Hangout Place

[Travis]

When I first started scrolling (maybe around 2007-2008ish), there were a number of places folks could hang out.  Yahoo groups were a big thing for scrolling communities.  They were basically online communities, kinda like SSV.  There were tons of really specialized groups you could choose from, talk shop, share patterns, etc.  Then there was SSW&C forum, which was pretty good.  When I started SSV in 2009, I was one of many.  But Yahoo eventually shut down their user groups and folks needed to find a new home.  It kinda makes me wonder where everybody is hanging out nowadays.  I'm so in my own little bubble at SSV, that I really don't know anymore.  I figure since you guys tend to have your finger on the pulse a bit better than I do, where are people hanging out?  Do people use forums?  If so, which ones?  Are they all on Facebook?  (SSV isn't going anywhere, BTW....I'm just curious)

[jerry walters]

I'm happy SSV is not going away. Since I'm fairly new I was getting scared you were leaving. Now I can rest easy. I have learned sooooo much. 

Jerry

[Scrappile]

I only know 4 that are active site forums that specialize in scroll sawing.  Here, the most active, Scroller Cafe, Steve Good (least active) and SSW&C. I use to visit them all, now this is my home.  Once in a while I visit Scroller Cafe, they are nice people, alot of them are from here also.

[kmmcrafts]

I miss those old days and many of the people from back then. I started out sawing around 2005-6 and I was a active yahoo group member in many tractor and car groups / clubs and actually ran a couple of the tractor clubs.. Then when yahoo changed from clubs? to groups I sort of lost interest in yahoo's platform etc.. and I actually found scroll saw groups on MSN groups? and there were several of them but my favorite was "Free4All Scroll Saw Patterns" .. the people there were so friendly and many pattern designers. When I'd ask for a photo to pattern within about a couple hours time 4-6 people did a pattern and you had several designs of your image done into a pattern to choose from. Sadly MSN groups came to an end and I was back at the SSW&C's site again ( which was what I found first but didn't seem like as friendly of a group of folks ). Then Free4All opened a website and I moved to it, it was pretty good site but not as good as the massive group of folks that was on the MSN groups. I found the village sometime around the same time frame as the new Free4All site but wasn't too active here until Free4All shut down and then I kinda hung out at SSW&C for a while but they changed servers or something and it was down for way longer than expected and when they did come back they lost another bunch of good people and to me the site has been pretty dead ever since then.

Currently, I mostly just come here to the village.. I'm on several of the FB groups but to be honest I don't like the format of the FB groups.. and I know you can turn off certain notifications etc. but turning them off I miss some that I would like to get but on the other hand I don't post much on there groups because I get notified every time someone post a reply or a message.. The algorithm sucks because if I like or comment in one group then it hides all the content from the other groups.. It's just very poorly done in my opinion.. but it may work well for the majority of folks I don't know. 

I think Scrollers Cafe could be a great place to hang out too but again the forum format is kind of clunky to me.. and hard to follow along. just shows how important a sites navigation, ease of use, and overall appearance is very important.  

[OCtoolguy]

I searched out all of the forums and this is by far my favorite. I spend too much time on the computer so I'm glad there are not many. Thanks Travis for creating the warm and welcoming atmosphere that SSV has. I've learned everything I know about scrolling from this forum. Steve Good does a wonderful job of creating patterns and reviewing tools and related equipment so I'm very thankful for his site also. Keep doing what you are doing. We all appreciate it.

[Peter N White]

I am fairly new to scrolling and intarsa but find this site very good people are helpful and give advice freely love it and thanks Travis for doing what you do.

[Gene Howe]

3 minutes ago, Peter N White said:

I am fairly new to scrolling and intarsa but find this site very good people are helpful and give advice freely love it and thanks Travis for doing what you do.

A BIG DITTO!

[dgman]

When Steve Good started his Community Forum, I was one of the first to sign up. I was on that forum for several years. Unfortunately, it became very political. I complained to the moderator with no support from him. So, I left. Went to the Scrollsaw Woodworking and crafts forum till they changed their forum format. Everyone hated it including myself. I heard about SSV and signed up. Been here ever since. I don’t do any social media so, this is my home.

[Dak0ta52]

Steve Good's forum was where I started but there were only a comment or two a week if I were lucky. Next I found the SSW&C but felt as an outsider because I didn't subscribe to their magazine. Then I found the Village and there hasn't been any looking back. Ohhh, I'll check on the other two forums occasionally but to me, Scroll Saw Village is Home!

There are several scroll saw groups on Facebook and fortunately the administrators are pretty good about keeping the content to scroll sawing or there abouts. I've noticed a lot of the members of these groups are also Village members.

In my humble opinion I believe Scroll Saw Village is the leading place on the internet for like-minded people. If I were restricted to pick only one scroll site, the Village would be my choice.

[preprius]

I only have account in 2 public forums.   This village is my first. My 2nd which does astronomy. 

This village format is nice.  I use the all activity to see most traffic.  I like the list of forums,  bragging rights and user gallery the most.  The number of views and likes are pleasant to find. It is the people that make this a great place. The new ideas, artistry, and open mindedness. Super pleasant. 

Using the village gallery is a bit non obvious. A bit clunky. But it works.  

The 2nd forum, astronomy , forum is huge. Lots of forum categories, and lots of people.  They use abrevievations that I have no clue what they are discussing.  There is many many moderators, because there are so many posts. Mostly helpful people but some get confrontational. I signed up there almost a year ago.  I learned some good techniques but the creativity is much lower. There is smart people but not many new topics.  Most topics are highly specialized in software settings and procedures. Astrophotograhy is too detailed , I don't care about.  But the visual forum is where I learn new techniques. The gallery is little used.  Most photos are on external site that you can upload huge detailed pics. 

This village is home.  I felt good about joining and feel good contributing. I hope my play with words is taken in a humorus way. 

[BadBob]

There are a lot of scroll-saw groups on face book. The format is terrible, and there are way too many members of all who post the same thing in all groups—lots of repetition and poor or no moderation.

There are four scrollsaw forums I visit at least weekly. In three of those I only look at new posts to see if anything is interesting. There is very little.

Scrollsaw Workshop Community should shut down. Very little traffic is there, and Steve doesn't monitor the forum.

Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts Message Board is better, but there is very little activity. I do participate there occasionally. I don't think anyone from the publisher actually monitors the board. If it went away, I would not miss it.

The Scrollers Cafe seems to mostly have threads about what members are having for breakfast. There is very little other activity. I get an email once a week with a list of all the new topics.

Scroll Saw Village is home. There is something new and interesting here every day. I regularly send people here.

[barb.j.enders]

Like many others here, this is home.  I have pretty much guven up on all the other sites.  I am on a few on FB.  The one there, I visit most, is Girls with scroll saws. That being said, they seem to mostly do big name signs.

Thanks Travis for the site!

[JessL]

I only use this site.  After shopping around, this place seemed more my style.  I am on a few FB sites but only for looking. I don't participate on FB anymore.

[Jim McDonald]

I have been on the magazine board for about 15 years and have watched it trickle to a shell of its former glory. (There might be 10 or so active posters). I lived through the software debacle and actually was a beta tester for the current format which I have never warmed up to.

As for folks monitoring the site, there used to be three or four staffers who were very involved in the board.

I found The Village during the software conversion and have been a member for a few years. Since I don't do FB, the two forums are my outlets. I do follow both on Instagram.

As for Steve's board, it was a grand idea that I tried for about a month. I think I even tried the Cafe.

[Be_O_Be]

15 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

just shows how important a sites navigation, ease of use, and overall appearance is very important.  

As the WWW has developed over the years this is true with many sites. I think the ones that have lasted have listened to the people that visit the site and made the changes that were needed.

 You do a great job here @Travis.

 

[jpburcham]

This is my "goto" site. . pretty active, well moderated (at least in my opinion  , pleasant people and relevant content. 

[Denny Knappen]

Adding my two cents worth.  I am a member of three forums and as mentioned, the SWWC forum seems to be dying, the Cafe forum has many friends even though there is a lot of breakfast talk, and SSV which is the most active.  I am also on Facebook, but that is for advertising purposes to sell Pegas supplies.    This is my go-to forum.

[MarieC]

This is my one and only.  I googled and found a post by Paul @Scrappile and Ray @OCtoolguy (probably pretty old post) when I was looking for a scrollsaw.  And that is how landed here.  Paul has encouraged me from the get go and since then I have been very welcomed here by all.  I do not do any other social media so this is my home.  Travis, thanks for developing this! 

[Bill WIlson]

I've belonged to several different woodworking forums over the years.  The scrolling forums have always been much more supportive, friendly and non-argumentative than most of the general woodworking forums.  I think SSWW&C was the first scrolling forum I joined.  It used to be a very active place, but as others have said, participation has declined a lot in recent years.  I joined here in 2011, on the advice of Dan is SoCal (dgman) and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience here.

I don't do Facebook, Instagram or any of the other social media platforms, just a few scrolling/ww'ing forums.  That's plenty for me.

Great site and thanks to you Travis for all of your hard work in creating & managing this place.

[bobscroll]

I started out on "free4all scroll saw forum" first then sadly it ended, Then one day I stumbled onto this great forum! So thank you Travis for what you do! I've had a lot of things happen to Me over the last few years distracting me from being more active as I used to be... And the fact my computer is something that belongs in a museum? So Travis please "keep on Trucking!" That's all folks, Bob

[Travis]

I remember the early days, you could go to 5-6 different places with new stuff to read and chat about.  I can't tell if the online community is smaller/less active, or if it's just spread out more across many different platforms.  Or maybe online forums are no longer the "cool place to be"  LOL.  I will admit, online forums like SSV are a little out of fashion right now.  I have a feeling it will swing back away from traditional social media.  Especially since it is a treasure trove of great information in a single place.