Where Have the Good Threads Gone? CPF Kinda Boring Lately?

I feel like there aren't a lot of cool threads to read and participate in lately and I'm kinda bored. Most of the Customs subforums and other collecting threads I like to read are super quiet, not much going, and many of the threads in the Flashlight forums seem to be the same old "hey I need 1500 lumens real cheap" bit; or "new LED in ABC123 light should I replace the one I already have?" Even the reviews forum is mostly weird blinky lights I have no interest in.

Where are the discussions of the old classic lights, neat LEGOs, high quality lights that really give you satisfaction every time you pull them out, or stories of actually using lights and such? Am I missing the good stuff somewhere or does the discussion just seem very superficial and consumerist lately?




Edit: Just edited a bit since the thread was moved.

I'm with you bro, this place has turned into a light recommendation forum.

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls have picked them everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Consumerist is a good word. I'm guilty, sorry. I feel I have learned some things in my short time here though. For example, I didn't know alkaline batteries aren't optimal for use in flashlights. 1500 lumens does seem high to me. That would really disturb the neighbors walking the dog. A little like a train coming down the sidewalk at you. With all due respect for your 5,000+ posts. Happy New Year.

There is certainly tons of good info still being dispensed here, I still love the community so I don't want to make it seem like it I don't. I just don't want it to become all about buying buying buying. I am guilty of it too at times. I'd like to work to change the culture a bit though.

Are lights getting too good? At the box hardware store down the street, I've got a dozen choices under $30 that are technically impressive.

My work EDC is one such. I've learned that replacing the work EDC alternating years hurts less than killing a nice light. The new MiniMag is plenty capable for work... No custom mod needed. I could use a flashlight I upgraded, added sweet glow powder to, and so on... But the stock lights are good enough that I didn't need to spend time swapping parts.

That reduces my connection to the light. I made a Dorcy 2D light into a 50W MR11 host last year. It inspired people at the plant to get decent lights, and they were all stock lights. Has the improvement here tamed the frontier enough to make boring flashlights a practical option?

Quite agree the forum is becoming "I need a light for" just because you are to bone idle to search yourself or it is scare stories for using Bogey Man batteries like 18650,s.

+

once things become super mainstream, it kinda loses its soul




__________

Nbp,

It's not just you. The same thing has been on my mind as of late. In the time I've joined, the forum has gone downhill and now just seems a shadow of its former self. There used to be all kinds of random stories of people actually using their lights, along with thread topics about oddball stuff/events, goofy mods, humor, etc etc. Much more entertaining than things are now. Part of the reason is that many of the old-timers and other interesting people are gone.

As to WHY the forum has reached this condition.... well, I've got an opinion on that, but I'll keep it to myself!

Carrot used to have links in his signature of interesting threads. I spent a long time reading through them.





Barry

Yeah if you hunt through older threads there are many cool reads. It would be nice to get back to some of that friendly discussion.

I like the talks about various usage applications, low light usage, user interfaces, long-time EDCs, toughness and reliabilty in real world situations, home-made accessories and add-ons and simple mods/experiments, that sort of thing. But there isn't a lot of that fun discussion. Mostly just lumens and throw, lumens and throw.

Let's get real: the Fenix P3D I bought in 2007 was plenty bright for anything I needed and I have maybe one light even now 6 years later with higher output that than light and I survive quite easily. Lights have been amply bright for years. It's like locker room comparisons sometimes these days. I'm bored with it.

Recently, someone posted a cool thread about their 10 year old Arc LS that had been an EDC ever since. Very cool thread! But it only got a couple posts because hardly anyone cares anymore about an old beat up 60 lm light that hasn't been made in years. And that is sad. I would love to see more threads like that.

mcnair55 said:

Quite agree the forum is becoming "I need a light for" just because you are to bone idle to search yourself or it is scare stories for using Bogey Man batteries like 18650,s.

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+1. Though concern for the 18650's is healthy, especially the cr@p on ebay/amazon when combined with the god awful quality chargers.

I also read through all those stories from Carrot's thread, and they were great. Maybe people these days just haven't been going on as many adventures as they used to? I don't know. I do agree that it would be really interesting if more stories were shared.

Well, here goes nothing... (Gets Flame suit on) I think as time goes on, you get a younger demographic that is much more instant-gratification oriented and lacking the social filter, deference, and patience that a few years of age and wisdom can bring. Not to paint with too broad a brush, there are certainly many exceptions. When you were raised on "Google it!", the idea of opening a reference book after finding it in the library seems quaint, and a waste of time. Easier to post a thread hoping for answers... Hobbies also tend to come and go, making long-term involvement fleeting. May seem funny with 2700+ posts, but I read and researched WAY more in five years than I have posted. I was actually a bit nervous the first few times I posted in the McGizmo and Cool Fall subforums, WAY outta my league, man... Might be worth bumping a few of Carrot's old threads: Brightness isn't Everything, The Incan Challenge, The 5mm Challenge, etc... Those are some of my all-time favorites. On the plus side, if CPF isn't rocking and rolling, my wallet is a bit happier...

I'm with you for the most part. There are just too many damn lights now being pumped out by the thousands.

However, I have to say the AquaRam and AquaMule really got my juices flowing. Not much discussion about them simply bc not that many folks own them.

I do miss the 2006-2009 era where CPF seemed like the bar "Cheers" IMO. It was a lot of fun.

(I have two daughters now so my cash flow has come to a slow trickle on the flashlight side of things so this is a factor for my personal forum experience, that 'cash burning a hole in my flashlight pocket' feeling of what to buy next)

Here is Carrot's story collection for those who are new and have not seen it. Hope he doesn't mind me sharing it...
<If so, PM me Carrot and I will edit my post>
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?102580-Flashlight-Story-Collection





Barry

Why not start a 'good' thread yourself then nbp? I'm not being facetious, I'm being serious.

The internet as a whole has gotten to the point where every person has it in their pocket. Every person has 5 minutes to check their phone and read a funny quote or look at a cat picture. There are more consumers of content than I've ever remembered seeing, and there simply aren't that many creators of content.

As an example: your thread. You ask for new, exciting content. You're a content consumer, and you're certainly not alone, since everyone else on this forum is also here to consume content (myself included).

So with all these consumers, who is creating content? I agree with you that lately, there simply aren't that many original content creators. I don't count 'recommend me a light for <x>' posts as content. I define content as someone bringing something new to the table. I don't need to see the same thing, I've already seen it! So asking for the very best 1xAA light when that question has been asked and answered 1000x before isn't really new content.

There are people doing cool things on this forum. McGizmo has a new light and converter. Vinh is busy cranking out mods on existing lights. TGWNN has a few irons in the fire with his MBI series. I've been watching all of these threads (and more) with interest. run4jc still occasionally posts one of his reviews, which I always enjoy. Same too with selfbuilt.

My biggest problem with CPF lately is that I LOVE reading build logs, and people simply aren't documenting their work anymore. There are still people building and modding lights, but often times all I'll see is a picture of the end result, some beamshots, and a price tag. That's really disappointing to me since most of these projects were WAY more work than that. I want to see the light being opened up, the guts being ripped out, and new pieces being made. I want to follow along with the UI programming and learn why it's being done that way. I want to see all the work (the successes and the failures) that went into finishing a project.

I understand why more projects aren't documented this way though, and the reason is pretty simple. If you give everyone on the internet the blueprint to create your product, someone else will make it cheaper. It's just a fact and it totally sucks. There are always individuals who work for flashlight manufacturers looking for 'inspiration' on these forums (sometimes they just come right out and ask for it on the Marketplace). I remember seeing a 'Torpedo' being sold on a large overseas distributor website that looked identical to the one TGWNN hadn't even finished prototyping yet. So can you blame him that he's keeping the real nitty-gritty of the design process mostly to himself?

Anyways, back to my original point: you can make the content you want to see. It can be something really small, like a review of your favorite light. Or you can attach a 5mm LED to a battery and document the process. If you do that, and someone else does that, and someone else does that - well, now we have content creators writing about things they're passionate about.

I'm making a light. It's the true definition of a labor of love because any sane man would have abandoned this bloody project ages ago, bought a $50 Nitecore, and never looked back. I'm documenting it just the best I can and you're welcome to follow along if you'd like! I really like build logs, I want to see more build logs on CPF, and I'm helping by posting my own build log.

Now it's your turn to pick something that you feel passionate about and just start writing about it. You and I and everyone else can fill CPF with the kind of content we like to read.

Fair points Calipsoii. I certainly could do more, and I will try to do so. I can try to come up with some interesting ideas.

In my defense, I have started 98 threads in my time here. Granted, some were sales and some were just dumb thread ideas, but some were good. I have reviewed a couple of my favorite lights, started a few collection threads for my favorite makers, wrote an adventure survival thread, a homebrewing thread (really thought that one would have caught on) started discussions on the reliability of different lights and knives, shared some stories of flashlight use and abuse... Considering I don't have much technical skill to mod or build lights myself and document it or even give advice to others trying to mod, I do try to offer other content where I can. :sigh:

Maybe I will peruse some of the old threads for ideas. It seems after some years things tend to come back in style so maybe there are a few worth recycling.

orbital said:

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once things become super mainstream, it kinda loses its soul

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orbital said:

+

Most interesting threads get removed before any juices are flowing.

Things have become way too sensitive & politically correct.

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Agree with both these things here. A lot of great topics which used to be make for great threads are now off limits. And yes, once things become mainstream a lot is lost. We now have hundreds of models of LED flashlights which all look and function similarly, for example. I'll also add the technologies in a rapid state of flux are really those which make for interesting hobbies. Now that LED development is starting to approach its theoretical limits things are slowing down quite a bit. It's sort of like hard drives a while back. It was exciting when drives were doubling in capacity each year. Once we hit a few hundred GB things started to slow down to maybe 30% capacity increases per year. Now we're at the point where it took a few years to go from 3 TB to 4 TB drives, and there's really no credible roadmap to get all that much further. Of course, now you have SSDs on a steep development curve so things are still interesting on the storage front.

I don't have a crystal ball for what new technologies will make for interesting discussion but suffice it to say lots of things are going on in labs which will radically change things. 3D printing is but one example. It's not yet mainstream, but it's out of the lab and at a state where rapid development is occurring. And then I think we're on the crux of major developments in solid-state cooling, energy storage, human-powered transportation, and perhaps even better means than chemical rockets to explore space. In the end civilization probably benefits more from evolutionary development but it's the revolutionary development which makes us passionate.

There's a lot for someone like me to learn by reading around here as well as entertainment.

Eventually like knives I'll end up modding or pimping out lights, the trouble is that I've done documentaries on my process. While I understand enjoying the entertainment and sharing the work, most of the time I do the work for myself.

I would say become a content creator and make a friendly challenge to others to show their work.

Another thing to keep in mind is that like most hobbies only a small percentage will do the customizing or building while the rest find what they like and use them, mostly silently.

calipsoii said:

My biggest problem with CPF lately is that I LOVE reading build logs, and people simply aren't documenting their work anymore. There are still people building and modding lights, but often times all I'll see is a picture of the end result, some beamshots, and a price tag. That's really disappointing to me since most of these projects were WAY more work than that. I want to see the light being opened up, the guts being ripped out, and new pieces being made. I want to follow along with the UI programming and learn why it's being done that way. I want to see all the work (the successes and the failures) that went into finishing a project.

Click to expand...

I certainly don't do well-crafted custom lights nor impressive mods, but can say that documenting a project can be a pain. You're sloppily sketching out concepts that only make sense to you, laying out a pattern on some scratch paperboard, headscratching in front of a tool, stripping wires, inhaling solder fumes, mixing up epoxy, standing on ladders, scrapping a piece of material you messed up, crimping connectors, etc, and occasionally remembering to take photos or make mental notes of what you did. Then you distill that down to a forum post and wait for responses that make the posting effort worthwhile ... responses that sometimes don't come, are annoying, or ask questions you answered in the first post.