy they find what does get posted to be worthwhile reading.

Steve

 

[Bogstandard]

I am just going off topic here, but if it strikes a chord, start a new topic in the break room.

Oh! Dear me Julian,
I think you must be one of the luckiest people in the world.

I am glad that your son is so heavily involved in your hobby. I have only daughters so can pass nothing on to them.

Luckily for you we have no lady members ..... yet.

Gender nowadays has no bearing on what they will become interested in in the future. Take the opportunity to try and show them something about what you do in your workshop, they just might surprise you.
As my daughter was growing up, I used to show her all the jobs I used to do around the house. Eventually she married a dead loss human being that didn't know which way round a paint brush was used.
All my early teachings were not lost, and she will tackle most jobs around a home that most men would shy away from. She would make an ideal husband.
I am blessed that I have had for many years, my grandson living with me (because of the dead beat above) and I show him as much as I can. When the grandaughter comes to visit, the first thing she asks is, 'have you made any new engines'.
There seems to be no gender barriers any more.

John

 

[Tin Falcon]

I am glad that your son is so heavily involved in your hobby. I have only daughters so can pass nothing on to them.

Julian don't get too hung up with gender. My wife has also spent time in the shop. I helped her build and design her own engine as well.
I would love to have a daughter to teach math and physics and machining to. I would teach her how to cook as well.
I have a gal friend that is a professional machinist It is a little different to hold a ladies hand that is strong and callused but it does not make her less of a woman.

The general rule of thumb for most clubs churches etc is that 20% of the people get involved and do 80% of the work

This is a figure I heard a long tome ago so I may have miss remembered or the data may have changed over the years.

No Broadway show ever had a successful run without an appreciative audience. It's pretty much the same with these forums. I'm just happy they find what does get posted to be worthwhile reading.

So Steve I guess that makes us the floor show LOL

Tin

 

[rake60]

Julian

Your efforts to wake up the lurkers is appreciated!

Some are just here to watch and hope to learn from our admitted
mistakes. That's fine with me, but it's alright if they care to make a
note of "OK I won't do that!" or perhaps "Yes I've done that!"

On the age thing, I may be old by the standards. I AM 47! :lol:

As for the gender thing I have two boys and a step-son.
My attorney has made it very clear to me that I can NOT afford
another ex-wife, so I think I'll keep the one I have. :wink:
I'm quite fond of her, so that should be easy.

Thanks for your efforts.
They are not unnoticed!

Rick

 

[Tin Falcon]

Rick: guess I put foot in mouth there. For the record I have one wife no exes and am not planing on changing that . The gal machinist friend is just a friend NOT a girl friend I see her maybe three or four times a year and give her a hug in front of the wife.
Tin