Come back home I have

[Jan]

I have been reading this board and have been a member of the ISGB for a few years now. It is disturbing to see how this forum has lost so many of its experienced members for one reason or another. I feel the loss of these members who have a vast knowledge base of bead making has affected this board severely. I read the board every day sometimes more. What I have read is that if one can not promote oneself they feel wronged or insulted and stop posting completely, this has happed many times in the past and that’s just wrong. Just being involved will do that for you. And others just feel its a waste of time and energy.

So now you might be thinking “well Jan you stop posting here to� your right I had stopped. For me the board was so argumentative and many seemed to be sensitive to a few words that did not pertain to them or the subject or they felt they needed to protect some one or just wanted to argue because they had nothing better to do that night Then when you would try to give information some one with less experience and knowledge would try to disagree and point out that so and so said it this way and that person might have had 2 months more experience on the torch then they had. So it became impossible to offer any information that might help or say anything in fear that some one would take it the wrong way. Now don’t get me wrong and I know many of you already have I am not against any new bead maker, I want to be supportive to the new bead maker its just difficult at times. We are not just here for the new bead maker, we are also here for the seasoned bead maker. I feel if all of you who used to post and offer help to the bead maker who is having trouble with a specific technique, you need to start posting again you post on other boards. If you don’t come back home then why even be a member. Our ISGB forum depends on your participation and involvement on the forum, that is what it is all about. Helping each other, being there for the support of our art. Please all of you come back. And to those who do post now can you please try to talk more about glass than personal problems, loss of ebay sales, how terrible either gender is and just how horrible life is. Email each other if you need to talk about all of that. Its become a soap opera of certain members life's. I think we all need to get back to the goals here and that is making beads.
thanks for listening Jan

[PamDugger]

Well, Jan, it is certainly nice to see you back, and I hope you will continue to post. I think you will find that most of our posts on this forum do pertain to beadmaking and glass, but once in a while we do digress somewhat. Oh, well, we are the ISGB family, that's for sure. We actually don't have many flare-ups nowadays. So, stick around and become a familiar face again.
Pam

[dichro_baby]

Hi Jan

I know we really don't know each other, but I'm so sorry you feel this way about our beloved forum. I have found this site to be a godsend, on so many occasions, and so value all the help, information, support and friendships I have gained here.

I know things can get a little heated at times (as will happen when you get such a large group of people together who are SO passionate about their craft) but I really do believe that everyone here has each others' best interests at heart. Even when the tone of the thread gets out of hand, it's usually just a matter of a few very knowledgeable people trying very hard to get the correct information across.

I know that I have grown very fond of many of the members here, even some I’ve never met! And truly do consider them to be my friends. I worry about them in their times of hardship, and I celebrate with them (although from afar) in their times of joy. I would hate to lose out on that very personal aspect of the forum. Please try and remember that those who reach out here on the forum may be doing so to the only support network they have available to them.

I hope you’ll stick around the forum and come chat with us, another new friend is always a good thing. You are welcome on any thread I’m participating in, and I promise not to snipe at you and to value all the experience you are willing to share.

Charity

[Jan]

Well I never left I just stopped posting, I don’t believe anyone left, they just stopped posting. Remember now that I am not the best linguist and can be straight forward sometimes. Its just how I write. I don’t know how to be real flowery in my writing and any way that's not me. There is glass talk but it just seems like it’s missing something. Now don’t get me wrong I love the good heated debates, I use to stir a couple of them up myself. What happens in those good heated debates is some one always takes it personnel rather than staying on the subject. Just like a family we should be able to debate and disagree but still remain friends. You really do learn allot through some of those debates. Jan

[dichro_baby]

I agree, Jan,

We should be able to discuss our ideas (and have differing opinions) without getting all riled up. And, I find that in most cases there is a good deal of sharing and debate without the least bit of resentment or ill will.

LOL, I guess all we can do is continue to discuss and hope for the best? Even when things end up getting a bit heated, everything usually turns out in the end. Hopefully everyone will come back to post another day!

Charity

[Karen]

I have to say that I enjoy the personal stories of all kinds. But then, I like the concept of sharing our lives with people we may never meet. Gives you a different perspective from which to assess your own life and learn.

I do think that lately we have been covering the same stuff over and over and, in reality, I think that that is just the way it is and it's good for all the new folks and a good reminder for those of us who have been around for a while. Not everybody is capable of assessing why they got some reaction from some glass especially when they can't duplicate it (and I'm one of those incapable ones). Nor are we each going to invent a new technique every Monday morning (to paraphrase Mies van der Rohe). But we have had a lot of wonderful show and tells and discoussion of ideas that provide a good source of invention.

I wish that a lot of the people who wrote about these same types of things 2-3 years ago would post now, too. Periodically they post something, so that you know that they are at least occasionally reading, but I suspect they feel, that like you, they have heard it all before and nobody listened then. But we don't always REMEMBER what we read before and we can't use what we don't remember. There are some techniques that I actually dislike and because I don't use them, I don't know where they can lead. And there seems to be an ebb and flow to this forum so that there is a lot at once and a dearth at other times (ideas, techniques, concepts).

One other thing that takes some of the magic from even the joy of show and tells, is the necessity of photo imaging programs. You never know what you are really looking at. And then there is the issue of 'batches' with soft glass. Lots of playful colors are different from batch to batch and so we are all getting different results. 2 years ago, this did not seem to be an issue. Then it was the joy of working with the 'new colors'. And some of them are FANTASTIC and some of them are more trouble and expense than they are worth. I understand Mike's going to Italy April 1, so maybe there will be some new excitement to come. (Of course, we may have to read WC to find out.)

Anyway, to stop my diatribe, if you are still reading - please POST. Most of us need all the help we can get.

[CindyLouhoo]

Jan,
So good to see you again... figuratively speaking. I find this board much less chatty than some of the others and that's why I hang around. I try to keep on topic when I post, but maybe that's why I post only now and then. Hope to keep seeing you around.

Cindy

[Debby_Weaver]

Remember . . . .

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.

I don't know why certain people don't post any more - I would hope they would keep checking in and see what is going on. I know one person who used to post all the time said it was too difficult to post pictures here vs. on WC. I know that the Board has discussed making this easier for everyone but right now it is a software and money issue (I believe I am stating that correctly.) Plus we are still a volunteer organization with many areas that people work on and I believe WC is a business that solicits advertising to pay for their service. I don't believe we can do that under our designation as a non-profit, charitable organization. So we are a different kettle of fish - so to speak.

I do hope some of those folks will check in on us and jump in with comments and help.

But I gotta tell you - all of us are busy. I try to keep up with this forum - and I don't read every post - and that is all I have time for. I don't give advise very often because I know there are others that are better at it then I am. And every time I do check WC, it takes so long to load that I end up going off before I see very much.

So it goes!
Hope all who are reading this thread stick with us but people come and go. I really get a lot out of this forum.
Debby

[Schermo]

Hey Jan (waving wildly)

I still read this forum every day, and I read it first. I find I post less here than I used to, for several reasons. I have started participating over at Wet Canvas, after a student of mine convinced me that it was a good community. I realized that many of the newer people to lampwork seem to end up there for chit chat, OT posts (VERY OT), and getting to know you stuff. I am meeting up with the new folks and getting to know them over there. Which, in fact, is fine with me.

The ISGB used to have quite a lot of the chit chat going on, and I am just as happy to have this board for the more direct questions and concerns, and WC! for the fluff and show and tell threads. There's need for both, but it's nice to have it in two different places.

I do get frustrated when I have to read through long, rambling posts, tho, in any forum. (And sometimes, there seem to be a lot of them over here!) I want to follow the conversation in a thread, and I'm afraid that if I skip the long posts that I will miss something that gets commented on later. Long, rambling posts put some people off, I'm afraid, and then they stop reading this forum.

So, I haven't abandoned the ISGB forum, by any means. I'm here, I'm reading, and I'm contributing when the questions / concerns haven't been already addressed and it's something I have information / opinions about. I do wish we could have more people actually participating over here, but I think that maybe part of the problem is that the same people here on the ISGB seem to jump in right away and answer all the questions, and so other folks don't feel they need to add anything. I don't know.... that's just the way it feels to me personally.... Before I ever get a chance to respond, it seems like someone else has already done it. Either I agree with the answer, so don't need to add my two cents, or disagree, which is hard to have to do in a public forum. So, I keep quiet.

Thanks for bringing this up. I think it's allowed me to say a few things I've been wanting to say. But don't worry - this is still my home, and will continue to be.

Schermo

[Dale_M]

Hi... Just a few thoughts...

I personally dont care about anybodies personal lives... I have enough problem of my own...

I get tired of people who ask a question but won't accept a answer (even if 12 people give same answer).

I really come here for glass related information not some message thread with 50 parts on some deep thinking that has noting to do with glass.

I dont care to know your pets ills, I have parrot, tortoise, dog and tropical fish to care for and dont have time for your pets too...

Yes this board is a non profit.... And there are limitations, but it also gets stale because the same people post over and over and over to answer the same questions over and over and over...

I'm sorry if my responses upsets anybody, but this is not your shrinks office or your veterinarians office, or a think tank on what a "name" means.

Its a community and it has some things that needs to be keep out of public light and then there some things that can be shared.

IF NO ONE SHARES, then the community suffers and withers and dies, and that is why new forums are always willing to be given life!

If you don't post, then each and every one of you is at fault for the direction the forum takes.

Dale