Without Our Forum

[Neverenoughwatches]

Its 4 o'clock in the morning here in the Uk, i cant sleep, i dont sleep, not much ever really. My brain never shuts off to rest, I'm just a constant thinker, i have to be very tired to be able to sleep,  i guess eventually it will be my undoing and my health will suffer because of it I'm sure. But while I'm here i want to get as much out of life as i can, and give as much as i can, to help,maybe to make a difference to someone's life if that is within my capability,recent events have made that need even more clear to me. I'm not sure where I'm going with this or why i bring it up , or if its relevant to want i want to talk about its just in my head right now. What i do want to talk about is something thats been on my mind for ages. I like to be prepared,  I'm not fond of surprises because surprises take control away and i am a bit of a control freak at times. This forum, Our Forum if i can call it that, is here because of two reasons. The guy that created it and keeps it funded and the people that joined it.  Without either, it would not exist, and lets face it one day it won't ( I'm a realist and i talk about things others dont or who are afraid to in other words folk that dont particularly prepare for the inevitable). How many of us visit here regularly ?  How many among us almost depend on the forum as a way of socialising because they are stuck at home and how many of us has it become part of a daily routine to check in and see if they can offer advice or get help with something they are working on or just to have a chat and engage in some banter. The members here are in the thousands and thousands have disappeared over the years many had just a fleeting visit. But there are a good few of us that know each other quite well and visit regularly. I dont know about you but i wouldnt want to lose that communication with you all, in all honesty it has become an important part of that side of my life and helps to feed my passion for all things watches. Some of you may think differently and thats ok, some of may stop and think # what would i do " Without Our Forum " # 

[HectorLooi]

Like losing Ranfft. That was a wake up call. We took his website for granted. Miss him terribly.

 

[RichardHarris123]

First thing this morning, make coffee, second, check the forum.  I would really miss the forum, not on any social media, not interested in telling the world what I had for breakfast!!! I do consider most of the regulars friends and would wonder what had happened if they stopped posting. 

[oldhippy]

This forum is a big part of my life. When I retired from horology many years ago due to poor health I missed what I had trained for. On here I can still do my bit in helping and advising others and have a little fun as well.  

[tomh207]

@Neverenoughwatches Rich, I can only agree with you wholeheartedly. I spend a lot of time here learning all sorts and trying to make any little contribution to help others I can. Nothing can last forever and I wish I could do more to contribute to the forum financially and any other support I could.

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

Like losing Ranfft. That was a wake up call. We took his website for granted. Miss him terribly.

 

A perfect example Hector, with the forum we would lose so much more

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

First thing this morning, make coffee, second, check the forum.  I would really miss the forum, not on any social media, not interested in telling the world what I had for breakfast!!! I do consider most of the regulars friends and would wonder what had happened if they stopped posting. 

My sentiments exactly Richard, i have experienced  that loss already,  Tiny, Gert, Galilea to name but a few all of which i enjoyed conversations with.

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

This forum is a big part of my life. When I retired from horology many years ago due to poor health I missed what I had trained for. On here I can still do my bit in helping and advising others and have a little fun as well.  

I imagine it keeps a lot us sane OH.

[Malocchio]

What I especially like is that this forum is not full of ads. There are some but they're not interfering. No ads between posts like one certain big watch forum. Browsing is also very easy and light for a mobile device. I'm glad there's still room for old school forums like this. I'm a member in many facebook groups but there's really no long term discussion and if you see an interesting post you might never find it again if needed.

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, tomh207 said:

@Neverenoughwatches Rich, I can only agree with you wholeheartedly. I spend a lot of time here learning all sorts and trying to make any little contribution to help others I can. Nothing can last forever and I wish I could do more to contribute to the forum financially and any other support I could.

 

Tom

I dont like to give up things that i enjoy Tom.  So my next question is how are we going to prepare for that inevitability and what are we going to do about it. Its not just about funding it but I did pick up on something that Mark said once. It doesnt run on fresh air , what if it becomes a burden or an unnecessary cost or for any other reason that i wont get into. We all know life can change in an instant, my life has been so up and down for about 8 years and was only just beginning to level itself out. 

[VWatchie]

Funny that you should bring this up. I was thinking about it just the other day. What happens if something happens to @Mark? The social bit is fantastic and I would miss it dearly, but I worry even more about the content. Together we have created a gold mine of information which would be more or less irreplaceable if the site should disappear.

People (often with a lot of knowledge) come and go. I sometimes wonder what happened to them and miss them. We have no idea unless we have some private contact information.

When I was new here I saw a lot of posts by @Lawson. He had a true fire in his heart for horology and was asking for an apprenticeship in his signature. I found that very inspiring and often wondered what happened. Is the fire still burning? Did he get an apprenticeship?

[watchweasol]

Hi guys, the question is what is a forum, a place for discussion and passing on information, idle chat and a bit of fun and I for one are the richer for it. When in Hospital last year with the Covid being force fed oxygen and feeling total sh1t and close to the pearly gates a daily look on the forum to see what was going down helped to keep me focused on the job in hand took my mind off the problem for a short while but it was a lifeline for sure. We chat to friends for that is what they become around the world read their posts help where we can post information where we can.  I like @Neverenoughwatches some times think of members past and wonder if they are still at the watches or given up, some drop in for advise and drop out again never to be heard of again. The forum reminds me of Yorkshire hospitality, The door is always open and the kettle on the stove. Long may it continue.   My two bobs worth.

[RichardHarris123]

Hopefully if the issue is running costs, Mark would let us know and suggest ways of raising finance. If it's the other issue, which we are skirting around, sites can be passed onto others.  

PS because I know you're all interested, I  had a bacon and mushroom sandwich for breakfast.  Hehe. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

10 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

Funny that you should bring this up. I was thinking about it just the other day. What happens if something happens to @Mark? The social bit is fantastic and I would miss it dearly, but I worry even more about the content. Together we have created a gold mine of information which would be more or less irreplaceable if the site should disappear.

People (often with a lot of knowledge) come and go. I sometimes wonder what happened to them and miss them. We have no idea unless we have some private contact information.

When I was new here I saw a lot of posts by @Lawson. He had a true fire in his heart for horology and was asking for an apprenticeship in his signature. I found that very inspiring and often wondered what happened. Is the fire still burning? Did he get an apprenticeship?

Yup watchie you are entirely on my wavelength with this , you actually said what i was hinting at, what if something happens to mark ? Will someone be able to take over ? Its not that long ago that the forum was down and Mark had to step in and fix it. And you are right a wealth of information that does not exist as a whole anywhere on the planet will be lost. Can that be archived elsewhere?

6 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Hopefully if the issue is running costs, Mark would let us know and suggest ways of raising finance. If it's the other issue, which we are skirting around, sites can be passed onto others.  

PS because I know you're all interested, I  had a bacon and mushroom sandwich for breakfast.  Hehe. 

It would be an absolute shame if the plug was pulled without warning, i would like to think Mark wouldn't do that to us. And like i said in my first post i talk about things other folk might be affraid to.  So lets not skirt around anything. It might be nice to have a place where we can all drop our emails just in case so we always have that contact. Can you make that happen  Old Hippy ?  i kind of think of you as the pops of the forum

[RichardHarris123]

My email address is in my profile, feel free all to drop me a quick hello. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 minute ago, RichardHarris123 said:

My email address is in my profile, feel free all to drop me a quick hello. 

I dont think mine is. Its an idea to have them all in one place if possible, then a quick screenshot will have them saved. Unless anyone has any other ideas of how to reconnect 

Edited April 20 by Neverenoughwatches

[rossjackson01]

Never and others. Yes, like you I do spend a fair amount of time reading the contents of this forum. I find it better that any other. Clear, lucid, no Prima Donas, and most of all an easy access without adverts. All thanks to Mark. God bless you mate. You give so much to many of us.

What if? No Mark?

Hypothetically. A forum.

I did run a forum for a few years. Really enjoyed it, but became so engrossed that it did affect my health. I gave to to others to run. Not been back. It was very successful and rivalled a number of large paying sites. No adverts, no others but me. I did ask and listen to members comments and it worked well. 

 

Costs

Having a domain name, £10 annually.  Register the site with a forum company, free. Build the site using the forum company guide lines, free. It looked and ran almost the same a Mark's. All the same facilities.

The cost was only £5 per month, but counted visits (views). If I recall, it was that price for 5,000 views. Each extra 5,000 views increased the price by £2 per month.

Success was my own personal undoing. From £5 per month initially, it rose to £60 a month and looked like increasing. This was 10 years ago. I could not afford that, and asked it anyone would like to take over and someone did.

I would assume that this is the price that Mark is funding for us all. His return is our continued comments on the internet about his course, and the fact that many of the big names on YouTube mention him as their Tutor. Those of us who have done, and are still using, his course, benefit.

In comparison to other courses, I can't believe how cheap it is, and the value is exceptional. It is the structure that gives the value.

Long may Mark reign.

Ross

 

Edited April 20 by rossjackson01
Spelling, Grammar

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, rossjackson01 said:

Never and others. Yes, like you I do spend a fair amount of time reading the contents of this forum. I find it better that any other. Clear, lucid, no Prima Donas, and most of all an easy access without adverts. All thanks to Mark. God bless you mate. You give so much to many of us.

What if? No Mark?

Hypothetically. A forum.

I did run a forum for a few years. Really enjoyed it, but became so engrossed that it did affect my health. I gave to to others to run. Not been back. It was very successful and rivalled a number of large paying sites. No adverts, no others but me. I did ask and listen to members comments and it worked well. 

 

Costs

Having a domain name, £10 annually.  Register the site with a forum company, free. Build the site using the forum company guide lines, free. It looked and ran almost the same a Mark's. All the same facilities.

The cost was only £5 per month, but counted visits (views). If I recall, it was that price for 5,000 views. Each extra 5,000 views increased the price by £2 per month.

Success was my own personal undoing. From £5 per month initially, it rose to £60 a month and looked like increasing. This was 10 years ago. I could not afford that, and asked it anyone would like to take over and someone did.

I would assume that this is the price that Mark is funding for us all. His return is our continued comments on the internet about his course, and the fact that many of the big names on YouTube mention him as their Tutor. Those of us who have done, and are still using, his course, benefit.

In comparison to other courses, I can't believe how cheap it is, and the value is exceptional. It is the structure that gives the value.

Long may Mark reign.

Ross

 

Well said Ross. My reason for the thread, i like many of us dont want to lose the forum, such a well knitted group of individuals i feel. But things can happen out of anyone's control. Would be nice to have something in place just in case, if anyone has any ideas please speak up. 

[GuyMontag]

16 hours ago, rossjackson01 said:

Never and others. Yes, like you I do spend a fair amount of time reading the contents of this forum. I find it better that any other. Clear, lucid, no Prima Donas, and most of all an easy access without adverts. All thanks to Mark. God bless you mate. You give so much to many of us.

What if? No Mark?

Hypothetically. A forum.

I did run a forum for a few years. Really enjoyed it, but became so engrossed that it did affect my health. I gave to to others to run. Not been back. It was very successful and rivalled a number of large paying sites. No adverts, no others but me. I did ask and listen to members comments and it worked well. 

 

Costs

Having a domain name, £10 annually.  Register the site with a forum company, free. Build the site using the forum company guide lines, free. It looked and ran almost the same a Mark's. All the same facilities.

The cost was only £5 per month, but counted visits (views). If I recall, it was that price for 5,000 views. Each extra 5,000 views increased the price by £2 per month.

Success was my own personal undoing. From £5 per month initially, it rose to £60 a month and looked like increasing. This was 10 years ago. I could not afford that, and asked it anyone would like to take over and someone did.

I would assume that this is the price that Mark is funding for us all. His return is our continued comments on the internet about his course, and the fact that many of the big names on YouTube mention him as their Tutor. Those of us who have done, and are still using, his course, benefit.

In comparison to other courses, I can't believe how cheap it is, and the value is exceptional. It is the structure that gives the value.

Long may Mark reign.

Ross

 

I've thought of this too. A photography forum that I have been a member of for 15+ years just shut down recently. They had many millions of posts, members with 80K+ posts, a huge community base with many of us donating to the cost to keep it up and running just because it was a great resource for us all. And it just went away like that; poof.

I also used to run a forum that was around for about 15 years. My interests changed over the years and one day I just decided to not renew the hosting costs. I bet the hosting cost for this forum is WAY more expensive than mine ever was. It's all about the storage and bandwidth. Every time someone uploads a PDF that takes storage space, and every time someone downloads that PDF, that takes bandwidth. I try to be mindful and not upload huge files here, or point to a file that can be downloaded elsewhere instead of uploading it here, all that storage space and bandwidth adds up. If it were ever an option I would be happy to contribute to the forum as it's a resource that I highly value.

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, GuyMontag said:

I've thought of this too. A photography forum that I have been a member of for 15+ years just shut down recently. They had many millions of posts, members with 80K+ posts, a huge community base with many of us donating to the cost to keep it up and running just because it was a great resource for us all. And it just went away like that; poof.

I also used to run a forum that was around for about 15 years. My interests changed over the years and one day I just decided to not renew the hosting costs. I bet the hosting cost for this forum is WAY more expensive than mine ever was. It's all about the storage and bandwidth. Every time someone uploads a PDF that takes storage space, and every time someone downloads that PDF, that takes bandwidth. I try to be mindful and not upload huge files here, or point to a file that can be downloaded elsewhere instead of uploading it here, all that storage space and bandwidth adds up. If it were ever an option I would be happy to contribute to the forum as it's a resource that I highly value.

Thanks guy, i only had a thought, i didn't really know how much of a reality it was. 

[VWatchie]

On 4/21/2024 at 5:15 AM, GuyMontag said:

I would be happy to contribute to the forum as it's a resource that I highly value.

I'm sure all patreon memberships are very helpful: https://www.patreon.com/watchrepair

Hmm... just saw that "All membership tiers" are "Sold out".

Edited April 22 by VWatchie

[Neverenoughwatches]

On 4/22/2024 at 9:42 AM, VWatchie said:

I'm sure all patreon memberships are very helpful: https://www.patreon.com/watchrepair

Hmm... just saw that "All membership tiers" are "Sold out".

I dont understand why a patreon membership would have limited places ??

[RichardHarris123]

I wondered that?

[VWatchie]

Yes, "Sold out" is difficult to understand.

There doesn't seem to be a lot going on. It's been nine months since any new video was published on the Watch Repair Channel. The Level 4 course on watchfix.com has been in progress for what feels like forever (several years!?). Maybe Mark's enterprises aren't doing well or perhaps already so profitable there's nothing much to motivate him for more material. Or, perhaps these days he's more into crochet. The real reason is probably something entirely different but it would be nice/interesting to know.

I don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift.

Speaking of watchfix.com I've been postponing the "Level 5: Servicing Chronograph Watches" course for a very, very long time. Anyway, I just enrolled on it so it's going to be very interesting to see the videos. I must say, IMO there's nothing really that can compete with Mark's courses when it comes to presentation and video quality. It's simply world-class and makes me associate with some really expensive BBC productions.

[Neverenoughwatches]

42 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift.

That was the exact reason for me starting this thread watchie. Still we haven't worked out how the regulars are going to hook up if it goes tits up. I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 

[Waggy]

I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward?

4 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 

some kind of WRT ark

[Neverenoughwatches]

37 minutes ago, Waggy said:

I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward?

some kind of WRT ark

I looked at it like this, I've built a lot of stuff in my time, building structures and furniture,those are my creations and they will still be here way way after I'm gone. Traditional watchmakers felt the need to pass their knowledge on, ideas that they created . I assume with them as it is with me, leaving their mark on the earth, a way of being remembered. This creation of Mark's has brought thousands of people together to pass their knowledge around,  ideas that will continue to be used for lifetimes. Ideas that should continue to be procured. If for whatever reason the forum ceased to exist, not quite like Ranfft's, that didn't disappear but much less usable. Then that is sad, such a massive loss of communication between good people and a wealth of knowledge lost. There should be something in place for when that happens which could be next week, next year or in 10 years. Might not be a topical subject for a lot of folk or boardering on controversy, i did say i talk about stuff other people dont. But if you dont talk about it and something happens then you've lost it and you ain't gonna fix it .