Is this group now dead?

I'm just waiting for everyone else to post. :-)

Sadly, I think it may be. I've signed up for the SE forum and contributed some posts, but that doesn't seem very active either.

I only check this occasionally now. Pity ..............

The UK Stationary Engine Forum has been very busy, Kim, Nick Highfield alone has put over 1000 posts on since joining in February, and new users are joining at the rate of 100 per month at present (based on 3000 registered users at 26th March 2011 and 3500 registered users at 10th August 2011)

Forums are not everyone's cup of tea, but of the three known independent UK forums, ours is by far and away the most active.

Peter

Highly selective use of stats as usual. If PAF puffs up any more there will be a nasty explosion. ttfn

Not selective at all if you took the time and trouble to look and check the figures, but as usual you are more interested in putting a downer on anything that isn't in your own field of interest, and having criticised the Forum for so long, it would hardly fit now to suddenly change your tune, would it?

The 3500 registered users was marked by a small competition with £20 prize for predicting the date that figure was passed, and that thread is still on public view here:

Nick's posting figures are also easily verifiable by just looking at his figures on any of his posts, that will confirm both his join date and the number of posts.

The 3500 registered users figure is again easily verifiable by checking the main page of the forum, currently 3521 today.

I don't need to puff anything or anybody up, it is all there in black and white for anyone to see.

'If you can't say anything nice about people, don't say anything at all', perhaps you should adopt that motto?

Peter Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk

Is there a way of configuring it as an email list and forum in parallel? Mailing lists are generally "low noise" (much like usenet!), so I suspect that would suit those of us who really don't get on with the web interface side of it all :-)

cheers

Jules

The usual farrago of opinion, rumour and assumption masquerading as fact.

For the record I have no problem with your (note the possessive) Forum per se. I do have a problem with one or two members and most definitely with you.

I have tried to help many members of your and other Forums, and will continue to do so.

Supporting the SEM Helpline and other email queries does not leave me enough time to participate in such a high volume Forum even were it run by someone I trusted. (Size, of course, is not everything.)

I have considered the publicly available stats at great length. The figures you quote are factual but highly disingenuous. You currently show 734 active members but the rules defining "active" seem to be arcane and not consistently applied. Most threads attract around

100-150 reads per post which perhaps gives a more reasonable feel for "active". That number is not trivial for a forum but its nowhere near 3500. The Top Ten posters account for over 30% of the total posts. I note that you are the top poster and account for around 5% thus confirming that the Forum is indeed yours (as are the two most viewed threads).

I posit that a considerable percentage of the remaining posts are of the me2 and ok m8 variety.

I note that you have requested donations rather than seek the cheaper hosting that is available from reputable suppliers. I also see that you have declared no intention of accounting publicly for these "donations" or indeed for the insurance premiums that pass through your hands.

Your final paragraph is wildly hypocritical as a search of this group's archives will amply demonstrate! You have frequently run down SEM and related individuals.

If you continue to post self-congratulatory crap I will continue to criticise you and it.

Sorry. I've been on holiday.

John

I used to post on here regularly but stopped a few years ago when my computer died and I lost access for a while. I did get back on via google (which is far from perfect) but now just tend to read, rather than post. The main problem I had was with the constant trolling & spam that gets posted. I am also a mamber of the Internal Fire Forum, and the SEF forum that Peter mentioned. The thing I used to like about this place was that it was friendly and laid back, but at the same time kept to the point and tried not to stray off topic, a bit like the IF forum. The SEF forum is a bit different in that it has a lot of young members and tends to be more of a social networking device for them. There are some excellent topics on there and I have made a great number of friends through the site, but unofrutnately there is also a lot of rubbish posted. Also as Kim has suggested it does seem to be much quieter these past few months.

Regards Mike Milestone

Gentlemen,

Give it a while, its summer and we are either showing or busy doing summer things, the Autumn will hopefully bring it back. I must also agree with Mike Milestones views as well.

Martin P

I used to post on here regularly but stopped a few years ago when my computer died and I lost access for a while. I did get back on via google (which is far from perfect) but now just tend to read, rather than post. The main problem I had was with the constant trolling & spam that gets posted. I am also a mamber of the Internal Fire Forum, and the SEF forum that Peter mentioned. The thing I used to like about this place was that it was friendly and laid back, but at the same time kept to the point and tried not to stray off topic, a bit like the IF forum. The SEF forum is a bit different in that it has a lot of young members and tends to be more of a social networking device for them. There are some excellent topics on there and I have made a great number of friends through the site, but unofrutnately there is also a lot of rubbish posted. Also as Kim has suggested it does seem to be much quieter these past few months.

Regards Mike Milestone

What trolling? What spam? Don't see it but then I don't use google...

There are several well regarded usenet servers out there for free or a nominal amout that provide good service, without the spam. Many news clients are also availble for free or not a lot.

TBH with the resources available to google they ought to be able to provide similar services without the spam. The cynic in me makes a link between a lot of usenet spam orginating on google and googles long term reluctance to do anything about it...

Once Upon A Time ( Tuesday 20/09/2011 actually ), NHH sharpened a new quill and scribbled :

I've started using news.eternal-september.org as I had problems with my news.individual.de renwal - though that account still appears to work.