|
Post by paulmuaddib on Nov 29, 2021 15:43:28 GMT
Pellius told me that new topics would be ‘warmly welcomed’ (his wording) in a new thread after I made an off topic comment. So here’s what I said: “Looks like Curtis has run off edelweiss. Not sure how I feel about that.” Still don’t after a few hours. He was a curmudgeon to the n’th degree but he was a fountain of vast knowledge. Mostly about swords I’m not interested in but I still like learning. Oh well.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2021 16:07:50 GMT
I too enjoyed Edelweiss's fountain of knowledge, even if he behaved curmudgeonly, and he certainly did. Frequently. I myself was subjected to his curmudgeonly behavior more than once, and I eventually came to find the humor in it. Having said that, I disagree that he was run off by anyone. I believe that his behavior often appeared to be more than just curmudgeonly. It seemed to border on trolling as it was provocative and had a tendency to derail threads. Furthermore, it appears to me that he was frequently spared from harsher punishments like temporary suspensions and the like, though I will not make assumptions as to why he was spared as this will not be helpful.
His departure may be the best thing for him because he appeared to dislike the forum very much. His final act was to make an infantile remark and complain about how tiresome thought experiment threads were. There was nothing compelling him to participate in the thread, but he behaved immaturely anyway. I myself seldom participate in the forum these days. I've seen far too many threads derailed by immature behavior. Edelweiss knew better, which is why his leaving is disappointing.
|
|
|
Post by RufusScorpius on Nov 29, 2021 16:22:48 GMT
I will not comment on Edelwies or why he left, but I will comment on the "thought experiment" threads.
They can appear, at first, to be tiresome or juvenile, however, the important part of those threads is the "why". Given a scenario, what would you (choose, do, have, act, etc) and WHY. It's the "why" part that is of interest because it requires reasoning. Anybody can give the first answer that pops into their heads, but having to explain the "why" of it is another matter entirely. The challenge is keeping the discussion respectful and trying to understand where the other people's heads are concerning the subject at hand. If you don't agree with another member's point of view, then either explain WHY you don't agree, or simply explain your own position and WHY you think the way you do. This of course requires a level of adulting that is often difficult on forums....
|
|
|
Post by paulmuaddib on Nov 29, 2021 17:23:10 GMT
Yes, maybe I should have said Curtis’ comment was the straw that made edelweiss decide to leave. He had stated his dislike of the present forum a few times recently. I definitely enjoyed the show he put on sometimes but it could get tiresome.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2021 20:28:06 GMT
I will not comment on Edelwies or why he left, but I will comment on the "thought experiment" threads. They can appear, at first, to be tiresome or juvenile, however, the important part of those threads is the "why". Given a scenario, what would you (choose, do, have, act, etc) and WHY. It's the "why" part that is of interest because it requires reasoning. Anybody can give the first answer that pops into their heads, but having to explain the "why" of it is another matter entirely. The challenge is keeping the discussion respectful and trying to understand where the other people's heads are concerning the subject at hand. If you don't agree with another member's point of view, then either explain WHY you don't agree, or simply explain your own position and WHY you think the way you do. This of course requires a level of adulting that is often difficult on forums.... Thought. Experiments have more to do with this forum than covid does, and they are a good way to create new topics. How many "found a sh*tty wall hanger at my friends, how much is it worth" threads do we need? At this rate, what do we even talk about? I can't even think of anything to talk about, and if I did, edelweiss would be there to shut it down and I would lose interest in it This dying forum needs some new topics. And they need to be about swords in some way Hell, if there was a new covid strain with sword in its name, I'll take it. Edit: I should mention a few of us are writers, it's why we ask these questions and make thought experiments. I like getting an idea what might be a plausible way to depict situations
|
|
|
Post by RufusScorpius on Nov 29, 2021 22:00:22 GMT
The ONLY issue I have with a thought experiment is that the situation is put BEFORE equipment is selected. In other words, if you get to decide after the fact what you need in your hand, then it's not really a difficult thing to discuss.
My view on the subject is to select what you will take with you, THEN the situation presents itself and you have to work with/justify/use what you have to the maximum extent possible (no do-overs after the zombies attack). It's more realistic and challenging in my opinion.
But that's what it is at the end of the day: my opinion. And it may not match somebody else's. And that's fine also. When I encounter the troll/dragon/16th Century Warlord and survive, THEN I will be the authority on the topic. Until then, it's all academic....
|
|
|
Post by Arlequin on Nov 29, 2021 22:21:45 GMT
I don't blame him. This forum is pretty dead and partly due to the way its run. I mainly only visit to see the classified and the occasionally review from handful of users who still post here. Otherwise I've had far better discussion and learned more outside of here.
|
|
|
Post by glendon on Nov 29, 2021 22:50:16 GMT
The ONLY issue I have with a thought experiment is that the situation is put BEFORE equipment is selected. In other words, if you get to decide after the fact what you need in your hand, then it's not really a difficult thing to discuss. My view on the subject is to select what you will take with you, THEN the situation presents itself and you have to work with/justify/use what you have to the maximum extent possible (no do-overs after the zombies attack). It's more realistic and challenging in my opinion. But that's what it is at the end of the day: my opinion. And it may not match somebody else's. And that's fine also. When I encounter the troll/dragon/16th Century Warlord and survive, THEN I will be the authority on the topic. Until then, it's all academic.... Something to bear in mind: These threads repeat because different people come of age and have the same questions. To them, it is a brand new thread. It is important to allow new members to ask old questions, because what is training if not the repetition of old questions asked by a new generation and answered by previous generations? While I somewhat agree with the old curmudgeon, he failed to realize the TIME dimension. To the young, every question is brand new, and seeking answers to hypotheticals from the group is a form of education. To the Perturbed Perturbateur: Lighten up, Francis...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2021 22:56:07 GMT
I don't blame him. This forum is pretty dead and partly due to the way its run. I mainly only visit to see the classified and the occasionally review from handful of users who still post here. Otherwise I've had far better discussion and learned more outside of here. A wise man once said, "Be the change you wish to see in this world." If you want the forum to be better, then make contributions to it. If the threads here are uninteresting to you, then start your own. A forum is only as lively and active as its members are.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2021 23:01:11 GMT
The ONLY issue I have with a thought experiment is that the situation is put BEFORE equipment is selected. In other words, if you get to decide after the fact what you need in your hand, then it's not really a difficult thing to discuss. My view on the subject is to select what you will take with you, THEN the situation presents itself and you have to work with/justify/use what you have to the maximum extent possible (no do-overs after the zombies attack). It's more realistic and challenging in my opinion. But that's what it is at the end of the day: my opinion. And it may not match somebody else's. And that's fine also. When I encounter the troll/dragon/16th Century Warlord and survive, THEN I will be the authority on the topic. Until then, it's all academic.... Something to bear in mind: These threads repeat because different people come of age and have the same questions. To them, it is a brand new thread. It is important to allow new members to ask old questions, because what is training if not the repetition of old questions asked by a new generation and answered by previous generations? While I somewhat agree with the old curmudgeon, he failed to realize the TIME dimension. To the young, every question is brand new, and seeking answers to hypotheticals from the group is a form of education. To the Perturbed Perturbateur: Lighten up, Francis... I agree with your perspective here. We do have a section of the forum dedicated to helping new members with their newbie questions. Some might also point out that there is a search function available, and I freely admit to using it often. However, sometimes the search function and newbie section of the forum don't produce the kind of engagement you want from other members.
Generally, I think we all ought to be more patient with people. I also understand the frustrations of other members, newbie and veteran alike, on how dull or repetitive the forum can be to others, but driving away new blood isn't helping make the forum any better. We ought to find ways to engage with new members in a better way.
|
|
|
Post by glendon on Nov 29, 2021 23:15:19 GMT
I agree with your perspective here. We do have a section of the forum dedicated to helping new members with their newbie questions. Some might also point out that there is a search function available, and I freely admit to using it often. However, sometimes the search function and newbie section of the forum don't produce the kind of engagement you want from other members.
Generally, I think we all ought to be more patient with people. I also understand the frustrations of other members, newbie and veteran alike, on how dull or repetitive the forum can be to others, but driving away new blood isn't helping make the forum any better. We ought to find ways to engage with new members in a better way. When I first started playing guitar, I loved 12-bar blues. After a bit, it paled; but I won't ever say to a new guy, "12 bar blues is boring," because to them, it isn't. To a newish member here, sometimes just finding a group of people who don't find your blade obsessions weird is liberating--having anyone respond to a query is enlightenment itself. The rest of us should encourage this. After a while, and some education, the conversations become more sophisticated, but we should never confuse sophistication with absolute worth.
|
|
|
Post by Arlequin on Nov 29, 2021 23:24:02 GMT
I don't blame him. This forum is pretty dead and partly due to the way its run. I mainly only visit to see the classified and the occasionally review from handful of users who still post here. Otherwise I've had far better discussion and learned more outside of here. A wise man once said, "Be the change you wish to see in this world." If you want the forum to be better, then make contributions to it. If the threads here are uninteresting to you, then start your own. A forum is only as lively and active as its members are. I have, and one of the reasons people aren't active here is because the "culture" here is a stuffy hugbox that detracts from flavorful discussion.
|
|
|
Post by treeslicer on Nov 29, 2021 23:25:41 GMT
Pellius told me that new topics would be ‘warmly welcomed’ (his wording) in a new thread after I made an off topic comment. So here’s what I said: “Looks like Curtis has run off edelweiss. Not sure how I feel about that.” Still don’t after a few hours. He was a curmudgeon to the n’th degree but he was a fountain of vast knowledge. Mostly about swords I’m not interested in but I still like learning. Oh well. Nobody ran him off. He got pissed off and deleted his account, which, IMHO, is a silly thing to do. It's much more effective to continue to hang around, which annoys people who don't like you.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2021 23:55:16 GMT
A wise man once said, "Be the change you wish to see in this world." If you want the forum to be better, then make contributions to it. If the threads here are uninteresting to you, then start your own. A forum is only as lively and active as its members are. I have, and one of the reasons people aren't active here is because the "culture" here is a stuffy hugbox that detracts from flavorful discussion. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, and while it is true that the behavior of some forum members is unsavory, I do not think it's fair to characterize the forum membership, as a whole, as having a culture like how you describe. There are several members here who consistently create quality threads or make substantial contributions to the forum, and often do so without being noticed.
|
|
|
Post by RambleTree on Nov 30, 2021 0:16:15 GMT
Hey gang, I know nothing of the titular flouncing, but the sentiment about the forum seeming stale caught my attention.
Referring mostly to Euro swords here: I think one of the reasons for a sense of stagnation on the forum, is stagnation in the production sword market. This is "Sword Buyers Guide Forum"; so, if there aren't many new, accessible swords coming out on a semi-regular basis, that's bound to be reflected in the 'fandom'.
The threads that really light up are when a new entry level to mid-range product becomes available. There hasn't been a steady stream of that, so . . . The reasons are obvious - 'supply chain', high cost of shipping, etc. makes it harder for companies to project costs and revenue, which makes it harder to plan new products, and go into production.
For serious sword fiends with cash, this isn't as big a deal, because those members can access custom and higher-end pieces. That is awesome, and we're lucky to have folks here posting pics of those items for us to drool over. My unscientific sense (maybe it's just what I identify with) is that many people are drawn here because we're looking for a deal. High value for price - to cut through misinformation, and track down the best swords for our needs, for the best prices.
Imagine if: Brands like Ronin Katana (Euros), Kingston Arms, CAS Iberia Hanwei/Tinker line, etc. released a new model or two every few months . . . MRL/Windlass offered a few blade options for their build-your-own sword line . . . Albion stocked Squire line swords that were simpler to order, with new models released regularly . . . Valiant had something similar to Albion's Squire line (now that Signature line is mostly phased out) . . . . . . and so forth.
With costs and delays increasing, it would be nice to see domestic production of Euro swords become more competitive - in that $500-$1000 sweet spot where many of us find ourselves. Like a basic line of blades, with a few hilt options each, easy to order upgrades, bare blades/hilt components, etc. Nothing too fancy, unless you want it to be. "Hey, I got this sick bastard sword that was easy to order, I got it in a few weeks, and I didn't spend so much on it that I'm afraid to take it out and whack a few pumpkins."
I think the vibe here would be very different.
|
|
|
Post by nerdthenord on Nov 30, 2021 0:29:33 GMT
Hey gang, I know nothing of the titular flouncing, but the sentiment about the forum seeming stale caught my attention. Referring mostly to Euro swords here: I think one of the reasons for a sense of stagnation on the forum, is stagnation in the production sword market. This is "Sword Buyers Guide Forum"; so, if there aren't many new, accessible swords coming out on a semi-regular basis, that's bound to be reflected in the 'fandom'. The threads that really light up are when a new entry level to mid-range product becomes available. There hasn't been a steady stream of that, so . . . The reasons are obvious - 'supply chain', high cost of shipping, etc. makes it harder for companies to project costs and revenue, which makes it harder to plan new products, and go into production. For serious sword fiends with cash, this isn't as big a deal, because those members can access custom and higher-end pieces. That is awesome, and we're lucky to have folks here posting pics of those items for us to drool over. My unscientific sense (maybe it's just what I identify with) is that many people are drawn here because we're looking for a deal. High value for price - to cut through misinformation, and track down the best swords for our needs, for the best prices. Imagine if: Brands like Ronin Katana (Euros), Kingston Arms, CAS Iberia Hanwei/Tinker line, etc. released a new model or two every few months . . . MRL/Windlass offered a few blade options for their build-your-own sword line . . . Albion stocked Squire line swords that were simpler to order, with new models released regularly . . . Valiant had something similar to Albion's Squire line (now that Signature line is mostly phased out) . . . . . . and so forth. With costs and delays increasing, it would be nice to see domestic production of Euro swords become more competitive - in that $500-$1000 sweet spot where many of us find ourselves. Like a basic line of blades, with a few hilt options each, easy to order upgrades, bare blades/hilt components, etc. Nothing too fancy, unless you want it to be. "Hey, I got this sick bastard sword that was easy to order, I got it in a few weeks, and I didn't spend so much on it that I'm afraid to take it out and whack a few pumpkins." I think the vibe here would be very different. Agreed 100%
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2021 0:30:50 GMT
Hey gang, I know nothing of the titular flouncing, but the sentiment about the forum seeming stale caught my attention. Referring mostly to Euro swords here: I think one of the reasons for a sense of stagnation on the forum, is stagnation in the production sword market. This is "Sword Buyers Guide Forum"; so, if there aren't many new, accessible swords coming out on a semi-regular basis, that's bound to be reflected in the 'fandom'. The threads that really light up are when a new entry level to mid-range product becomes available. There hasn't been a steady stream of that, so . . . The reasons are obvious - 'supply chain', high cost of shipping, etc. makes it harder for companies to project costs and revenue, which makes it harder to plan new products, and go into production. For serious sword fiends with cash, this isn't as big a deal, because those members can access custom and higher-end pieces. That is awesome, and we're lucky to have folks here posting pics of those items for us to drool over. My unscientific sense (maybe it's just what I identify with) is that many people are drawn here because we're looking for a deal. High value for price - to cut through misinformation, and track down the best swords for our needs, for the best prices. Imagine if: Brands like Ronin Katana (Euros), Kingston Arms, CAS Iberia Hanwei/Tinker line, etc. released a new model or two every few months . . . MRL/Windlass offered a few blade options for their build-your-own sword line . . . Albion stocked Squire line swords that were simpler to order, with new models released regularly . . . Valiant had something similar to Albion's Squire line (now that Signature line is mostly phased out) . . . . . . and so forth. With costs and delays increasing, it would be nice to see domestic production of Euro swords become more competitive - in that $500-$1000 sweet spot where many of us find ourselves. Like a basic line of blades, with a few hilt options each, easy to order upgrades, bare blades/hilt components, etc. Nothing too fancy, unless you want it to be. "Hey, I got this sick bastard sword that was easy to order, I got it in a few weeks, and I didn't spend so much on it that I'm afraid to take it out and whack a few pumpkins." I think the vibe here would be very different. Well said, sir. I was just discussing the stagnation of the production market over dinner. I haven't bought many production swords lately because I've enjoyed tinkering and making custom swords. Speaking of which, thank you for the new printed armoury fittings. You are truly doing the lord's work by keeping that going. Otherwise, I've commissioned works from Purna Darnal in Nepal. I don't have the budget for high end pieces, so I rely on production swords that hit that sweet spot you described. We have a few manufacturers who consistently hit that sweet spot, but they've had delays and stagnation too. This will pass and I hope the forum becomes more active when the pandemic wanes.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2021 0:32:36 GMT
You're entitled to your opinion, of course, and while it is true that the behavior of some forum members is unsavory, I do not think it's fair to characterize the forum membership, as a whole, as having a culture like how you describe. There are several members here who consistently create quality threads or make substantial contributions to the forum, and often do so without being noticed. I think what greatfool meant about a "stuffy hugbox" is that dissenting opinions and criticism are not very well received/tolerated. He may correct me but thats what I got out of his comment. There's definitely a lot of orthodoxy when it comes to swords. I've been called out a few times for conjecture or for being anachronistic.
|
|
|
Post by Lord Newport on Nov 30, 2021 0:33:05 GMT
I have, and one of the reasons people aren't active here is because the "culture" here is a stuffy hugbox that detracts from flavorful discussion. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, and while it is true that the behavior of some forum members is unsavory, I do not think it's fair to characterize the forum membership, as a whole, as having a culture like how you describe. There are several members here who consistently create quality threads or make substantial contributions to the forum, and often do so without being noticed. I think what greatfool meant about a "stuffy hugbox" is that dissenting opinions, criticism and spirited discussions are not very well received/tolerated. He may correct me but thats what I got out of his comment.
|
|
|
Post by Adventurer'sBlade on Nov 30, 2021 1:31:46 GMT
Edelweiss was vastly knowledgeable but frequently looked down his nose at people and was constantly passive aggressive, sometimes in a playful way but sometimes in a very unwelcoming way. He certainly made this place more interesting for those who have been around for years, but he was not a good archetype for the internet’s friendliest sword forum.
Maybe taking a break from the forum will be good for his mental health. 100% chance he’s lurking to read this, so farewell Edelweiss. Don’t pull a Holger and try to come back under a pseudonym. Or do, and we’ll see how long it takes us to guess.
The advantage of this forum is for long term reports and long form reviews for commercially available models. If you want it to continue to be relevant, make sure you’re contributing by doing the long-form review on each sword you buy, even if someone else has done that model before.
|
|