Where did all the oldtimers go.

[JonSidneyB]

When I look out on CPF,

I see a sea of people who have been out here less than a year. It is good to have those people but I only seem to see a few posters that go back further than that. We seem to be missing many active people from the first couple of years of CPF. Where did everyone go? I miss many of the oldtimers.

[raggie33]

i been here many months jon alomost 28

[geepondy]

Wouldn't it be cool if David W. could check in with a life update post.

[tvodrd]

Hi Jon,

They croaked, or came to their senses. (People move-on for what ever reason.) I wish (I think) I had found the place earlier. (But, then, I might have already moved-on. )

Larry

[CroMAGnet]

We need new blood to keep us fresh. there are a few newcomers who are looking like they want to establish themselves as modders and they need some time and a chance to build some inspirational lights.

People like Ensig? (aka Modamag injected much to the forum and andrewwynn is adding a lot and will hopefully continue to develop his skills, creativity and processes.

Hopefully the wandering elders will come to check in and inject their wealth of experience and knowledge from time to time, if it is their creativity that is exhausted. Hopefully not to fuel some of the drama threads that come and go, now and then, however marginally entertaining they may be.

Maybe we should have a hall of fame to commemorate them!

.

[Darell]

Hopefully the wandering elders will come to check in and inject their wealth of experience and knowledge from time to time.

Ah... see - right there is the problem. Expectations are too high.

I won't speak for all of the first 1000 or so members, but I can tell you that some of the "new" has worn off of CPF for me. It comes in cycles - I get way into it for a while, and then I have to back off for a while for my own sanity. Back in the earlier days, we all knew all of the active posters and would carry on conversations that would normally be reserved for email. And in those days we could read ALL new posts for the day in about 10 minutes. Miss a weekend, and in 20 minutes, you'd up-to-date. Miss a weekend now, and it takes the whole next week to catch up! So much goes on now that I haven't even the slightest clue about. I'll be talking to a CPF friend who will bring up a thread that has been going on for weeks - that I've never even seen! I do miss the days when I could read EVERY single post from every day. It is great to have new blood, certainly. And we're still one of the best communities on the internet. With our growth has come the inevitable growing pains of course, but we keep plugging away at maintaining what we're all here for.

Funny to be writing like I'm an old-timer. I'm really not. I have a vivid memory of when I was the newbie asking all the questions I still see being asked today. I remember frantically scouring the forums (we had like three back then!) to find out what this mysterious E2 was that everybody was talking about. I remember asking Craig how many batteries I needed to fire up one 5mm LED. I knew NOTHING when I joined. Now I have a few people convinced that I am actually a *source* of information.

OK, carry on.

[geepondy]

Didn't we have a thread once identifying the first ten members? I think one was reserved for administrative purposes and two was David W., I think Craig might have been number three, not sure and I also think Brock might have been in the top ten. It would be nice to dig up that list again.

[Brock]

Ahhh the good old day, ya before Darell BD as I like to call it..

Hey what happened to our numbers, what was I #7 or something? I think Craig was under #10 also? Ya I am an Admin and can't find my own number, sheesh, I hang out with Darell to much

[Carpe Diem]

SO....

Did you ever read the early posts where we made arrangements for Darell to get a medical exam from a veterinarian named "Cow Catcher"?

Ah...the good old days.

[Cyclops942]

Ah... see - right there is the problem. Expectations are too high.

I won't speak for all of the first 1000 or so members, but I can tell you that some of the "new" has worn off of CPF for me. It comes in cycles - I get way into it for a while, and then I have to back off for a while for my own sanity. Back in the earlier days, we all knew all of the active posters and would carry on conversations that would normally be reserved for email. And in those days we could read ALL new posts for the day in about 10 minutes. Miss a weekend, and in 20 minutes, you'd up-to-date. Miss a weekend now, and it takes the whole next week to catch up! So much goes on now that I haven't even the slightest clue about. I'll be talking to a CPF friend who will bring up a thread that has been going on for weeks - that I've never even seen! I do miss the days when I could read EVERY single post from every day. It is great to have new blood, certainly. And we're still one of the best communities on the internet. With our growth has come the inevitable growing pains of course, but we keep plugging away at maintaining what we're all here for.

Funny to be writing like I'm an old-timer. I'm really not. I have a vivid memory of when I was the newbie asking all the questions I still see being asked today. I remember frantically scouring the forums (we had like three back then!) to find out what this mysterious E2 was that everybody was talking about. I remember asking Craig how many batteries I needed to fire up one 5mm LED. I knew NOTHING when I joined. Now I have a few people convinced that I am actually a *source* of information.

OK, carry on.

+1

I *do* remember a discussion you and I had regarding "focus" one time.

[Pellidon]

Still here. Medium Timer I'd guess. Mostly lurker and occaisional burst of posting.

[yuandrew]

I've been here for about 3 years already.

[greenLED]

Not an old-timer, but maybe I will be some day?

[naiter]

post #8 on this thread from '05. Makes me think he's an old timer now!

Not an old-timer, but maybe I will be some day?

Edit: Actual "old timer" should be a ratio. reference something like: when CPF was created? or when light technology developed (LED becoming portable light sources)

[HighlanderNorth]

Not an old-timer, but maybe I will be some day?

^^You got your wish! (His post was posted in 2005)^

If you are still active here, you would certainly be considered an old timer. In fact, you'd now be more of an old timer than the person who posted this thread was when he first posted it!

[Roy]

There's been a lot of changes since the Spring of '02. It's been a long learning curve. I remember a lot of talk back and forth trying to define what runtime was! Modifing AA MiniMags with Luxeon 1w sanwiches was the state of the art in mods.

[Chris M.]

I`m still here, skim through daily but have largely lost interest. Darell picked up on a lot of it, it`s so big and so busy that for the most part I havn`t got a clue what anyone is going on about, and I never did follow the home-made/modified side of things which has become such an integral part of everything here now.

That and the fact that five years ago, all these LED and Xenon incandescent lights were new and exciting, the likes of which I had never seen before. Turquoise LED? Wow! Luxeon LED? Incredible!! SureFire M6? Woohooo!!! Now, been there/done that as the saying goes. OK so the original plastic krypton bulb torches I had in the years before finding this place are consigned to history, and I still carry a SF M4/Pellincan M6 LED everywhere, it has lost much of its excitement and appeal to me, and while some things grab my attention now, I could care less about most of it.

Maybe I blame the MaxaBeam. Got one of those this year after over fifteen years of lusting after "the ultimate torch" that I first saw on the X Files and then in countless movies. Now I have one of those, I don`t really feel the need for anything else. That and the fact that I finally came to terms with what this was all costing, and realised house prices in this country aren`t going down, so I better stop blowing all my spare cash on torches and start saving, else I`ll never have a place of my own......

[Mark2]

I think there are several factors, one is that the same questions come up again and again. I think this is normal, even so people *could* in many cases find the answers by searching through what already is on CPF instead of just posting the same question once more. Another factor is the number of members. When there are so many members, it is not possible to know each other very well, it's less personal, and of course there are many members who are not really flashlight enthusiasts but simply business people. On Photonforums, we have only 47 members at the time being, but the atmosphere is very friendly and personal, it's much easier to become friends. I was not here when CPF had just 47 members, but I imagine it must have been a bit like that. I think when a board grows to the size of CPF and money becomes a serious issue, it's inevitable that things change, but the huge size is also what makes it such a great source of information.

[DieselDave]

[KC2IXE]

When I look out on CPF,

...snip... Where did everyone go? I miss many of the oldtimers.

I'm here

[MrMom]

Jon

You calling me OLD?

I'm still here doing more reading than posting. I figure why post if someone else has said the same thing in a thread. See you all at my third SHOT show.

[Lunal_Tic]

I figure why post if someone else has said the same thing in a thread.

If the search function worked on the older threads I'd agree but until it does I try to use what's left of my brain cells to recall what I've gleaned from past threads.

There are lots of newbies with the same questions most of us had at some point but they have only a couple of months history to search for the answer.

-LT

[WillnTex]

It's hard to find time to log in. I just remembered that I had not been here in a long time and when I logged in I found that me message box was full of unanswered PM's from the last couple of months. oops. This has always been a great community with some of the most helpful folks around but I do miss the atmosphere it had when it was smaller.

[The_LED_Museum]

My first post is:

The_LED_Museum
08-11-2000, 10:04 PM

You know, I too found this through Brock's flashlight links. I can't wait till this place starts to rock - and if all the e-mail I get about flashlights (sometimes up to 50 e-mails a day!!!) is any indication, it probably won't take very long to get this place hopping.

[rastaman]

When I look out on CPF,

I see a sea of people who have been out here less than a year. It is good to have those people but I only seem to see a few posters that go back further than that. We seem to be missing many active people from the first couple of years of CPF. Where did everyone go? I miss many of the oldtimers.

i lost my real account (from the year 2000/2001) in the arc vs. hds wars


artar.

[Lunal_Tic]

Here's an old thread about user #1 and how CPF started: How Did This All Begin?

A bit more history: Happy 2nd CPF Anniversery Sasha

And more recent: DavidW, where are you?

Have fun catching up. Hope this helps.
-LT

[Roy]

Well....the elves have been busy! My membership number used to be 1555 but is apparently now 561! I seem to remember some house cleaning of unused membership numbers some time back.

[JonSidneyB]

how are you finding those numbers....I can't figure out how to find mine to see if it changed.

[sunspot]

I guess I'm an old timer. My join number was 641 before the purge. I'm lurking almost everyday and I've become much more selective in my light buying. I don't post much on any forums lately as I've become very ill from my treatmemt of HCV (Hepatitus C Virus). I'm on week 45 of 48 weeks of tx. My health should come back in a few months and then I can become more active on CPF.
I still love this place and the people on it.

Edit. greenLED, your number shows as 4508. JSB, you are 178.

[Lips]

Thanks Lunal Tic

Here's an old thread about user #1 and how CPF started: How Did This All Begin?

A bit more history: Happy 2nd CPF Anniversery Sasha

And more recent: DavidW, where are you?

Have fun catching up. Hope this helps.
-LT