WB Forum technique category

[RFNK]

One of the best things about the WBF is that almost every technique and idea gets questionned and debated, and discussions tend to wander off into the never never - that's healthy. However, it can also make it difficult for people who just want to know the way, or A way, to do this or that. Could the WBF have a category that is just focussed on woodworking/metalworking/boatbuilding technique where the rule is that, with a bit of WB editorial oversight, the only posts are demonstrations of actual technique, no debate or other discussion? The WBF moderators could simply exclude posts that are too far off the mark! Rick

[S/V Laura Ellen]

One of the best things about the WBF is that almost every technique and idea gets questionned and debated, and discussions tend to wander off into the never never - that's healthy. However, it can also make it difficult for people who just want to know the way, or A way, to do this or that. Could the WBF have a category that is just focussed on woodworking/metalworking/boatbuilding technique where the rule is that, with a bit of WB editorial oversight, the only posts are demonstrations of actual technique, no debate or other discussion? The WBF moderators could simply exclude posts that are too off the mark! Rick

I have found the with almost every question that I've asked there has been some discussion about the technique. I think the open discussion to be very valuable. It helps you understand the trade offs between various techniques and allows you to make informed decisions.

[Jim Ledger]

Tell you what would happen...Half of P.L.Lenihans posts would be deleted from his own threads. :D

[peter radclyffe]

yeah it often isnt the destination but the journey that makes the w b f so much fun, if we ever get there , that is http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

[peter radclyffe]

on the forensic detective programme they burn superglue in a room which picks out things like fingerprints , perhaps it would work for pencil

[peter radclyffe]

sorry wrong post

[RFNK]

Not sniffing it are you Peter :D ? Rick

[peter radclyffe]

evostik is the only good stuff i found
one time we were fitting an engine room on the new yacht brave goose in toughs, teddington, which was alright as the fumes from the headlinings would go out thru the sterntubes, once they put the shafts in
WHAM
none of us could remember what we'd done all day, but it felt good http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

(Thread drift warning)

I remember her; had a careful look once when she was in St Katherines. Nicely built.

(back to the subject)

I think we need some sort of an uprated FAQ for techniques; awful job for the moderator unless....

....

a Committee were formed to do the job.

(I hereby nominate Peter Radcliffe)

[rbgarr]

If I were new and looking for information on techniques, I'd purchase the WB this way http://www.woodenboatstore.com/WoodenBoat-Magazine-The-Complete-Collection/productinfo/202-002/ and use the online index on the WB home page for searching. (There may be an index on the thumb drive... I don't know.)

Then if I had questions about articles I read there, I might c&p/post them here.

As far as I can tell that is one method WB encourages, aside from keeping up with magazine purchases or a subscription. I don't see that they wish to invest time and money in moderating the Forum much more than they do now. It would be burdensome and probably unpopular.

[Antonio Majer]

I like this forum because it has few categories.
---
All over the world the forums resemble each other, probably because they work with same/similar software, and thanks to the fact it's easy to add new categories, their moderators don't resist the temptation of multiplying them. The outcome is quite always chaotic in my opinion, with two bad side effects: 1) people who usually read only some categories never meet people who are reading other categories (but sometimes a good advice for a specific problem may be given just by people specialized in other fields) 2) if the overall traffic is low, the traffic per category may be extremely low, giving a general idea of a dead forum.

In my opinion the only important thing is to have an efficient search engine.
---
I add that even this category (Thursdays with Carl & the WoodenBoat Editors) could be included in the other categories, just by marking the threads with an appropriate icon.

[RFNK]

Hmm, well, maybe it's not such a great idea. As I said, I think the debate etc. is really healthy too. I just think it's a bit difficult for those looking for a specific technique to find the right one even though all the info. they need is probably already there. Some sort of FAQ or Q&A would be helpful but I accept the points about how difficult it could be to arrange and manage that. Anyway, something to ponder! Rick

[Yeadon]

I add that even this category (Thursdays with Carl & the WoodenBoat Editors) could be included in the other categories, just by marking the threads with an appropriate icon.

I totally concur.

[switters]

tags, at the bottom of each thread, are useful.

I have tagged things I want to find later. A good idea would be to search a subject, for instance chisel sharpening. Then tag the ones you come up with that are useful for later retreival. Some one mentioned a committee. I would be fine with doing the searches and tags routine for one topic a week.

As far as editing threads, I don't think it is necessary, most questions get answered or not in the first page, reading the rest is recreational unless it is a build thread.

Good day,

[peter radclyffe]

(Thread drift warning)

I remember her; had a careful look once when she was in St Katherines. Nicely built.

(back to the subject)

I think we need some sort of an uprated FAQ for techniques; awful job for the moderator unless....

....

a Committee were formed to do the job.

(I hereby nominate Peter Radcliffe)
thanks Andrew but reading between the 1'000's of lines on this forum, it may be better if an american does the job, Pat Ford ,Bob Cleek , Jay Greer or another

[Hwyl]

I'll edit it, only methods I approve of and designers I like will be allowed.

The decision of the judge, me, is totally arbitrary and my change at will, first rule "throw out the cat boats"

[Jim Ledger]

[quote=Hwyl;2377759

The decision of the judge, me, is totally arbitrary and my change at will, first rule "throw out the cat boats"[/quote]


Ah, don't bother on my accountr. I was about to say fookit anyhoo. :D

[rbgarr]

Love it!

New Forum: Gareth Speaks!

I'd open it first every day. What a hoot. :D:D

P.S. to Gareth: I'm reading the CLH book. Judgment? Lame.

[Rich VanValkenburg]

I remember in an old old issue of WB, Jon Wilson stated that the reason WoodenBoat was started was to pass on the knowledge of technique regarding wooden boats in order to keep the industry alive. I think the reason so many of the pros and older posters are now gone is because of the 'discussion' over whether how they do something was right or wrong. Different things work for different people, but if a pro does something for years and years and it works, it was a learned technique that was perfected over others. I wouldn't even question it. I like to hear how these older guys do things.

[capt jake]

...over whether how they do something was right or wrong....

Sadly, very true

[redbopeep]

I remember in an old old issue of WB, Jon Wilson stated that the reason WoodenBoat was started was to pass on the knowledge of technique regarding wooden boats in order to keep the industry alive. I think the reason so many of the pros and older posters are now gone is because of the 'discussion' over whether how they do something was right or wrong. Different things work for different people, but if a pro does something for years and years and it works, it was a learned technique that was perfected over others. I wouldn't even question it. I like to hear how these older guys do things.

I also love hearing how the professionals or long-time boatbuilders/riggers/sailmakers/sailors do what they do--in their own words. The forum is very useful but yes, folks do get beat up sometimes for their methods--it's sometimes a rough crowd.

If the WBF was linked to a WB wiki (hosted by WB of course), that might prove useful in that a topic could be developed and added to by various authors and the wiki would eventually become a great resource/reference in its own right. Of course, wiki's are a "commons" type activity--so some folks might have their stuff edited away and that could be frustrating and not good for really sharing "all" of what there is to share here. Still, a wiki would be most appropriate for sharing technique.

Wiki's tend to have a particular language usage and syntax--we would certainly lose the wonderful flavor of character that comes through with many of the posts on the WBF.

An aside--Many of the soft-cover WB published "how to's" remind me a bit of the Foxfire series of books. I like that. If any of you have read the Foxfire books, you know that they manage to keep the character and flavor of the person sharing a technique--often by including a bit of history of the person and how the person does a particular thing; there could be several different chapters in various foxfire books about doing roughly the same things--just by different people in different ways. Analogous to the goals of the WB magazine and WBF, the purpose of that particular series was to capture oral histories of "how to" in mountain culture before those folks who remembered "how to" were gone. It worked--and it also captured the essense of the people who shared "how to."

I hope the WB continues to publish their soft cover books on various topics and I hope they look at which topics get the most heat and activity here in order to provide timely article in the WB magazine as well.

I love to read the posts here and am constantly amazed by the depth and breadth of information I can obtain via the forum. Without the information, resources, and support we've obtained via the WBF, our schooner rebuild would not have gone so well. I am truly thankful for everyone here who has helped us along the way--and continues to help us as we continue with the rig and interior. We really would have scrapped the project in late 2006 if we had relied only on the local WB experts we had access to. Thank goodness for the WBF. I digress...

I really believe we don't have the structure here on the WBF to actually capture and preserve the best of what many forumites are offering the WB community with their posts. But, I do believe it would take quite some effort on the part of WB to make it possible to do more. I don't know that it would be cost effective at all for our host unless they could pull a marketable product out of the effort.

That's a bum way to end this...what should be a positive post! Well, you'all get my drift.

Fair winds.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Yes, this argument on methods has been gone over in some detail in the last few years. First, there are a lot of different (legitimate)methods. Second, there are a lot of different materials to go with those methods. Last.... there are people who don't think they have to legitimize either their methods or their materials with any real references. It's fairly easy to recognize. Unless it is bad advice given to someone posting for help, I don't bother to correct people who don't want any help, but instead are doing things wrong as self professed experts. It's their boat, and their money, or at least their liability.

I don't see any way for the WBF administration to police bad advice. As it is, they can't keep fools out of the bilge.

[PeterSibley]

As it is, they can't keep fools out of the bilge.

I resemble that ...it's more fun than the circus !:D:D