Shawn White said:
[quote="Nick Prochilo":2m8c2dji]Man, used to be lots of conversing going on here. Not lately. Whtas happening.
Well, here is my 2 cents ....
Not enough real Q talk here. Too much Tom Foolery and interpersonal stuff. I don't think that has to be a bad thing, but if you're not in the click or up to date you are out of it. It can be there for the die hards as long as the other stuff keeps coming.
The two key forums on TVWB are in my opinion, Barbeque and the New Members site .... talking about Q on WSM and learning WSM Qing.
Many of the members here don't share their Q adventures AND post pics and questions cuz I guess we all seem to know how to please ourselves with our cookers or just know what we want to do next time to try and improve.
To illustrate my point, compare even the first page of update history in General Discussion and General BBQ forums. There are daily updates to General Discussion, but there are muti-day gaps between updates to General BBQ forum.
I also think attracting newbs is crucial. The problem I forsee with an elite /competitor site (though I'm uncertain that's the case here) is just that .... too many swollen heads or competitive/non-sharing members.
I have not been contributing much lately because I am away from home without my beloved WSM.
Anyway, after all that, I want to say I think there is a great bunch of guys here and the site has a lot of potential. I still plan to visit regularly.
Shawn[/quote:2m8c2dji]
First, thanks for the input Shawn. This was done in a very professional way and I apreciate that and since this is my site I would like to explain a few things regarding what you said:
1. I agree...at this point there is not enough real Q talk going on. I don't have a better excuse than that except as the weather warms it might increase...I HOPE IT DOES!!
2. I would also enjoy more sharing of Q or grilling adventures. It wouldn't have to be just with pics...I also enjoy reading text of someone's cook. I try to do this evertyime I make something and I encourage others to do this as well.
I think the layout right now is fine...I am not going to copy the TVWB format to the T and hope that the success translates here. I think there is a great knowledge base here and the members are willing to share any and all of the information to anyone who asks...it's not a clicque or group thing IMHO!
3. Please keep this point in mind...this site has been up for almost 3 months...that's it! The other big 3 boards have been up for years. It's hard to compare this site with the others because the water hasn't been tested as long here.
Also, I agree that gaining new members is crucial to growth...and while I can't say that the members here are all newbs, I can say we get new members on a regular basis...yes, there are more dominant personalities here than others, but it is like that on the other boards as well.
4. I am testing different things here so I am not lumped in with the rest of the boards. If things get a little heated in here sometimes please know it is not my intention to have anyone get offended. I will make sure what is to be shared is done so in the correct way so as not to offend anyone. There are other rooms for that kind of stuff...
I am in this for the long haul...I love to smoke and grill and provide a place for all those who like it a long with me to have a place to share. If anyone else has something they would like to share with me, please do so...I prefer it via email or PM but this was was fine too!!
Thanks,
Greg