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31-12-2016 23:50:01  #11


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

TypewriterKing wrote:

TypewriterGuy wrote:

Just ignore this post! I'm not using the group anymore...

Oooooh, hope it wasn't anything I did or said to put you off the idea.  Last time I got this kind of reception was when I was a teenager going into a pizza buffet.  When the manager saw me, he knew he was going to lose his profit margin that night because back then, folks, I really could eat--and did.  I can't do that anymore because everytime I overdo, I pay for it.
 

 


Oh no, it's not you! I just completley forgot about the group. I think one person ended up joining.


Back from a long break.

Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
 

01-1-2017 20:24:46  #12


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

Maybe we should have a thread about why it is so quiet here - and apparently elsewhere where two or more people have gathered together to discuss typewriters. Of course not much of a discussion will ensue for same reason. There is the purist point of view that the only possible topic of discussion is how to fix the tab set linkage on the Tower branded 1957 Smith-Corona portable - as if this were a typewriter monastery where the adepts have taken a vow of almost perfect silence. Sometimes I think that the old guard have gone off and started their own new secret group. It is only natural that people who share a common interest and regularly communicate about that interest will sometimes venture beyond the very narrowest of shop talk. Or is it that the Internet social model has turned when I was not looking - the brightest maintain blogs with devoted followers rather than participate in discussions where they will not always be the leader? 

I absolutely don't want to take any traffic away from TypewriterTalk but I don't understand why if we are in the midst of a Typewriter Revolution we keep playing Simon and Garfunkel's greatest hits...  just blowing in the wind and listening to the sounds of silence.


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

02-1-2017 13:51:21  #13


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

Repartee wrote:

Maybe we should have a thread about why it is so quiet here - and apparently elsewhere where two or more people have gathered together to discuss typewriters.

I would have to search to confirm it, but I'm sure this has come up once or twice before. Personally, I don't think there's an issue concerning the volume of traffic here. The bulk of any forum's membership is always a silent majority; most people, it seems, prefer to register and lurk, read rather than write, and view the content as reference material (for what it's worth). 

Then there's a rather large sub-group who register only because they own a typewriter that has a mechanical issue and they want help getting it repaired (God help them). Once they have their answer, they're gone. They aren't rabid collectors, just people who are happy to own and use one machine and their interest really doesn't go much further than making use of it.

And of course there's the small percentage of members who are vocal and are very keen on typewriters. They enjoy interacting with others who share that interest, but even then, most have other hobbies or interests, and their participation here can vacillate accordingly.

There's nothing unusual about this forum compared to other special interest forums. There are periods when it is busier in terms of contributions, and there are many factors contributing to that. If you really want to get to the bottom of it I would suggest starting a new thread and poll those who rarely post to find out the reasons why; I went through such an exercise in another, non-typewriter related forum, and adjusted my expectations based on what it revealed. 

Repartee wrote:

Sometimes I think that the old guard have gone off and started their own new secret group.

They're mostly all still here. Ask them.


Repartee wrote:

Or is it that the Internet social model has turned when I was not looking - the brightest maintain blogs with devoted followers rather than participate in discussions where they will not always be the leader?

I've seen those blogs and would hesitate to describe them as being created by the brightest. More often than not they're just the loudest, and with respect to their devotees it's a case of the blind leading the blind, because after all, if you read it on the internet it must be true.


Repartee wrote:

I absolutely don't want to take any traffic away from TypewriterTalk...

I wouldn't worry about that. There isn't an income stream of any kind for me here, and what ads you do encounter are those that allow this to be a free forum. I started Typewriter Talk (TT) because I found that there was a glaring need for an up-to-date forum (there's a huge difference between a forum and those antiquated message boards) for those interested in typewriters and who wanted to interact with like-minded people. I believe that TT filled that void. And I'm mostly satisfied with its progress. I'm particularly happy about how TT has served the needs of the nascent members of the typewriter community and its ability to foster interest. 

I would of course like to improve on things, to provide a more robust forum experience with photo hosting and added features, but my modest income precludes such a cost out of pocket, and considering that a wealthy benefactor has not yet materialized, the forum will have to continue for the time being as is.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about TT for me is what it revealed about the established typewriter collecting community. I won't go into details or provide names, but will say that I've been very disappointed by the negative attitudes and pettiness some have shown, and as a result I now have a disdain for that particular coterie of collectors.


Repartee wrote:

but I don't understand why if we are in the midst of a Typewriter Revolution we keep playing Simon and Garfunkel's greatest hits...

I didn't understand the question. What's a "typewriter revolution"? 


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

02-1-2017 15:10:18  #14


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

Uwe wrote:

Repartee wrote:

Maybe we should have a thread about why it is so quiet here - and apparently elsewhere where two or more people have gathered together to discuss typewriters.

I would have to search to confirm it, but I'm sure this has come up once or twice before. Personally, I don't think there's an issue concerning the volume of traffic here. The bulk of any forum's membership is always a silent majority; most people, it seems, prefer to register and lurk, read rather than write, and view the content as reference material (for what it's worth). 

Then there's a rather large sub-group who register only because they own a typewriter that has a mechanical issue and they want help getting it repaired (God help them). Once they have their answer, they're gone. They aren't rabid collectors, just people who are happy to own and use one machine and their interest really doesn't go much further than making use of it.

And of course there's the small percentage of members who are vocal and are very keen on typewriters. They enjoy interacting with others who share that interest, but even then, most have other hobbies or interests, and their participation here can vacillate accordingly.

There's nothing unusual about this forum compared to other special interest forums. There are periods when it is busier in terms of contributions, and there are many factors contributing to that. If you really want to get to the bottom of it I would suggest starting a new thread and poll those who rarely post to find out the reasons why; I went through such an exercise in another, non-typewriter related forum, and adjusted my expectations based on what it revealed. 

Repartee wrote:

Sometimes I think that the old guard have gone off and started their own new secret group.

They're mostly all still here. Ask them.


Repartee wrote:

Or is it that the Internet social model has turned when I was not looking - the brightest maintain blogs with devoted followers rather than participate in discussions where they will not always be the leader?

I've seen those blogs and would hesitate to describe them as being created by the brightest. More often than not they're just the loudest, and with respect to their devotees it's a case of the blind leading the blind, because after all, if you read it on the internet it must be true.


Repartee wrote:

I absolutely don't want to take any traffic away from TypewriterTalk...

I wouldn't worry about that. There isn't an income stream of any kind for me here, and what ads you do encounter are those that allow this to be a free forum. I started Typewriter Talk (TT) because I found that there was a glaring need for an up-to-date forum (there's a huge difference between a forum and those antiquated message boards) for those interested in typewriters and who wanted to interact with like-minded people. I believe that TT filled that void. And I'm mostly satisfied with its progress. I'm particularly happy about how TT has served the needs of the nascent members of the typewriter community and its ability to foster interest. 

I would of course like to improve on things, to provide a more robust forum experience with photo hosting and added features, but my modest income precludes such a cost out of pocket, and considering that a wealthy benefactor has not yet materialized, the forum will have to continue for the time being as is.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about TT for me is what it revealed about the established typewriter collecting community. I won't go into details or provide names, but will say that I've been very disappointed by the negative attitudes and pettiness some have shown, and as a result I now have a disdain for that particular coterie of collectors.


Repartee wrote:

but I don't understand why if we are in the midst of a Typewriter Revolution we keep playing Simon and Garfunkel's greatest hits...

I didn't understand the question. What's a "typewriter revolution"? 

 
Great post Uwe. Exactly. Every other forum I've been part of has like 5-10 active users, a few sometimes posters, and the rest lurk.


Back from a long break.

Starting fresh with my favorite typer. A Royal Futura!
     Thread Starter
 

02-1-2017 16:04:01  #15


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

Uwe wrote:

... snip ...

Repartee wrote:

Sometimes I think that the old guard have gone off and started their own new secret group.

They're mostly all still here. Ask them.

... snip ...

I joined the second day after Uwe started this forum and I'm still here, 15th most prolific contributor.

 

02-1-2017 19:53:04  #16


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

My own excuse for being largely absent since last September has been a complete upheaval in my personal life, followed by an extended trip to New Zealand (until March 2017).  Hopefully I'll be back on track after that and will be able to do more than check in occasionally and lurk !  It certainly hasn't been any lack of interest.  However, I feel less guilty about my absence than I might because another member has been giving excellent technical advice in the meantime - just as good as a professional.  Take a bow - you know who you are !

 

02-1-2017 20:35:00  #17


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

Thank you for the thoughtful reply, Uwe. It proves there is as least one vocal (finger forward? verbal?) person reading. I won't go through quoting snips and replying inline so in no particular order...

I never suspected you of having a financial stake in TT. As for the format seems absolutely fine to me and no need to spend more. The ads are unobtrusive and though it is a slight annoyance at first to find somewhere else to store your photos when you get used to it the idea makes good sense: why store a local copy when you can keep them elsewhere at the poster's responsibility and insert them on the fly? I've even started inserting third party photo links - a convenient method of showing somebody a photo from a different site without requiring them to go there, and I always label the source.

As I have mentioned more than once I am accustomed to the free for all of old unmoderated USENET. The famous "kill file" was a valued asset, often used metaphorically to mean you were going to ignore somebody even if you did not really use one. You are doing a great job of exerting only the minimum subset of Robert's Rules of Order needed to maintain civility so I don't think that's a factor but there is no telling with psychology - on Usenet the moderated groups were bloodless as a rule.

I'm curious if you refer to "antiquated message boards" what you would think of old text-based Usenet? I sometimes wished I could insert diagrams, though... hmm... now I can! Proof of concept:


Or at least 1960's flavored abstracts. Next time I'll try to get a typewriter in. 

Don't mean to be flippant, and again I appreciate your thoughtful answer. As for "typewriter revolution" I was just following the title of Richard Polt's book - I assume that if he entitled the book such then there must be one. I got one of my two song references wrong though. 

 


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

03-1-2017 07:48:23  #18


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

I think I've been here nearly from the start, and have noticed that daily attendance varies wildly.  Some days there are simply more new posts than I can read, and at other times we can go for two days, or even rarely three days) with no new activity at all.
For those such as myself, not mainly collectors, but simply users, there will be less in the way of news coming from us - no new machines to display and so on, so we tend to be reactive to the posts of others much of the time.  In a way, it is like the days of letter writing as a main form of communication; those who complained that they do not receive many letters from friends were often those who did not send many.
   We might all bear in mind that there is an off-topic forum; so perhaps we could all use that a little more - it's not all typewriters after all - and this can help to see special interest forums (hate 'fora') through the quiet moments.   One topic popular on another forum about pens dealt with language and how we do (or should) use it - that generated a deal of interest, along with a deal of disagreement, but was always interesting.
I'm glad to hear from UWE that TT is solid, if a little slow at present; this is one of those places where one can interact without much fuss or argument - and is rather valuable because of it, IMO.


Sincerely,
beak.
 
 

04-1-2017 10:13:17  #19


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

beak wrote:

... l  In a way, it is like the days of letter writing as a main form of communication; those who complained that they do not receive many letters from friends were often those who did not send many.

I am at most bemoaning and not complaining - whom would I complain to and about what? The letter writing metaphor is definitely not me as I generally stop posting when I find it embarrassing how many threads end with my handle and no replies! I am just an uninteresting fellow I suppose, though I have at least demonstrated a sustained interest in using and learning about typewriters. Jeez. Maybe I can start a local typewriter users' group (TUG) that meets in a pub with a few portables and types and drinks beer utnil hte cpoy louks lkiie thsi. We can call it Typewriters and Beer Drinkers (TBD).

We might all bear in mind that there is an off-topic forum...

Ah - but who are the "we"?


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

04-1-2017 10:22:15  #20


Re: New Typewriter Group/Forum

Sorry. That was Typewriters and Binge Drinking. I don't want to water down the message.


"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton".
 

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