What has happened to Blade Forum?

Vendelcrow,

It looks like we would basically be selling our email list to postmasterdirect so they can reant it out. I don't think the members would like this as we tell them when they sign up that will do not sell our email list. Plus it would only create more spam for them and spam is not cool.

Here is the page I read. www.postmasterdirect.com/newwizard/subpages?section=gotlist.mhtml


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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com

 
FWIW, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the Busse offer. Sure, it was marketing talking, but this is something I'd expect when someone tries to sell me something. And the need to pay to keep this site free to users is well-known.

Nothing's really free in this world I don't think, and in the scale of things, that was very light and friendly. Perhaps, it could be toned down so as to not to alienate other users. But if I received something very similar to the Busse offer in the future, I wouldn't think anything of it.

Anyways, keep up the great work! With a increasingly large user base, I can only predict good things to come if we all just hang on.
 
Like Chiro said, the only thing I do`nt like about all the offers is the fact that I ca`nt afford to take advantage of them as much as I would like to.While it`s true that there are many offers to buy,it`s also true that there is alot of excellent information on knives,freely available,then can be had anywhere else.Besides,I appreciate someone making me a great deal.I do`nt feel that I`ve recieved excessive E-mail from BF.In fact when I do get one, it`s usually the first one I open.

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never a dull moment
 
Spark,
I understand your doubts, but this would not be the regular mailing list for your email newsletter.
I would be a separate list only for persons interested in additional kniferelated information.
The list would have nothing to do with BL, only the signupform would be located on your
site, and the list would be an optin list.
Only people who freely sign up to this list receives any mail, and only on the subject they have choosen, -knives.
If they dont like the mails they get, its very easy to un-subscribe
There is also a mail back confirmation, so its impossible to sign up other peoples email address.
This is as far from spamming as you can get.

Vendelcrow

 
Vendelcrow,

Is that not what we basically already have here now? You choose to receive emails when you sign up here so I really don't see the difference. If you don't want to receive emails simply modify your profile.


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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com

 

There are many, many people out there who have absolutely no concept in regards to how much work, money, effort and time is required to create and maintain a really good web site, such as this one. A lot of people think that you can go out, purchase a $100 software package, spend a few hours, choose a freebie ISP and have a great web site - NOT! Mike is providing a valuable service and he should either break even or make profit doing it. I certainly don't mind receiving emails from bladeforums.com and I like ordering knives from it.
 
Am I missing something here? Vendelcrow, your complaining about getting knife related E-mail sales pitches, that support the site; but at the same time you want to sign us up for more of the same…to support the site?

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LD
"Every Dog Has His Day"
BFC Member Since October 2, 1998

 
I do not know about others, but I enjoy being able to get different knives and learning more about the different makers and companies. I just wish I had more to spend.

I enjoy Blade Forums very much.Thanks
 
my two cents' worth:
I opened my e-mail message from Mike/BladeForums with some initial excitement that faded quickly when I discovered that it was a sales pitch, however, a funny thing happened next. I went directly to the forum, after reading my mail, and began checking out threads related to Busse knives. Hmmm.... I like knives but haven't really followed the market. There's alot of fantastic finely worked steel out there and I have much to learn. I found myself wishing I could find a loose couple hundred dollars for a Busse #9 or any number of other knives out there. Alas I cannot shake that amount loose, right now, so I am not a qualified customer for the knife offer in question. I am now thinking, wishing, hoping for, even lusting after knives I had, heretofore, no awareness of. My question is this: since I can't afford to buy one each of every BladeForum's specially offered knives, do I lose my membership in this neat forum?
ptn

[This message has been edited by ptn (edited 16 September 1999).]
 
Mike and Spark-this site is the most fun I've had since I discovered the internet. I have become more interested and knowledgable about knives than ever before. I am also now very active in at least 3 other online forums, where I've met new friends, and learned an awful lot. Thanks, you guys. I really mean it. Please, please keep it up.
 
Mike & Spark

While I am not a "newbe" to the forums I am not one of the first either. Member # somewhere around 2600. I have purchsed the native and the SIFU from the store. I have also gotten the grey matriarch. The Bussey #9 would be nice but I don't really have a use for a blade that big (YET).

I know that running a site that has this quality depends on someone, YOU, having the $$$ to keep it going and others, US, having the questions, the knowledge, and the want to stay here because of the information we get.

I have looked at ISP's that advertise "FREE web service". But what a pain in the "6". It took longer to load the adds than to load the page you wanted.

You are doing a really fine job and we probibly don't say it enough but thanks for a place where we can learn from the "best and brightest" and all the rest of us.

I mean where else can I talk to people from all over the world about a subject we all have a love for.

Again thanks for all you are doing.

Dwight


PS: Sal, if you'll take a rubber check I'll take one of everything in the store.
 
Jeez, Mike, you sent me an e-mail. You naughty boy. Wow, what a hassle!!

Seriously, through this forum I have learned about INFI steel. This knowledge alone is worth a few minutes' payback of my time. I don't think that most people realize what an innovation this is. To be able to take a rather mundane, inexpensive alloy, and add an inexpensive gas to it and come up with an incredible alloy rivaling very expensive high tech alloys, is much like spinning straw into gold. If this INFI does what they say it will, I believe it will go down as one of the greatest advances in metallurgy in the last 50 years. I am not one of the cognoscenti who know all of the facts, but I am willing to believe in INFI until a side by side test of INFI and non-INFI knives disproves them.

Further, the Busse blade geometry seems unique to me. I can't quite picture what is on the other side from the convex edge. Is this like a combination Moran/chisel grind, or is there a secondary bevel on the side opposite the convex edge?

At any rate, I wouldn't have had all of this knowledge without the forum AND the e-mail (so, OK, maybe the blade geometry is on the Busse site, but I didn't find it). I don't know, maybe I'll send Mike some dough for a knife, although I can't quite imagine myself getting entangled in five miles of hemp rope. And Mike charging $10 to sharpen my knife is WAY too expensive!!
wink.gif


What I am trying to say is that the e-mail was certainly not spam. It was based on a previously discussed important topic on the forums; itself contained valuable information, not to mention a reasonably tempting offer (and I am a known Mad Dog fan). Besides, if you cant separate the wheat from the chaff in your inbox by now, unplug your 'puter, and subscribe to Readers' Digest.

Walt (will cut with knives for food)
 
I wouldn't walk across the street for a Bussee knife but that doesn't mean it's not nice to learn about them and have an opportunity do buy one if I desired. The dealer aspect and
what's on the market and what it costs is as important to knives an anything else. Is the site getting commercial? Who cares? It has to be supported some way. Take what you need and leave the rest. Keep in mind that it's US that determines the contents of the forums.
I do find it a little annoying that some knifemakers and dealers are exploiting specific forums with promotions and pictures
when there is a specific place just for that purpose but it's my option to skip that thread and enjoy the rest of it. It's the moderators job to determind if the sales pitches disguised as information are appropriate.But as far as the forun selling
to make expenses I hope it goes way farther than that and they make a decent profit. They deserve it.
 
I think Mike and Spark are doing a great job keeping this page interesting for a very WIDE scope of people. And that can't be easy. The truth is, sure we're all into knives, but from that point it splits into many directions. For example:

~Some people are obsessed with a certain type of knife .....folder, or fixed blade, whatever.

~Others think ONLY custom knives are valid.

~Then there are the "Blade steel of the week" freaks.

~A good amount of people in here collect. While others only keep what they use.

~Some know how to fight with them, and own one knife. Some only cut cartons, and own hundreds.

~The list is endless.

I think they've done a remarkable job of keeping all of us "My reason is best" types, focused on learning and teaching each other about ALL aspects of the blade world.

I myself, really don't care what a blade is made of (though I'm learning), as long as it serves MY purpose. I don't give a rats @$$ about Micarta this, or ATS-34 that, or whether you can drive a car over someone's locking system without failure...... or Joe Blow using Abalone scales (Oh, rapture). Yet, for every person that isn't concerned with the above mentioned attributes, there are those who are. This site MUST appeal to ALL to survive.

And for all of you out there that think this kind of thing is cheap and easy to do, go out and get yourself a site, pay for it, design it, and promote it. The only way to keep people coming back is to continuously expand it..... and that ain't easy! Or cheap.

Oh, and the E-mail thing...... If they had those BF specials available and didn't e-mail me....I'd be Pissed!

Thanx guys for this place! And to everyone else that unselfishly shares their time and knowledge with us. You guys are the BEST!

>>>>>>>>>>> rant mode off <<<<<<<<<<

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Clay G.
www.balisongxtreme.com


 
Yeah, like I could keep my mouth shut when everyone else is responding.....
heh heh heh
Mike and Spark I commend you for your hard work in keeping the site running. I used to run a website that got a bunch of traffic and found that there was no way for it to remain accessible unless I was compensated somehow.
That site is now a thing of the past.
If getting an occasional email from Blade Forum descibing an offer that has mutual benefit for all, that's more than acceptable to me. My wife told me that she'd use the LAST knife I got from here to "de-man" me if I ordered another, but I enjoyed reading about the Busse anyways.
If I were to receive 2-3 emails per day, offering any POS that was *****d out by the importer of the moment, well, that'd be a different story. I'd click the little "DON'T EMAIL ME, DAGNABBIT!" button and read whatever I chose to read.
I ordered 2 SIFU's, (lefty and righty... like a cowboy, you know) and I did so knowing that it'd benefit Blade Forum in a small way, but I knew I was ordering a quality knife, with possible future collector's value, from a known and respected manufacturer.
Ain't nuthin' wrong with dat!
smile.gif

Anyways, Spark, Mike, keep up the good work, keep the emails comin', and remember my nice words in the event that you ever need to give away your knife collections to a complete stranger.
smile.gif


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That's my two cents. Hey! How come you're giving me change?
 
I. Hear. And. Obey.
wink.gif
Well, I haven't bought one of everything, but I just ordered the Carnivore. So my total now is 2 BF Natives, 1 SharpMaker, 1 Sifu, 1 Busse, and 1 Carnivore.
biggrin.gif
It's a good thing the SO and I have separate plastic.
wink.gif
 
I like to receive e-mails like these. Whether or not I decide to buy the knife, I still get useful information. In my opinion, sales pitch is sales pitch (annoying) only when someone concentrates on calling whatever he's trying to sell me, the deal of my life, instead of telling me about the product itself. And plenty of information was provided. Three things were said clearly in the e-mail I got. 1) The Busse Basics are available. 2) For a special price. 3) And as a special, black-coated version. Thanks, Mike and Spark.

Jani

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Two important questions in life:
Do they have a catalog?
Did you know there's a town called "Batman" in Turkey?

[This message has been edited by Jani Kemppainen (edited 17 September 1999).]
 
I like receiving email from BladeForums. If it hadn't been for the more in-depth info on the Busse #9, I wouldn't have ordered one yesterday. I'd been planning on another fixed blade, but I'll leave the company anonymous.

Overall, I am quite happy with BladeForums. I hate going to sites that take 20 seconds or more for a page to load due to the amount of advertising, especially the animated ones that take forever. I'd much rather pay a monthly due than 1) put up with a lot more advertising or 2) have my email "rented" out. Matter of fact, "renting" my email out would be reason for me to leave the forum.
Although bulk mailing has greatly helped to keep postage costs from rising more, I detest mailing lists, solicitation calls, and mass email, unless I specifically ask for it. There are a rare few that I invite to do this. BladeForums is one. Keep up the great work guys!

Ray

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Knowledge without understanding is knowledge wasted.
Understanding without knowledge is a rare gift - but not an impossibility.
For the impossible is always possible through faith. - Bathroom graffiti, gas station, Grey, TN, Dec, 1988

AKTI Member #A000831


 
I give this site 2 thumbs up (one of which is banage, bu that is a different story). The fact that they have to have money to operate it is a no brainer. I am glad for the way they choose to get it. Blade Magazine charges advertisers, and readers. Here they only charge advertisers. This is a great concept. I have not seen anything on the web, that is near as cool.

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Lynn Griffith-Tactical Knifemaker
Winner of "Best Tactical Knife" at 1999 PKA show
My website
See my award winning "Spec Ops Tanto" in Gallery 3 of my website
GriffithKN@aol.com

 
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