Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 9:30

Ron, I do see you from time to time and I am very happy you do what you can .If each memebr did what you did we would have a thriving community.
Ron James said:

Thanks, but I sure don't do what I use to. Not going to retire with much, but I want to enjoy my later years and not have to work till I am 70. I plan on a lot of the simple pleasures in life. 

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 9:54

Thanks for the reply Derek and let me respond to some of your points.

1. iKnife Collector was started several years ago by another individual. He has since stopped collecting knives and sold his entire collection and returned to a work environment (his own family business) and no longer posts.
2. Most of the members from that time frame 2009 have stopped posting and either gone on to post questions about Spyderco on Blade Forums or just taken to Facebookm Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or various other social media to post pictures of Spyderco's or other such knives. (Not that I have anything against them, I have a few)
3. New members join see few people posting and decide its not for them
4. Because we rely on a third party(Ning) to provide the basics for the format of iKnife Collector we are somewhat limited or constrained by what they allow. Many times, it looks confusing to folks and yet we are not really much different than the format on Facebook  We have Groups, each member has a page and a comment wall. And each member can chat if they so choose. Finally a member can friend another member. This generally occurs with like minded individuals who may collect the same pattern or knife or have similar views on hunting or whatever.
5. Ads are a fact of life. The pricing for iKnife Collector has risen and to keep it going unfortunately we need ad revenue. If you notice Facebook is trying to do the same thing. The alternative is to make members pay which I am quite certain not work out at all. Originally iKnife Collector started out ad free.I hope I have answered all your questions, if not ask again. I am being honest, and open and want the truth out there for folks to understand.

Derek Wells said:

Its a good question Steve I have only been a member here for a short time but I have noticed activity is very slow and often limited to a few of the "Usual Suspects" which is a shame from my perspective. I really feel I have found a "home' here for my Knife collecting activities because most of the folks here seem to have similar interests to me and it would be nice to get more out of the Forum.

I am a member of a couple of other blade forums and enjoy them for the most part but sometimes I wonder why they call them "Blade Forums" it seems a lot of the time "Spyderco Forum" would be more appropriate and I am afraid I just don't get the whole Spyderco thing - but hey each to their own.

One comment re this Forum in particular even though I have interacted here for a few months I do find the layout/format not as user friendly as some. Less intuitive to navigate and the flashing adds are REALLY ANNOYING!!!!ANNOYING>>> ANNOYING  

Just My 2c

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 9:58

No I appreciate the honesty Lou. iKnife Collector is set up much like Facebook. We have Groups, each member has their own page and each member has their own wall.(We have no form of timeline, as on FB). We also have a chat room, somewhat different than Facebook Messenger.  Chat is interactive and so members(more than one on one) can all talk to each other.

As example if you can LIKE something on FB you can LIKE something here.

lou koestner said:

I'm sure it's what I got used to, but I find the various knife groups on Facebook easier to navigate so I gravitated back to my old groups. That's not a putdown of iKnive's mission or any of it's members. I personally just find the FB groups to be simpler.This sight, to me, is more confusing. I hope I haven't offended anyone as that was not my intention.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 10:08

Michael Thank you and I too wish you would have gotten a few more posts or likes on your For Sale.  Our former owner posted his knives for sale and got very few comments if thats any comfort. I have long considered eliminating knives for sale as it does not get much attention anymore. If folks don't like it or use its easier to eliminate and not worry about keeping it up.

I too am a member of of many knife Groups, such as Blade Forums or others on Facebook. I also am on most major Social Media. I see knife posts on all of them.

There was a time we may have ended iKC but I assumed members wanted it to stay. I found a buyer and we have been able to continue. Jan and I like knives so we remain committed and are moving forward with no intention of stopping or ending iKC.

If we are not providing enough input or data or news to make a iKC better I would like to know what we are missing.

Michael A Losicco said:

Sorry that I don't post more but life sometimes gets in the way! I don't do the chat's because I type so darn slow I can't keep up! I will say that when I do post there are not many comments save for a few. I posted some knives for sale and only got a few posts but would have loved more even if it was to say that I was crazy and that the prices i was asking were too high LOL. I am also a member of 3 other forums and don't post much on them either but I do read mostly every day. 

I will start to be a better member and post more.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 10:19

Many good points Manx and you are right on the money. We need to find out why folks don't post.

1. One timers: Many folks join and ask for help on valuation of a knife or to sell an inherited collection. They hang around just long enough to do that and then disappear never to be heard from again We discussed charging for this before and that post was met with shock and horror but in reality this is how Blade Forums protects Bernard Levine, so he is not deluged in requests for "tell me about my knife" and "Give me the value" and "Buy my inherited collection"
2. Many folks don't take the time to learn the layout. But they don't hesitate to learn an Ap so that they can post in all kind of ways. I see it everyday.
3. We are eventually going to go mobile. That is where ning is going and we should have gone about a year ago. In theory we will use there mobile platform as soon as its ready. Jan is handling most of the ning issues, I am barely in the loop anymore and quite honestly happier that I don't have to deal with them.

Steve Scheuerman (Manx) said:

I may be missing the point of the original post, if so, I apologize...

I think the spirit of the question is getting a bit muddied up here. "Why" aren't we posting as much? What would encourage you to post more? What would you suggest to drum up more interest to get people to post? Many people are apologizing for not posting, and that's not the point of the question. We need to find various ways to encourage folks and get them interested enough to post. Some of the issue is the people who sign up just to get a value on their knife. Others get confused by the different layout, and can't/won't take the time to learn it. Others use mobile devices a lot, and the inability to post pics and such from mobiles is very frustrating. Let's hear some suggestions on how to change this! What would you, our members, suggest to get more folks participating in our community and family? More contests? Less ads? Different layout? Mobile support? Let's get some ideas rolling, and get some more traffic. We are only as good as our members...let the suggestions flow!

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Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on October 10, 2014 at 10:24

Steve Hanner said:  Steve: what does that mean "go mobile"???

Many good points Manx and you are right on the money. We need to find out why folks don't post.

1. One timers: Many folks join and ask for help on valuation of a knife or to sell an inherited collection. They hang around just long enough to do that and then disappear never to be heard from again We discussed charging for this before and that post was met with shock and horror but in reality this is how Blade Forums protects Bernard Levine, so he is not deluged in requests for "tell me about my knife" and "Give me the value" and "Buy my inherited collection"
2. Many folks don't take the time to learn the layout. But they don't hesitate to learn an Ap so that they can post in all kind of ways. I see it everyday.
3. We are eventually going to go mobile. That is where ning is going and we should have gone about a year ago. In theory we will use there mobile platform as soon as its ready. Jan is handling most of the ning issues, I am barely in the loop anymore and quite honestly happier that I don't have to deal with them.

Steve Scheuerman (Manx) said:

I may be missing the point of the original post, if so, I apologize...

I think the spirit of the question is getting a bit muddied up here. "Why" aren't we posting as much? What would encourage you to post more? What would you suggest to drum up more interest to get people to post? Many people are apologizing for not posting, and that's not the point of the question. We need to find various ways to encourage folks and get them interested enough to post. Some of the issue is the people who sign up just to get a value on their knife. Others get confused by the different layout, and can't/won't take the time to learn it. Others use mobile devices a lot, and the inability to post pics and such from mobiles is very frustrating. Let's hear some suggestions on how to change this! What would you, our members, suggest to get more folks participating in our community and family? More contests? Less ads? Different layout? Mobile support? Let's get some ideas rolling, and get some more traffic. We are only as good as our members...let the suggestions flow!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 10:37

Ken, many folks no longer connect to the internet with desk top, windows based computers. A few use tablets or iPhones or iPads. Many use android based devices, like phones and tablets. In order to accommodate those devices we need to make some changes so our format still looks ok and is usable on a phone. This allows someone with a phone to take a picture and psot it with no problem. Much like posting on Facebook.

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on October 10, 2014 at 11:10

I am happy with iKC as it is but I do notice an awful lot of folks seem to join and never be heard from.  My brother joined to see what it was all about though I knew he wouldn't get involved as he runs a website for fountain pens which are his main interest and seem to take up all of his available time. I am fine with the layout on this site but I guess a lot of people just want something like Bladeforums which is very easy to use . I would like to use the chat a little more though the time difference and my slow typing do make that a little difficult .  Having said all that most of the groups of various kinds that I have been involved with have tended to be kept going by a very few committed people with most unwilling to get involved. What I like most here is there is no feeling of a top "clique " with everyone else being ignored as I feel there is in some other places.

One thing that I feel makes the situation seem worse is that people have to join before having a good look around so there is an endless stream of people joining before knowing whether this site suits their needs. 

On a final and more positive note if it comes down to it I would be willing to pay to be a member here.

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on October 10, 2014 at 11:14

Perhaps the move to mobile is also part of the problem. Lately, I'd guess that 95% of my interaction, with iKC, is on mobile devises. Trouble is that each one(phone / tablet) have their own problems, though when I stop in, I always review the latest activity, photos and always take time to welcome new members.
It is frustrating, at times, trying to figure out which browser to use, to be able to fully interact.
Seems that no matter what type of group there is, folks will join just to ask 1 question and never be heard from again.
Personally, I don't mind the ads, especially when they help keep iKC on the web. At least the ads are not random that show unrelated content all the time.
Once you take the time to learn the format, I believe that what we have here is heads and shoulders above what else is available.
I would hope that folks would take the time to fully explore iKC, and find a new home on the web.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 12:00

Thank you John and your trip and photos and response to my Scottsman heritage makes you a member for life, most esteemed!

Yes the old style Vbulletin sites are fairly simply to navigate and perhaps easier to maintain, although at one time Blade Forums was sponsored by Nirvana Tea,. A quite good tea I might add, but in no way knife related.

I did have an old friend from Belgium, Francis, who unfortunately spent all his time on Fountain Pens, in fact one he invented which was quite remarkable.  But could not spend time here.

Chat is fun or can be and I put in the HTML version several years ago and it has become quite popular. One complaint I have on chat is invariably you end up talking about the weather or life in general and knife talk is kind of non-exisitent. I don't say anything or restrict anything well except direct solicitation. I look at it as chance for folks to personally connect so whatever is said as long as its civil is I guess OK by me.

Finally we do approve each and every member of iKnife Collector. In the early days approval was about automatic and we were hit with many spammers unfortunately. Members at the time waxed rather poetically about Rose. Perhaps if you search on that word you may see the post if its out there. Ah...Rose, promised love if not knives!

John Bamford said:

I am happy with iKC as it is but I do notice an awful lot of folks seem to join and never be heard from.  My brother joined to see what it was all about though I knew he wouldn't get involved as he runs a website for fountain pens which are his main interest and seem to take up all of his available time. I am fine with the layout on this site but I guess a lot of people just want something like Bladeforums which is very easy to use . I would like to use the chat a little more though the time difference and my slow typing do make that a little difficult .  Having said all that most of the groups of various kinds that I have been involved with have tended to be kept going by a very few committed people with most unwilling to get involved. What I like most here is there is no feeling of a top "clique " with everyone else being ignored as I feel there is in some other places.

One thing that I feel makes the situation seem worse is that people have to join before having a good look around so there is an endless stream of people joining before knowing whether this site suits their needs. 

On a final and more positive note if it comes down to it I would be willing to pay to be a member here.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 12:01

Thank you JJ my long time friend. I agree with your words in entirety.

J.J. Smith III said:

Perhaps the move to mobile is also part of the problem. Lately, I'd guess that 95% of my interaction, with iKC, is on mobile devises. Trouble is that each one(phone / tablet) have their own problems, though when I stop in, I always review the latest activity, photos and always take time to welcome new members.
It is frustrating, at times, trying to figure out which browser to use, to be able to fully interact.
Seems that no matter what type of group there is, folks will join just to ask 1 question and never be heard from again.
Personally, I don't mind the ads, especially when they help keep iKC on the web. At least the ads are not random that show unrelated content all the time.
Once you take the time to learn the format, I believe that what we have here is heads and shoulders above what else is available.
I would hope that folks would take the time to fully explore iKC, and find a new home on the web.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 10, 2014 at 12:06

By the way one more point I should mention...My time here, as well as that of the moderators is all voluntary. We are not compensated for our time. We are here to try and keep things like Groups and Discussions going.

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