OT Please tell your friends who use to read here to come back

[triumph406]

I still miss our court jester Thermite

I do to, I found him interesting and I think we're the worse off for it.

 

[TAIWA NUMBA WAAN]

Trying to get back old members is one thing, but I think this website could do a much better job at getting NEW members. From what I've seen elsewhere, younger people are still willing and able to join forums like this, they just never hear about it in the first place. From their perspective, they have a handful of apps on their phone screen - TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook (maybe), Instagram, etc. And they never had the experience of finding forums like Practical Machinist on a web browser through google search like most of the members here did.

For them, the internet is just a few apps with 95% of the content the watch. If you want a flood of younger machinists to flock here, start making a bunch of machinist memes and posting them on other social media sites with watermarks. Be prepared for a wave a cringe if you do.

 

[EmGo]

Those threads would unfortunately spill over into the regular forums...this drove a lot of people away, in one case it caused the creation of a completely separate website.

That wasn't quite what happened. One person, g-coder, decided to start his own site with slightly different rules. That's fine. Then a group of people who wanted to rave about unions, socialists, and other godless sorts ran away to where they could all gather togegthe, close the doors and spend afternoons slapping each other in the ass and telling each other how wonderful they were. No one with alternative opinions allowed.

That's fine, I'm happy for them, but what you said is not accurate. They weren't driven away, they just wanted a place to gather together in peace to rant about the worthless immigrants, socialists, union members, democrats, people who read books, and other scum in peace.

 

[scsmith42]

A lot of people whose posts i used to enjoy are never coming back. Because they are dead.

Yeah, but some of them are still voting in elections..... (grin)

 

[plastikdreams]

That wasn't quite what happened. One person, g-coder, decided to start his own site with slightly different rules. That's fine. Then a group of people who wanted to rave about unions, socialists, and other godless sorts ran away to where they could all gather togegthe, close the doors and spend afternoons slapping each other in the ass and telling each other how wonderful they were. No one with alternative opinions allowed.

That's fine, I'm happy for them, but what you said is not accurate. They weren't driven away, they just wanted a place to gather together in peace to rant about the worthless immigrants, socialists, union members, democrats, people who read books, and other scum in peace.

That's actually not at all what happens over there, not even close.

 

[standardparts]

That wasn't quite what happened. One person, g-coder, decided to start his own site with slightly different rules. That's fine. Then a group of people who wanted to rave about unions, socialists, and other godless sorts ran away to where they could all gather togegthe, close the doors and spend afternoons slapping each other in the ass and telling each other how wonderful they were. No one with alternative opinions allowed.

That's fine, I'm happy for them, but what you said is not accurate. They weren't driven away, they just wanted a place to gather together in peace to rant about the worthless immigrants, socialists, union members, democrats, people who read books, and other scum in peace.

You forgot China/CCP which in the past has proven a great topic to achieve high post count.

But other than that,
PM sells advertising while other sites/forums do not, so the number of visitors or 'clicks' or traffic defines the value of the site.
Those who actively create topics/threads are the same as content creators on YouTube and other platforms which need traffic to generate ad revenue. No new content or in the case of PM, no new threads means people go elsewhere to spend thier time.
Of course moderation comes into play as generally on PM the more controversial the topic the greater the thread count. A delicate balance to maintain between dominating narcissism and what likely a somewhat silent lurking majority---'clicks is clicks'?

The owner(s) of PM certainly know the numbers they need/want and most certainly that guides, via moderators, how visitors and advertisers view PM.

Personally I found the shop" type threads of Ox, Wheelieking, and there are many others to be the most interesting and they seemed to attract lots of interest. Maybe that differentiates the 'old' PM from the 'new' PM---As age consumes those whose interest in machining dominated lives and careers they are replaced in lesser numbers by a new generation who have differant priorities.

 

[EmGo]

That's actually not at all what happens over there, not even close.

Possibly. I only took a short look right after Dualkit ran away and we know his deal. Most of what was there is hidden so I didn't look too hard. But it is true that most of the people there are right-wingers and the anti-union, anti-'socialism' thing is strong at least from what is exposed.

Didn't interest me enough to 'sign up' .... I'm not into that closed cliquish type thing. You can't even see most of what they have to say without belonging to the club, and I amn't into that.

It is what started it tho. They say "no politics" but what they mean is "no leftist politics" ... or did Dualkit get booted ?

 

[tylersteez]

just saw a post the other day on a facebook machinist group about this forum, the general consensus in the comments was, "we like facebook groups more, they're easier to quickly post and communicate on."

Forums are sort of a relic at this point despite them being great at what they do. the amount of information that they document and sort of create a "database" for is wonderful, you can search this forum and find an answer to whatever question you have. it's hard to do that with facebooks search engine and lack of post library. on the contrary, everyone scrolls facebook/social media when they get a minute to themselves which makes the ease of "just using facebook instead" more appealing.

 

[Terry Keeley]

Way back before cell phones and the proliferation of cameras the song "Staying Alive" came on the radio at just the right moment, someone cranked up the volume and the whole shop started dancing, with some of the guys climbing up on their machines to strut their stuff. The boss walked out to see what the commotion was, shook his head and walked away. I can still see it in my head, but wish there was video of it

Those guys been drinkin' Bud Light?

 

[standardparts]

Possibly. I only took a short look right after Dualkit ran away and we know his deal. Most of what was there is hidden so I didn't look too hard. But it is true that most of the people there are right-wingers and the anti-union, anti-'socialism' thing is strong at least from what is exposed.

Didn't interest me enough to 'sign up' .... I'm not into that closed cliquish type thing. You can't even see most of what they have to say without belonging to the club, and I amn't into that.

It is what started it tho. They say "no politics" but what they mean is "no leftist politics" ... or did Dualkit get booted ?

'get booted'....Yeah. Getting booted/fired from what was perceived safe, friendly and comfortable environment has been known to be the proverbial 'kick in the ass' that leads to better things---and in some cases has proven to end up being a big negative for those who did the 'booting'.

 

[standardparts]

Those guys been drinkin' Bud Light?

"Village People Fridays" at that shop perhaps?

 

[Milland]

Yeah, but some of them are still voting in elections..... (grin)

And still they didn't give the R's enough votes!

(VB grin)

 

[Richard King]

I see Milacron gave a Like.....

Why do people always go off topic? Have a lonely life ? Those doing it must be related to the Trolls ?

 

[plastikdreams]

Possibly. I only took a short look right after Dualkit ran away and we know his deal. Most of what was there is hidden so I didn't look too hard. But it is true that most of the people there are right-wingers and the anti-union, anti-'socialism' thing is strong at least from what is exposed.

Didn't interest me enough to 'sign up' .... I'm not into that closed cliquish type thing. You can't even see most of what they have to say without belonging to the club, and I amn't into that.

It is what started it tho. They say "no politics" but what they mean is "no leftist politics" ... or did Dualkit get booted ?

I haven't seen a political thread there in quite a while

 

[EmGo]

'get booted'....Yeah.

I don't think he was booted from here. Just told he couldn't keep hassling people or going over the top on scummy hippies, worthless welfare recipients, biden voters, dominion voting machines, whatever. But I could be mistaken. It happened once

btw parts, wasn't me bringing up the cpc. I never even hear the word, it's people in the US who are scared to death of them. Just the girls in the office on the corner, to me.

I haven't seen a political thread there in quite a while

Could be. Guess I'm just too much a communist, egalitarian and all that. Or maybe just got picked last once for dodge ball and it scarred me for life.

 

[david n]

Folks left cuz some of the moderation many times sided with one side more often than the other.................I've been here 16 yrs and in the past there where a few mods that would completely ignore one side of the aisle and come down hard on other side............the fellars got tired of that purdy quick. And if you don't think it happens/happened, you're part of the problem........................

 

[DDoug]

"I Like Splitfire SparkPlugs".....

 

[plastikdreams]

"I Like Splitfire SparkPlugs".....

You like lots of weird stuff...including the Andy Griffith show

 

[MrWhoopee]

Retired shop owner, now hobby machinist, I participate on several forums. Like myself, many who are new to machining forums find their way here, but are quickly run off by the egos and intolerance of those with more experience. This may be changing, but I can assure you that PM has a reputation for being an unwelcoming place if you don't already know everything. Much like the Chinese reputation for producing junk, once established it is hard to dispell. By definition, this forum is for professional machinists, which is a shrinking class. At the same time, the number of amatuer machinists appears to be growing, at least from what I see on other, less exclusive forums. If the desire is to maintain or grow this group, it may be necessary to target a larger market.

 

[plastikdreams]

Retired shop owner, now hobby machinist, I participate on several forums. Like myself, many who are new to machining forums find their way here, but are quickly run off by the egos and intolerance of those with more experience. This may be changing, but I can assure you that PM has a reputation for being an unwelcoming place if you don't already know everything. Much like the Chinese reputation for producing junk, once established it is hard to dispell. By definition, this forum is for professional machinists, which is a shrinking class. At the same time, the number of amatuer machinists appears to be growing, at least from what I see on other, less exclusive forums. If the desire is to maintain or grow this group, it may be necessary to target a larger market.

I've been saying this for a while