Hi Everyone,
This post is my attempt to elicit responses from various users in the hopes that it will benefit everyone with some tips on how they might enhance their Knots experience, through the experience of others.
I like to peruse the various forums for topics that interest me or I’m looking for ways to do things. If I see a topic that I feel I might be able to contribute, I jump in.
Foremost in my use of Knots is a desire to contribute. I would like to add that this feeling is clearly apparent by the general posture of most, if not all Knotheads in here, i.e. everyone wants to share.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Replies
Bob
You have it pegged. Sharing is the key word. This covers technique and banter. We share knowledge and we share play.
Works for me. JL
At this point I am still asking questions and seeking the advice of others on the forum. I am not very thick skinned when it comes to rebuffs so I have a tendency to not offer my opinion about woodworking.Something about: "It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt."If I had my druthers I think I would just search the archives for all of the answers that I am after.Cheers GregAfter partially reading the Change to Forum exchange I think I will continue to lurk. ;-)
Edited 2/5/2007 10:57 pm by gwsaltspring
gwsaltspring
Lurk or show yourself. It is your choice...BDLTBWYD...( but don't let the bast_rds wear you down ). Ask your questions. There are no dumb questions when they are asked from the heart and with a desire to learn, only dumb answers. I notice you live in tree country. See you around. JL
Bob,
I use Knots primarily to learn:
* by questioning the Knotheads concerning small and intricate matters - nitpicks, minutiae and obscure thangs;
* via rehearsing my own arguments about stuff in public and refining my "answers" via the responses (a dialectic);
* as a reader of posts concerning things I would never have even thought of myself; or of which I was unaware.
Knots is also a great place to socialise and come to know strange characters who might best be described as "compulsive reading" in one way or another.
And then there is the fun - teasing, arguing, posturing, goading and all the naughty things that Mr Berger worries might get out of hand.
Lataxe, Knots addict
Limiting your forum expereince to knots is a very limiting learning experience in itself. There's over 100 woodworking forums out there. Only a couple of pro sites though and Knots isn't one of them. I think knots is kind of in the middle as far as quality. http://www.woodcentral.com is pretty good and is a much more navigable site with a great source of quickly navigated links. Each forum has it's strengths and weaknesses. http://www.sawmillcreek.org has a lot of amateur laser cnc stuff. http://www.woodworking.org/ has an interesting safety forum. People are always saying that certain features should be added to their favorite forum. Well those featurea are already on a different forum already. Like to find out how about the australian woodworkers...try... http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/
I visit to LEARN. Scanning the posts raises, and answers, many questions 'I didn't know I had'.
Knots makes me think about SAFETY! I now don a pair of Safety Glasses the moment I enter the shop because of a 'scary' post.
I visit to OFFER HELP. If I have knowledge, or experience from a previous project, I offer it to others.
I visit to GET HELP. It is always a source of amazement to me how quickly and professionaly you respond to my requests for help. Thankyou.
I DO NOT enter into threads which drift off the original post. When they become larded with puff and vitriol, it is time to scroll by, quickly.
Frosty
To me, Knots is a school. While at school I was taught to sit, be quiet and listen to what the teacher had to say. Everyone here is a teacher. If I feel I have something to contribute (despite my signiture) I add to the discussion.
Then there is the "lunch room". AKA: The Cafe. In there we all get to yell just about anything we want at any time we want to. Might even be the ocasional food fight.
ChuckN and I have nothing of value to add to this discussion.
I've been reading the knots forum for a few months, asked a couple questions and got some great answers... read many articles,...
I've used several of the video instructions to supplement my classes.. and have gained additional skills quicker by reading, practicing and redoing it again.. the practice dovetails worked very well in my students (and me) gaining confidence and skill..
These forums, the characters that inhabit these forums are invaluable to my instruction in my woodworking/ intro to construction careers classes.. All of your contributions are part of the education to the next generation...
I can readily point to this forum, website and all involved to my continued education and growth... as a woodworker and instructor..
Thanks
Dennis
I to use this forum to learn. I have even managed to learn things from those who are interested in expounding rather than informing. I find that if you ask a straight forward question, you pretty well get a straight forward answer, and then the forum goes to drift. Thats okay for me, because I can ignore the rhetoric. The variety of answers prove the variety of solutions, and this is inportant to me.
Pedro
Bob, I pick up and I drop, but I try not to litter. And I like learning about people and their views.
Mufti musing.
Bob,
I don't use knots, I tend to cut around them because they are unstable and ugly. If I do use knots, it's typically in my fireplace and I use newspaper to ignite them.
I'm sorry, I could not resist.
Jeff
Jeff,
You're kidding!
The cherry that I've been using to make a new piece didn't have any knots in it. I scrounged some from some scabs from other boards, as these just didn't have that rustic look.
Cutting the inlays to glue & install the knots was pure H*LL! Planing was awful as I don't have any Marcous laying around.
BobBob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
First and foremost, Knots, for me, is a place to learn new things.
It's also a place to pass on what few tidbits I know in the hope that someone else might benefit from them.
It's a great place for entertainment -- there are some real characters habituating this place, full of juvenile jokes, witty repartee, sarcastic rejoinder, caustic commentary, over-wrought wisdom, various & sundry rhetorical gymnastics. There are also those of a more gentle and refined nature, whose well-reasoned and thoughtful comments balance those that tilt more toward the Wild West side of the scale.
It's a great place to socialize, trade a few insights or comments about whatever the topic of the day is, and see what others' thoughts on that subject are. Again, that often results in learning something new: even though I may strongly disagree with a poster's comments or view point, learning the reasoning and experience behind them expands my knowledge.
It's a great place to meet new people: my life is certainly better for having come into contact with great folks like Ray Pine, Lataxe, Mel, Glaucon, Jeff Heath, Nikkiwood, Jeanlou, Philip Marcou, Malcolm, Derek, Adam, BossCrunk, Paddy, Mufti, Mike Wallace, FG, Wanda, yourself, and many, many others (apologies to anyone not mentioned -- no intention to offend!!).
All in all, a great place to spend some time.
.
.
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
Semper Paratus!
Pro Patria!
Edited 2/6/2007 2:57 pm by pzgren
Edited 2/6/2007 2:58 pm by pzgren
If you plan on doing anything but reading the posts, prepare to be called everything but human by some anonymous people who would not dare say the same things to your face. Seriously, use the phrase “in my opinion” a lot. If somebody wants to fight you with words, just tell them they are right about everything and you are wrong about everything. I’m convinced that the people who want to argue on the internet either have miserable lives or no lives at all.
Edited 2/6/2007 3:04 pm ET by steveky
Edited 2/6/2007 3:05 pm ET by steveky
There is someting about these internet forums that brings out the pompus, overbearing, and cantankerous in some people. But I also think it is true that some people have an astonishingly thin skin -- sometimes taking offense where none was intended. The question is whether this is more a problem at Knots than it is at other forums. What do you think?********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
" There is something about these internet forums that brings out the pompus, overbearing, and cantankerous in some people"
Yeah but was that not a pompus, overbearing thing to say? :) See we all have our opinions and as long as we realize that your opinion is to you as valid as mine is to me, and vise versa, we should be ok. It is when we start thinking that our opinion is the only correct one that we get into trouble.
I think the point of this forum (and indeed pretty much all internet forums) is to exchanged ideas and opinions other then our own. If we do not want to encounter others ideas and opinions then why are we on a international computer network?
Personally I like to listen to others ideas and opinions and chime in with mine (ok so I sound like a big gong more then a chime) once in a while (ok a LOT of times) as I am here to see how others do things.
Doug Meyer
The “pompous, overbearing, and cantankerous” behavior takes place in all forums. In answer to your question, no, Knots is not worse than other sights. I’m just surprised when I see people wasting as much as a minute of their lives having a fit on a woodworking sight. What’s this sight about? Exchanging ideas on cutting wood, joining wood, shaping wood, etc. - Some people will take it personally if you don’t prefer the machinery they use, others will all but call your mother bad names if they disagree on the method you’re using to join two pieces of wood together. I suppose some of this could be attributed to the fact that everyone does not have a talent when it comes to expressing themselves with the written word. But still, if people had to post their picture, address, and phone number every time they became involved in a forum, I suspect things would become a lot more civilized on the internet.
>I haven't experienced this problem at other forums, but I don't participate in many, so it's hard to say. This is the only forum I've been dissed at though. But what do I know, maybe they had a pesky hairball that night.In all serious I wonder if it's the writing and not meant to be a diss. There are times I write something and it's taken differently than what was intended. As a medium for conveying ideas language is not anywhere near perfect, writing even less so. We don't take into account that writing lacks some basic signals (intonation, eye contact, body language, etc.) that we use in verbal comunication to convey our ideas. So what is written may be different than what was intended. Why do I read Knots? I have no life! No, actually I read it to learn, pick up new ideas, support the ideas I have which then gives me the confidence to try something new, help others, give advice related to my experiences, give (and get) support. And then it's fun, some of these posts are really funny!
Edited 2/8/2007 7:57 am ET by pqken
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