This Forum has too many subtopics

B

Bill Tindall

Member
This Forum's content is subdivided into more subtopics than is justified by the traffic. It would take a considerable amount of time to peruse each of the many subtopics on this Forum, not because there are that many posts in them, but because it would take so long to open each of them to see what was going on.  As a result, I don't, and thereby perhaps I am missing something of interest or failing to contribute where I might. 

I believe the Forum would have more participation and more efficient participation, as well as be more useful, if the multitude of subtopics were combined into a few.  One could then visit the Forum and with a click or two see all recent the posts.
 
Bill,

You can see all of the most recent posts with just one click. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on 'View the most recent posts on the forum' found under Forum Stats.
 
For what my opinion is worth I think the current format works fine.  I try to check out the site at least every other day this way I can see the latest post marked "today or yesterday". The highlight makes it very easy to scroll down the list. In some instances I will check out a subtopic if it is relative to a project I am or plan to work on. There may be some info from the past that is helpful.
 
Here lately there has been no traffic to speak of. I'm starting to think my recent joining of SAPFM ran everyone off.
 
It's always slow during the summer. Things will pick up again. There are a lot of topics, and it takes a while to wade through everything when you are new, but in the end it is very efficient.
 
The forum layout works fine for me.  I've been a member since SAPFM was started and every summer the Forum is slow.  Members do very little woodworking in summer.  The woodworking retail stores are also slow in summer.

Dennis Bork
Antiquity Period Designs, Ltd.
 
I use google reader (or pick your favorite RSS feed aggregator) to watch the forum.  Makes it easy to see each new post as the arrive, and puts all my blog/web reading in once place.

 
Dennis, why do members do very little woodworking in the summer?  Not a funny question, just curious.  I know I was sweating all over a ball and claw foot last night.
 
I don't know why most woodworkers do less woodworking in summer.  Perhaps more outdoor activities, vacations and just a break from woodworking.  The Forum has always been much slower in summer.  The two woodworking stores in my area, Rockler and Woodcraft, are always much slower in summer.  The saw mill where I buy my lumber said that they are also much slower in summer with fewer amateur woodworkers coming in. 

Starting in September the Forum will be busier and the woodworking stores will also be busier.  Then come May it will slow down and the cycle starts all over again.

Dennis Bork
 
I was thinking the slowdown in woodworking might also coincide with summertime shows, etc.  As a hobbyist who sells a very few pieces on the side, do pros sell more in the summer and build in the winter?
 
For me it is just a constant building orders all year long.  No rest, no time off.

Dennis Bork
Antiquity Period Designs, Ltd.
 
I do probably 90%+ restoration and repair work. The only slow period is between Christmas and new years, otherwise there is a steady stream of work, in fact I can never seem to catch up. Right now I have at least a years work in the shop.
 
I haven't found that it takes too much time to peruse through the forums, but for me that's actually *because of* the relative low-level of traffic (quick/easy to see what's been updated since last visit).  On one hand I do wish for more traffic, but I'd rather see the high level of discourse maintained than experience an influx of chatter.  My only real suggestion for improvement would be for mods to move content from the chapter subforms when the topic isn't specific to the chapter region (even though in Virginia, I scan through all the chapter forums for this reason).

WRT the summer slowdown, you'd think it would be less evident for this forum - members here tend to be more in the vein of hardcore amateurs and dedicated pros.  Perhaps we could help nudge participation up among members; at the most recent VA chapter meeting it didn't seem like many folks there were participants on this forum.

But in summary, I'd say don't repair what ain't malfunctioning.
 
The forum is a wonderful resource, but I agree that it can be slow at time. 

Sometime I will just float a question out there just to kick up some dialog.  What I am truly thankful for are the responses that are posted.  I always learn something new and they almost always change the way I had planned on doing something.  Y?all are wonderful!!!!

The responses document our thoughts, methods of work, and processes.  These are very valuable to our membership.  This information is also just a valuable today as it will be 10, 20 years from now.  So by posting questions and responses, we are building an encyclopedia of period furniture.  How valuable is that to you?

So if you do not like the pace of the forum, float an intriguing question.  There are plenty of us out here who enjoy reading and responding to the questions.

Cheers,
David
 
Yeah, agrees with David as well. Perhaps there should be more subtopics to draw in more traffic.
 
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