Summer Doldrums on the forum this year

Seems to be a case of modeling "blahs" going around.  It's not just "summer doldrums", it's "winter blues" also.  People just aren't building as much as they used to (and for those still producing a model a week, I apologize).  Several important members have vanished.  Many reasons for this.  I myself find I am in a funk when it comes to modeling because of a lot of things.  I suppose it's the same for many people.  That and the people who run the forum seem to have abandoned any attempt to improve it makes for a stagnant situation.

That's about it, IMHO.

scottrc

I haven't been building for about two years now. Too many things going on. I try to hang out here but the pop-ups are still giving me trouble.  

I installed a free ad blocker and see nothing but white in the margins and no pop ups.

Rob Gronovius

I installed a free ad blocker and see nothing but white in the margins and no pop ups.

Eaglecash867

 

 

Rob Gronovius

I installed a free ad blocker and see nothing but white in the margins and no pop ups.

 

 

 

Double 

I can't use YouTube without Adblocker installed anymore thanks to this mental conditioning.

Triple  on the adblocker. 

Only have one skinny one on the right side of the screen but it's not blocking anything. Can't seem to get rid of it yet. 

Stay safe.

Jim 

I just noticed this, but the "Ditto" emoji is spelled wrong, it should be "ditto".

Baron, it's been that way for quite a few years now. I remember someone trying to get it either removed or fixed but nothing ever became of it. 

Stay safe.

Jim 

It doesn't help that most of forum software changes were buggy, with months of trouble and each time led to a significant number of members giving up on the site. Seems like things would start to recover and them, bam, time for new software and the process started again.

I was an active member since the early 2000s, but dropped off following a poor roll out of software in 2011 (give or take). Had lots of trouble logging in and my participation dropped significantly. In 2015, I had to have a new account created, but at least they were able to give me the same user name. Again constant trouble logging in, add in personal life putting a huge damper on my modelling activity and I've pretty much just become a lurker, rarely decloaking (if I can log in) to make an occassional comment if something catches my eye.

Most of the modelling forums I used to participate in have similarly become a shell of what they once were. It is a shame as I still think this format is far superior to Facebook for sharing ideas and work. I'm not anti-FB, it is useful for somethings, and is fine for showing off your latest work, but its format does a poor job of archieving in progress threads, tips & tricks, group builds etc. Very much, a "what's hot today, forget about yesterday" environment.

I still enjoy seeing what people are up to here but with the troubles participating I've lost most of my connection to individual members (many of whom have gone elsewhere for similar reasons) so don't have the sense of community here that I once had. At one time this was pretty much my go to modelling forum. 

GAF

Seems to be a case of modeling "blahs" going around.  It's not just "summer doldrums", it's "winter blues" also.  People just aren't building as much as they used to (and for those still producing a model a week, I apologize).  Several important members have vanished.  Many reasons for this.  I myself find I am in a funk when it comes to modeling because of a lot of things.  I suppose it's the same for many people.  That and the people who run the forum seem to have abandoned any attempt to improve it makes for a stagnant situation.

That's about it, IMHO.

 

 

I'm looking at my favorite forum,the Armor section,I'm building,i build all year round,not a model of week,but everyday i do something,people are building,there are hundreds,even thousands of looks,but very few comments or feedback,why would anybody take time to do a photo blog when no one cares?

You are right,many old members have abandoned the site,a good indicator that things are stale,is the Ready Room that's where the banter took place,that's where people got to know one another,now the newest post is 4 days old and before that it's 20 and 22 days.Its not all forums,I Belong to a few others that are really buzzing,and I think it's sad,I've been here since 2003 with almost 10000 posts and I want it to succeed,why's its not,I guess it's a variety of reasons.

Yes, the Ready Room was always hopping. Now, if you discount many of the posts that Tankerbuilder starts, there is virtually no movement in there.

I've stopped posting build logs on the forum for several reasons that I will not get into here. I'll post completed builds as they happen and chat with those who give any replies. It's not the doldrums for me. I work at my bench prtty much Monday thru Friday for one to several hours, doing something on my models. Being a long term contributing member on here for nearly 20 years now, I'd love to see this place do better. But thats the job of the folks who run the forum to encourage the members and perhaps lead some activities. 

I stopped doing build blogs long ago, because I found that stopping to take pictures interfered with the flow of building the model.  And I'd get rolling and forget to take a picture at this or that stage.

The main reason I don't post a lot of pics is:1 - I have an old dumb flip phone that doesn't take decent pics and don't have a camera either, 2 - When I have something worthy of posting, I always find that the wife has her phone tied up and I'm out of luck, 3- If it's something I'm not interested in or don't know anything about I don't jump in, 4- The usual honey do list takes priority but I usually work on my bench anywhere from 15 min. to 8 hrs per day. 

The amount of time put in hasn't changed much over the years but the quality is down due to the usual age related problems. Taking a break from plastic kits and building a Guillows 24" wingspan stick-and-tissue SE 5A. Built one a few years ago that was only 12-1/2"wing. Don't think I'll make it fly but instead I'll add more detail to it including wing and control wires and pit details, what there was of them. 

Stay safe.

Jim 

I just spend a lot of time outdoors in the Summer.  Winter can be pretty brutal in the Chicago area so I enjoy being outside in the Summer.

Rob Gronovius

Yes, the Ready Room was always hopping. Now, if you discount many of the posts that Tankerbuilder starts, there is virtually no movement in there.

 

Not thay I have been a high contributor there, but I have seen way too many posts locked or removed with a note to go find a different forum to discuss whatever the subject matter was to even bother with it anymore.  Kind of hard to build a community when thin skinned members get their knickers in a bunch and instead of ignoring a thread they get moderators to kill it instead...and they have no qualms doing so I may add.

Glamdring

 

 

Rob Gronovius

Yes, the Ready Room was always hopping. Now, if you discount many of the posts that Tankerbuilder starts, there is virtually no movement in there.

 

 

 

 

Not thay I have been a high contributor there, but I have seen way too many posts locked or removed with a note to go find a different forum to discuss whatever the subject matter was to even bother with it anymore.  Kind of hard to build a community when thin skinned members get their knickers in a bunch and instead of ignoring a thread they get moderators to kill it instead...and they have no qualms doing so I may add.

 

A lot of personal things have been keeping me from working on anything and losing my interest in building in general. 

Was considering trying to work on something again. But I have a nerve in my right arm that is going to need surgery it's effecting my entire right arm, hand and fingers. My hand coordination isn't great along with my hand just feeling tingly. Keeping my arm bent for too long makes the nerve pain worse. 

Rob Gronovius

 

 

scottrc

I haven't been building for about two years now. Too many things going on. I try to hang out here but the pop-ups are still giving me trouble.  

 

 

 

I installed a free ad blocker and see nothing but white in the margins and no pop ups.

 

I finally got an add blocker added to Chrome and no more problems with adds.  Hope to be around more.  I am kinda getting the urge to build again.  

I also got another cat, so I have more room added to my display shelf.  

Hi folks. I havn't been around for a while because of my grief at my wife's passing. I came back for a little and then everything went to hell and I had real troubles coping. Not looking for sympathy, thats just the way things go, but now I'm coping much better and starting to get back on with life. So today while I was playing catch up I read through this thread and it started me thinking.

I have read a lot of comments about the pros and cons of this site, how much it has changed over the years and the current sense of disapointment at low participation levels. All of this may well be true, but I have only been a member for 3 years and I am not a prolific modeler, as I have many other things going on in my life. I have no knowledge of what things were like before, but I can honestly say that when I joined this site, I thought I had found gold.

Sure, I have been critical in the past, particularly when the FSM mag went bi-monthly and I got into strife with the powers that be. However, over the past few months I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my life and the things that are important to me, and this website is one of them. During my grief I knew it was there and that if I made it through I would come back to it. Why? because it's a very nurturing, non elitist group who focus on the fun of modeling and who, in my experience, are happy to share. Yep, the site can be crappy and yep there are some with no interest in participating other than to promote themselves. But.... I don't care.There are a lot of wonderful people here too. I have raved to non modelers about this site that lets me share my hobby and communicate with other modelers around the world and I firmly believe in self fulfilling prophecies. If we keep the thinking negative, so it will be. I don't know what the participation levels were like, I probably don't know any of the people that have left to go to other sites and I'm sorry but I don't care. What I love is the community that I know now and how helpful and supportive they have been to me.

Life is a challenge and we all have to deal with it. Sometimes that means that we have to put our enjoyments aside to concentrate on life matters, so we can't participate as we'd like to. Sometimes we just get flat and lose our interest in things for a while, even a few years. But if participation deoes drop off, does it really matter? Those of us that are able to participate surely enjoy the process. I know I do and I've missed this site and you mob badly over the past few months.

I love this place and I draw great comfort from it. I don't know if I'll ever meet any of you, but I hope I will. I have made some great friends here. So from a relative newbie who knows nothing of the past, let me say I find this a bloody marvelous place, and yes, to me it's gold. 

I'll get off my soapbox now. If I've upset anyone, I'm sorry, but deal with it.

Dodgy

As a pensioner I don't do any 'anti-social' media, and also as a pensioner the 'New' kits are far too expensive, we see some here in the UK at £40 to £60 which is over the top. I look for 'already started' in the description on the ebay auction pages. Paint is also becoming expensive as I buy rattle cans (£6.99 per can plus shipping the same price), also all of my purchasing has to be online (plus shipping) as we have no model shops within 20-30 miles, and with the price of diesel at £1.50 per litre or £ 6+ per gallon expense is a big problem.

I visit infrequently. I don't know why. Each time I visit it's a pleasure. However, I was going to post in the What's on Your Bench forum and the photo upload procedure is archaic. I used to have a Photobucket account. But it's actually so uncommon to have to use a hosting site to post photos to upload that it became unused to the point Photobucket deleted my account. FSM's method is archaic. It's generationally but once removed from Usenet.

No way am I going to go do all that again. 

I have not been active on the forum for a few years.  I had kidney failure and just didn't have the energy to do much of anything.  Add to that my grandfather passed away and we spent a few months cleaning out his house, I inherited it and moved in.  About a month and a half ago I got a kidney transplant and have been recovering from that.  I got my bench almost set up and have the itch to get building again.  Unfortunately one of the side effects from one of my antirejection meds is hand tremors.  My doctor said the hand tremors should lessen in a few months because my dosage will change.  I've been lurking and noticed a lot of people who used to post frequently have disappeared.

Sorry to hear about the kidney failure but glad to hear about the successful transplant. Been there, done that. Had a transplant in '94. Wife gave me one of hers but it failed 2 days later. On dialysis for next 4 years. Got a cadaver kidney in '98 and it's still going strong.

The tremors will go away in time. One of the meds can give you onset diabetes. I know cause I got it. If you watch your sugar and carb input you can help to prevent it from happening. Still get my bloodwork every 3 months. 

Hang in there. If you need any help, jingle my chain. Glad to help.

Stay safe.

Jim 

Comanche pilot

I visit infrequently. I don't know why. Each time I visit it's a pleasure. However, I was going to post in the What's on Your Bench forum and the photo upload procedure is archaic. I used to have a Photobucket account. But it's actually so uncommon to have to use a hosting site to post photos to upload that it became unused to the point Photobucket deleted my account. FSM's method is archaic. It's generationally but once removed from Usenet.

No way am I going to go do all that again.