Joe Peacock
02-06-2010, 1:44 AM
I finally did it! I looked through all 344 pages of the Engravers Forum! That is 344 x 25 posts per page, 8,600 posts! It took me about 2 weeks of about 45 minutes a night but I have to say....it was well worth it! Some of the posts were obviously something that I wouldn't be interested in so I skipped them but there were a surprisingly abundant number of things that I thought I could use or might be useful to me in the future. I am a "Serial Hobbyist" (my wife's term for my condition) and I collect information like a sponge.
I am constantly amazed at the freedom of sharing and the depth of thought that went into the responses to the inquiries that were made. Unlike other forums I frequent no one was called out for being inept or made to feel inferior because they asked a question that was "elementary" or that had been answered before. Sometimes there was gentle prodding to "use the search engine" but in most cases the responders took a deep breath and explained the answer once again.
The depth that all of the active members have gone to answer the questions and the continuing follow up of the threads until the inquirer got an answer to their inquiry was impressive.
I have been on a LOT of forums where some of the elementary questions I asked would have been responded to with a scathing "don't you know how to use the search button?".....not so here.
I have a theory.....most of the people on this forum don't view fellow members as a threat to their livelihood and are willing to share the knowledge they have gained through personal experience or through answers they have gotten from the forum in the past.
I also have another theory.....if you pay $10,000+/- for the asset that is being discussed you are probably of above average intelligence and you probably appreciate interacting with people on the same level.
Having said all of this....let me tell you how I went through all 8,600 posts.....
The first thing I do when I go to a forum like this that is interesting to me is open a Word Document. Then when I see an interesting comment I "copy" and "paste" it to that document, hit the space bar a couple of times and then put a line of = signs below that and then hit enter enter a couple of times and then the space bar. This way I am set up to save the next pertinent (to me) post that I need to save . Then when I find something else that is salient to my interests all I have to do is append it to my Word Document and it is available for me to look at any time I choose to.
One other thing I do is look at the threads and decide what part of the response is something that I want to have on hand from now on (.cdr files) then I view it as a single post, save the URL location and the e-mail it to myself and I have it as something I can search for whenever I need it. I have gotten a lot of information saved that I "might need" in the future on hand using this method.
Again, I would want to thank the moderators and the participants on this forum for their responsiveness and patience in dealing with people new to the wonder of the Laser World!
Joe
I am constantly amazed at the freedom of sharing and the depth of thought that went into the responses to the inquiries that were made. Unlike other forums I frequent no one was called out for being inept or made to feel inferior because they asked a question that was "elementary" or that had been answered before. Sometimes there was gentle prodding to "use the search engine" but in most cases the responders took a deep breath and explained the answer once again.
The depth that all of the active members have gone to answer the questions and the continuing follow up of the threads until the inquirer got an answer to their inquiry was impressive.
I have been on a LOT of forums where some of the elementary questions I asked would have been responded to with a scathing "don't you know how to use the search button?".....not so here.
I have a theory.....most of the people on this forum don't view fellow members as a threat to their livelihood and are willing to share the knowledge they have gained through personal experience or through answers they have gotten from the forum in the past.
I also have another theory.....if you pay $10,000+/- for the asset that is being discussed you are probably of above average intelligence and you probably appreciate interacting with people on the same level.
Having said all of this....let me tell you how I went through all 8,600 posts.....
The first thing I do when I go to a forum like this that is interesting to me is open a Word Document. Then when I see an interesting comment I "copy" and "paste" it to that document, hit the space bar a couple of times and then put a line of = signs below that and then hit enter enter a couple of times and then the space bar. This way I am set up to save the next pertinent (to me) post that I need to save . Then when I find something else that is salient to my interests all I have to do is append it to my Word Document and it is available for me to look at any time I choose to.
One other thing I do is look at the threads and decide what part of the response is something that I want to have on hand from now on (.cdr files) then I view it as a single post, save the URL location and the e-mail it to myself and I have it as something I can search for whenever I need it. I have gotten a lot of information saved that I "might need" in the future on hand using this method.
Again, I would want to thank the moderators and the participants on this forum for their responsiveness and patience in dealing with people new to the wonder of the Laser World!
Joe