First let me take this opportunity to thank Dan and all the moderators on this forum. I should have done this a long time ago.

Participation is important to keep the forum going. I know I don't participate nearly enought. I have a hard time putting my thoughts into writing. Anytime I'm on this forum, I feel like I'm in a room full of friends. I know or am aquainted with most of the folks here. On the other forums, I felt like I was in a room full of strangers. Hardly anyone used their name. I didn't enjoy being there. I finally quit those forums when some of the "discussions" got so ugly the moderators had to shut them down. I guess what I'm trying to say is, more participation would be nice, but relaxing the rules too much can have negative consiquences.

Hi guys and gals I hope everyone is having a great month! I'm sorry but I personally cannot wait until fall. Having a forge in the garage is like being in a sauna everyday. Well as far as the Monthly topic I think it would be a great idea to maybe dedicate a page of the next journal to explain the importance and power that the forum offers. Meaning we can communicate with people of like-mindedness around the United States and international. In this journal article it should also highlight that the forum is a valuable tool. This tool being a way to learn new techniques, a way to learn how to sale your product, and above all a way to fellowship with other blade-smiths. Anyway that is my two cents.

Thanks,

Jonathan S. Johnston

I think it would be a great idea to maybe dedicate a page of the next journal to explain the importance and power that the forum offers. Meaning we can communicate with people of like-mindedness around the United States and international.

Jonathan

You have a great idea and we will write an article for the ABS Journal about the features in our Forum. The Fall issue of the Journal is about to go to or has gone to the printer already so it will be in the following issue.

This thread was started to try and find ways to get our members more involved with the forum. We have spent a lot of time talking with folks who are already involved and regular forum contributors asking them how to get the people who do not participate involved. We have not yet asked a group of the second category (those who do not participate) what they think, or what it would take to get them more involved. Asking those of us who regularly attend and contribute for ideas is only going to give you ideas that we think would improve the forum. Whether those ideas would appeal to non-attendees, or get people more motivated to participate is a gamble at best.

We need to ask the target audience for their opinions.

If I look at the list of ABS smiths attending the ICCE show next month, I notice very few names that I see around the forum. Next month we will have 70+ ABS smiths in a single location, many of whom are not forum contributors. Maybe we should take that opportunity to survey them for ideas or input on what it would take to get them here, or what they would like to see on the forum.

Due to medical reasons I missed Blade and I'll not be attending the September show. I like Joshua's idea. Back when I was in college I lead a team at the county fair where we surveyed every tenth person exiting the fair. This could be a great opportunity to survey the attending members not only on what it would take to get them to participate but, also on topics they would like covered.

Basically keep it to 6 or 7 simple questions. Maybe tie it to a drawing where they put their answers in a box and near the end of the show draw the winner. That way both those members participating and visiting the show could respond. The prize could be select the ABS Single DVD that you would like. I don't known a single member that would turn down a prize.

Just to give everyone an idea of how often the ABS Forum has been viewed I checked the statistics. As of today, there have been 7,712,681 views of the Topics on the ABS Forum in countries around the world.

Thanks for the support George.

I like the drawing idea and then again I don't know. You may get more response if there's a reward (or possible reward) for responding. Then again, you might get more honest answers if the survey is totally anonymous. Maybe if they put the survey in one box and their name in another one. Either way, I think it's an opportunity that we should take full advantage of somehow.

I think if most members read this topic they will find themselves like me, neglecting one of the reasons we joined the ABS, To learn and pass it on to others seeking the knowledge to better themselves and the art of the forged blade. I once again forgot my password to the forum, Cindy got me set back up and Im going to make it a point to help with things when I can. As several of you have helped me along my journey I will try to help someone else.

Thank you Landon! You have the right idea. This is what the American Bladesmith Society is all about.

Our mission is education and one of the ways it is accomplished is by sharing our knowledge of bladesmithing with others.

Talking about statistics: the "video" topic is viewed more then 150.000 times in 10 days. I wonder if we're going to see a lot of forging movies on the forum <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

What is the difference between a "guest" and "anonymous user"?

Christophe

Only American Bladesmith Society members are eligible to register for and become "members" of the ABS Forum. Members of the ABS Forum have full privileges to post and upload images and have full access to all areas of the ABS Forum.

"Guests" can only view most areas of the ABS Forum. Also, Guests are not eligible to view the Members Only sub forums on the ABS Forum.

We do not have "anonymous users" on the ABS Forum. Anonymous users in some applications can login with any name they want and have full privileges.

Note: In regard to the "video topic", I believe that you are referring to the Topic of the Month for January 2015 "Making Videos- Cameras, Editing Software and Techniques for Videos". This topic has had more than 705,283 views.

I did my research and consulted extensively with several professionals including several of the staff at Invision Power.

I increased the image and attachment size limits for images within a post from the current maximum of 800x800 and less than 150kb To 1,000 x 1,000 and less than 500kb. This is a very substantial increase and should work for us.

I shot and uploaded the photo below to show what 1,000 x 800 and 110kb looks like on our Forum page.

Awesome! Thank you Dan!

Thank You Dan!

Thank you very much Dan!

Soon I'll be back in the shop and I will make an effort to do more photographs to share.