1 week stats, engraving forums

[Kev Williams]

The engraving forums seem be ghost towns lately. So I did some stat checking...

In the past 7 days:

New posts, 'General Engraving Topics' : 3
total replies: 27
number of older threads replied to: 1

New Posts "Engraving Hardware and Software": 5
total replies: 33
Number of older threads replied to: 3

These post numbers have been more typical on a one or two-day basis in the past. "Viewing" is down too, right now there's only 31 viewers in 'General', and only 1 in 'Hardware', which may be me, as it's open in another browser.

Maybe it's just an anomaly, and I hope it is, but this low participation rate is what I feared would happen after the engraving forums split...

[Scott Shepherd]

Maybe it's just an anomaly, and I hope it is, but this low participation rate is what I feared would happen after the engraving forums split...

So what were the numbers before the split? Hard to say splitting it is causing less activity when you don't have anything to compare it to. Forum traffic is cyclic for some reason, it might be quiet for a while, then it'll ramp up. Having said that, there is a point where people run out of questions that haven't been asked and new topics get harder to come up with.

[Doug Fisher]

One reason is I think a lot of people now are "indoctrinated" into the facebook "experience" and so they gravitate to the groups there as opposed to taking the time to find specialist forums like this one. While I don't participate in the facebook experience, a couple of the groups used to allow outsiders to read the posts. From what I saw, there are some good people there and some good posts. With that said, there are MANY posts that are bad information and lots of newbie posts. More important, searching the archives efficiently is almost impossible. So my point is to "be careful what you wish for." We may not have a lot posts here but, at least on average, they are higher quality posts.

[Bert Kemp]

I've notice the drop off too.

[Scott Shepherd]

I'm a bit confused on how splitting a forum into 2 sections would change one's desire to post.

Just for fun, let's say I have a machine that's not working, I would come to this forum and.....

A) Go to the Hardware and Software section and post "My laser isn't working, can someone help?".

B) Look at the two forums, get confused, give up, don't post anything, and leave my laser not working with my still having no idea on how to fix it.

I'm finding "B" to be a stretch on how it's working.

I'm blaming this on Bert. Bert used to be good for a number of questions per day, now a week and no questions? I say it's all Bert's fault

Or maybe it's Kev's fault! He takes the time to decipher Chinese software and writes up what it all means, then no one has to ask any more questions. So wait, I think it's Kev's fault too! Nice going Kev and Bert (in case anyone reads this as anything but joking, you have read it wrong!)

[John Blazy]

Need to have more fun "display your work" threads, then you'll see a ton of posts. They are always popular, cuz everyone wants to show their latest projects. I'm on a guitar forum, and one of the threads is called "Luthiers, whats on your workbench?" and its over 150 pages of the coolest guitars you ever saw in various stages of completion. Mostly professional luthiers, and the forum knows it, so nobody is on there to spam / sell their craft, just showing cool stuff. I would post more, but it would look like I am promoting my laserable laminates, so I don't, but only post in the Lumber yard, which nobody sees. I'm in the middle of a virtual Renaissance of laser related products / projects, but no-one knows about it.

If there was a thread called "Engravers - Whats in your laser bed?" then I would post this (my new cell phone covers, molded by molds cut by my laser, then laser cut and engraved with same CAD files after laminating with said molds):
PhoneCovers-lasercutting.jpg

[John Kleiber]

The laser forum split only bothered me because I had grown accustomed to the combined forum. I have not been posting or visiting the forum for the past 45 days.

The only thing I can attribute my lack of participation is that I have been busy with jobs and adding new equipment to the shop that is not specifically laser related.

Doug mentioned Facebook and admittedly I have spent time browsing and joining groups related to my equipment shop expansion. Facebook laser related groups I rarely participate in mainly because they seem ... well, shallow to be blunt.

There's just something about a forum that nurtures technical oriented exchanges of information that Facebook cannot match.

[Kev Williams]

I'll never know about facebook groups since I won't go near facebook with a 10 foot keyboard

[Dave Garrett]

ive got to get me one of those ten foot keyboards!

[Neville Stewart]

Id have to disagree with that a little. Im involved in a Trotec laser page and the level of workmanship and assistance is impressive and its not cluttered with post about how to make my $500 laser do what a $20k one will. I know Trotec loves it because we have become our own tech support : )

One reason is I think a lot of people now are "indoctrinated" into the facebook "experience" and so they gravitate to the groups there as opposed to taking the time to find specialist forums like this one. While I don't participate in the facebook experience, a couple of the groups used to allow outsiders to read the posts. From what I saw, there are some good people there and some good posts. With that said, there are MANY posts that are bad information and lots of newbie posts. More important, searching the archives efficiently is almost impossible. So my point is to "be careful what you wish for." We may not have a lot posts here but, at least on average, they are higher quality posts.

[Gary Hair]

Id have to disagree with that a little. Im involved in a Trotec laser page and the level of workmanship and assistance is impressive and its not cluttered with post about how to make my $500 laser do what a $20k one will. I know Trotec loves it because we have become our own tech support : )

I think the difference between the Trotec laser page and the majority of the rest is the type of laser and typical user - Trotec lasers are not cheap and tend to attract a business user vs a hobbyist user and the questions are usually not what you would expect from someone buying a $3k laser.

[Neville Stewart]

Agree with you entirely. Did you actually tow that compressor from Oregon to Ga? : )

I think the difference between the Trotec laser page and the majority of the rest is the type of laser and typical user - Trotec lasers are not cheap and tend to attract a business user vs a hobbyist user and the questions are usually not what you would expect from someone buying a $3k laser.

[Bert Kemp]

Display your projects page would be nice, but it seems most here want to keep what they do secret or it just industrial related work that is boring to most or they are not allowed to share. I'm a hobbyist and I give most things I make away, but when ever I've shown stuff people say its nice but the interest to share back is low to non existent.I'd love to see a Heres what I lasered today page

Need to have more fun "display your work" threads, then you'll see a ton of posts. They are always popular, cuz everyone wants to show their latest projects. I'm on a guitar forum, and one of the threads is called "Luthiers, whats on your workbench?" and its over 150 pages of the coolest guitars you ever saw in various stages of completion. Mostly professional luthiers, and the forum knows it, so nobody is on there to spam / sell their craft, just showing cool stuff. I would post more, but it would look like I am promoting my laserable laminates, so I don't, but only post in the Lumber yard, which nobody sees. I'm in the middle of a virtual Renaissance of laser related products / projects, but no-one knows about it.

If there was a thread called "Engravers - Whats in your laser bed?" then I would post this (my new cell phone covers, molded by molds cut by my laser, then laser cut and engraved with same CAD files after laminating with said molds):
PhoneCovers-lasercutting.jpg

[John Kleiber]

I wouldn't mind posting the items I laser, but it would be double work for me to strip out my domain name and add a personal copyright watermark instead.

[Gary Hair]

Agree with you entirely. Did you actually tow that compressor from Oregon to Ga? : )

Nope, sold it before I left - thankfully!!