As one of the relative newbies...
I read the beginning of this thread and wondered- wait, are they talking about me? Yes, I tend to ask more questions than I answer. Yes, I am more a "hobby scrapper" than a "professional". Yes, I tend to have a slightly different take on things than most here and yes, I've never had the time or energy to become a "veteran" on any particular forum I read- it probably won't happen here either. I can't muster much in the way of authority or wisdom other than to say I've been participating in online communities in one form or another for about 25 years- my first email account was routed through a VAX mainframe at Cornell University back in 1988, and I've been a "netizen" ever since.
Given those meager credentials, I offer a few observations:
First, I have been impressed with the general "positiveness" and camaraderie exhibited in this forum. While I am sure there is an "old guard" of posters and moderators here, I have never felt like I didn't belong- a testament to the tolerance shown by the "elder" members and a judicious moderation of the site (for better or worse, moderators are like drummers- the better they are the less you notice them).
That said, I agree with some of the posted comments that with growth comes adjustment. There is nothing wrong with promoting and enforcing a particular "mission statement" for the site (so long as everyone knows what that is), but success and popularity is a double-edged sword- the more people find and attempt to utilize this resource, the more off-topic, oddball posts you're going to have to wade through. It's simple statistics.
Third, let's be honest- searching previous posts for some particular bit of information isn't always that easy or straightforward. Yes, someone is always going to ask a question that has been covered again and again, and they ought to have done a little searching first. I myself read through all 52 pages (at the time) of Ewasted's thread in the buying section to try to get a grip on what's what in the e-scrapping business. But do you *really* expect people to do that? I mean, really? Search for any common or ambiguous term and you get pages and pages and pages of posts to wade through. No, this site doesn't present itself as an easily-accessible "wiki" of all things scrapping, but sometimes I get the impression from the old-timers that they really don't appreciate the overwhelming (and sometimes contradictory) amount of information available here. Spammers are spammers, but you have to cut a little slack to the newbies wading into years and years of posts, personalities, and changing markets and technology.
Fourth, another "let's be honest" point. There is a certain dynamic tension here between education/information and business. On the one hand, people want and ask for information on how/what/when/where to scrap a certain item and generally they can find their answers here, mostly. On the other hand, scrapping is a business and living for many on here who, quite reasonably, don't want or need any more upstart competitors. I myself come from "academia" where generating and sharing data is the whole point- there is no profit motive. "Sharing data" in the business world is, unless done in very specific ways towards very specific ends, counterproductive to the point of self-defeating. With that in mind, I have seen a lot of questions mostly kind of answered here, often with the suggestion of "search through previous threads for the answer". And yes, most of the time the topic has been covered in one way or another, but I sense a certain (and very understandable) reticence to "spill the beans" by answering in a full, direct, immediately practical manner.
To wrap up, I'm not one to criticize this forum- it is, as others have noted, one of the most pleasant, interesting, funny, and useful ones I've come across. The growth in its popularity is both a testament to its value but also a test for its regular inhabitants. Do you want an exclusive social club? A business-insider's newsletter? A place to promote ethical and healthy practices? A compendium of scrapping knowledge? All of these things? Just wondering...
cheers,
tbg
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