IMO this forum hit the rocks with the "down vote." It allowed a clique of haters to drive people off the forum. They behaved as if Sways was their own personal BB. Some even started retro-actively down-voting old posts on old threads. As a result, I decided to significantly cut back my participation during the down-vote epoch. Several others did too.
Swaylocks has never recovered from the Down-Vote era.
Honestly, I can't remember the "down vote" era -- I've been running this site for so long. FWIW, some of the best knowledge sites out there have up and down voting (see. stack overflow) so I wouldn't immediatly discount it's utility. Sounds like there needs to be more social structure around it's implementation...but that's another discussion.
But that is all looking backwards. Looking forward, are there any features you would like to see on Swaylock's to make it better for you?
Standup Zone has a nice layout with sections for recent posts and recent topics grouped together. It makes it easy to do a quick check of the site for changes.
As far as the actual site function, one thing I find slightly annoying is that links in comments do not open in a new window. So if you forget to use the 'back' button on your browser closing that window closes the browser altogether. Most other forums open links externally.
As far as site functionality that would be the #1 thing I hate. That and having to hit Ctrl-V to paste something.
More than anything Swaylocks needs time to go backwards to the days before social media. The sad truth is web forums like this one are dying these days in favor of "Groups" on Facebook where conversations are had using for the most part real identities and where posting pictures and feedback from any device is simple.
As a member for thirteen years i don't really think there is anything wrong with Sways , I agree with all the suggestions so far , I think it is a shame that everysurfer no longer shares his very unique and clever builds but we live in a world where some people are bullies and it is very easy for them to get there jollies by cyberbullying , a long time ago at the begining of the internet someone much smarter than me told me ,arguing on the internet is like banging your head against a brick wall , it feels great when you stop . The world has changed and now many peoples idea of building a new board is to design it on a computer then hand it off to a buddy that has built a shaping machine in his garage for a few thousand bucks who then hands the blank off to be glassed there you go the new back yard build , Sways not needed . the participation of Sways has shrunken dramatically since the advent of the shaping machine ,just as the number of custom board builders has shrunken since the shaping machine . You have big well known board builders hyping there new flat to concave with inverted vee thru spiral channel tail board while JOB is ripping up giant pipe on a pink soft top , we have all seen the amount of Costco boards in the water I was in Hi a couple of weeks ago during the big south swell and I saw so many guys paddling out on those things , as I said times have changed we are a bit like dinosaurs , less and less folks think we are relevent but we are relevent to those few who want to build boards the right way and I hope you all keep reading and posting and sharing and thank you .
As much as you may not want to hear it, this place is a ghost town because contributing members were tired of getting shit on and personally attacked by internet know it alls.
why would anyone contribute to or be a part of a negative place like that.
im sure you know who the offenders are. If you don't... you should and the damage is done. your not getting high quality, seasoned board builders to contribute to a place like this any longer because it's a waste of time - just to be called out by a hack.
everything you could ever want to know about surfboard building is pretty much available, just do a little diggin, study those who are doing it.
the present is gone and not coming back, I'd suggest figuring out a way to capture the up and coming.
my 2 pennies
ps. Internet forums are certainly not dead. I'm a member of a few vintage motorcycle building forums and they are highly contributed to, very inviting, informative and respectful places.
like
1
"We ain't on our way to Wembley,we ain't gonna win the league. No matter how much they let us down - Westham's still our team"...
Clearly better/fairer moderation is one of the hot items.
Definitely adding it to my list of high priority improvements...
-----
And to those who have been burned by shitty governance around here in the past, please accept my apologies.
I know this forum has suffered from my neglect. My only excuse is that life got in the way for months, perhaps even years at a time. I simply don't have the time or resources to fix or improve things given the amount of revenue Swaylock's currently throws off. It doesn't even cover server expenses.
And that leads me to the here and now and why I really started this thread. From where I sit, I see a fork in the road for Swaylock's. Unplug it and call it day or end of an era...or sink some time and money into it with the goal of 1. improving it (functionality, new features, etc) 2. bringing some life & excitement back to the community and 3. Generating enough revenue to make it all worth while.
This thread is all about helping me decide which road to go down...
Please keep the feedback and ideas coming...it all helps. Once I have enough ideas, feedback, etc. I'll post report of my thoughts and what I'm thinking...
Well, now that you bring it up, the Hot Seat series died because of the reputation that Sways had at the time. I couldn't find anymore Pro's to join in. One master shaper said he wouldn't touch it because so many "hacks" jumped into the Q/A answering (wrongly) before the guest could answer.
All the best, Greg
like
1
Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill
Appreciate this. Moderation is one of the more complex problems of running a public discussion forum.
IMO this forum hit the rocks with the "down vote." It allowed a clique of haters to drive people off the forum. They behaved as if Sways was their own personal BB. Some even started retro-actively down-voting old posts on old threads. As a result, I decided to significantly cut back my participation during the down-vote epoch. Several others did too.
Swaylocks has never recovered from the Down-Vote era.
Swaylocks Surfboard Design Forum: thoughts & theories ... practical & theoretical
RAIL PROFILE http://bgboard.blogspot.com/2014/03/march-82014-afterr-seeing-recent.html
Stoneburner,
Honestly, I can't remember the "down vote" era -- I've been running this site for so long. FWIW, some of the best knowledge sites out there have up and down voting (see. stack overflow) so I wouldn't immediatly discount it's utility. Sounds like there needs to be more social structure around it's implementation...but that's another discussion.
But that is all looking backwards. Looking forward, are there any features you would like to see on Swaylock's to make it better for you?
Standup Zone has a nice layout with sections for recent posts and recent topics grouped together. It makes it easy to do a quick check of the site for changes.
https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?board=9.0
SammyA wrote:
As far as the actual site function, one thing I find slightly annoying is that links in comments do not open in a new window. So if you forget to use the 'back' button on your browser closing that window closes the browser altogether. Most other forums open links externally.
_______________________________________________________________________________
As far as site functionality that would be the #1 thing I hate. That and having to hit Ctrl-V to paste something.
More than anything Swaylocks needs time to go backwards to the days before social media. The sad truth is web forums like this one are dying these days in favor of "Groups" on Facebook where conversations are had using for the most part real identities and where posting pictures and feedback from any device is simple.
I haven't seen the problem lately, perhaps because it has been fixed, but we've had annoying security/hacker issues in the past. Remedy?
Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill
As a member for thirteen years i don't really think there is anything wrong with Sways , I agree with all the suggestions so far , I think it is a shame that everysurfer no longer shares his very unique and clever builds but we live in a world where some people are bullies and it is very easy for them to get there jollies by cyberbullying , a long time ago at the begining of the internet someone much smarter than me told me ,arguing on the internet is like banging your head against a brick wall , it feels great when you stop . The world has changed and now many peoples idea of building a new board is to design it on a computer then hand it off to a buddy that has built a shaping machine in his garage for a few thousand bucks who then hands the blank off to be glassed there you go the new back yard build , Sways not needed . the participation of Sways has shrunken dramatically since the advent of the shaping machine ,just as the number of custom board builders has shrunken since the shaping machine . You have big well known board builders hyping there new flat to concave with inverted vee thru spiral channel tail board while JOB is ripping up giant pipe on a pink soft top , we have all seen the amount of Costco boards in the water I was in Hi a couple of weeks ago during the big south swell and I saw so many guys paddling out on those things , as I said times have changed we are a bit like dinosaurs , less and less folks think we are relevent but we are relevent to those few who want to build boards the right way and I hope you all keep reading and posting and sharing and thank you .
Haven't looked at this place in quite some time.
As much as you may not want to hear it, this place is a ghost town because contributing members were tired of getting shit on and personally attacked by internet know it alls.
why would anyone contribute to or be a part of a negative place like that.
im sure you know who the offenders are. If you don't... you should and the damage is done. your not getting high quality, seasoned board builders to contribute to a place like this any longer because it's a waste of time - just to be called out by a hack.
everything you could ever want to know about surfboard building is pretty much available, just do a little diggin, study those who are doing it.
the present is gone and not coming back, I'd suggest figuring out a way to capture the up and coming.
my 2 pennies
ps. Internet forums are certainly not dead. I'm a member of a few vintage motorcycle building forums and they are highly contributed to, very inviting, informative and respectful places.
"We ain't on our way to Wembley,we ain't gonna win the league. No matter how much they let us down - Westham's still our team"...
I'm seeing a pattern here.
Clearly better/fairer moderation is one of the hot items.
Definitely adding it to my list of high priority improvements...
-----
And to those who have been burned by shitty governance around here in the past, please accept my apologies.
I know this forum has suffered from my neglect. My only excuse is that life got in the way for months, perhaps even years at a time. I simply don't have the time or resources to fix or improve things given the amount of revenue Swaylock's currently throws off. It doesn't even cover server expenses.
And that leads me to the here and now and why I really started this thread. From where I sit, I see a fork in the road for Swaylock's. Unplug it and call it day or end of an era...or sink some time and money into it with the goal of 1. improving it (functionality, new features, etc) 2. bringing some life & excitement back to the community and 3. Generating enough revenue to make it all worth while.
This thread is all about helping me decide which road to go down...
Please keep the feedback and ideas coming...it all helps. Once I have enough ideas, feedback, etc. I'll post report of my thoughts and what I'm thinking...
Well, now that you bring it up, the Hot Seat series died because of the reputation that Sways had at the time. I couldn't find anymore Pro's to join in. One master shaper said he wouldn't touch it because so many "hacks" jumped into the Q/A answering (wrongly) before the guest could answer.
All the best, Greg
Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill
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