Where too next for Fieldlines

[Dave B]

 Just have to say a couple things. I've been around quite a while now and the excitement of projects and photo postings is what locked me in here. Sharing information of sucesses and failures is exciting for "doers" like me and there was a time here there seemed to be more of that.

 I have to believe that since there now is kit form and basically completed axial wind generators for sale here that this has directly affected the number of posters of similar projects. Intimidated maybe that their accomplishments may not seem as polished or perform as well as what can be purchased. I don't think we can loose site of the fact that  many ideas from this this board have contributed to the now current version of the axial design being sold.

 I applaud (the Dans) for their sucesses and thank them for sharing in the past their thoughts and ideas on improvements as well as acknowledging others who shared their own project ideas. I appreciate the fact that it would now be more diffacult for them at times to become more involved as before with projects directly related to the axial design good, bad or otherwise because of their vested interest in selling their version of what has been proven to work.

 I say for those "doers" out there who think of posting their projects but hesitate, do not be intimidated, we all walk before we run. From these postings will again bring forward another better mousetrap from maybe a past design and or new idea. You can be sure that those who have had success from this group discussion board are watching and learning as they certainly understand the wealth of knowledge gained from this melting pot.

 Things change, people change but I think the creativity still remains out there to bring forth new ideas and shared experiences to this board. The "doers" whose heart comes before their wallet is and always will be the key to innovation. I say bring it on, it's much more fun to share besides. Dave B.

[wooferhound]

I have a fairly nice Solar power system, but I still want to see every stepper motor genny and every PVC prop that anybody makes. If you are charging AAA batteries I want to see that too. Any form of Making or conserving power that you are doing or thinking about doing, SHOW IT HERE ,all of these are the reasons that I'm here!!

[TomW]

Woof Woof!

exactimundo!

Tom

[oztules]

Yes Tomw exactly.

I am currently wondering exactly why we post articles in the first place.

Do we want to brag?.........maybe a little of "look what I've done", but most of us have pretty average looking stuff.

Do we want to be noticed.... probably, but not my main reason, but if I look honestly there is that as well

Do we want to influence others somehow..... yes. I want other people to build something... anything, and show me what they have done.

Do we want to repay the folks that have exhibited before us...

absolutley. I want them to know it wasn't all in vein, and that I took notice and I tried to do some of what they tried too... pretty average perhaps, but ...

There are probably other reasons people have, and these need to be explored as well, but suffice to say, what us posters really want is for others to enjoy seeing what we do, and we want as many people as possible to see it.

Somehow we need to encourage that. People are responding with a bit of not time at the moment, or we don't think people want to see what we have done etc.

How do we encourage this.... well not by losing the stories in a day. An example, I had the chainsaw story on another small site, the same time as it was published here... a big site.

Here there have been 124 views, there over 2000 views. Guess where it is worthwhile writing a review for so I can show as many eyes as possible what they can do if they get out of their chair.

There is no case to publish stuff where no-one will see it, whatever the reasons, ultruistic or selfish, I don't care which.

Using the front page for projects only, will go a small way to getting the projects in peoples face for longer, and the people seeing it are new to the board... we just may attract a few more doers to the board.

I am not an ITech man, so don't know what else is available in the scoop to facilitate keeping stories in view longer.

And for those doers out there..... show us what you have done.

It is also up to those who do want people to publish, to give the guys writing the articles some feedback. This will do two things, encourage them, and keep it in the active page for longer. If worthy article gets 20 replies, then it may swamp the junk posts out of the way a bit, and keep it current for a few more days.

Maybe that way we will push the crap posts...like this one out of the way.

.......oztules

[oztules]

Tom, I have given some thought to your suggestion that I be inculcated with a 30 second infection.

I fly out to Australia on Monday, and won't be back for a month.

I will contact you when I return, and see if the offer is still open

I'm not happy about having to leave my new turbine either.... or the dogs..................................... or even the missus.

..........oztules

[vawtman]

Hang in there Oz

[independent]

I would like to add to this.

I really enjoy this site. Especially more so recently as I will soon be extremely bandwidth limited and have to view the site using "links" (very old skool text only browser for those who don't know). Well, Scoop happens to render not too bad for that purpose as far as I can see..

Anyway (digress), it's cool seeing what people are doing and if the front page isn't necessarily reflecting a lot of the stuff going on deep in the forums then that's ok, it's the nature of the web (and this postmodern world we live in). And cos' it's difficult making stuff and maintaining a bunch of old hospital (small APS) batteries to keep the irc server going and who knows what else goes on to keep this site alive.

I suppose, the main thing is that this forum is here and available for people to happen upon, and learn if they need to..

[luv2weld]

OK,

I will try to put something together and get started on posting.

Since this forum is my morning "newspaper", (I read this while

drinking my coffee), I will try to use some of my time to post

instead of just reading.

Ref above---- you got your nice folks you got your predators and you got guys like me and Ron.

Does that make you and Ron "nice predators"??

Thanks for your patience doing a job that most of us would

not want. And definitely would not handle as well as you do.

Ralph

[oztules]

Good stuff Ralph,

That will give me something to read while drinking ...my coffee

Looking for it  

..........oztules

[Bruce S]

I do look at the Front Page.

Until very recently, I didn't even care to use the recent activity link. Took away from the coolness of checking out the Front Page and then clicking through the different sections. Never knew if a story or question would be posted that I could help with, or where it would be posted.

If I'm in a hurry, not where I can log in and go clicking, OR trying to stave off boredoom while waiting for a flight, on my PDA, I will also look at the Front Page as a guest.

If there looks to be "stuff" on the Front Page that I'm curious about, then I'll do a proper login to either answer a reply, or try to help.

To me this is what I use the Front Page for.

Back a while ago, when posts became something people started getting snippy at instead of actually helping, I merely stopped adding pics to my diary or writing, and went to helping with info in the NEWBIE and sorting out fact from fiction and now only post pics when they'll prove helpful.

For Otzules: I think I'm understand what you're trying to get out in the open and that you're NOT trying to beat your chest over your posts, but a handle on what makes the front page, or possibly how to push the real "doer" stuff up there.

 If I'm wrong then I misread something.

For ALL:

I count myself lucky, I don't have to do this because I'm on the grid, and my food and beers aren't going to go bad if the power I saved up gets trashed by a bad battery.

I do it because I like to, its better than spending money at the nearest bar, and though I'll never likely break-even, I do save just a bit off the electric bills and I like to learn.

Just my pennies worth

Bruce S

[dlenox]

All,

The last month for me has been extremely busy and I assume others as well.

Currently I am designing and writing software to make a very complete system monitoring and logging software for my Xantrex XW system.  When done it will blow away anything currently available!

All of this has detracted me from getting together the results of the 17' wind turbine that I recently completed.  I hope to get back to this and give several charts showing the output from my turbine soon.

Dan Lenox

[SparWeb]

Oz,

Your contributions have always been thoughtful and technically valuable.  If you were to join the editorial staff, it would be a big step forward.  (That's not a dig at Tom, Kurt, or any others).  Current editorial approach has a "police" nature.  Your style would bolster the "guide" point of view.

I have a thick skin when it comes to critique, so I like to post my stuff, and I'm typically surprised by how positive the feedback is.  I actually would prefer more nitpicking because when I look back at my old diaries I wonder why people didn't notice this and that mistake.  Mistakes I only recognize after learning and learning over the following years, you know.

I've had postings moved to the front page, but that's not what I'm looking for.  When I post I want two things: show something that's good enough that it might help someone else trying to do something similar, and receive feedback that will improve my own project.

If they avoid putting diary entries on the front page, because that makes them disappear somehow, then WHAT'S THE POINT?  That's where the neat projects are going to appear!

Have I posted new stuff recently?  No, I've been saving it (sounds like what others are doing, too) for a big complete contribution when I'm done my 24V upgrades.  Scoop has become such a mighty PITA that posting pictures is a total mess.  That might be why I have delayed, too.  You can be sure that I will do so, despite these problems.  Others cannot be expected to be so patient.

I'm surprised to hear about the members that don't check the front page.  Maybe I just bookmarked the front page the day I arrived, and haven't updated the link since, but I always log in on the front page.  I see it first, then I go on to recent activity, diaries, or see what the newbies are up to.

I have always been critical of Scoop.  It does not sort threads by recent activity, it does not sort pictures, it does not permit uploading of pictures through a separate dialog box (which causes constant interruption of my typing as I carefully construct a posting), and whenever I make a reply to a question, sometimes the OP responds to the "reply", other times they respond as a "comment", making it impossible to follow all threads to which I contribute without going to both "recent activity" AND "your comments", and trying to sort out the old from the new.  Lastly how come nobody's realized that all these stacked replies in the threads just encourage off-topic postings?

I don't push hard with my criticizms of Scoop because I don't have the time nor skills to make a solution happen.  

At the root of it, though, Oz, the moderators don't have full control over the problem you have found.  The site needs someone to spring for new software, so that members new and old can feel more comfortable taking part.  Otherwise more and more of us will join the other fora that do.

This is already happening.  I have followed several "former" fieldlines members' postings, made on other sites, not THIS one.  Oz, you miss seeing the new projects being posted... here.  Well I also know that you participate on other fora and are making comparisons.  So am I.  We're seeing the new stuff there.

I know, I know, it's not a competition.  I'll avoid naming names so that I don't make this any worse.

But let's not dance around an important fact:  as RE becomes more popular, new blood will be looking for info, looking for the most welcoming community, and the site with the clunkiest interface is NOT the one that will attract it.  There will be a changing of the guard, it will be a clumsy transition, but it's already under way.

[Bruce S]

First:

 Oz, apologies for going a bit off topic, I think this is about to go in a different direction.

Steven:

 Changing of the guard? not following you?

BUT me thinks it means people are leaving for other sites that were inspired by this very forum.

There's a couple I look into as well, darn good ones too and the owners of the sites still come here as well. ( Gary's builditsolar remains the top that I point people to trying to just learn and see what's easy)

I as I've said before don't post much, but have never had a problem posting a pic or following the stories.

Resizing is easy for me from which ever computer I use, at work it's XP-pro built-in paint came with XP, others make it easier but not needed for me. At home Linux , pick a flavor , SUSE,Mand, Vector all just as easy to use and resize.

I don't go picking on people cause they can't resize. Not my normal nature, besides I am a techie and that wouldn't be fair.

Are there other programs out there better than SCOOP ? now there is, BUT then this site will look just like ALL the others out there and could get lost in the noise.

To be very frank, some of the people that have left can stay away in my not so humble opinion.

I see them posting on the "other" sites and sending people threatening texts can stay there.

A police nature? I would challenge anyone to put up with the crap a mod has to deal with and not get short or tired of "sos" every day 365.

I was one of those very willing to actually pay the mods, and still would to keep the chaf out.

TomW that load of firewood I cut last night is on it's way :-)

Bruce S

[SparWeb]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the feedback on the comments I made earlier.

I had some thoughts rolling around in my mind as I wrote it, but I don't think I expressed a few as well as I could have.  I have 100% support for the board moderators, and agree that they don't get enough credit, but too much grief.  I said I have a thick skin, but I don't know if it's that thick!  But then I used a word like "police" off-handedly, without explaining what I meant, so I fear that was taken as derision.  No, when you have to take crap from the general public all the time, like the real police do, you have to act a certain way to get the job done.  And that's how it makes you look like a policeman: self-fulfilling prophecy.

I've been contributing what I can to the board for a few years, now, and like you, I'm pretty adept with the pictures business.  So take a look at all my user files.  Right now.  I'll wait 'til you come back.  See, there are 125 pictures and other sorts of files there, and they're all out of order now.  I checked up on you, while you were away.  You've uploaded a lot, and yours are all mixed up, too, I can tell.  Now that they've been shuffled, and all new ones are also shuffled into the deck, it takes a while to find the pictures in the list.  About 5% of mine are scrambled, too.  I'm just ticked off - it's not really important in the big scheme of things.  Just the latest thing about Scoop that bugs me.  Maybe that's led me down the wrong path, but...

... When Oztules gets concerned that the direction the forum is taking is losing the emphasis on the "I did it" stuff, and the response back from the mods is "that's how the system works", well, that just sent me off to the races.  That's the last thing I want to hear on a forum that I enjoy using.

To counter your point of "good riddance" to some: there are some very talented members of this forum who are not choosing to post their "I did it" projects here any more.  Go see what gets posted on the "backshed", and you will see what I mean.  Think about that for a while.  

What do the australians have that the americans don't?  (apart from a team that qualified for the 4x400 olympic relay...)

Thanks again Bruce.

[oztules]

What do the australians have that the americans don't?  (apart from a team that qualified for the 4x400 olympic relay...)

.... crocodiles, boxjellyfish, white pointers, and the most venomous snakes and spiders in the world, .. qualify or die...

........oztules

[Bruce S]

Steven;

   I can see where the "police" part can be taken out of context.

My bigger concren was the dirrection this post was going, which I saw as going away from Oz's main problem.

I didn't do the go see part. I have seen your posts, and files and I know the length of mine and know that they are not in nice easy to find order.

I never thought that to be a problem when posting, only a quirk in the web progam.

I've looked serveral times at the backshed, builditsolar , Ed's , fungus' etc.

All of them have their good points. The individuals that I refered to (maybe I should've posted their sigon names? but the owners of those forums know who the slammers and complainers and people who threaten online are).

To say once again, it was the direction that the post(s) was headed in; i.e. away from Ozs issues with the front pages that lead me to post my pennies worth.

What does AU have that the US doesn't , a really big red rock, ocean going crocs, a spider that will kill a full grown man in less than a day.

AND one of the hardest to get stuff into Customs government department.

Cheers

Bruce S

[SparWeb]

Yes I realized it was a bit of a tangent, too.  I won't take it any farther.

Today it looks like the front page is benefitting from Oz's statement.

Thank you Oztules for bringing that up.  From the newcomer's point of view, the site looks much better when it puts as many successful projects on display as possible.  For a long-time member like yourself to realize this, by seeing it from their side, well that makes it a good thing you're here.