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Post by daveinlax on Jun 24, 2017 17:05:01 GMT -5
There are few people as active in the hobby for as long as I've been but the pipe boards have gone from the place to be to a revolving door of new guys and bored shut in hyper posters. Most guys I know from my years in the hobby went over to the Facebook groups. I've never been comfortable mixing my pipe life (I don't need my friends and relatives reading that I was at a pipe show and not at their birthday party or of my latest PAD/TAD)and family .I still read most of the boards daily but most of the good stuff is on Facebook these days. I've found the key to face book is skipping your feed and reading the individual groups daily like you would a board. You can get through them pretty fast if your not jumping around from person to person, group to group in your feed. I don't have that much to say and what I do like to talk about I've found is way to pipe geeky and specialized for most and is best saved for the daily emails I participate in with friends.  |
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Grimpeur
Junior Member
Posts: 239 
Favorite Pipe: The Falcon!
Location:
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Post by Grimpeur on Jun 24, 2017 20:08:59 GMT -5
I don't have that much to say and what I do like to talk about I've found is way to pipe geeky and specialized for most and is best saved for the daily emails I participate in with friends. Hmmm, I wonder if there's more of a market for the esoteric side of pipes and tobacco than you think? I agree with your thinking that forums might not be the best place for lengthy discourse on such things, and I have doubts about the internet itself being the best place: good information has a habit of disappearing. That's why I miss a fellow I just mentioned in another thread, Tom Dunn. He did some interesting work with the Ephemeris, and I have forty years worth sitting on my bookshelf. |
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Zach
Pro Member
If you can't send money, send tobacco.
Posts: 4,369
First Name: Zach
Favorite Pipe: Too many currently, bound to change
Favorite Tobacco: Haunted Bookshop, Big 'N' Burley, Pegasus, Habana Daydream, OJK, Rum Twist, FVF, Escudo, Orlik Golden Sliced, Kendal Flake, Ennerdale
Location:
Member is Online
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Post by Zach on Jun 24, 2017 20:19:26 GMT -5
Dave is in the Coterie club of Dunn's, which stemmed from The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris.
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Post by Lady Margaret on Jun 24, 2017 22:34:46 GMT -5
Dave is in the Coterie club of Dunn's, which stemmed from The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris.
What is The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris?
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Zach
Pro Member
If you can't send money, send tobacco.
Posts: 4,369
First Name: Zach
Favorite Pipe: Too many currently, bound to change
Favorite Tobacco: Haunted Bookshop, Big 'N' Burley, Pegasus, Habana Daydream, OJK, Rum Twist, FVF, Escudo, Orlik Golden Sliced, Kendal Flake, Ennerdale
Location:
Member is Online
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Post by Zach on Jun 24, 2017 23:01:52 GMT -5
Dave is in the Coterie club of Dunn's, which stemmed from The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris.
What is The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris?
An old pipe pipe periodical that started in 1965 and went til about 2005ish. Articles, collector directories, news and events and interviews, that type stuff. The club is T.U.C.O.P.S, what you see as Dave's avatar. The Universal Coterie of Pipe Smokers. |
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Grimpeur
Junior Member
Posts: 239
Favorite Pipe: The Falcon!
Location:
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Post by Grimpeur on Jun 24, 2017 23:15:32 GMT -5
Dave is in the Coterie club of Dunn's, which stemmed from The Pipe Smokers Ephemeris. Close... I was fortunate enough to have been a member myself for almost twenty years. Easy enough to do: one just had to write a letter and ask Tom to start sending the Ephemeris, and there you go; one was a member of the Coterie. I used the word "was" because it's a thing of the past. It all ended with Tom's death. Sic transit, and all that. |
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Post by trailboss on Jun 24, 2017 23:36:07 GMT -5
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Post by Matthew on Jul 5, 2017 18:01:35 GMT -5
Low activity forums in my opinion are those that are unwelcoming of new people.
They skip a question by telling the inquisator to use the search function.Some
times I've used the search and gotten everything I didn't ask for.If you know of
a thread that answers the question better than a few short lines,then post the link.
If you can answer the question,it's more accepting to do so rather than sending them off
to find it on their own.And just because there might be duplicate threads,don't
get insulting or indignate.I've seen arguments over just that item,if a mod had explained
that the thread allready exsited and that the newer would joined/deleted would have kept
it civil.As it was/is the forum this happened doesn't seem to moderate at all,hence I
don't go there often.
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Post by haebar on Jul 5, 2017 18:42:44 GMT -5
I don't have that much to say and what I do like to talk about I've found is way to pipe geeky and specialized for most and is best saved for the daily emails I participate in with friends. Hmmm, I wonder if there's more of a market for the esoteric side of pipes and tobacco than you think? I agree with your thinking that forums might not be the best place for lengthy discourse on such things, and I have doubts about the internet itself being the best place: good information has a habit of disappearing. That's why I miss a fellow I just mentioned in another thread, Tom Dunn. He did some interesting work with the Ephemeris, and I have forty years worth sitting on my bookshelf. I miss him too. Tom Dunn was a great benefactor to the hobby; much of his work was funded by himself. He answered every letter that I sent him and he wrote with such a personal note that it made me feel like we were old friends. Brings to mind the hobby in the twilight of the internet and prior. It's hard for me to remember keeping up with the pipe hobby before the internet, but many of us did so, with pen and paper, telephone or in person. |
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tallpuffoburley
New Member
Posts: 33
First Name: Eric
Favorite Pipe: BST Bent Dublin
Favorite Tobacco: Dunhill Flake
Location:
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Post by tallpuffoburley on Jul 6, 2017 22:54:20 GMT -5
I generally agree that pipe forums need new blood to remain active. I've been in several groups since 2012 and find myself posting less because I've seen so many things posted so many times. I think it inevitable that your posts slow down with time.
New pipers will always bring me out and are a lot of fun to bomb with tobacco. They post alot, because they don't know much and the nurturers I. Us like to help them out.
The final point that I know applies to online forums is the software they use and how user friendly they are. Some Groups are filled with great folks, but the software used makes it inconvenient for regular use in relation to other forums.
For instance. One much maligned group has great software and will remain busy no matter how much they piss people off. The example of th other group is the one Zach mentioned earlier great guys, but I found the software difficult to navigate. I may have to revisit to see I anything has changed there.
So far I lik what I see here, but wish I could post photos more conveniently. That is my only gripe so far.
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Post by sparks on Jul 7, 2017 6:41:20 GMT -5
So far I like what I see here, but wish I could post photos more conveniently. That is my only gripe so far. Photo posting is pretty darn easy... though it is best with a 3rd party photo hosting site. We do have forum storage to do attachments, but it's limited and they charge us for it. The result is that when it comes time to clear out some storage, previously posted pictures may become dead links. My preference is Imgur.com. It's free, simple and not ad-ridden like PhotoSuckit. |
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Post by sparks on Jul 7, 2017 6:48:11 GMT -5
In regards to the topic at hand... There are many things that contribute to forum death or at the very least, forum necrosis. First and foremost in my opinion is how it is run. There are two extremes in my experience, with very little falling into the grey area in between.
Either you have Napoleon like over moderation, or you have the absentee landlord variety. The first can scare away even a seasoned veteran, the second will lead to the inmates running the asylum and will eventually scare away the more reserved.
Regardless of your views on government, anarchy is not conducive to community. All communities need some rules and regulations. Our goal here is to walk the middle road. Safe, comfortable and inviting, but still requiring that all members adhere to some basic community guidelines.
For me, the forum is a self funded hobby. One which I balance between a very busy work, social and personal life. I rely on our community and my moderators to make sure that things stay in check. So far, I've been very lucky.
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tallpuffoburley
New Member
Posts: 33
First Name: Eric
Favorite Pipe: BST Bent Dublin
Favorite Tobacco: Dunhill Flake
Location:
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Post by tallpuffoburley on Jul 7, 2017 7:56:04 GMT -5
So far I like what I see here, but wish I could post photos more conveniently. That is my only gripe so far. Photo posting is pretty darn easy... though it is best with a 3rd party photo hosting site. We do have forum storage to do attachments, but it's limited and they charge us for it. The result is that when it comes time to clear out some storage, previously posted pictures may become dead links. My preference is Imgur.com. It's free, simple and not ad-ridden like PhotoSuckit. The problems I have with photos is mostly due to what I mostly use when I connect to the forum. That being a very old iPhone that I am able to use because I eschew updates. Lol So I am unable to download the app associated with imgur and I don't see an upload option in the webapp. I typically play on the forum when I am smoking and this puts me outside with my phone. |
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sablebrush52
Full Member
Posts: 903
Favorite Pipe: Barling
Favorite Tobacco: whatever is in it
Location:
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Post by sablebrush52 on Jul 7, 2017 9:30:10 GMT -5
In regards to the topic at hand... There are many things that contribute to forum death or at the very least, forum necrosis. First and foremost in my opinion is how it is run. There are two extremes in my experience, with very little falling into the grey area in between. Either you have Napoleon like over moderation, or you have the absentee landlord variety. The first can scare away even a seasoned veteran, the second will lead to the inmates running the asylum and will eventually scare away the more reserved. Regardless of your views on government, anarchy is not conducive to community. All communities need some rules and regulations. Our goal here is to walk the middle road. Safe, comfortable and inviting, but still requiring that all members adhere to some basic community guidelines. For me, the forum is a self funded hobby. One which I balance between a very busy work, social and personal life. I rely on our community and my moderators to make sure that things stay in check. So far, I've been very lucky. Well said. Having experienced both the tyrannically moderated and the excessively laissez faire, I'd agree that sailing a middle course is the most likely to succeed. In addition, having a well organized, easy to navigate, site with a variety of sub-boards aimed at popular interests, adds to the experience. Beyond that it's the level of involvement of the membership. People who lurk without becoming involved, people who don't contribute to threads, people who don't initiate threads, aren't going to contribute to the health of the forum. Granted, some people like a sleepy little forum, like a small dinner party, and the clubby exclusiveness that accompanies that sort of arrangement. Inevitably such forums develop a sort of inbred culture and eventually collapse. The successful forums evolve with the changing membership, offering a place where newcomers can feel at home, offer a variety of topics to explore, and feel encouraged to engage. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Location:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2017 17:29:03 GMT -5
In regards to the topic at hand... There are many things that contribute to forum death or at the very least, forum necrosis. First and foremost in my opinion is how it is run. There are two extremes in my experience, with very little falling into the grey area in between. Either you have Napoleon like over moderation, or you have the absentee landlord variety. The first can scare away even a seasoned veteran, the second will lead to the inmates running the asylum and will eventually scare away the more reserved. Regardless of your views on government, anarchy is not conducive to community. All communities need some rules and regulations. Our goal here is to walk the middle road. Safe, comfortable and inviting, but still requiring that all members adhere to some basic community guidelines. For me, the forum is a self funded hobby. One which I balance between a very busy work, social and personal life. I rely on our community and my moderators to make sure that things stay in check. So far, I've been very lucky. Well said. Having experienced both the tyrannically moderated and the excessively laissez faire, I'd agree that sailing a middle course is the most likely to succeed. In addition, having a well organized, easy to navigate, site with a variety of sub-boards aimed at popular interests, adds to the experience. Beyond that it's the level of involvement of the membership. People who lurk without becoming involved, people who don't contribute to threads, people who don't initiate threads, aren't going to contribute to the health of the forum. Granted, some people like a sleepy little forum, like a small dinner party, and the clubby exclusiveness that accompanies that sort of arrangement. Inevitably such forums develop a sort of inbred culture and eventually collapse. The successful forums evolve with the changing membership, offering a place where newcomers can feel at home, offer a variety of topics to explore, and feel encouraged to engage. Mostly good points; however, group META turns off many as well. Everything tends to turn into static noise and many sites have become victims of their own success as a result of navel gazing in this regard. Lurking is totally cool. It's a good way to learn and become more comfortable with the pipe before opening up in any particular forum. Open your ears before you open your pie hole was what my WWII veteran grandfather always impressed upon me - Sage advice.
It's not about the site - It's about the individual pipe smoking journey whether it's an occasional indulgence, simple hobby, passion or lifestyle. The site is only a potential enhancer for any. Inbreeding, LOL, all you same old guys post and take over every site which becomes available. Calling total BS on that one. Sorry for the rant. Just hated the above post from a fellow poster whose advice I greatly respect. |
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sablebrush52
Full Member
Posts: 903
Favorite Pipe: Barling
Favorite Tobacco: whatever is in it
Location:
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Post by sablebrush52 on Jul 8, 2017 1:06:00 GMT -5
Well said. Having experienced both the tyrannically moderated and the excessively laissez faire, I'd agree that sailing a middle course is the most likely to succeed. In addition, having a well organized, easy to navigate, site with a variety of sub-boards aimed at popular interests, adds to the experience. Beyond that it's the level of involvement of the membership. People who lurk without becoming involved, people who don't contribute to threads, people who don't initiate threads, aren't going to contribute to the health of the forum. Granted, some people like a sleepy little forum, like a small dinner party, and the clubby exclusiveness that accompanies that sort of arrangement. Inevitably such forums develop a sort of inbred culture and eventually collapse. The successful forums evolve with the changing membership, offering a place where newcomers can feel at home, offer a variety of topics to explore, and feel encouraged to engage. Mostly good points; however, group META turns off many as well. Everything tends to turn into static noise and many sites have become victims of their own success as a result of navel gazing in this regard. Lurking is totally cool. It's a good way to learn and become more comfortable with the pipe before opening up in any particular forum. Open your ears before you open your pie hole was what my WWII veteran grandfather always impressed upon me - Sage advice.
It's not about the site - It's about the individual pipe smoking journey whether it's an occasional indulgence, simple hobby, passion or lifestyle. The site is only a potential enhancer for any. Inbreeding, LOL, all you same old guys post and take over every site which becomes available. Calling total BS on that one. Sorry for the rant. Just hated the above post from a fellow poster whose advice I greatly respect. I respect your right to disagree, but I stand by what I wrote. A lively forum requires involvement from all concerned. If I don't have something to add, I don't. But when I think I have something to contribute I do so. As far as inbreeding, well, I've witnessed it where a few people contribute, most don't, and the content never varies. Eventually the forum reaches a state approaching inertia. The few posters are happy. The rest of the membership is somewhere else. |
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Post by Matthew on Jul 9, 2017 11:24:29 GMT -5
Speaking of my own personal experience.The problems I had staying active in a forum
deal more with content than with moderators.The forum threads get boring and tedious.
Even threads which deal with a topic of interest to me will get derailed with innocent
jibes and silly jokes and it seems that the OP leaves and the others mods included have
no interest in returning to the original question or comment.Or worse,the group becomes
too focused on only discussing a limited number of topics.We have threads for food and
drink,music, and books.We have threads asking about other hobbies.We need to further the
discussions in these,and maybe start threads on some of the specific hobbies mentioned
in order to get the lurkers interested in commenting.And when they do comment we need to
respond to them,not just a "Like" but an actual response letting them know that their
input is appreciated.We need to show how our hobby isn't just a few minutes a day but a
part of our daily lives and how it is integrated and complimentary to our daily activities.
I hate mowing,absolutely just want to hang the mower in a tree and beat it like a pinata.
BUT,if I have a pipe packed and ready it turns into a nature excursion,I actually enjoy
chasing the grasshoppers around with the mower.Reading a new book is much more pleasurable
when I have a nice English blend burning.And washing the car becomes a game with a smokey
Maduro cigar.It has to be more than just what I smoked today,but include what I was doing
that became that much more enjoyable because it gave me an excuse to light up another bowl.
Tobacco blends are more than their flavors,what are the memories associated with it,what are
the insights or ideas the pop up with that fist pull on the pipe.I just saying we need more depth
to our online conversations.Sorry for the rant,I'll go sit in a corner and puff now.
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Zach
Pro Member
If you can't send money, send tobacco.
Posts: 4,369
First Name: Zach
Favorite Pipe: Too many currently, bound to change
Favorite Tobacco: Haunted Bookshop, Big 'N' Burley, Pegasus, Habana Daydream, OJK, Rum Twist, FVF, Escudo, Orlik Golden Sliced, Kendal Flake, Ennerdale
Location:
Member is Online
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Post by Zach on Jul 9, 2017 12:01:25 GMT -5
Well said. Having experienced both the tyrannically moderated and the excessively laissez faire, I'd agree that sailing a middle course is the most likely to succeed. In addition, having a well organized, easy to navigate, site with a variety of sub-boards aimed at popular interests, adds to the experience. Beyond that it's the level of involvement of the membership. People who lurk without becoming involved, people who don't contribute to threads, people who don't initiate threads, aren't going to contribute to the health of the forum. Granted, some people like a sleepy little forum, like a small dinner party, and the clubby exclusiveness that accompanies that sort of arrangement. Inevitably such forums develop a sort of inbred culture and eventually collapse. The successful forums evolve with the changing membership, offering a place where newcomers can feel at home, offer a variety of topics to explore, and feel encouraged to engage. Mostly good points; however, group META turns off many as well. Everything tends to turn into static noise and many sites have become victims of their own success as a result of navel gazing in this regard. Lurking is totally cool. It's a good way to learn and become more comfortable with the pipe before opening up in any particular forum. Open your ears before you open your pie hole was what my WWII veteran grandfather always impressed upon me - Sage advice.
It's not about the site - It's about the individual pipe smoking journey whether it's an occasional indulgence, simple hobby, passion or lifestyle. The site is only a potential enhancer for any. Inbreeding, LOL, all you same old guys post and take over every site which becomes available. Calling total BS on that one. Sorry for the rant. Just hated the above post from a fellow poster whose advice I greatly respect. I agree with this comment in dissent of Jesses post, because I run numerous forums across many topics whether computer, pipe, programming, music related or what have you. Those points you mentioned Jesse exist, but they don't kill forums. You can avoid, ignore, and block any user you don't want to see posting on most forum softwares and no matter if the same user is there or not has no bearing on the health of a forum in general. It's all based on rulership and moderation, good software, contributing members being civil and not "I'm in a special club and know the most" feeling towards new members from the FOGs, and content content content. In particular to pipesmoking, we already are some of the most friendly bunch and we do a great job of welcoming and helping new members. Piping is helped EXTREMELY by all these forums, and without them today, pipe smoking would really be relagated to many less blends and makers, so it's working. |
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sablebrush52
Full Member
Posts: 903
Favorite Pipe: Barling
Favorite Tobacco: whatever is in it
Location:
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Post by sablebrush52 on Jul 9, 2017 17:02:24 GMT -5
Mostly good points; however, group META turns off many as well. Everything tends to turn into static noise and many sites have become victims of their own success as a result of navel gazing in this regard. Lurking is totally cool. It's a good way to learn and become more comfortable with the pipe before opening up in any particular forum. Open your ears before you open your pie hole was what my WWII veteran grandfather always impressed upon me - Sage advice.
It's not about the site - It's about the individual pipe smoking journey whether it's an occasional indulgence, simple hobby, passion or lifestyle. The site is only a potential enhancer for any. Inbreeding, LOL, all you same old guys post and take over every site which becomes available. Calling total BS on that one. Sorry for the rant. Just hated the above post from a fellow poster whose advice I greatly respect. I agree with this comment in dissent of Jesses post, because I run numerous forums across many topics whether computer, pipe, programming, music related or what have you. Those points you mentioned Jesse exist, but they don't kill forums. You can avoid, ignore, and block any user you don't want to see posting on most forum softwares and no matter if the same user is there or not has no bearing on the health of a forum in general. It's all based on rulership and moderation, good software, contributing members being civil and not "I'm in a special club and know the most" feeling towards new members from the FOGs, and content content content. In particular to pipesmoking, we already are some of the most friendly bunch and we do a great job of welcoming and helping new members. Piping is helped EXTREMELY by all these forums, and without them today, pipe smoking would really be relagated to many less blends and makers, so it's working. I don't think it's about blocking posters I don't like, or anything like that, nor did I suggest that in my original post. When I look at a forum I look at topics. If I see a topic that looks promising I'll look at the tread. If the posts are informative and I think I have something worth adding I'll post. I have no compulsive need to post. But if I open a forum splash page and see nothing interesting I move on. And if I open that forum's splash page over a period of time and see little to no action and little to no posting, I move on and stop dropping in. So unless the membership is engaged, as we are in this thread, the forum is a waste of space. That's what I'm saying. The purpose of a forum, at least for the past several thousand years, is to provide a space for people to come together to exchange ideas and views on particular issues. Just to be deliberately provocative, let's look at Lurking is totally cool. Lurking IS totally cool, but Participation and Involvement IS totally cooler. When you engage you learn more, perhaps make some connections, maybe help some others. You take a little risk, and risk in life is necessary and empowering. Moreover the case could be made that being a lurker and only a lurker is semi-parasitic. I'm saying semi-parasitic because the total lurker isn't pulling the blood out of a forum so much as not putting any into it. It's not about the site it is, and it isn't. Maybe it's more accurate to say that it's about the environment. Pipes.org died because the environment was toxic. The moderator actively ridiculed posters and there were a few clear sycophants who occasionally ganged up on posters. This went on because the site owner was uninvolved. And when the owner decided to migrate to a new platform, he did so in such a haphazard manner that the link to the forums was completely lost and he took too long to address it. In addition, the requirement that all posts be reviewed before they could appear led to long delays that would offer no competition in today's forum environment. Where the environment is friendly and encouraging, people are more likely to participate and participation is what makes a forum a forum, by definition. Inbreeding, LOL Don't know about you, but I'm also a member, by invitation only, at several forums that are private and you don't get to see them on the Web. They're not bad places, but they're very limited because there is little change amongst the elected membership. That's deliberate, but after a while the lack of variety and the level of predictability becomes stultifying. There's no reason for me to visit when there's nothing new. Some people think that forums in general are on their way out, that just as they replaced the Usenet bulletin boards, they in turn are being replaced by other social media like Reddit and Facebook where there is more energy. I don't know if that is true. But the last point I'll make is that members come and go. You can't rely on the same people being part of the scene year after year, which means that the administrators and membership need to stay relevant to changing times. |
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nitehawk
New Member
Posts: 51
First Name: Darryl
Favorite Pipe: Mastro de Paja, Dennis Ruth Freehand
Favorite Tobacco: MacB's Navy Flake, Orlik GS, C&D Briar Fox, C&D Pegasus
Location:
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Post by nitehawk on Jul 9, 2017 17:35:11 GMT -5
Whew....I'm not stepping into this minefield. But I do understand the points being made here by everyone. But, for my part, I'm not exactly a social gadfly. I do enjoy reading posts and find many to be both helpful and informative. And if I think I have something to add,I'll speak up. On the flip side, if I have a question, or if I think I have or know something that can help another member, I'll go for it as well. But sometimes I may not be here for days at a time, simply because I got nuthin' to say. I can sit in a room all day, by myself, and never speak a word to anyone....doesn't bother me....lol.....you can ask my wife.
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Zach
Pro Member
If you can't send money, send tobacco.
Posts: 4,369
First Name: Zach
Favorite Pipe: Too many currently, bound to change
Favorite Tobacco: Haunted Bookshop, Big 'N' Burley, Pegasus, Habana Daydream, OJK, Rum Twist, FVF, Escudo, Orlik Golden Sliced, Kendal Flake, Ennerdale
Location:
Member is Online
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Post by Zach on Jul 9, 2017 17:45:58 GMT -5
sablebrush52 Yes agreed for the most part. Usenet is still in use, BBS are still in use, and so is IRC. I wouldn't say forums are on the way out and that's a separate thing.
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Post by PhantomWolf on Dec 9, 2017 17:01:13 GMT -5
"There are few people as active in the hobby for as long as I've been but the pipe boards have gone from the place to be to a revolving door of new guys and bored shut in hyper posters." You have me at a disadvantage, Sir! |
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