SMF

It seems to me that participation on SMF has declined this year. At times there seem to be as many "bots" on the site as members. What do you think?

Hi Bryan -

Things have definitely quieted down here. Some members who used to draw a regular crowd have found lives elsewhere and new forums have attracted a lot of attention. Like you, I would like to see the rhythm of activity at this venerable forum pick up again, as this is still where I am most comfortable, myself.

- Murray

Among the various online traditional shaving forums, there are those that are like rowdy college fraternities and others like the local Elks or Lions club. SMF, on the other hand, has always felt to me like an old English gentlemen's club, where the only quiet sounds are those of newspaper pages being turned occasionally or a pipe being re-lit, and where there are somewhat disapproving faces when someone makes too much fuss. And I like it that way.

It does seem rather quiet right now, but I seem to remember the same happening the last time I was active on this board.

No where else feels more at home, than this forum.

Regards

Kaptain "Raising my eyebrow over all the paper rustling noise" Zero

I drop in once in a while to enjoy the quiet vigor.

Seems fine to me ..................................... I get where you are coming from, but it has always been pretty much this way.

We are what we are and I'm fine with that.

It's exactly that flavor that attracted me to it and keeps me here.

It sort of reminds me of friends sitting around at the barbershop. I was going to write a bunch of us old farts sitting around..., but there are some youngsters here as well, also sitting around the barbershop.

I noticed the change quite some time ago.

I don't try (and honestly not sure if I could find out anyway) to track if our ranks have increased or decreased over the last 2 to 3 years, but I can tell you that some of the regular contributors that were once our go-to source for all things shaving have reduced their contributions...or dropped away altogether.

This is still the only forum I visit, though. Precisely because of its civility.

my home away from home

clive

As the person who started this thread, I should declare, in the spirit of full disclosure, that I'm a member of three other shaving forums and banned from a fourth (still don't understand why, but it's not my loss).I'm active on these three other forums, but I must say that SMF is my first choice by far and away. In a nutshell, I find the members of SMF to be noticeably more civil and gracious on the whole than those of the other three forums; which is not to say that the members of the other forums are rude or disrespectful, but to me SMF is on a higher plane. This is what has prompted me to start this thread since I was getting the feeling that interest in this forum was at a low ebb and possibly withering. It seems, however, that I could be in the minority in this regard, which is a very good thing.

I'm glad that Squire continues to post, sad that Gordon no longer does, and hopeful that Dr. Chris will add more of his insights. I have a couple thousand posts, about a handful worth anything -- a higher percentage than anywhere else -- so can say SMF brings out the best in me. Still my favorite for all the reasons mentioned in the above postings.

cjc15153 wrote:I drop in once in a while to enjoy the quiet vigor.

+1

I have known Gordon from the forums for so long, he is the second most successful relationship I have formed, next to a former wife of 29 years, lol. Same with Dr. Chris. Go back to the old MSN forums called Wetshavers and a guy named Don. Don was a great guy, used to be a NYC cop and he would, as he told it, meet the airplane from the UK to get his Trumpers.

Good Lord, I haven't thought about Wetshavers in quite awhile.

Squire wrote:Good Lord, I haven't thought about Wetshavers in quite awhile.

Hmmm, according to the Rolling Pin Dept., I have not been thinking at all, for the past few years.....


Regards

Kaptain "Ouch! WaddidIdonow?" Zero

Sam wrote: . . . Don was a great guy, used to be a NYC cop and he would, as he told it, meet the airplane from the UK to get his Trumpers.

That's exactly what I liked about this place when I joined: characters. Who just happened to like shaving stuff.

churchilllafemme wrote: . . . somewhat disapproving faces when someone makes too much fuss. And I like it that way.

Somebody once said that SMF represents the traditional classic refuge in what seems to be a chaos of new products rising up while the historically old product brands are becoming less attractive in the eyes of the newcomers. Members might slow down or stop participation in SMF if they find their former passion has disappeared or matured to embrace a new interest or at least a different perspective on an internet wetshaving forum. I wonder if some folks might drop out if they think their continued participation and contribution doesn't interest their fellow members, or vice versa.

I wonder if another factor might be that many of us have been here for some time, now, and we have the wild buying and experimentation behind us. We have found hardware and software that we like and we're more settled. We try something new occasionally, but we're no longer trying to keep up with all the new product introductions. Sometimes we get a new member who refers to a new razor, brush, soap or whatever with an acronym and I don't know what they're talking about! (And I don't care, either. )

- Murray

Murray, the ardor has cooled, the craving satiated, and the chickens have come home to roost. How's that for a metaphor?

brothers wrote:Murray, the ardor has cooled, the craving satiated, and the chickens have come home to roost. How's that for a metaphor?

It works for me, Gary.

- Murray