First Birthday for Fountain Pen Board
Started by Admin, Jun 29 2011 09:22 PM
7 replies to this topic
#1
Posted 29 June 2011 - 09:22 PM
Greetings:
Today is the FPB/FPnuts first birthday. The good news is that the Board still is here. Activity on the whole has exceeded expectations though has not exceeded goals. All in good time. Activity seems up of late and with post count drifting in a positive direction. Bandwidth usage is markedly increasing, due to a significant bump in observers-- guests and members reading even if not posting. So far so good.
While fora have been created to cover a diverse range of pen related subjects, clearly the main member interest so far resides in the collecting fora, not surprising given the interests of early members and Advisors. What has been somewhat surprising is the dominant presence of Sheaffer discussion, with comment count trumping even that found in the Parker forum. While no one disputes the high quality of vintage Sheaffer pens, that make often has been treated a bit cavalierly-- certainly by pricing-- by the collecting community. Sheaffer has not had the glory given Waterman, Wahl and Parker. Perhaps that correctly begins to change.
A respectable number of long time hobbyists have joined. FPB has the sanction of a number of well known Advisors- some who participate actively and some (generally inactive on the internet) who have not participated much but who have lent their credibility to the Fountain Pen Board, which is of course appreciated.
Do note that FPB offers free photo hosting via the GALLERY tab near the top of the page. Members can load images to our storage, allowing easy access to those images from any post. We are overdue for a post on using that function, though it is fairly intuitive.
One concern has been comments by a few newer members that they hesitate to post because people playing here seem to be advanced collectors. Please be aware that the presence of advanced collectors is meant to be a good thing for newer collectors, a resource to provide insight into the issues at hand. The goal is not to be elitist. No one knows it all, and all "advanced" collectors are (or should be) still striving to learn. No question is too basic for the Board, and even basic questions are ones all of us once held.
Goals for the coming year include: 1. offering more skins for the website, thus allowing greater user selection for the look of the Board from his browser, 2. activating (finally) the PAGES tab at top of page which will serve as an Articles home for threads promoted to permanent Articles status, and 3. of course growing the basic activity level of the Board.
Fountain Pen Board continues to pursue light touch moderation, embracing a style in which emphatic discussion is not eschewed. Time will tell if that approach works. So far the only rule for discussion is, "no death threats please".
The next year should be interesting
Today is the FPB/FPnuts first birthday. The good news is that the Board still is here. Activity on the whole has exceeded expectations though has not exceeded goals. All in good time. Activity seems up of late and with post count drifting in a positive direction. Bandwidth usage is markedly increasing, due to a significant bump in observers-- guests and members reading even if not posting. So far so good.
While fora have been created to cover a diverse range of pen related subjects, clearly the main member interest so far resides in the collecting fora, not surprising given the interests of early members and Advisors. What has been somewhat surprising is the dominant presence of Sheaffer discussion, with comment count trumping even that found in the Parker forum. While no one disputes the high quality of vintage Sheaffer pens, that make often has been treated a bit cavalierly-- certainly by pricing-- by the collecting community. Sheaffer has not had the glory given Waterman, Wahl and Parker. Perhaps that correctly begins to change.
A respectable number of long time hobbyists have joined. FPB has the sanction of a number of well known Advisors- some who participate actively and some (generally inactive on the internet) who have not participated much but who have lent their credibility to the Fountain Pen Board, which is of course appreciated.
Do note that FPB offers free photo hosting via the GALLERY tab near the top of the page. Members can load images to our storage, allowing easy access to those images from any post. We are overdue for a post on using that function, though it is fairly intuitive.
One concern has been comments by a few newer members that they hesitate to post because people playing here seem to be advanced collectors. Please be aware that the presence of advanced collectors is meant to be a good thing for newer collectors, a resource to provide insight into the issues at hand. The goal is not to be elitist. No one knows it all, and all "advanced" collectors are (or should be) still striving to learn. No question is too basic for the Board, and even basic questions are ones all of us once held.
Goals for the coming year include: 1. offering more skins for the website, thus allowing greater user selection for the look of the Board from his browser, 2. activating (finally) the PAGES tab at top of page which will serve as an Articles home for threads promoted to permanent Articles status, and 3. of course growing the basic activity level of the Board.
Fountain Pen Board continues to pursue light touch moderation, embracing a style in which emphatic discussion is not eschewed. Time will tell if that approach works. So far the only rule for discussion is, "no death threats please".
The next year should be interesting
#4
Posted 30 June 2011 - 01:00 AM
Congrats to a successful first year FPB!!
Frank
Frank
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#6
Posted 01 July 2011 - 04:49 AM
Great to see Fountain Pens are getting more exposure, and that this board is growing! Congratulations!
I am especially encouraged by the OP's mention that Advanced Collectors being is here to help us Novices along, not to trample us with any sort of mega collector snobbery.
I am especially encouraged by the OP's mention that Advanced Collectors being is here to help us Novices along, not to trample us with any sort of mega collector snobbery.
Gobblecup ~
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