80 replies to this topic

[ChefLamont]

I am wondering this out loud, but just looking through the post list, there are some topics that are beginner-ish level, but there is not a lot.  I wonder if newbs look here and feel intimidated or feel like there arent a lot of people where they are.

 

 

I wouldnt want the newb cowboy corral, but I wonder if we should have more discussions open on more beginner topics that could be attractive.  Not totally contrived, but make an effort.

 

 

Again, just thinking out loud.

[SchwanzBrewer]

OK, now we know who let the newbs in. ChefLamont is a NEWB SYMPATHIZER!

[neddles]

I am wondering this out loud, but just looking through the post list, there are some topics that are beginner-ish level, but there is not a lot.  I wonder if newbs look here and feel intimidated or feel like there arent a lot of people where they are.

 

 

I wouldnt want the newb cowboy corral, but I wonder if we should have more discussions open on more beginner topics that could be attractive.  Not totally contrived, but make an effort.

 

 

Again, just thinking out loud.

I lurked for a while before I felt like I could ask an intelligent question.

[Steve Urquell]

I haven't recommended this place to anyone because I still feel like a new member although I've been registered here a few years. I started out at HBT in 2008 and quickly moved to Homebrewchatter after seeing how much bad info was on HBT. I feel like HBC is really my beer forum home but it has become so bad over the last 3 years that I gave up on it completely.Still feel like "The New Guy®" over here.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I haven't recommended this place to anyone because I still feel like a new member although I've been registered here a few years. I started out at HBT in 2008 and quickly moved to Homebrewchatter after seeing how much bad info was on HBT. I feel like HBC is really my beer forum home but it has become so bad over the last 3 years that I gave up on it completely.Still feel like "The New Guy®" over here.

 

I don't know why, you consistently have good things to say.

[Steve Urquell]

I don't know why, you consistently have good things to say.

Maybe just b/c of the history most of you have as greenboard refugees.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Guest is the ebola of the beer forum.

[Big Nake]

... because it is dying.

Curious about why you think that. We probably had an explosion at first and then some dribbles after that and I assume that enrollment has flattened out. This is definitely not one of the high-profile forums and that's a good thing. I occasionally have conversations with other brewers about this or that and I link to a thread over here. When they respond, they're always like, "what forum is that?" or "Hey, cool forum... I have never seen it before". I don't think we're going to get a big transient group in and out of here and remember when the board was started it was kind of like "invitation only" sort of. I got an email or PM (on the greenboard) from MTNBrewer saying "Psst! Over here -> " and then I jumped over here. We're not really on the map.

[BarelyBrews]

Curious about why you think that. We probably had an explosion at first and then some dribbles after that and I assume that enrollment has flattened out. This is definitely not one of the high-profile forums and that's a good thing. I occasionally have conversations with other brewers about this or that and I link to a thread over here. When they respond, they're always like, "what forum is that?" or "Hey, cool forum... I have never seen it before". I don't think we're going to get a big transient group in and out of here and remember when the board was started it was kind of like "invitation only" sort of. I got an email or PM (on the greenboard) from MTNBrewer saying "Psst! Over here -> " and then I jumped over here. We're not really on the map.

The board of green was up and down by the hour i actually gave up on it, and then my co-worker told me about this board when it was up. So i know ,about almost missing the Ark..

[Big Nake]

The board of green was up and down by the hour i actually gave up on it, and then my co-worker told me about this board when it was up. So i know ,about almost missing the Ark..

I was not involved in whatever unfortunate fallout that happened on the greenboard. I thought the greenboard was as good a place as any to get good brewing information and it makes sense... a lot of the people that were there are now here.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Enrollment is non-existent. We get a new account maybe 1-2x a month, but no new account holders post or don't stick around after their initial post. With our existing members, there's not much activity on the beer forum, and almost none in the Wine/Mead forum. 99% of our board activity is in the PH. As a homebrew forum, we're failing.

 

We have about 30 or so regular posters to the beer forum. I see about 4-6 new threads per week. The quality of the threads is usually very good and the recipe forum moves along decently. I also think the downturn in the economy meant that members that are PH posters that used to post in the beer forum were having a hard time brewing and weren't following along. Some of those people are trickling back now.I happen to love the PH. It's beer lovers for the most part and homebrewing that brings their common interest together. Those that want things more serious are able to do so. If the beer forum weren't here I don't think I'd have stuck around.

[Big Nake]

We have about 30 or so regular posters to the beer forum. I see about 4-6 new threads per week. The quality of the threads is usually very good and the recipe forum moves along decently. I also think the downturn in the economy meant that members that are PH posters that used to post in the beer forum were having a hard time brewing and weren't following along. Some of those people are trickling back now.I happen to love the PH. It's beer lovers for the most part and homebrewing that brings their common interest together. Those that want things more serious are able to do so. If the beer forum weren't here I don't think I'd have stuck around.

Big +1 to Rich. I agree that there are times when the beer forum gets stagnant. I look and there are no new posts. Check again a few hours later... nothing. Then all of a sudden there are 5 new threads. I also agree that the quality and thought-provoking nature of the threads is good. These are not stupid, time-wasting posts. They are meaningful and may have the ability to make brewers try new things or adjust their processes. This is what we look for. I'm sure that Guest is correct and that most of the activity is in the PH but the brewers are in here... nettles, drez, schwanz, kegdude, brother poptop, denny, blktre, morty, chicagowaterguy, dj, matt, corbin, ChefLamont, chils, doobah, Deerslyr, Howie, Dave... we're in here every day.

[neddles]

Sadly I think Guest is right, and not just by the stats. I found this place via a google search to the mead board. Lots of good older mead threads here. Anyhow I eventually started brewing beer too and as a newbie here reading both older and newer threads it was clear that just about everyone here already knows each other quite well. It felt a bit like a closed community because of it. Obviously it didn't turn out that way because it's not that way. I did hang around long enough to latch on because the quality of knowledge was evident and eventually felt like I knew enough to ask a decent question and have since worked my way in as a regular. (for better or worse) But I think that to the average person arriving here via search engine it may seem like "Oh, nice board! But the traffic is slow and everyone knows each other already." If I knew some newer brewers I would send them here, but I do not. I only know a couple older closed minded brewers who have no interest in suggestions to use unnecessary things like temperature control or starters.

 

Seems like there are some older members that have disappeared too and not just to the PH. Hard to think of all their names right now but I would be good to get them back. To name a few.. obviously Basser, MTN and JD are now a rarity,  but also Mindblock, and then Cavman who came back for a few days but has since left. There are tons more I can't think of but you see a lot of them when you do a search through old threads. So much good stuff archived here. Ken's water threads are legendary but I learned a crap ton from them and the all the questions they spawned. 

[Big Nake]

Sadly I think Guest is right, and not just by the stats. I found this place via a google search to the mead board. Lots of good older mead threads here. Anyhow I eventually started brewing beer too and as a newbie here reading both older and newer threads it was clear that just about everyone here already knows each other quite well. It felt a bit like a closed community because of it. Obviously it didn't turn out that way because it's not that way. I did hang around long enough to latch on because the quality of knowledge was evident and eventually felt like I knew enough to ask a decent question and have since worked my way in as a regular. (for better or worse) But I think that to the average person arriving here via search engine it may seem like "Oh, nice board! But the traffic is slow and everyone knows each other already." If I knew some newer brewers I would send them here, but I do not. I only know a couple older closed minded brewers who have no interest in suggestions to use unnecessary things like temperature control or starters. Seems like there are some older members that have disappeared too and not just to the PH. Hard to think of all their names right now but I would be good to get them back. To name a few.. obviously Basser, MTN and JD are now a rarity,  but also Mindblock, and then Cavman who came back for a few days but has since left. There are tons more I can't think of but you see a lot of them when you do a search through old threads. So much good stuff archived here. Ken's water threads are legendary but I learned a crap ton from them and the all the questions they spawned.

I call that a success. Maybe the mead forum was not as robust as you would like but there is some good information in the beer forum. Also, Rich mentioned that he liked our "cozy" atmosphere and the fact that there aren't a bunch of newbies around... it's a good thing that we don't have the traffic of some of the other boards. Plus, are we concerned that our membership is not increasing? This is not a profit-driven entity so I'm not sure I would worry too much unless the brewing forum completely dried up and all that was left was the PH. I like the PH too but that's not why I'm here.Also... check your inbox. I sent you a helles update.

Edited by KenLenard, 14 October 2014 - 08:02 PM.

[neddles]

I call that a success. Maybe the mead forum was not as robust as you would like but there is some good information in the beer forum. Also, Rich mentioned that he liked our "cozy" atmosphere and the fact that there aren't a bunch of newbies around... it's a good thing that we don't have the traffic of some of the other boards. Plus, are we concerned that our membership is not increasing? This is not a profit-driven entity so I'm not sure I would worry too much unless the brewing forum completely dried up and all that was left was the PH. I like the PH too but that's not why I'm here.Also... check your inbox. I sent you a helles update.

I am. I have thought about it several times as I have watched some of the aforementioned names disappear. We could use some new blood. Certainly I would not want to build this into an HBT monstrosity but some interested people with varied skill levels would be ideal. Some newbies here and there help you to review lost fundamentals and question stagnant ideas. Alternatively some more experienced folks happening by to share their years of experience would be great. I was happy to see Beerbecue show up recently. Dude was like 3 posts in and slapped a favorite fall ale recipe on us. That was great. Really hope he sticks around.

[StankDelicious]

I urge everyone to tell every homebrewer and anyone interested in learning about the hobby to join our forum.

I'm with Guest on this one. I tell other homebrewers about this forum.

 

Don't turn this place into a bunch of elitist douchenozzles.

Edited by BigBossMan, 14 October 2014 - 09:59 PM.

[positiveContact]

I'm with Guest on this one. I tell other homebrewers about this forum.

 

Don't turn this place into a bunch of elitist douchenozzles.

 

to be clear it's not b/c i think other people aren't worthy.  i just like keeping online and RL somewhat separate. 

[Steve Urquell]

After starting on a Vbulletin forum, I found this one to be hard to get used to. I still don't like that all threads are fleeting and nearly impossible to find at a later date. Many noobs will search and read about simple stuff before ever posting a topic. That stuff is easy to find on a categorized forum like HBT.One favorite noob search topic is recipes. There are a ton of great recipes here that are buried and nearly impossible to find without knowing exactly what you are looking for. No categorization hurts this place as far as new brewers are concerned IMHO.

[Big Nake]

I do agree that newbies freshen the place up a bit and make you go back and check your facts. When JD and Brewman came in here, someone else mentioned how they had to go back and look at things that they had not looked at in years or how maybe some new things had popped up in areas that you hadn't looked at in a long time. New blood can do the forum good for sure. This is why I originally posted that I send people here... but I had never really thought about this place drying up. I think the traffic flow and balance of things is good at the moment. Cavman has been scarce, I agree. Basser has some personal issues to contend with and he works for a giant national brewery so when he's here, we try to absorb what he says for sure.

[brewman]

you guys still look at me as the newbie...  Gosh