Josh, my following comments are being made not with the expectations of this thread remaining, I would fully expect this to be removed by the end of the week, just wanted to speak my mind ! Just recently I have been asked, why they have not been hearing from me on the forum. Recently I have not been visiting or posting on the forum, just caught up in doing my own testing with grid tie inverters and inter changing turbine combinations and I just felt there was no reason to report on my everyday progress BUT, for not visiting: When the forum 1st started it was fairly easy to ask a question or look for a solution that matched your needs. Now when I open up the forum site I sit back and wonder " what the heck am I looking at" If I was just getting into wind energy and I visited this site I would hit the delete button quickly ! A new person is being told to look under headings of interest that match their needs, well there are now so many thread headings and each one has " maybe " some piece of important information in it ! I wonder where would a new member start to look or have the time to read through every response searching for their question / answer ? It is obvious that for many the forum is a social gathering and that allows a wonderful opportunity to share ideas but it has also been filled with graphs, charts, wiring , electrical changes / additions that are suited for the understanding of engineers and survey analysts , not for a person who is just starting out ! As you know I have been a member who really suggests for someone new to wind energy, purchase only after obtaining solid information and keep it simple " right out of the box". This results in faster set- up and recovering possible wind energy reducing wasted expenditures , and less stress . Also in my opinion if you have to experiment you might not be in a suitable wind environment to begin with and that includes myself ! I really feel there needs to be a great purging of comments or a face lift on the forum site that compresses site headings into a much shortened version of WHAT WORKS ! This section could be controlled by the site admiistrstor and not allowed to fill up with daily comments ! Some of my work related background has been working with organizations guiding them in problem solving regarding communication internally or with their intended customer / client group. Due to the many styles of learning that person use, It would be fairly easy for me to assess that many persons are not having their needs met by this forum. In a business sense this also translates to possible lost sales ! I hope my comments are given fair thought ! Please remember there was no intent of anything personal in my post to others. Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts.
Murray, I could not agree with you more. Ron is out town until Saturday. When he gets back I will talk to him and see what can be done. If you have any specific recommendations or specific changes that you really think will help, let me know. You can post them here or send me an e-mail.
Wow just when the forum starts to get people interacting and you want to change it :?: Which foot are you hoping to shoot? The only thing needed like all other forums have are the important sticky threads with valuable info. As for trying to stop the chatter,thats what its all about :idea: :ugeek: I like the indepth of knowledge here by a few talented members that are teaching us all a thing or 2. Keep It Simple Stupid is not for the wind area as alot of this is new and one must have a pioneering and engineering spirit. you are a few years out from just open box,put on pole and forget it.
Blue, If you re- read my comments I was concentrating on making it easier for those just getting into wind energy, to eliminate a big expensive learning curve, possibly allowing them more instant successes . Again if you take another look at my suggestions I was referring to the site adminisrator to draw proven information from site headings thus eliminating endless reading while searching for answers. This section only would be submitted to and controlled by the forum administrator. It is very obvious that right out of the box is a very primitive approach due to your higher level of expertise and experience but please do not forget some of the rest of us are not there yet and may never reach that level of understanding. My suggestion should still allow for open conversation for those who are very talented on the regular threads. So Mr Blue, did I shoot my right foot or my left one ? :lol:
I have never been on a forum where they rename threads...Only sticky them to the top of the correct subject forum. I never claim to be above anyone, I came here with the same not knowing crap either but my engineer in me says there is a better way even when many said NO...Trial and error.. I hear what you are saying but to say alot of what others are saying on here is junk kindof rubs the community wrong. Even if it is mundane.Hell there should be a MISC forum for just random photos non turbine related as the community gets to know one another better. You dont have to participate but you were given alot of free crap so its kindof expected to teach your findings. Yes a beginner threads stickied at the top to cover most of the basics would be a step in the right direction.
I did not read Murray's comments that way. What I think he is trying to say is that the forum needs to more organized. If someone is just starting out in wind energy, then they should be able to come to the forum and quickly find posts on "what they need to know to get started". If someone is interested in doing a grid tie, they should be able to quickly find the posts where users have shown their grid tie set-up from start to finish. I could give more examples but I think you get the point. I think sticky threads are a good idea and I am sure there are other things that could be implemented that are a good idea. I do not think it is necessary to delete any posts. What I do think could help is if we had a forum administrator who could keep threads on topic. If someone makes a post in a thread that is off topic, there is no need to delete it. The forum adiministrator could move that post to its own brand new thread and simply message that person that their post was moved to its own thread (tell them why it was done etc etc). I think it would also be helpful to install a search feature to the forum so users could search for threads that they want to see like "how to wire a dump load to a charge controller". So, bottom line. There is room for improvement and organization and I think Murray is saying that it is time to start considering/implementing this process.
When I used the word purging, that was a poor use of words on my part. When I said there was ( maybe) valuable information , There sometimes is page after page of submissions and then sometimes a consensus is agreed upon as successful way to do it. It would be the conclusion that I was suggesting to be posted in one section, with no intension of destroying the origionsl thread of conversation. Already I think you are suggesting a good idea regarding a clear simple section for a person just starting ( good idea ) that is exactly what I would wish for also to aid those beginning in not making wrong decisions / bad purchases, where ever they end up buying. Free items that I receive, I am afraid there a been a misconception of myself receiving these products for free. As an example the 750 turbine, I ordered one and was testing it over a 1 1/2 years ago. Windy had at that time no thoughts of having it in their store. To talk about it on the forum I chose to call it a Windy 750 because that is who I purchased it from. yes I purchased it myself and all the different blades and hub sizes to go with it . Another example would be their furling tail system, I received parts and pieces of a prototype which called for me to follow CAD drawings and help construct it, cutting, welding, making finishing parts and only then was I able to test it. So not really free, I helped build it. Then did reports on real time testing for them and the forum mrpembers. Blue, I really appreciate your comments because without them we would not have been able to clear up issues that others may have been misunderstanding as well, and it is because of your comments regarding restructuring the forum that changes can take place to better meet the needs and leaning levels for everyone and still protect the integrdy of all comments already posted ! Thanks I hope this conversation can help clear many things up
Sorry if there is confusion Josh, I was responding to Bluevtbthe same time as your post. However the issues you mentioned and suggestions are very much the way I would like the forum to go / grow ! There must be a better way for persons to find and extract information regarding the topic of their interest. This would in no way disturb the regular chatter among forum friends who are engaged in new ideas and different ways to build. Everyone has their own level of needs and understanding it would be nice to find that balance.
Ok murray, my bad for jumpin ya so quick...I take that free speech thing to heart and wouldnt want to be a part of a forum that censors and chooses what stays posted and what is irrelavent... Thats like a corrupt media that would only let you see part of the story.....
