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Thread: Private Woodworking Forums! Look!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Gloucester, VA
    Posts
    1,996

    Thumbs up Private Woodworking Forums! Look!

    Hello Everyone,

    As you may have noticed, there are now three private forums visible from the
    main page of SawmillCreek.

    Over the past several months, we created forums for the Tidewater Turners
    (Virginia) and the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers (New Hampshire). If
    there are any SawmillCreek Members who are members of either of these two
    organizations, there are instructions below on how to request access to the
    private forums.

    If you are a member of a woodworking guild and would like a private forum
    and calendar for your group here at SawmillCreek, please elect a moderator,
    then send me an email or Private Message.

    Members of private woodworking communities have the option of proudly displaying
    a custom user title for their group beneath their name- these can all be changed
    from the User Control Panel (see below). You will probably see more an more of these
    in the future!

    Private forums are a great way for your woodworking group to have a place
    to share information--especially with the private calendar. SawmillCreek is
    backed up regularly, and is one of the only truly commercially-supported
    woodworking forums on the 'Net, free from gratuitous advertising.
    As the SawmillCreek community grows, we will continue to upgrade and expand
    SawmillCreek's hardware and software to accomodate.

    All of SawmillCreek
    will benefit by bringing in these quality craftsmen who share a common fondness for
    woodworking.

    Alright, let's get those emails rollin!

    - Aaron
    SMC Administrator


    --------------------------------------------
    Instructions for requesting membership to private forums:

    1. Click on your UserCP, in the upper left menu on the screen.
    2. Click on Group Memberships, on the left menu near the bottom of the screen.
    3. Find the group you want to make a request join and follow the instructions from there.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    _Aaron_
    SawmillCreek Administrator

  2. #2
    what is the benefit of these "private" forums. I really enjoyed the fact that this website was open to the public and had a wealth of information available to anyone who cared to visit the site. This, in my opinion, was what made this site so appealing. In my opinion, these "private" sites are now starting to exclude people rather than invite them in. Exclusion of some while the inclusion of others is so disheartening.
    Member - Uncle Sam's Misguided Children '82-'85.
    Once, Now Former, But Always!

    "Among individuals, as among nations, the respect for the other's rights brings peace."
    Benito Juarez

  3. #3

    Hi Aurelio

    The intent of the private forums is not to be exclusionary, but rather to provide a means for woodworking guilds and clubs to have an interactive venue for communication with their members. Many clubs don't have the resources (either technical or financial ) to develop and maintain bulletin boards and SMC has been kind enough to provide this service at no charge.

    In the case of my guild, The Guild of NH Woodworkers, we are a statewide organization with members spread out in all parts of the state. While NH isn't a particularly large state compared to many others, some members still have drives of up to 2 1/2 to 3 hours to meetings and many phone calls are long distance. Our newsletter only comes out 5 times per year and many things happen between issues which need to be brought to members attention. Our SMC forum allows this to happen easily and quickly.

    While nothing we do on our guild forum is particularly secret or special, most threads are just not of any interest to the general SMC membership and would just clutter up the main boards. Then there comes the matter of which board to post a particular thread to depending on its content. Having a special forum means you as a SMC member don't have to see our threads and it means our Guild members know where to look to see if there is something of interest to them.

    I for one wouldn't object to having the forum open for viewing to the general public, though allowing outsiders to post is another matter. Our guild is very appreciative of the service that SMC is performing for us.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  4. #4

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Anderson NH
    The intent of the private forums is not to be exclusionary, but rather to provide a means for woodworking guilds and clubs to have an interactive venue for communication with their members. Many clubs don't have the resources (either technical or financial ) to develop and maintain bulletin boards and SMC has been kind enough to provide this service at no charge.

    In the case of my guild, The Guild of NH Woodworkers, we are a statewide organization with members spread out in all parts of the state. While NH isn't a particularly large state compared to many others, some members still have drives of up to 2 1/2 to 3 hours to meetings and many phone calls are long distance. Our newsletter only comes out 5 times per year and many things happen between issues which need to be brought to members attention. Our SMC forum allows this to happen easily and quickly.

    While nothing we do on our guild forum is particularly secret or special, most threads are just not of any interest to the general SMC membership and would just clutter up the main boards. Then there comes the matter of which board to post a particular thread to depending on its content. Having a special forum means you as a SMC member don't have to see our threads and it means our Guild members know where to look to see if there is something of interest to them.

    I for one wouldn't object to having the forum open for viewing to the general public, though allowing outsiders to post is another matter. Our guild is very appreciative of the service that SMC is performing for us.
    I see why this would be beneficial to your guild as well as other organizations such as yours. In light of what you describe, I am glad that the "Creek" will benefit organizations like yours that stand to benefit from your SMC Forum. Rock on, and all the best! Thanks for the enlightenment.
    Member - Uncle Sam's Misguided Children '82-'85.
    Once, Now Former, But Always!

    "Among individuals, as among nations, the respect for the other's rights brings peace."
    Benito Juarez

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Gloucester, VA
    Posts
    1,996
    Aurelio,

    Something else worthy of mention--

    Those who have private forums also contribute very much to the public forums.
    (The private forums are generally used for 'Guild' traffic', which isn't of general
    interest to the majority of our woodworkers).

    Guild members bring in a tremendous number of skilled and talented craftsmen who
    freely contribute to the public boards, while the software allows them to do this
    seamlessly.

    It's definitely a win-win situation for both the guilds and our SMC community.
    _Aaron_
    SawmillCreek Administrator

  6. #6

    Talking

    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Koehl
    Aurelio,

    Something else worthy of mention--

    Those who have private forums also contribute very much to the public forums.
    (The private forums are generally used for 'Guild' traffic', which isn't of general
    interest to the majority of our woodworkers).

    Guild members bring in a tremendous number of skilled and talented craftsmen who
    freely contribute to the public boards, while the software allows them to do this
    seamlessly.

    It's definitely a win-win situation for both the guilds and our SMC community.
    Indeed! An excellent point. It is probably these very people from whom I have personally benefited. Thanks for pointing that out.
    Member - Uncle Sam's Misguided Children '82-'85.
    Once, Now Former, But Always!

    "Among individuals, as among nations, the respect for the other's rights brings peace."
    Benito Juarez

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    15,332
    How are the private ww'ing forums working out for those privileged enough ( ) to have access to them?
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

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