Convince me to make DT my primary forum -- I'm nervous

[ohaimark]

"All roads lead to the Deskthority wiki." ~ Or so it seems to me.

I've been working to make a name for myself in /r/MechanicalKeyboards and GH because of their relatively large user bases; I sell refurbed vintage keyboards as a side-job/hobby. I prefer to sell directly to enthusiasts for logical and sentimental reasons.

It's just that... Well... My work there feels inconsequential. It seems that very few of the users recognize the effort I put into boards I sell. The same goes for documentation on new switch types (I discovered a previously undocumented, Pre-1980 Key Tronic Reed Switch this week).

Every post seems to be about someone's new artisan cap or 60% keyboard; very few people are creating things or restoring things. Most are just consuming resources. It all seems trite.

But, at the same time, I'm concerned about switching to DT as my primary forum. I'm not familiar with the user base, I don't know the requirements to contribute Wiki information, and I'm nervous about international shipping.

Convince me to put down roots here.

Edit: Or don't, because I'm hilariously melodramatic.

[elecplus]

I have sent MANY boards on international shipping. It is not a problem. I uses USPS for international, because UPS is just too expensive. All you need is 3 copies of a commercial invoice, a commercial packing list, and a subscription to a USPS reseller so you get commercial rates (which can be as much as $10 less for international shipments). Whoever you get the subscription with can explain it to you in detail. QuickBooks will generate acceptable invoices and packing lists, or you can just use a word processor and a template.

These are a good group of people who like to re-use and save old keyboards. As a vendor, I can say that I have only had one bad buyer in the past year. These guys took me in, taught me the ins and outs of keyboards (or tried to, my head is rather thick at times), and have treated me VERY well.

[Hak Foo]

I see no reason you can't contribute to any and all of them.

Each one has a different audience. /r/mk is more a shallow pursuit for people getting into a hobby that's growing dramatically. GH seems to be more about building new things, and DT seems ti be more about researching and appreciating old things.

[ohaimark]

I agree with most of your statement. Each community has positive elements. However, there is one limitation.

My time.

[Madhias]

Then there is an easy answer: sell your stuff here in the marketplace instead of Ebay or Reddit.

[scottc]

Many of us don't (and unfortunately won't!) prefer to have a board cleaned before it gets sent to us. We tend to like doing things ourselves here (though I can't speak for us all), and I'd prefer a cheaper keyboard that I can clean to a more expensive one that someone else has already taken care of.

[andrewjoy]

Whist i prefer to clean myself , i think you will find people who want the ready to go experience.

From what i have seen over the years DT has more people interested in vintage keyboards than GH does, they are more interested in silly artisan keycaps. Over at DT we are interested in quality old stuff like beamsprings hall effect and so on.

I don't know much about the reddit keyboard comminity.

[scottc]

See! Already some divergence.

From my limited knowledge of Reddit, all they're interested in is "ascending", Pok3rs and apparently sadster/hapster keycaps.



Edit: Oh, and I forgot to mention unsculpted SA keysets.

[derzemel]

unlike r/MK and GH most of us here appreciate vintage keyboards (and TOPRE ) and like to to learn as much as possible about them and tinker with them and get annoyed by them and pet them and love them... ok, you get the idea

I have a feeling that you will be very welcome here between us addicts

[Muirium]

The main thing with DT is we're a small community, where it's hard to be anonymous and act like a dick with impunity.

There's something about this place that attracts people like me and Kbdfr (and most the regulars, really) who aren't afraid to offer sharp criticism. Maybe it's because we're mostly older? Maybe because we're mostly European? I don't know. But DT has a particular culture of freely outspoken criticism that definitely puts many people off, who are more naturally at home elsewhere, where it's cosier to hide behind animated gifs and such. DT's a bit of a throwback to an earlier age of the internet. Which is appropriate, given the general age of our keyboards. Tim Berners-Lee was still several years away from proposing the web when IBM made this one I'm on now:



There's definitely younger folk on DT too — there are many who are much younger than my Kishsaver — but the overall forum culture either attracts smart, non-annoying ones or we shape them that way! DT's a great place to find honest opinions and a lot of learning, without too much attitude or bullshit. Except for those who want a fight! Like offering "domestic" shipping without bloody saying where they are!

Yeah, you'll notice a lot of us are in Europe. So things like international shipping costs and customs declarations come up a whole lot here, especially for America based stuff. We do have a fair minority of American and Canadian members, though. Just nothing like the overwhelming majority you'll find elsewhere. Whether this is a good or a bad thing to you will be a large part of how well you fit into DT.

[XMIT]

I prefer the smaller forum. It is easier to keep up with the goings-on.

[andrewjoy]

I prefer the smaller forum. It is easier to keep up with the goings-on.

And a theme that does not melt your retinas when you look at it

[Muirium]

All true. But the characters are what makes it! People generally speak in words here, hell even sentences, instead of via screen after screen of memes I'm supposed to go research just so I can verify they're idiots.

[scottc]

There's definitely younger folk on DT too — there are many who are much younger than my Kishsaver — but the overall forum culture either attracts smart, non-annoying ones or we shape them that way!

In fact, I've even got some Model Ms that I'm much younger than!

[andrewjoy]

Is that not the point of a memes, the whole idea is that its an in joke something that only that community will understand. As soon as everyone understands it, no longer an effective meme.

They are still silly.

[Muirium]

Aye, I'm just grumbling like an old man. What I really don't like is the ugliness of the pictures, and the animation of the gifs. Get lost! This is a place of words and keyboard porn. Is nothing sacred?


@Scott: I'm *just* older than both my Beamsprings, alas. So still haven't got a single keyboard that's not younger than me. But it's damn close. Unlike Mr.A500, who needs to get himself an Enigma machine to stand a chance…

[andrewjoy]

I think a reference to something in text, like the shipping time on Round 5 or the guy who shreadeed the 4704s is fine a "text meme" if you like.

But the silly images and gif's are annoying.

Can you turn signatures and avatars off on GH? I do not have an account since the original attack.

[kbdfr]

I wish I had any keyboard older than me, it would be really valuable

To me some of the big advantages of DT are:
- very clear layout, excellent readability;
- small community - a kind of global village which retains its "village" character;
- no censorship whatsoever.

By the way,
I confess until now I have been unable to read reddit because posts there seem not to be shown in chronological order

[Madhias]

Can you turn signatures and avatars off on GH?

Yes, this is possible, also to have another theme (for example this light theme called Austere which 23629 people currently use, compared to 22838 using the normal GH theme):

[andrewjoy]

I wish they made that the default , it would be handy when there is somthing on GH i need to read

[Muirium]

I believe you can also scale avatars to a suitably fugly-minimising size (while retaining their recognisability, which is the whole point of the things) as I tried that and the light theme, back when I could be bothered logging in every time I followed a link from over here.

Trouble is, GH logs you out. Well, if you visit once every couple of months or so. I gave up. Defaults matter!

[andrewjoy]

You can hide all that guff on DT too .

Screen Shot 2015-10-29 at 11.38.20.png (243.62 KiB) Viewed 13305 times

[Madhias]

But in general I like avatars, just to see instantly who's writing there. Of course it makes then no sense when the avatar is changed all the time, which is normal behavior at GH. I don't really know other discussion boards where avatars are changed often!

[Muirium]

Same here. I successfully nagged Facetsesame to get an avatar, way back, because despite the fact we talked a lot here, I kept forgetting who he was! I haven't had that same problem with Andy, though. His typos are his calling card!

But large avatars? Changed avatars? Eew!

If you can't stand to keep the same avatar for the long haul, do what Webwit does. You have noticed, right?

[Engicoder]

My very generalized take on all 3 ( please take with a bit of levity)

Reddit = show and tell
Geekhack = caps, mods and drama
Deskthority = vintage

[ohaimark]

You've convinced me. The fact that I added a wiki page and haven't been screamed at yet is also positive...

I'll gradually migrate things here over the next week or so.

[XMIT]

Regarding age: I turned 30 a week ago today. I have a few Model Fs and many other keyboards that are older than me. I won't reveal names but I know some forum members who are double my age, and some who are half.

I have *one* Model M that is *almost* as old as I am: Dec 1985. It is an Industrial M.

(No one wished me a happy birthday last week though granted I didn't advertise it )

Yes! Move all the things here! I may even buy something.

[seebart]

Regarding age: I turned 30 a week ago today. I have a few Model Fs and many other keyboards that are older than me. I won't reveal names but I know some forum members who are double my age, and some who are half.

I have *one* Model M that is *almost* as old as I am: Dec 1985. It is an Industrial M.

(No one wished me a happy birthday last week though granted I didn't advertise it )

Yes! Move all the things here! I may even buy something.

Happy birthday XMIT, a bit late, sorry. The mix of ages makes for a good community right? I think so anyway. I know kbdfr is something like 90.

[RoastPotatoes]

The main thing with DT is we're a small community, where it's hard to be anonymous and act like a dick with impunity.

There's something about this place that attracts people like me and Kbdfr (and most the regulars, really) who aren't afraid to offer sharp criticism. Maybe it's because we're mostly older? Maybe because we're mostly European? I don't know. But DT has a particular culture of freely outspoken criticism that definitely puts many people off, who are more naturally at home elsewhere, where it's cosier to hide behind animated gifs and such. DT's a bit of a throwback to an earlier age of the internet. Which is appropriate, given the general age of our keyboards. Tim Berners-Lee was still several years away from proposing the web when IBM made this one I'm on now:

I kind of like this about DT. A lot of fluff is cut out.

[ohaimark]

Well, I'm 20. I write like I'm 50; training to be a technical writer does that to you.

I get replies that are actual sentences here. Considering the cesspit that is the internet, that in and of itself is unique.