Open Letter to New FPGeeks

[penwash]

My OP was not intended to name and shame, or resurrect the past debates—just point out that daily bumping clogs the new-post feed. I am surprised that some people were offended by my post, because everyone who have posted here have been conscientious in their sale posts. I wish that I never brought up the issue.

Don't worry about those who took offense, we can never please everybody.

So, Vertolive already step up to be one of the SEVEN. Anybody else?

I put a thread yesterday about cigar box as pen cases, don't tell me there's no one here using those?

Let's stop bickering, and start discussing fun stuff.

[heraclitus682]

The loss of Dan's work on the website has hurt this board.

YES! This.

[dfo]

I hope everyone will take time to look at FredRyder's sale post. They are great: beautiful pictures, informative, and very conscientious. I enjoy reading them and any post he writes.

This thread is getting derailed. Can we move the debate, in regard to the forum being a sales forum, to the old thread?

This is IMO not primary a selling platform (not even secondarily), it’s a discussion forum.

You are so wrong. Open the main page of FPGeeks and look at the viewer numbers a few times in a day. Those numbers prove you are in denial of the obvious.

[penwash]

The loss of Dan's work on the website has hurt this board.

YES! This.

Okay, but no use crying over spilled milk, right?

Let's move on and make our own work.

[urushi4u]

Who's Dan?

[Pterodactylus]

Who's Dan?

Dan Smith (The Nibsmith) former moderator of FPGeeks.

[TSherbs]

The loss of Dan's work on the website has hurt this board.

YES! This.

Okay, but no use crying over spilled milk, right?

Let's move on and make our own work.

I'm not crying or complaining. Above, I stayed that I don't mind the sales updates. If you are unhappy, go for it. I am good as is. There are times I appreciate the sales updates. Times I don't. Whatever. Hardly worth fussing much about.

[Jon Szanto]

Something that is being lost in the noise: virtually everyone posting in this topic has the betterment of the experience at FPG in mind.

The bulk of the issue, as well as the discussion, is occurring because of the vacuum in leadership of this site. It has been a rudderless ship for a long time, and even the most well-intentioned voices and viewpoints are completely powerless to do anything at all. Knowing this, I give complete leeway for people to vent and express their displeasure, and I include in that the people that may be diametrically opposed to my own wishes. There isn't harm in putting it out in public, because if you don't like how someone feels about the way things are being done, you now know that they weren't happy about it in private.

My guess is that nothing will change by virtue of our dialogue. That, of course, is a real shame. I encourage everyone to feel free to express their opinions and then do everything they can to make this a place they enjoy coming to and sharing their interest in pens and everything connected to them.

[Amanda]

My OP was not intended to name and shame, or resurrect the past debates—just point out that daily bumping clogs the new-post feed. I am surprised that some people were offended by my post, because everyone who have posted here have been conscientious in their sale posts. I wish that I never brought up the issue.

Oh no, it's has been a really useful thread. I learned how to mark the Sales forum as 'read' so New Posts is much more useful. Except there are so few posts it doesn't take very long... Hopefully that can be fixed by The Seven, plus a half. (I promise to visit daily and comment as usefully as I can so maybe one day I can be half as good.)

Unfortunately for the sellers it does mean I'll never read their sales posts again. They just went too far. That's why ad blockers are needed too. It's a shame.

[catbert]

This is IMO not primary a selling platform (not even secondarily), it’s a discussion forum.

Absent moderation, it’s a what-we-make-it forum: sales, discussion, pen pix, woe is me, gripe about FPN, pile on the post you disagree with, crickets chirping …

[TSherbs]

This is IMO not primary a selling platform (not even secondarily), it’s a discussion forum.

Absent moderation, it’s a what-we-make-it forum: sales, discussion, pen pix, woe is me, gripe about FPN, pile on the post you disagree with, crickets chirping …

that's a great summary, actually

[TSherbs]

Who's Dan?

Dan Smith (The Nibsmith) former moderator of FPGeeks.

And the producer, solo, of much high-quality content. He also had occasional content assistance from the likes of Stephen Brown. There was a website associated with fpgeeks that is now defunct (deleted by the owner, is my understanding).

[catbert]

Who's Dan?

Dan Smith (The Nibsmith) former moderator of FPGeeks.

And the producer, solo, of much high-quality content. He also had occasional content assistance from the likes of Stephen Brown. There was a website associated with fpgeeks that is now defunct (deleted by the owner, is my understanding).

Yes, I miss those joint reviews on the website. Ended up getting a vintage Aurora 88 because of Eric and Dan's review.

On the other hand, the demise of the website is what prompted me to enter the forum.

[SIR]

I give complete leeway for people to vent and express

On that point, I must say that really the sales forum is an essential function; many of the members here are attracted to using certain pens which would be unavailable more or less anywhere else or unjustifiable at full retail price; indeed, I am currently engaged in negotiation myself for an item of particular scarcity which is being offered at, what I consider, a fairly reasonable price.

[penwash]

Who's Dan?

Dan Smith (The Nibsmith) former moderator of FPGeeks.

And the producer, solo, of much high-quality content. He also had occasional content assistance from the likes of Stephen Brown. There was a website associated with fpgeeks that is now defunct (deleted by the owner, is my understanding).

Yes, I miss those joint reviews on the website. Ended up getting a vintage Aurora 88 because of Eric and Dan's review.

On the other hand, the demise of the website is what prompted me to enter the forum.

I discovered FPGeeks after those became inactive. So to me, FPGeeks is just a forum with potential.
While a solo person can produce high-quality in great volume, it's actually better in the long run if the content is produced collectively by a group of active individuals.

[BayesianPrior]

I don't know how I feel about this thread...or if I'm one of the seven. Or one of the people selling without producing content.

In any case, please see a link to some content!!! https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread...437#post222437

[AzJon]

I first came over here almost 2 years ago from Reddit to see what else was going on in the fountain pen world and to try and learn more about vintage pens, since Reddit isn't really the most active place for vintage (though, that feels like it has been changing over the last 6-months to a year). What I feel like I can say about FPGeeks is that there is more information about specific models of pens or pen histories buried in the forums. However, I do see a lot of this board being stagnant. Yes there are some discussions, yes there are things going on, but it often feels, to me, like I'm pulling teeth half the time to just get a square answer (both questions I've asked and other question/discussion threads).

Now, the Reddit format and endless posts about Pilot MRs, Safaris, and Ecos does get a bit old, but its also refreshing to see, no matter what the pen, a certain excitement or positive engagement for even the smallest events. Can that be mind numbing? Sure. But people are engaging the hobby and content in a positive way. There are, of course, hot-button topics and arguments, but a certain modicum of respect is generally observed or, at least, an attempt to engage specifically with the topic or question at hand.

What I do think a problem is, particularly with relatively specialized forums, is providing new content. For example, if I do an ink review on Reddit, it will be a round for a bit and then disappear into the ether (though, with the advent of the InkBot, even those don't really happen anymore), only to have someone else do something similar in the future. We end up with large numbers of posts featuring an image of the same ink over and over (looking at you, Kon-Peki). In this forum, I'm hard pressed to find inks that overlap the "inks I own" and the "inks that have already been reviewed" overlap while still providing quality. While old threads can be dug up, they often, to me, represent ground that has already been tread (particularly when the answer to a question is "Go look at this thread"). The content here is good, but the reward/return for users sharing tends to be...lackluster.

[TSherbs]

FPGeeks is suffering from atrophy and apathy.

Again, the content of the website used to be a spark for interest in new pens and inks and a way to see pens in action. Dan's approach was sincere and objective and down to earth. Our membership is mostly older, and mostly driven by sales traffic. Thread-based content is not really possible with a lack of long-term membership growth. The grapes are aging on the vines. Maybe a nice wine, but the bottle will empty.

In terms of tone, when I first came here, I too was met with cantankerous hostility, the way certain people defend the sandbox they are comfortable in. The block feature has become my greatest aid in this regard, and I have persisted, but I totally get why others--many of them females--have exited and left the ruder boys to their own devices. FPGeeks has become more of an echo chamber of late, and my guess is that it will go the way of many other small forums that lose their raison d'etre.

[Jon Szanto]

FPGeeks is suffering from atrophy and apathy.

How many threads have you started since you joined FPG? (I know the answer already)

The thing is, there are many reasons for the ebb and flow of a discussion forum, and it moves around over time. Virtually *all* the people I learned from, spent time with, and became friends with on the FPN site are now gone as well. The site is even larger than it was when I joined around seven years ago, but the membership has changed. It is no different in a smaller environ such as FPG, but it is also certianly more noticeable.

I think the mysogeny angle is overstated. There might have been a couple instances but it certainly hasn't come from postings on the forum itself that showed any hostility towards women, and at least when we had an active moderator these matters were handled as well as things can be handled on an Internet site. I've heard worse from women chased from FPN but *zero* problems in this area would be the optimal situation.

I miss many of the people that used to be here and post regularly. One aspect of an older population is that... things happen out here on the other side of the glass. Real Life has been pretty brutal and quite sad on my end of things, and I certainly don't have the time and energy to do a lot of posting of content like I used to. I look forward to the days when I can once again sit around, take photos of new pens purchased or restored, and share them with the forum. As long as it is here, there will always be the perfect opportunity for anyone to add items of interest to the forum. Nothing about that has changed.

[VertOlive]

One event that most remember was the disappearance of the forum during March of 2015. In my correspondents' circle, which was rooted here, there was widespread panic and dismay. We knew each other a little better than simply as fourm buddies and not all of us ever really trusted the forum again to be in existence day by day. Quite a few of those drifted and washed up on the shore of another letter writer's group. I felt that as a major dent in my enjoyment of this forum. As a side note, I have not noted any misogyny here; I am female in sex and gender.

And, as Jon said, life happens and demands our attention. Certainly mine has changed dramatically in the past half year. But I do hear the call for new content, and mean to be one of THE SEVEN.