is it time to stick a fork in it?

[mobile_bob]

Guys

as some may know, sept is the month i have to pay up for another year for the forum

i look at the activity around here, and it looks to be pretty quiet?

is there still interest enough to warrant going forward another year?

let me know, post what you think

i am thinking of going ahead for another year, but if over the next year it continues to decline
i am not sure about going forward.

what do you guys think?

bob g

[glort]

Sadly Bob, all sites that address any sort of DIY seems to be in decline these days. Electronics forums I am on that were once getting 30 posts a day are now closer to no posts in 30 days.
It's the same for a lot of subjects.  Camera/ Photography forums I have been on for 10 years are exactly the same. Some of them that were booming 5 years ago are now absoloutley dead.  People say it's because of facewaste groups but I wouldn't know. Can't stand a thing to do with that.  Mate that insists on messaging me through it was saying the other day I don't respond to his messages. I said for one I'm rarely on it except when I have to be for business because it's all other people know as a communication form and secondly the messaging platform is so effing annoying there is no way in hell Id be on it if there wasn't money involved.
Just the same, It's said to take a lot away from traditional forums.  Just goes to show how peoples intelligence is declining if you ask me!

The subject matter of this site seems to be covered on the LEF. We talk about everything and anything there, wander off topic all over the place as in normal conversation and there are no mods carrying on about being on topic or editing posts they don't personally like.  I look here at least a couple of times a week but it seems a bit pointless to put up dual posts of anything I do have to crap on about ( which is a lot!) when it's already been said in a place that probably has 99% the audience this one does.

I also notice the LEF seems to have got a good influx of new members there over the last couple of months and a few older members have come back and are posting again.
I used to use this site more than the lister forum but it's a bit pointless talking to yourself.  That said, if it would help I'd be happy to double post here to try and get some interest happening if you think it would do any good.  I play with solar a lot now which is probably more in this sites subject matter of DIY power, but  people participate in the topics  at LEF anyway.  When I started posting about solar there I said I didn't know if it was appropriate and people said anyone interested in engines is likely to be interested in all forms of power generation and so it has gone.  Recent discussions have been for Micro Hydro as well.

It would be sad to close this site down and I'd hate to see it go but logically, I can't give you a reason to keep it going.  I have too much time on my hands so if there was something I could do to help pick this up I'd be glad to help.
I haven't done any vids for a long time on my yt channel which has a bit under 30K subscribers but have been thinking of a bit of a change in direction if I can ever motivate myself again. I'm working on a couple of  power projects atm  and would be happy if I do make another vid to give the site, either or both a plug.  Probably going to need some input from others here to get the ball rolling and give people a reason to want to join and topics to talk about though. 

Whichever way you go, don't change anything at LEF.  Our wandering topics are working well and I would say have created a real family atmosphere there.  I think I could speak for some others at least when I say I feel more like I am talking to friends there than strangers on a forum.  This place however has been very off putting in it's moderation at times ( not by yourself) and I do believe that the " On topic "  stick waving does nothing for the participation of the forum.  The example of that would be the way this site has declined in it's participation while the other has a far greater level of activity.
I think if you change anything at LEF you'll be considering closing that come this time next year as well.

[mike90045]

Just the mass of information here, I would contribute for another year.   And yes, the last 6 months have been pretty slow.
Maybe you can submit the site to Archive.ORG and that would keep it on the internet in a static condition.

https://web.archive.org/web

[LowGear]

I think the most important part of this decision is your time. 

I stop by both forums most days of the week.  I've learned lots from both places and have usually had a good time doing so.  LEF got just a bit heavy for me this Spring and early summer so I've really cut back.  I've also become more interested in sustainable energy and it's tag alongs.

And then there's the Gorilla on the web.  YouTube!  Yesterday the fridge stopped being cold or freezing.  Rather than come here I went to YT and there was my compressor and when I went inside the Fridge it had exactly the same problem that the trained professional had serviced in the video.  I work with volunteers and we all laughing while I disassembled my fridge just like on the video.  When the starting relay had the same crap falling out of it as mine as in the video we were kind of shocked and delighted at the same time.  One of those Fu..ing-A moments.

I'm up for another year but it's only a couple of bucks off my skin and it's your time.

Casey

[playdiesel]

You  asked  and Id have to guess you did so to get honest comment?? Thus I am going to be the master of the obvious here and not  just type up some soothing words.

I dont know about views, just posting traffic  Last posting before this one was a month ago,  for all practical purposes the site is dead,  there is no other way to look at it and NO I dont like it, but that doesn't change the facts.  I come here a couple times a week and go right down to the bottom of the page and look at most recent post. Many times more days than not I leave without reading and go on to other places.

Personally I dont feel it is an issue with off topic rants  or site management?  People left here because they lost interest in the subject matter (told you I was going to be master of te obvious)  There are better engine forums, you own one. There are better solar forums, there are better idle chat venues for about any interest.  I think if you go back over the last year or so and take a hard look at the traffic and number postings the correct decision is obvious,,, but not an easy one for sure.
otherwise you would have already made it. 

[Derb]

Hi Bob. I come back regularly for a look as I love pretty much anything mechanical or electrical. To tell you the truth, lately I thought the Forum was "down" due to the non-activity. Whilst I was doing my mucking around at home I found the forum a mine of information. I also have enjoyed the "company" of like-minded individuals. I would agree that the forum's time has now passed. The information though is too valuable to trash. If possible as suggested it could be cashed as a library reference. I am not computer savvy enough to know how this is achieved. If that is the road you go up, thanks a bundle to you and all the contributors for freely sharing of your wealth of knowledge. Cheers, Brian. Derbyshire. New Zealand - Kiwi.

[vdubnut62]

I have spent many a night reading here when I would have been  otherwise bored. And thanks to all I have learned a lot! Yes, it has been pretty dead around here and like many others I find myself spending time at the LEF as of late.
That being said I would hate to think that all the experience documented here could possibly be lost.
Sure I will pony up 20 bucks again this year if only for nostalgia, just let me know where to send it.
Ron.

Sorry I still can't spell for crap on this thing.

[glort]

Does anyone have any ideas for reviving the forum?
There is an asset here, how to we make the most of it and keep it going?

[mobile_bob]

maybe we just need to change our expectations for the forum?

maybe it is ok that it isn't very busy?  maybe like most things in life, there is a cycle to things

my thinking is this, over the last 45-50 years we have seen all sorts of cycles, where people wanted out
of the rat race, and get back to the land, then they need alternative power sources, etc.  i think there has been
that waxes and wanes on about a 10-15 year cycle.

then there is the price of fuel,  that seems to have some sort of cycle to it as well
when fuel prices go up, so do utility rates, gas for the car, and folks get tired of driving to work
and paying so much to get to and fro.... and they seek to move out on the land and here we go again.

of course it didn't help to have the '05 epa tier 4 and ban on imports, and the fact that there simply are not
as many old engine's like the original listers and petters in the US as there appear to be in England and other places
in the world.

maybe we keep this place going another year and think about how to redefine the forum to make it relevant again?

i am of the thinking we ought to give it another thunk or two

bob g

[Derb]

Ok Bob. PM me a bank account # to pony up to. Cheers.

[LowGear]

I'm more of a PayPal kind of guy.

Is there an easy way to go directly to a bank account?

Casey

[vdubnut62]

Casey, the times I have donated, Bob posted a link to a paypal acct. FWIW I also prefer paypal.
Ron

[Derb]

OK - throw up a working link. I have never used PayPal but Mum will work it out

[Westcliffe01]

Bob, I am one of the members who has not been active on the forum for a while.

The membership is scattered around and depending on where you live, local issues may have been significant since the financial crisis.

If I take myself as an example, I kept my job during the financial crisis, as did my wife at the time.   I didnt buy at the peak of property prices, but even so I bought my house at $206k in 2006 and the market value as recently as 2015 was $132k.  In 2006 my house was only 10 years old and is in a desirable neighborhood near a lake and surrounded by wooded undeveloped lots and lots of wildlife.   But still, this is SE Michigan and we have lost so many millions of jobs since the 1990's, it seems most people now work low wage jobs in the service industry.   Even more are multi generation welfare recipients.   After the real estate crash, virtually all builders closed up shop and moved away and roofers and plumbers shrank dramatically in numbers.  9 years after the crash, good luck if you have a job for a plumber or electrician now, bring a full wallet and a tub of vasalene....

I went through a divorce a few years after the financial crisis and my lawyer cost me about $8k (it went to trial) and the judgement against me probably cost me another $100k between what she got out my 401k, her not paying the mortgage for 2 years while squatting in the house and me having to settle the nearly 40k balance with the mortgage company.  The ex was a RN running the local cancer clinic, had just been diagnosed with cancer for the second time and she got a lot of sympathy from the judge.  Didnt even get a reprimand for perjury after lying multiple times under oath.

So the result of that is that I had to pay spousal support to someone earning more than I did (she had just completed her NP certification, which I got to pay for too), get a loan to pay off the mortgage company and of course rehabilitate the house that had been trashed.   So have been living on about $1000 a month for the last 4 years.  The 401k loan I took to pay off the mortgage company will be done in October.   The mortgage balance is finally low enough to make it feasible for me to sell the house and pay a realtor...   My new wife and I scraped together every cent we could come up with and bought an old 1920s house which we have been renovating on a pay as you go basis for many months.  Our finances since we got married have been very strained, frankly she was doing better when she was single...

Anyway, not to sound like a whiner, the fact is that I didnt declare bankrupcy, I paid off anyone I owed anything to.  I still have my health and we will save like gangbusters once my house is sold and we have no more notes on anything...    My employer has done a bunch of stuff showing poor judgement in the last few years and the investors have finally figured out the gig is up.  Company stock lost 84% of its value so far this year.   For now I am still gainfully employed but if something major goes wrong, we will be prepared for harder times very soon having no debt at all.

The decision by the EPA to ban the imported low speed diesels, as well as tier 4 final regs certainly hurt anyone looking for a diesel engine for a stationary application.    I searched for my lighting set for more than 2 years before I found it on craigslist and I got in my truck to go and get it 5 min after I spotted the listing at lunchtime.   Just recently I swapped a 22mag rifle for a 2 cyl Kubota engine which someone had salvaged from a mower and then never used.  I bought a 2 cyl Cummins engine for a surplus military generator brand new but have not been able to locate a flywheel for it anywhere, so that has not been much help.  Right now I am in the situation that I have to sell off my collection of machine tools since I wont have a place to keep them and dont think it is worth paying $1500 a year to store them in an unconditioned storage unit.  The only items that are sacred are my backhoe and tractor, those are going to a friends farm where they will see some use and get a roof to hide under at night...

All I can say is I am really grateful that I was not one of the people hoping to retire in 2008/9......   That would really have sucked.....

Guys

as some may know, sept is the month i have to pay up for another year for the forum

i look at the activity around here, and it looks to be pretty quiet?

is there still interest enough to warrant going forward another year?

let me know, post what you think

i am thinking of going ahead for another year, but if over the next year it continues to decline
i am not sure about going forward.

what do you guys think?

bob g

[mobile_bob]

most days i think things have about wrapped up around here, then i get a call from the EPA (combined heat and power)
asking me to return their call and provide some information on our group, apparently they still have an interest in what it is
we "used" to do.

there was a lot of effort put into the two forums and yes, things took a turn for the worse when the EPA banned the importation
of the engines we need to continue our work.

add to that, life's little hurdles we all face, everything from family issues, health, job's, housing/moving, all of which generally don't help with having extra time to try to sort out a possible new direction for the group and the forum.

what i am thinking is this,  it cost about 175 bucks per year to keep the place online, which is about 15 bucks per month
divided by a few folks, breaks down to less than a large soda at the corner convenience store?

given that,  i am of the mind to keep it open with the hope that maybe someone will come up with an idea that just maybe
could give this place a kick in the shorts.

for myself, it has been 4.5 years of living hell being mayor of a tiny town here in kansas, and yes i have been asked to run again for another 2 years.  so while i am running again, i have decided that i am going to demand time for myself and my projects. recently i have started the daunting project of cleaning out my shop, sorting tools, and generally getting things so i can get back to cogeneration.

the time i have taken off, has given my the opportunity to give some thoughts another "thunk" and given the insane amount of power we use in this little place, and also the access to ample amounts of nat gas, i am thinking it is more than time to get back to actually putting the trigen into service and see what i can do with it.

i don't expect to save a lot of money, but i am convinced i can get a system working that is competitive enough to justify my getting back to work.

been watching a lot of youtube clips, and am also thinking that perhaps that is an avenue that we could exploit as an adjunct to the forums, to expand things a bit more?  there is room for what we do there, as it is woefully underrepresented currently in my opinion, and there is a much bad information that ought to be easy to compete with.

perhaps some company might sponsor or help pay the freight to keep this place going?

never know until we try?

also there is in my opinion, a certain value in all the friends we have made on the forums over the years, to me that is worth the most.

bob g