Ron, We have a real problem here on Orchid in that simple questions
keep getting rehashed ad nauseum. The current threads on pickle and
soldering props have been discussed so many times that they could
fill a book. The question arises, should we find a way to encourage
people to use the archives instead of droning on with issues that
have been beaten to death. Is it possible that the archives
themselves are too difficult for us cyber novices to negotiate or are
we too lazy to utilize them ? There isn’t any doubt about the fact
that Orchid 's principal appeal is to transfer the experience of
older jewelers to novices. There is a priceless amount of information
available to those who seek it. On the other hand, I have noticed
that some very experienced and knowledgable people have dropped out
of participation in the forum and I suspect that it is because after
awhile it becomes very tiresome to keep rehashing the same old topics
at very elementary levels.
One of the principal challenges to maintaining the vitality of any
forum is to keep it dynamic, provocative and fulfilling. Do any of
you have any ideas as to how to balance the input so that it
continues to exhibit the aforementioned qualities ? Ron at Mills Gem,
Los Osos, CA.
** Hanuman’s response **
I agree, The archives contains almost 50,000 messages. It would be a
good practice to search before posting. Anyone with a good new
intersting thread?
The question arises, should we find a way to encourage people
to use the archives instead of droning on with issues that have been
beaten to death. Is it possible that the archives themselves are too
difficult for us cyber novices to negotiate or are we too lazy to
utilize them ?
I search the archives and recommend that all do so. Because the
archives are split into years instead of all together one must perform
5 searches instead of 1. In my opinion it would be easier to navigate
the data if it was not separated by year. Also, you have the problem
of what key words to use. Many novice jewelers might not know just
what to search for. For instance in order to get most of the data on
soldering rings with heat sensitive stones you will find that it is
under
[Orchid] repairing silver ring addressing risk
[Orchid] repairing silver ring
[Orchid] Protecting stones
[Orchid] [Web] Soldering Under Water
[Orchid] Heat Shield
[Orchid] Platinum soldering
[Orchid] Resizing peral ring
As you can see, things are scattered. A person will miss many tips
because they don’t know what to look for. The best thing for us who
have been here for awhile is to post suggesting the person look in the
archive under a keyword that we know the data is.
There isn't any doubt about the fact that Orchid 's principal appeal
is to transfer the experience of older jewelers to novices.
I agree! It is important that all who come be feed. If a person has
searched the archive and needs more then it is up to all of use to try
to help. I admit that I delete a bunch of posts that do not pertain to
me and I also do not give as much time to answering as I should. The
best we can do is to read when we can and point people to the archive.
