Is LPF growing too big for it's own good?

[digital_blue]

In light of the recent tread "Headed for 2k online" and with the FDA cracking down on LPF members in the past, I'm starting to worry for the future of the laser hobby(Down in the US at least). As much as I would like to see this hobby expand and grow, I am worried that it's getting "too big" and attracting too much attention. A lot of things have changed since I joined, a ton of really good reputable members simply disappeared. Not too long ago there was an influx of annoying lazy noobs could post more in one week than I can in 6 months. I even dropped off the boards for 2-3 months and coming back, not much has changed. This simply isn't the LPF I knew/know it to be.

Sorry for rambling on and on; I suppose the frustration is starting to show...

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[ElektroFreak]

My thoughts are that you're worrying over nothing. LPF is what it is.. To me it's great that there are new faces. They're not always quality individuals, no, but some are. We're smart enough to determine one from the other.

If "good reputable members" disappear, it's their prerogative to do so. There are plenty of fine folks to replace them. Their knowledge is still here, their leaving can't change that. Also, it doesn't change the fact that LPF is the largest laser-related forum in the world. That makes it also the largest public laser resource in the world. We collectively wield a tremendous amount of power when it comes to the buyign and selling of lasers (mainly portable), more so now than ever. More private, amateur innovation has taken place here than any other forum related to lasers. Personally I've enjoyed watching it grow in the time I've been here.

Keeping the laser hobby exclusive serves no purpose. We're not a drug cartel, we disuss and build lasers. The FDA really only came down on ONE person here. That's hardly what I'd call an all out raid. All a person needs to do to comply with the FDA is not sell complete portable lasers that aren't FDA approved. Not too hard.

The more people enter this hobby, the more it influences supply and demand, which we all benefit from.

All things change. You can't stop it from happening, so it's best to accept it. Besides, it's certainly not all bad.

Pay a visit to the release your aggression thread, that's my advice to you. Sounds like you need a massage or something..

Any posts you don't like, just ignore. Hell, you can ignore whole people if you want to.. It's no different than the rest of the web: If you know how it works, it's not too hard to weed through the crap to get to what you want.

 

[Mohrenberg]

yeah, my memory may be off, but it seems around feb. and march a lot of new people showed up, and a lot of old members left.....and since then every other thread is about two people bashing each other....i try to ignore it......

on the same note, some of the people who left, i was happy to see them disappear (jake21 for example)
and some people i was glad to see show up (though none come to mind at the moment lol)

i like to think of it more as a "craze" like beenie babies, yoyo's and when laser pointer first became cheap and popular...soon people will get bored with this and it will still be us lucky few who sit here and build the new 2.5W blu-ray pointer.

 

[digital_blue]

Elektro - I'm just getting fed up having to spoonfeed lazy noobs/watching noobs getting spoonfed. A few months back, you could click any topic and quality, relevant info would be sitting in front of you. These days, nearly every 1 in 8 treads are trashy or full flamewars, the quality of this forum has nosedived, half the new members are 1-5 post wonders, etc. I've found myself and many others visiting and posting less and less these days. Unfortunately, the veterans section is 559 more posts away(as of now); this means putting up with another year or so of trashy posts...

 

[Gata]

The only issue worth thinking about right now is clearing up garbage threads and posts. I do agree that there is a rise in threads which end up as an argument between members. I generally find them in the BST section. Heck I could think of a few right now. A few months ago I would need to do some searching before I found a thread like that.

I don't think that that we need to worry about LPF growing too fast, if anything it's good. It's inevitable that one day there will be such tight restrictions on lasers that they aren't worth our time. But until things like that start to appear I will just sit back and slowly add to my laser collection...

 

[ElektroFreak]

Elektro - I'm just getting fed up having to spoonfeed lazy noobs/watching noobs getting spoonfed. A few months back, you could click any topic and quality, relevant info would be sitting in front of you. These days, nearly every 1 in 8 treads are trashy or full flamewars, the quality of this forum has nosedived, half the new members are 1-5 post wonders, etc. I've found myself and many others visiting and posting less and less these days. Unfortunately, the veterans section is 559 more posts away(as of now); this means putting up with another year or so of trashy posts...

I only read about 1 in 8 threads or so, so I wouldn't know about the rest.. I only read the few that seem interesting to me. I have to pose the question: Can you think of any other large forum that is any different? The bigger any forum gets, the more people might disagree, simply because there are more people to disagree. Also, those members who have stopped posting haven't necessarily stopped reading or communicating via PM. This community is much larger than just it's active members when you take everything into account.

I feel that the admin could be more vigilant with perma-banning, I'll give you that. There are members here who are detrimental to society, let alone a laser forum.

I definitely understand where you're coming from, but this is the internet. You can't take it too seriously. I do my fair share of arguing, but I do it because it's a mental excercise in many cases, and just entertaining in others. I don't take anything said here to heart like I might if it were said to my face.

If you really feel the community has degraded to that point, you could leave, but I almost guarantee you that if/when you leave you'll still lurk here, PM and buy/sell things. Like I said, all weaknesses aside, LPF is a powerful resource first and foremost. No amount of n00bs will change that.

 

[nikokapo]

I agree with EF. Also, I think we've to grow even more.

 

[ElektroFreak]

It's inevitable that one day there will be such tight restrictions on lasers that they aren't worth our time.

I don't believe that for a second. In the US, the FDA has already made it legal for anyone to own any kind of laser, thus allowing the laser hobby to thrive. I don't think the government has any real issue with laser hobbyists. The only restrictions in place are that you can't use lasers over 5mW in public without a variance and you can't sell lasers in the US that aren't FDA approved. As long as laser safety is talked about often (and it is) I don't see things becoming any more restricted than they are right now (at least in the US).. People just freak out about the few people in the world that get a laser and do something stupid with it. In the US, the people who run things know to take "the dipshit factor" as I like to call it into account when determining the severity of a problem. There are always a few stupid people, and by themselves they are usually not enough to form a good opinion of an entire group.

 

[daguin]

The hobby, like most other things where people and technology are involved. will evolve.

Advancements rarely come without challenges

Peace,
dave

 

[nikokapo]

You are also forgetting that for every good member we lost, we've gained twice as many quality members. The thing is you may not see them enough because of their low post count, take for example HIMNL9, he's a freaking genius and his post count (nor rep) doesn't show it.
Give it time...

 

[jander6442]

^ have to say I agree on Niko w/HIMNL9, bShwag, and Iskor and many other have
been really cool to correspond with.

The perma bann or lack thereof is just the result of a mod who is caring and fortuitous(maybe he knows something we don't... about banning I mean).

I also believe... I know he would appreciate this... people that can seem abrasive at
first (Tech) can be an asset if somehow you can swing them into your corner

lastly the forum is a self sustained entity... it will do what it wants, and that my forum friends means you can't control it... only be a part of.

 

[lasersbee]

Don't forget..... no-one is required to be on the Forum...
It is YOUR choice to be here...
and therefore... ultimately you DO have some control....

You can always turn it "OFF"...
(not that I would ever do that...)


Jerry

 

[jander6442]

^ in Dave-o's words "control is an illusion"..

Contributing on a thread, is good, for it's overall health... individuals cannot control a forum as a whole not even a mod or admin can do that.

forums have there own flow CMIIW.

I do get your point... do you get mine? not sarcasm.

 

[lasersbee]

I understood what you said from the 1st post....
All I'm saying is... if someone doesn't like the way the Forum is run
or is going... or it's content... all they need to do is turn it "OFF" and
go elsewhere...


Jerry

 

[ZRTMWA]

I was a member of another forum where space was an issue and I believe the admin deleted certain accounts. Maybe C0ld could incorporate something like that on here if its really an issue. Maybe accounts that have less than 10 posts and have been inactive for more than 1 or 2 years? I don't really think its necessary though. LPF could always use new members though. I have found out many things from questions that noobs ask. Hell, I still am a noob

 

[schmag]

I just started on here. and have to say that the wealth of information on here is great. I completed my first laser without a single post. my first post was about my completed build it took time effort and patience but I got it done.

I have to say other than a few choice members my experience here has been grand and definitely a community/forum that I am proud to be a member of.
I feel that there is alot going on here and alot of minds constantly bumping into each other sharing knowledge I could see something quite innovative coming as a direct result of this forum some day.