ANNOUNCEMENT/POLL - metalworkforums.com [Archive]

ubeaut

15th July 2015, 10:34 AM

I have registered metalworkforums.com and .com.au (not on line yet) with the view to moving the metalwork forums to their very own site the way Renovate forums was moved some 8 years ago.

Below are a few bits of useful/useless info:

All current forums would be moved to the new site along with all threads and posts.
This will give Metalwork the opportunity to expand beyond what it is now.
Possibility of adding new forums as may be needed to grow and expand the site.
Your own marketplace site for Buy, Sell, Swap, etc
The new site would basically be exactly the same as it is now just not a part of Woodwork Forums.
All current members of woodwork forums will have the same access to the new site as they now have to Woodwork Forums and once logged in to both sites should be able to move seamlessly between the two.
All new members to the Metalwork Forums will be members of that site only unless they register for both.

That's about all I can think of for now. Any and all suggestions or comments can be put in this thread.

Please take part in the Poll so I can see what the general feeling of doing this is like.

Cheers - Neil :U
Adminstrator

Grahame Collins

16th July 2015, 10:06 AM

All of the points above mentioned seemed great. It sounds like a good idea. Are there any negatives in doing so?

Something that came to mind was that with the increased local and international exposure - if that's the term - would result in more members which is good in terms of us learning more things from more people. The negative side of that being the level of spamming may increase. I am making the assumption that a stand alone "metal work forum" will be easier to find on a Google search or similar.

At the moment when comparing our metalwork forum with similar metalwork forums around the net our looks pretty darn good.

As far as suggestions, how about a sticky guiding those posters who need to ask a question. Questions will be far better answered if the poster can include all of the pertinent details about the process or technique they are having problems with.
Otherwise people answering the question need to drag each bit of information from the OP which is time consuming.A poster will receive quicker and better answers if all possible pertinent details are posted first up up.

People are more inclined to reply with an answer if they know they don't have to post again and again to get needed details to provide a viable answer.

A suitable sticky could be placed on the heading of each forum guiding those with a question - say for instance on welding - to list the welder brand, the model, the electrode ,the polarity used, the electrode type and size, the metal type ,the position etc.

cheers
Grahame

ubeaut

17th July 2015, 01:26 AM

All of the points above mentioned seemed great. It sounds like a good idea. Are there any negatives in doing so?

The only negatives, if you can call them that are:

The cost of setting it up
Having to log into WWF and Metalwork Forums if you want to use both.
There may be more but I can't really think of any off hand.

Something that came to mind was that with the increased local and international exposure - if that's the term - would result in more members which is good in terms of us learning more things from more people.

That's pretty much what I'm looking for and it should be of benefit to all.

The negative side of that being the level of spamming may increase.

Spamming shouldn't increase as it's pretty hard for spammers to actually register now. The vigilance of members reporting spam should make it really easy to jump on most spammers pretty quickly if they do happen to get in.

I am making the assumption that a stand alone "metal work forum" will be easier to find on a Google search or similar.

Should help with search engines of all kinds. It's a little harder to find on Woodwork Forums especially if using a mobile device and although it's pretty well represented in Google it should rank much higher as a stand alone forum on it's own website.

At the moment when comparing our metalwork forum with similar metalwork forums around the net our looks pretty darn good.

In all honesty I have never looked at other metalwork forums but it doesn't surprise me that we look pretty good when compared with others as this is what we have strived for on the entire site. As a woodworking forum we rank extremely high against most others. I often hear from international members of ours and other forums that "WWF and it's members are the best they have ever come across."

As far as suggestions, how about a sticky guiding those posters who need to ask a question. Questions will be far better answered if the poster can include all of the pertinent details about the process or technique they are having problems with.
Otherwise people answering the question need to drag each bit of information from the OP which is time consuming.A poster will receive quicker and better answers if all possible pertinent details are posted first up up.

People are more inclined to reply with an answer if they know they don't have to post again and again to get needed details to provide a viable answer.

A suitable sticky could be placed on the heading of each forum guiding those with a question - say for instance on welding - to list the welder brand, the model, the electrode ,the polarity used, the electrode type and size, the metal type, the position etc.

I understand what you say here. I have often had to try and drag information out of people via half a dozen questions, posts, emails, etc, before being able to respond with the best answer to a question.

Having a stand alone forum should allow for scope to expand the forums way beyond what is possible to do on WWF and will give members the freedom to choose what they want the forums to contain. Renovate Forum was something like 12 individual forums when it was put onto its own site it now contains 53 public forums.

In theory nothing but good can come from having it's own site. It may take a while to build up but in the end it could end up being a really great resource for metalworkers across all fields of metalwork, be they hobbyists, enthusiasts or professionals.

Hope this answers a few questions.

Cheers - Neil :U

Michael G

17th July 2015, 08:10 AM

The only negatives, if you can call them that are:

...
There may be more but I can't really think of any off hand.

Two that occur to me are

Because MWF is camouflaged within WWF, we don't seem to have attracted some of the types that you see on other forums - while recognising that some find it otherwise, this is, on the whole, a friendly forum and making it more prominent may attract a larger proportion of those who join these forums to argue and self promote, making it less attractive to those who joined to escape that. I remember one forum I was on where everyone breathed a sigh of relief when a particular member was banned for a period as it meant those of us that were not up to his standards could post without fear of having our efforts ridiculed in open forum.
I like the idea of the two being 'co-sited' as I do the occasional thing with wood and being able to find others within the general forum who specialise in things I am not up to speed on is nice. Having woodies drop in occasionally is nice too. One of the first favours I did for another forum member was for a woodie who wanted a MT to MT alignment piece.

Would a page with an automatic link to redirect achieve the same thing? at least then we have everyone in the same place. (The first issue will come down to moderation and greater vigilance I'm afraid)
Michael

.RC.

17th July 2015, 08:20 AM

That's pretty much what I'm looking for and it should be of benefit to all.

I am not too sure on that one.. Becoming popular can bring it's own problems as we Aussies get crowded out and start to lose our core member as we just become the same as most other international metal working forums..

At the moment I find this forum is a bit obscure and it is better that it is as we can discuss more local things and help out our fellow Aussies... If we were to try to get more publicity and become more popular and were successful in doing so then we would lose a lot of the comradary we have here...

I would prefer things to stay as they are... I know this is not what you want to hear, but if I want to go international, then I go to one of the already very popular US based forums like HSM or PM..

BobL

17th July 2015, 09:09 AM

I am not too sure on that one.. Becoming popular can bring it's own problems as we Aussies get crowded out and start to lose our core member as we just become the same as most other international metal working forums..

I'm inclined to agree with this but OTOH I can see some good coming out of it and the main one could be attracting more capable and novice Aussie metal workers to these forums. It is interesting to hear the reactions to prospective members to these forums. Of two very capable Aussie metal workers I recommended these forums to, one told me he took a quick look but could not find any metalwork so he gave up while the other said "too much wood mate". Being it's own site would help with issues like this.

I agree the mods do a good job of keeping the lid on things and opening things up to attract more (potentially difficult) members will put a greater load on them.

One of the losers are most likely to be the woody members who occasionally stumble across useful metal related posts but might not be prepared to go visit the metal working site. Also the occasional woody does ask metal related questions but new members may not realise they can do this. My impression that it's less likely the other other way around. Good cross linkages will help.

From a personal point of view I would just keep two browser windows open showing the New Posts from each forum for easy scanning. I usually have around 8 browser windows running anyway so one more is not going to make a lot of difference.

So on balance I would say yes.

FenceFurniture

17th July 2015, 10:13 AM

One of the losers are most likely to be the woody members who occasionally stumble across useful metal related posts but might not be prepared to go visit the metal working site. Also the occasional woody does ask metal related questions but new members may not realise they can do this. My impression that it's less likely the other other way around. Good cross linkages will help.I would fit into that category. My usual routine is to check New Posts at various times during the day, and have a look at, or respond to whatever appeals to me. There have been a number of times when I have started a thread in MW to get some info - that's not so much a big deal, but I'd be disinclined to check New Posts on two forums.

chambezio

17th July 2015, 10:14 AM

One marvellous thing that this Forum does (as it stands now) is that a question usually gets answered within a couple of hours, and mostly less, because it seems that there are people on, in real time. I am a member of the American Practical Machinist Forum but I hardly go into it due to the fact that a question can be unaddressed for days(and longer) and that a lot of the posts are from professional blokes needing help to produce parts where the talk is too technical for my "woody brain".
I am always interested in the chatter on the Metalwork SubForum nearly as much as the woody side of things. I shouldn't stand in the way of progress so if we have to open another browser....then so be it.
As RC has said there is a lot of commerardery and mate ship within the Forum and that should flow on to the "stand alone" Metalwork Forum
Can I also say here too that my life would be for the poorer if I didn't go Foruming everyday.

Vernonv

17th July 2015, 10:38 AM

This is only my personal opinion/perspective ...
I now very rarely (never) go to the Renovate forums anymore ... this has been a progressive thing over time since they split, as I think I just ultimately couldn't be bothered and don't have the time to check/follow multiple sites. I reckon the same will eventually happen if the metal forums are split, however as my current focus is probably more metalwork focused, I reckon I will come here less and less.

DSEL74

17th July 2015, 11:33 AM

I tend to agree with a lot of the posts above. I think we will loose the "community" feel we have on the forum if it becomes to international and the member base grows greatly that way. However I am not sure this would happen. We have a few great international forumites already and I don't see why the metal work forum would get flooded with newbies when the woodwork forum hasn't had that happen it self?

For me I usually log in and go to new posts and flip through metal & wood equally to what posts I am either interested in or have something I can add. If this ability was maintained I don't see an issue with splitting the sites.

I do think the metalwork section could be given a facelift/ i.e it's own color scheme and be expanded in subforums, marketplace etc. without an issue.

dai sensei

17th July 2015, 11:35 AM

DSEL74

17th July 2015, 11:44 AM

I guess one benefit of two separate forums is two PM inboxes = more space!

ubeaut

17th July 2015, 01:10 PM

Good to finally get some input.

In response to a couple or few things:

One of the losers are most likely to be the woody members who occasionally stumble across useful metal related posts but might not be prepared to go visit the metal working site. Also the occasional woody does ask metal related questions but new members may not realise they can do this. My impression that it's less likely the other other way around. Good cross linkages will help.

Metalwork will have it's own site, open to all.
The old Metalwork Forums on WWF will be closed for posting but still on WWF as the Reno forum was/is.
All new posts on the new site will immediately show in the WWF Metalwork sections as RSS feed.
RSS feed should show in the Active Stream and New posts on both WWF and on the new site. As they would if posted on WWF.
RSS feeds will contain a link, eg: (Read and reply to the full thread at MetalworkForums.com....) which will instantly take you directly to that post.

I now very rarely (never) go to the Renovate forums anymore ...

Me neither matter of fact I hardly ever went there before they split off from WWF..

this has been a progressive thing over time since they split, as I think I just ultimately couldn't be bothered and don't have the time to check/follow multiple sites.

Nothing wrong with that if your interests lie elsewhere you look elsewhere. I went to Reno if I was looking for something in particular and because as Administrator I had to go there from time to time. I am exactly the same with Metalwork Forums. Funny thing is, right as I am typing this there are 179 people in the 8 forums of Reno section on WWF which has been closed for ever and no longer gets the RSS feeds.

I reckon the same will eventually happen if the metal forums are split, however as my current focus is probably more metalwork focused, I reckon I will come here less and less.

I'm sure that may happen and that's a gamble that we take when doing something like this.
I'm also sure that many in the Metalwork Forum don't go outside of the Metalwork Forum now and I reckon there are some that don't even know there is a woodwork section attached to their Metalwork Forum, even thought the header says "WOODWORK FORUMS".
People are more likely to look for metalwork info in a Metalwork Forum rather than on a woodworking site and probably give it more credence.
If you have an interest in something woodwork related you will probably come back to WWF for help, etc. For metalwork (your current focus) you got to Metalwork Forums. Plenty of WWF members visit and participate in numerous forums across the world to find the information they want.

Becoming popular can bring it's own problems as we Aussies get crowded out and start to lose our core member as we just become the same as most other international metal working forums..

I doubt that will be too much of a problem, Metalwork Forum is already international. As is WWF and there has been no squeezing out in either. I doubt an Aussie Forum will ever be the same as any other international forums. We are different and that's why WWF is so popular with woodies from everywhere.

At the moment I find this forum is a bit obscure and it is better that it is as we can discuss more local things and help out our fellow Aussies... If we were to try to get more publicity and become more popular and were successful in doing so then we would lose a lot of the comradary we have here...

There is absolutely no reason why anything should change unless the members want it to. If anything it should get to be a much better place with greater sense of comradery, and friendship because we are relatively free and easy compared to some forums.

More if and when I get a chance.

Cheers - Neil :U

Vernonv

17th July 2015, 02:43 PM

Me neither matter of fact I hardly ever went there before they split off from WWF..Whereas I was in there quite a bit before the split.

Nothing wrong with that if your interests lie elsewhere you look elsewhere.But I still am interested in reno's (and are still in the process of doing some), but I don't go to the reno forums because I don't have any questions to ask and as I have limited time to browse forums, I spend it in other forums, rather than the reno forum.
It is possible that I could have some input into questions posted by other reno forumites, however because I don't go to the reno forum I don't see the questions, so the opportunity is lost. At the WWF I browse the new posts list, so see all sorts of woodwork, metalwork and previously reno posts, and read/respond to the ones that interest me ... it is (was) all in one convenient spot.

Chesand

17th July 2015, 02:57 PM

doug3030

17th July 2015, 04:11 PM

I cannot see it being a bad thing. I concentrate mainly on woodworking, but I find that there is a LOT of metalwork I have to do to support my woodworking habit.

I generally just let the metalwork posts pass me by in the recent posts ans just lately there seem to be a hell of a lot more of them than there used to be. I would rarely answer anyones questions in metalwork as I do not consider myself qualified to do so so there is no reason for me to read them unless something particularly catches my eye.

When I need assistance/information to assist me with a metalwork task, I know where to find it and as I understand it this resource will still be available to me.

With the metalwork forum growing rapidly, I feel it may well be time to unshackle it and let it stand alone and grow in its own direction. For my part I will be happy to know it is still there for when I need it.

Cheers

Doug

bwal74

17th July 2015, 05:27 PM

Hi,

I just voted. The results are close.

I like the fact that the MWF is in a WWF. I think it does keep a few tools out of the forum. I do also like to have a look at some of the other forums without having to go to another site. But I do see the benefits of splitting just not sure.

Ben

ubeaut

17th July 2015, 05:48 PM

I have seen a few people saying "I don't have time to go to another forum" or similar

It wouldn't take any longer to go to the new site than it would to go from, an open page in say, General Woodwork, to the full Metalwork Forums on WWF unless you logged out from the new forum or Woodwork Forums and had to log back in. Even then it shouldn't take any more than maybe 10 seconds including your log in time.

Admittedly you would have to leave WWF to go to Metalwork..... But hey you have to leave one forum to go to another now the only difference is, you currently don't have to leave the site.

The new forum will be a fraction of the size of WWF and so it should load almost instantly, way faster than WWF which is currently averaging around around 3-4 seconds at it's worst.

I wonder if people should be saying they don't have the inclination, rather than don't have the time.
or
Maybe it's more a case of "I don't like change", or "If it ain't broke don't fix it!"

It is going to cost a lot of money and time to set up and get working properly and I'm not too keen on spending money on something that won't work. To date pretty well everything I've done has been to the benefit of the forums and the members. As I've said in the past when big things have happened (and a lot of big things have happened here over the past 16 years). I don't do anything that I feel will be to the detriment of the forums or the members

Bottom line:
If it doesn't work it can always be switched back to Woodwork Forums.
Cut the losses, lick the wounds, shake it off and say: "OK what's next!"

Vernonv

17th July 2015, 05:59 PM

But hey you have to leave one forum to go to another ... No you don't. All the posts are listed on the new posts list. It a convenience thing ... sure it doesn't take long to open a new tab, log in, go to the new posts list, etc, but as I browse sporadically during the day, it just becomes a hassle to keep opening extra tabs, logging in etc to check multiple forums.

At the end of the day it's your sandpit and you can do as you please (and I feel it's already been decided anyway) .... we are not the forum's customers, we are the goods for sale. :)

Handyjack

17th July 2015, 06:40 PM

On Woodwork Forums I would not expect to find too much of metal work so a split has a lot of merit.

With regards to Renovate Forums I still look at it occasionally, but as with any forum the members comments can make or brake it. I find certain members comments derogative, and after a few threads what they say becomes repetitive. As yet I have not found this in Woodwork Forums.

$$ I guess there would be companies prepared to sponsor a forum titled Metal Work, but not Woodwork.

PDW

17th July 2015, 06:57 PM

I don't really care. Generally I read/post here to keep up with what the rest of the Aussie nutcases are up to, I rarely bother with the woodworking side. If it went away because metalworking was in its own space, fine. If things stay as they are, fine.

PDW

sacc51

17th July 2015, 08:57 PM

Jekyll and Hyde

17th July 2015, 09:09 PM

I voted in favour of splitting as there now seems to be more metal working threads than wood working and I have to pick my way through them. I am not into metal working but very occasionally I might read a thread so it would not bother me if they stayed together.

I was confused by this comment, until I realised that people were using the new posts link up the top - which I've never used on any forum of this size and diversity, as it would take me entirely to long to sift through all the posts of stuff I'm not all that interested in reading.

I clicked it out of curiousity, and counted 7 posts from the metalworking section in the first 150 results, with an enormous spread of results from other quite varied sub forums thrown in - I'm curious as how many people would actually read posts from ALL those different subforums? I wonder if its possible or desirable to implement a function for members to filter out 'New post' results from certain sub forums (not just Metalwork!) that they are not really interested in? Makes no difference to me as I don't use it, but perhaps some other forumites might like that option?

I'm also sure that many in the Metalwork Forum don't go outside of the Metalwork Forum now and I reckon there are some that don't even know there is a woodwork section attached to their Metalwork Forum, even thought the header says "WOODWORK FORUMS".
People are more likely to look for metalwork info in a Metalwork Forum rather than on a woodworking site and probably give it more credence.

Both of those are very true. I occasionally browse through certain other areas of WWF to find out information on something else, but for the most part I check in solely on the Metalwork section, and that alone. Not even the welding section most of the time, despite having quite a keen interest and a good selection of welders at my disposal.

And on the second, it took me some time at beginning of my machining journey to actually think 'Why does this woodworking site constantly come up whenever I look for information on lathes and mills", and then click on it and start reading. Which in that regard, tends to make me agree with others who are thinking the atmosphere will change quite a bit if the name of the site is more explicitly to do with metalwork. Whether that's likely to be good or bad, I'm not so sure....

DaveTTC

17th July 2015, 10:04 PM

.

One of the losers are most likely to be the woody members who occasionally stumble across useful metal related posts but might not be prepared to go visit the metal working site. Also the occasional woody does ask metal related questions but new members may not realise they can do this. My impression that it's less likely the other other way around. Good cross linkages will help. .

I would miss the metal aspect. Stilk reading the eest of the losts but i know for myself i have benefoted by browsing metal threads and asking a question or two over here

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

KBs PensNmore

17th July 2015, 10:47 PM

I prefer it as is, I think the reason MWF gets so much more traffic than other metal work forums is simply because there is such a plethora of forums located within this site a simple click on the mouse allows you to move from one to another seemlessly. I think you would actually see less traffic if it was changed.

I prefer it as is also. I scroll through the various sections and learn a lot, plus I add a comment where warranted, sometimes a tongue in cheek comment. I spend on an average about 3 hrs per night going back and forth through the whole forum, as my enjoyment is both wood and metal, even after 45 years in the steel fabrication industry.
Thanks to Neil Ubeaut, for putting a fantastic forum together and to all the moderators as well.
Kryn

BobL

17th July 2015, 11:16 PM

I was confused by this comment, until I realised that people were using the new posts link up the top - which I've never used on any forum of this size and diversity, as it would take me entirely to long to sift through all the posts of stuff I'm not all that interested in reading.
It depends how many times you check the site during the day. It sounds stupid or obvious but the more often you check then the less time is needed to keep up and the less likely there is of missing an interesting post. I check the site often enough so that (unless I am away for the whole day) the new posts are rarely more than one page - usually only half a page. That way I can check just about every message that comes through that might be of interest to me. It doesn't mean I read everything, just checking what is coming through.

I clicked it out of curiousity, and counted 7 posts from the metalworking section in the first 150 results
It varies quite a bit - I just checked and there were 12 metal working related posts out of the first 150 but a few times I have seen as many as 50% of the posts being MW related.

I'm curious as how many people would actually read posts from ALL those different subforums? I wonder if its possible or desirable to implement a function for members to filter out 'New post' results from certain sub forums (not just Metalwork!) that they are not really interested in?
I have thought that would be useful as well

ubeaut

18th July 2015, 01:00 AM

For those who are worried that they will miss out on Metalwork Forum updates if they are on WWF.

All posts and threads made on MWF will show on WWF as RSS feed in the "closed for posting" Metalwork section.
All posts and threads made on MWF will appear as they are made in the Activity Stream and New Posts (almost instantly).

In the over all scheme of things nothing much will change at all other than the new site and the fact that MWF won't be lost the myriad of woodworking and other forums. It will have it's own identity, a life of it's own free from the constraints of Woodwork Forums and able to grow into whatever the members want it to be.

Hopefully it will grow into a wonderful resource of knowledge, help and friendship for the metalworkers of Australia and further afield. Something that can be used by schools, hobbyists, enthusiasts, armatures and professionals alike all sharing the same passion.

Sorry.... Got a bit carried away there.

Cheers - Neil :U

Fuzzie

18th July 2015, 07:35 AM

I, like BobL, scan the forums via the New Posts avenue. I find it easy and efficient and keep an eye on the diverse interesting things going on here. The only time I look at a specific forum page is to post a new thread, otherwise I make the decision to drop into a thread purely on the basis of the thread title.

Although I am not a metalhead, there are many cross platform topics of interest. Something like how to grade or sharpen old drill bits is just as pertinent to woodworkers as it is to metalworkers. I wonder which forum say sawmaking threads should end up in, afterall it is metal working for woodworkers isn't it? I can't say I'm ever going to rebuild old metalwork mills etc, or go on tours of the Hadron Collider workshops but threads like that are interesting to dip in and out of as well.

To be honest since joining WWF I don't really keep active membership of other multiple forums. The breadth of topics and helpful local people here is enough to keep me here and not waste more internet time scanning myriad other forums. I have for instance rarely visited the Renovate forums since they were spun off and when I've gone there it is really just as a seeker of information rather than continuing an active participance.

DaveTTC

18th July 2015, 07:45 AM

The renovate forum does not show in any feed anymore here does it?

I used to follow it but since it no longer shows i only go there if i have to. I post some stuff here that i might have posted there if it wete stikk attached.

I scan all new posts like BobL and read quite a lot of sub forums that i would not if it did not cone up in the timeline feed

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Vernonv

18th July 2015, 08:37 AM

Handyjack

18th July 2015, 05:27 PM

Out of curiosity, what happens to the Hand Tools & Machinery?
Some of the threads and areas are applicable to both wood and metal, eg general and small machinery, rotary tools and hand tools.
Angle grinders, while predominately for metal working can be used for wood carving.

ubeaut

19th July 2015, 04:03 AM

Last 5 posts were deleted as either irrelevant, personal attack, or off topic.

Please stick with the matter at hand and if you can't, keep out of it.

At the end of the day it's your sandpit and you can do as you please (and I feel it's already been decided anyway) ....

You are almost right, it is my sandpit, but it was built to share and you get to play in it a lot.

we are not the forum's customers, we are the goods for sale.

You are dead right you are not the forum's customers you have to purchase something for that or pay for your membership. Last time I looked the forums were as they have always been.... FREE! With someone paying to keep them on line, up to date and running as smoothly as possible. That would be me, partly funded by Google ads which are mostly seen and used by visitors and not members, plus the sponsors many of whom don't pay and are there for contra deals for the forums like a free ad every couple of months, Forum stands at Shows or for their service to the forums as a moderators, etc.

As for your "goods for sale" statement. No, you are not goods for sale. You are a part of a community requiring regular upkeep and if that upkeep can be helped along by spending money to split one or more forums off into their own community to help raise more funds to keep the ship(s) afloat then so be it. Raising the funds has become much harder over the last couple of years as more and more people go to mobile devices or use Facebook, Twitter, and others, instead of the traditional forums.

Originally Posted by ubeaut
For those who are worried that they will miss out on Metalwork Forum updates if they are on WWF.

All posts and threads made on MWF will show on WWF as RSS feed in the "closed for posting" Metalwork section.
All posts and threads made on MWF will appear as they are made in the Activity Stream and New Posts (almost instantly).

As posts do for the reno forums?

NO.... As posts used to do for the Reno Forums. Those forums was taken over by Oneflare P/L (looking to expand their online business) some 12 months ago. Those forums are no longer under my control.

Neil

Vernonv

19th July 2015, 09:46 AM

Last time I looked the forums were as they have always been.... FREE!Nothing it truly free. :)

eskimo

22nd July 2015, 09:41 AM

I dont like change....

But it may grow on me.....like some do and others dont

Grahame Collins

3rd August 2015, 08:00 PM

Speaking as just a forum member ,I must say it is disappointing to see only 122 people thought enough about this important topic to vote on it.

Grahame

.RC.

3rd August 2015, 08:07 PM

Speaking as just a forum member ,I must say it is disappointing to see only 122 people thought enough about this important topic to vote on it.

Grahame

How many active metal working forums members do we have Graham? I am surprised it is that many...

dai sensei

3rd August 2015, 08:57 PM

354793

BobL

3rd August 2015, 09:29 PM

Speaking as just a forum member ,I must say it is disappointing to see only 122 people thought enough about this important topic to vote on it.

Grahame

1500 views and 122 votes is normal for a poll.
What would be interesting to know is how many of the 1500 viewers were members.
i.e. the number of members listed at the bottom of the page.

Grahame Collins

4th August 2015, 09:26 AM

How many active metal working forums members do we have Graham? I am surprised it is that many...

It is a question I am unable to answer at this point.

I do not know the mechanism for determining active members. Clearly how many there are ,its not enough. I had it in my thinking that there had to be hundreds of us.

A look at the members page and the length of time between joining and their last posts is very educational.

BaronJ

6th August 2015, 06:45 AM

Hi Guys,

OK I'm a pom, but I've been made welcome here. I've been helped and given good advice, all of which is appreciated. Thanks guys. :U

One of the things that puts me off other metalwork forums is the number of posts by the same few people appearing on several different forums all with the same wording, pictures and projects ! For me this smacks of self advertising and makes those forums somewhat boring because of the repartition and lack of original content. Fortunately this doesn't happen here on WWF/MF. The net result is I prefer to come here and learn something.

RE the poll. For whatever reason I missed it :( I would be in "don't care either way" camp and happy to support Neal's decision either way.

Normanby

6th August 2015, 12:02 PM

I voted a while back in the "don't care" column mainly because I am a recent member here and I thought the longer time members would vote as they wished so I would be content to go with the result.

I joined the Renovate forum a couple of years ago after finding it when searching for answers during an ongoing home renovation and then became aware of the Woodwork forums. Always had an interest in metal work so when I noticed some metal work posts here I started reading and making a few posts.

I will probably still stay a woodwork forum member as sometimes I need to find information although woodwork is not something I do for pleasure, only necessity.

I am not a prolific poster because I usually only post if I have some information to impart but I am a dedicated reader of most metalwork posts and feel a need to get on every day to keep up with what is happening so I will definitely stay with this metalwork forum where ever it ends up.

All the above waffle means I could have voted for a separate metal work forum but didn't at that time.

Probably a post that didn't need to be written but I will post it any how.

ubeaut

6th August 2015, 06:09 PM

Well..... It looks like the Yes and Don't Care votes overwhelmed the No votes by 43. 44 if you count BaronJ missed vote.
For those who are interested the poll?thread was viewed by 206 members and 122 of them chose to vote. Not all that bad considering that is over 59% of vote.

New site is being prepared now and should be up and running within a couple of weeks at the outside, baring any major problems.

Some of the new Forums that may well be set up are:

Jewelery: Gold and Silver Smithing etc
Art Metalwork: Sculptures, Murals, etc.
Automotive: (Restoration, Hotrod builds, Body Work, Market place for parts, etc)
Metalwork Market Place: (Buy, Sell, Swap, Tools, Machinery, Wanted, etc) Your own market place for metalwork where it won't get lost in amongst the woodworking stuff.
Trades Centre: For businesses and members with a commercial interest to announce new tools, equipment, etc. Plus inform members and guests of special deals that may be available only to them.

I'm more than happy to add other forums that members think may be appropriate, or needed. A couple that spring to mind are Tool making and Metal Spinning. I'm sure there are others that the members can think of.

If there are other forums you can think of, please let me know in this thread. Some may need to be set up here before the move to the new site, but may be unseen until the new Metalwork Forums goes live. Others will be set up on the new site as needed or requested.

As I've said many times before when there have been big (and little) changes to the forums. Give it a fair go and a chance to work. It won't be brilliant world beater over night but it should grow to be a fantastic, vibrant, community of liked minded people sharing ideas and helping one-another.

Cheers - Neil :U

PS I am open to any all suggestions, apart from those telling me where to go.... 'Cos I've already been there and back. It's not as bad as you might think though a bit on the hot side.

I live in my own little world. But it's alright they know me here.

DSEL74

6th August 2015, 06:53 PM

You could have a section to vintage machines, steam, and a library for links to old manuals and publications out of copyright of course.

Michael G

6th August 2015, 08:42 PM

Well..... It looks like the Yes and Don't Care votes overwhelmed the No votes by 43. 44 if you count BaronJ missed vote.

Doesn't that mean that the No votes and the Don't cares equalled the Yes vote (or exceeded if you count BaronJ's)?:U

Michael

Vernonv

6th August 2015, 10:56 PM

Doesn't that mean that the No votes and the Don't cares equalled the Yes vote (or exceeded if you count BaronJ's)?:U

MichaelThat depends on the answer you are looking for. :)

snowyskiesau

6th August 2015, 11:02 PM

If the metalworkers all migrate to the new site, who will answer the occasional metalworking question that the woodworkers have?

BobL

6th August 2015, 11:19 PM

Not saying I will be able to answer all the questions but I plan on staying on both.

DaveTTC

6th August 2015, 11:39 PM

Not saying I will be able to answer all the questions but I plan on staying on both.

Sure hope so bob. You have a wealth of information to share

Dave

The Turning Cowboy

BobL

7th August 2015, 12:35 AM

Sure hope so bob. You have a wealth of information to share

Dave

The Turning Cowboy

Think of it as recouping something for your taxes :)

cava

7th August 2015, 12:52 AM

I like the cross pollination of ideas between the wood/metal threads, and would probably be disinclined to view one of the sites if they were separated.

Cliff Rogers

7th August 2015, 09:12 AM

Speaking as just a forum member ,I must say it is disappointing to see only 122 people thought enough about this important topic to vote on it.

Grahame

I only just found it... I have a bloody great big banner stuck to the top of my screen advertising the TWWW Show in Melbourne that I can't turn off but something like this is stuck away under Metalwork. :doh:

ubeaut

7th August 2015, 09:42 AM

Doesn't that mean that the No votes and the Don't cares equalled the Yes vote (or exceeded if you count BaronJ's)?http://d1r5wj36adg1sk.cloudfront.net/images/smilies/happy/biggrin.gif

For mine a Don't Care vote = YES because they don't care either way. Even if you split the Don't Cares 50/50 or leave it out of consideration all together the yes vote still comes out on top. Don't Care doesn't count as a NO vote you have to commit to NO. Don't Care says either I really couldn't care less or I'm happy for it to go either way or whatever you think is best or I'll use it no matter where it is, etc, etc, etc.

I must have forgotten that the forums are owned and run by a benevolent dictator and and are not a democracy.

To those who voted and commented thank you for your input.

No matter which way you look at it, the majority of members using the Metalwork forums would like to see the new site go ahead.