Where Is Everybody?

I was also dormant for awhile. I still cannot get used to social media...instagram, facebook...etc. I like this forum and "the porch" over in Traditionals

I don't like the gimmicky sales crap either....like stuff "dropping" on instagram or wherever and if you don't click the button fast enough.,..you lose.

on the positive side, I have been introduced to some excellent "newer" makers (e.g. Tim Steingass), but I still find myself drawn to the same makers I admired in the 1990's (Kit Carson, Jess Horn, Loveless, Walter Brend, Gene Shadley, Bose boys, etc)
 
i do minimal social media.
registered on instagram primarily for family reasons. even my children have stopped using it.
it is hard to sift through all the superfluous and silly stuff on instagram to find new makers etc i might be interested in

not much here anymore unfortunately
the site has to find a way to attract more knife makers to post. more collectors will come if they do

i have been a paid subscriber here from the beginning but have not renewed this time as i almost never visit the site anymore
 
bandaidman said:
the site has to find a way to attract more knife makers to post. more collectors will come if they do
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I certainly appreciate that point. It would be very interesting to hear from our forum on ways to accomplish thigs
 
Maybe if you see a maker you like on another platform like IG, drop them a comment and invite them to post here as well.
 
"the site has to find a way to attract more knife makers to post. more collectors will come if they do"

Lorien said:
I certainly appreciate that point. It would be very interesting to hear from our forum on ways to accomplish thigs
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My opinion why fewer makers are posting here is the ":thumbsup: Like" button. It's convenient and fast for you folks, but gives minimal feedback to the knifemakers.

Case in point: Recently I posted a pretty cool knife, "Full Dress New York Special." I received 29 "like alerts" for that knife, but at this time, only two people took the time to comment or provide feedback on the thread for that particular knife. If it was a no-never-mind knife, it wouldn't have received 29 likes. To me, feedback and personal interaction with you all is a rewarding part of knife making - that feedback provides me the incentive to take the time to take a photo, Photoshop it, post it, and write it up. The "like button" doesn't do it for me at all. :)

Now, I'm not complaining - I understand that this is where the big boys play. Something REALLY unique WILL draw a lot of feedback - my recent Silverado Fighter and Subhilt Fighter-Mammoth Ivory, both received a lot of written feedback. But, at the same time, I continue to post here because I think it's good business to hit every venue with my work, even if I know a particular knife won't get much in written response.

So, as a solution to attract more makers to post their knives, consider giving a little more of your time to makers' postings to give them the incentive to post that next knife. Just one man's opinion. :)
 
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you make an excellent point. I'm not a fan of the 'like' button, even though I use it from time to time. It seems like a measure that aims to incorporate a feature designed to compete with social media platforms, but actually may be hurting the forum for the reasons you outlined.

TK Steingass said:
"the site has to find a way to attract more knife makers to post. more collectors will come if they do"



My opinion why fewer makers are posting here is the ":thumbsup: Like" button. It's convenient and fast for you folks, but gives minimal feedback to the knifemakers.

Case in point: Recently I posted a pretty cool knife, "Full Dress New York Special." I received 29 "like alerts" for that knife, but at this time, only two people took the time to comment or provide feedback on the thread for that particular knife. If it was a no-never-mind knife, it wouldn't have received 29 likes. To me, feedback and personal interaction with you all is a rewarding part of knife making - that feedback provides me the incentive to take the time to take a photo, Photoshop it, post it, and write it up. The "like button" doesn't do it for me at all. :)

Now, I'm not complaining - I understand that this is where the big boys play. Something REALLY unique WILL draw a lot of feedback - my recent Silverado Fighter and Subhilt Fighter-Mammoth Ivory, both received a lot of written feedback. But, at the same time, I continue to post here because I think it's good business to hit every venue with my work, even if I know a particular knife won't get much in written response.

So, as a solution to attract more makers to post their knives, consider giving a little more of your time to makers' postings to give them the incentive to post that next knife. Just one man's opinion. :)
Click to expand...
 
TK Steingass said:
"the site has to find a way to attract more knife makers to post. more collectors will come if they do"



My opinion why fewer makers are posting here is the ":thumbsup: Like" button. It's convenient and fast for you folks, but gives minimal feedback to the knifemakers.

Case in point: Recently I posted a pretty cool knife, "Full Dress New York Special." I received 29 "like alerts" for that knife, but at this time, only two people took the time to comment or provide feedback on the thread for that particular knife. If it was a no-never-mind knife, it wouldn't have received 29 likes. To me, feedback and personal interaction with you all is a rewarding part of knife making - that feedback provides me the incentive to take the time to take a photo, Photoshop it, post it, and write it up. The "like button" doesn't do it for me at all. :)

Now, I'm not complaining - I understand that this is where the big boys play. Something REALLY unique WILL draw a lot of feedback - my recent Silverado Fighter and Subhilt Fighter-Mammoth Ivory, both received a lot of written feedback. But, at the same time, I continue to post here because I think it's good business to hit every venue with my work, even if I know a particular knife won't get much in written response.

So, as a solution to attract more makers to post their knives, consider giving a little more of your time to makers' postings to give them the incentive to post that next knife. Just one man's opinion. :)
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Excellent post TK. I SOOOO wanted to just hit the 'like' button then move along. :D

But I wanted to say that I agree with you....and I'll add that actually paying a yearly fee for posting privelages that nets a maker nothing....not even feedback through comments, makes the incentive to post that much harder to see.
 
Tim: to your point... I have posted some of THE most complicated and glorious knife builds EVER in my Gallery ^^^^.

Oftentimes only crickets. No comments, barely many likes. :oops: :( :mad: Sigh.....

However, I recognize that the VIEWS is the most important measure. People SEE them.

Human nature dictates that verbal written responses take time, and yet private admiration knows no bounds.

And THIS is why Instagram, like it or don't, has become the newest standard in our world. it is QUICK, and requires little input. It also delivers less information (if that's what you are requiring). Facebook has more commentary.

Truthfully, expediency and brevity is a cherished human value, so they are here to stay.
 
Interesting post from my perspective. I've scaled back and stepped away from collecting too. This is my first time on BF in awhile and I see this post asking "where is everyone". I still love knives and maintain a collection but, you know, LIFE and Priorities: "My new jobs a hassle and the kids with the flu, but it's sure nice talking to you, guys, yes it's still nice talking to you."
 
I'm with TK. Not a fan of the "like" button though I do use it occasionally. Sometimes it's out of laziness, sometimes to give quick recognition to a posting that isn't getting much attention. I too would rather someone take the time to write up a comment.
 
Lorien said:
I certainly appreciate that point. It would be very interesting to hear from our forum on ways to accomplish thigs
Click to expand...

Just a suggestion but one of the most viewed and consistently active threads in Shop Talk is the "Show us what's going in in your shop". It's a great thread that I think draws in Makers and Buyers alike. A hit and run, here's what's going on, fast paced thread.

What about a thread that was similar called something to the effect of "Finished Work of Bladeforums Makers" where we could do a quick post of our latest work, comment on others, talk a little shop.

This wouldn't be meant to discourage individual threads at all but to promote them. If we want collectors to browse, pages of threads can be difficult. Post a finished knife and then a link to your thread. It would require some effort but might encourage some conversation and interaction. I'll be honest, I don't post in here for a few reasons, one of them is strumming a ukelele next to Jimi Hendrix feels kind of silly:D However if more Maker activity becomes the goal here, I'd be more than happy to contribute if that would help.

This might make it easier for more Makers to post and get acquainted with the sub.
 
This is a tough topic, and complicated by the fact that community and marketplace are intertwined online.

IG is potentially very useful, and reaches people who are actively interested in YOUR stuff. But it's not a forum at all, and only modest as a community. It's also super cool to be followed by other knifemaker's I respect, though on the other hand, they're not likely to be customers.
FB... well, so many caveats with FB that I just have a placeholder there. At least you can cross-post between some social media platforms automatically (though I don't).

I feel like I MUST post every knife on my website and on IG. Here on the forums, without a dedicated subforum, it seems less imperative these days. We do have a knifemaker's gallery, but a very large percentage of the awesome stuff in Custom never shows up there, so there's a fracturing issue within the forums themselves. So when I complete something, BF has become my 3rd destination - which gets exhausting. And that makes me grumpy, because this place totally gave me my start, no ifs, ands, or buts.

If I could cross-post from my Wordpress-based website to the Knifemaker's Gallery without twice the work (including converting from HTML links to BBCode links), I'd do it.

As a low-volume, not-super-flashy maker, I have work booked 2+ years out, but without broader recognition, public sales of uncommissioned work here on the forums has always been iffy. Targeting explicitly-interested followers feels a bit more productive.
 
A few years ago I let my knifemaker's membership lapse. Shortly thereafter, upon posting a response to a thread here in the custom forum I received an infraction by a "super moderator" and was told in no uncertain terms that the only contribution I should make to the forum going forward was a financial one.

In the past, I had posted a few WIPs, answered members' questions, and generally contributed what I thought was valuable content to this website. I felt like a part of the community here. But then it came down from on high that any knifemaker who posted in these forums was "advertising" and should therefore pay for the priviledge of doing so. Moderators and even other members then started publicly shaming knifemakers who dared contribute content without first paying a ridiculous $75 posting fee.

A lot of knifemakers were made to feel unwelcome here. Most left. They'd rather spend that $75 on some fresh grinding belts anyway.
 
Funny how no posts after TK's have any likes to them lol. You did it TK! :D

Yea, the like button has it's place at times, but it also feel that it seems to have detracted from the forums more than it's added any value to them.

I just want to add that I'm glad these forums are still alive and kickin', even though I don't post a whole lot (which has always been the case), I do enjoy reading and browsing through them often.

IG and FB are basically ADD inducing to me, and can seem pretty "shallow", while the forums have always seemed more "intimate" to me, which is why I'm always grateful when Coop posts his threads on the shows for example; it's just easier for me to really appreciate the work here than on the others where it's too easy to just keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. And as Mark alluded to, it's definitely unfortunate to see so many great makers who used to frequent here almost, if not completely switch those platforms. Anyway, sorry if it's not that relevant to the actual topic, just wanted to add a couple pennies :)

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Some older vids of some of the older knives I made)
 
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Wulf said:
A few years ago I let my knifemaker's membership lapse. Shortly thereafter, upon posting a response to a thread here in the custom forum I received an infraction by a "super moderator" and was told in no uncertain terms that the only contribution I should make to the forum going forward was a financial one.

In the past, I had posted a few WIPs, answered members' questions, and generally contributed what I thought was valuable content to this website. I felt like a part of the community here. But then it came down from on high that any knifemaker who posted in these forums was "advertising" and should therefore pay for the priviledge of doing so. Moderators and even other members then started publicly shaming knifemakers who dared contribute content without first paying a ridiculous $75 posting fee.

A lot of knifemakers were made to feel unwelcome here. Most left. They'd rather spend that $75 on some fresh grinding belts anyway.
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that's an unfortunate story, one that makes me feel somewhat chastened. When I first started mod'n this forum, I was a hard ass when it came to what you're talking about. I thought that that was what was expected. Since I have rarely in my life lived it according to rules not of my creed, I changed my approach when I noticed the negative effect, and began to understand that there is some fluidity to the rules. Bladeforums is 100% about people; the topics and content are second order, imo.

You can't build a community with paid memberships. Contribution is the preferred currency in that regard
 
Lorien,

Perhaps the model is upside down. Maybe new and non-contributing members should be asked to pay and folks with some established history of making useful contributions should be given the free memberships with all the benefits. This would encourage contribution. This could get a bit subjective as to what is "useful contribution" but the mods are making these kinds of judgement calls already. Maybe the LIKE button could be used as a "people's choice" indicator of whether or not the contributions are perceived as productive. Naturally, guys like Coop would get the keys to the kingdom.
 
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i4Marc said:
Lorien,

Perhaps the model is upside down. Maybe new and non-contributing members should be asked to pay and folks with some established history of making useful contributions should be given the free memberships with all the benefits. This would encourage contribution. his could get a bit subjective as to what is "useful contribution" but the mods are making these kinds of judgement calls already. Maybe the LIKE button could be used as a "people's choice" indicator of whether or not the contributions are perceived as productive. Naturally, guys like Coop would get the keys to the kingdom.
Click to expand...

that's well beyond my pay grade, thankfully :)
 
Lorien said:
that's an unfortunate story, one that makes me feel somewhat chastened. When I first started mod'n this forum, I was a hard ass when it came to what you're talking about. I thought that that was what was expected. Since I have rarely in my life lived it according to rules not of my creed, I changed my approach when I noticed the negative effect, and began to understand that there is some fluidity to the rules. Bladeforums is 100% about people; the topics and content are second order, imo.

You can't build a community with paid memberships. Contribution is the preferred currency in that regard
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Lorien, my post was not in any way directed towards you. I think you're doing a great job moderating this forum. It seems to me that the directive came from the top, and moderators were, for the most part, just trying to keep the peace. Incidentally, the super-moderator who admonished me (and I'm sure many others) has long since been banned from bladeforums for reasons unknown to me.

But the point is that, just as you said, this website and others like it derive their value from user-supplied content. The content attracts visitors, the visitors attract advertisers. Simple business model, really. Without content this website would be worthless. People should be incentivized to contribute, yet the owner of this site decided to fine them instead. Just seems like a terrible business decision on his part.
 
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