Without Our Forum

[tomh207]

There is no real alternative to this wonderful site, John is 100% correct in his summation.

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

14 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

Not really an inactive site because if you have an inactive site then why don't we just have an active site instead of run by Mark run by a group? Yes this is the problem with this discussion do we want to take this away from Mark and start our own group?

No that has never been the intention John, why give up something that ticks all the boxes ? all its about is having a backup plan.

10 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

No that has never been the intention John, why give up something that ticks all the boxes ? all its about is having a backup plan.

The inactive site will just sit there as a back until needed, where members  reside, a bit like a safe house.

34 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

The problem would be even if you collected everyone's email address what would you do if the group was gone

Start another group John thats is the whole idea behind it. 

28 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

There is no real alternative to this wonderful site, John is 100% correct in his summation.

 

Tom

we all know it can't be matched for valued members and content. I dont know about anyone else but i certainly wouldn't want to take something like this on even if i was capable.  That doesn't alter the fact that it wont always be here, we've all stated and understood this right from the beginning of the thread.  The facts are, we love the site as it is and dont want to leave ,  it wont be here one day, nobody knows what day that might be, we want to retain what is possible for when that day comes. I honestly cant make it any simpler than that.  Anyway I'm pooped , I've had a shitty day and my bloody toilet is making a loud dripping noise inside it and thats gonna keep me awake all night,so in the words of Kalle Slapp " its hammer time "  catch you laters peeps.

[rossjackson01]

Just come back form a 2 week holiday. Bride had a wonderful time. Day two. Full blown tooth ache which had been on/off for two flaming month. Ever tried to concentrate on making repairs when a tooth ache is attacking? Sorted today. Call me gummy!

 

So glad to read Mark's posting, and to note the comments. The members who are active may be few, but we do have, and give access to a large community out there. Mark reigns. Some of the greatest names we see on the web give homage. Individuals and companies acknowledge Mark. So pleased to be part of the learning circle of WRT.

Edited May 10, 2024 by rossjackson01
Spelling, Grammar

[Neverenoughwatches]

9 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

Oh I have a question at least for the people in the UK that are so incredibly concerned about reaching out and contacting each other why don't you just form a physical group that gets together from time to time?

To me this is a simple solution but not just for UK. I know a lot of us are not into facebook groups. But Mark has one, so does Mike Bolton of my retro watches, so does Kalle Slapp. They cost nothing to run, my daughter runs a few dog groups with thousands of members. And it does not have to be actively used, just because you are not interested in facebook ( i wasn't for a very long time ) that doesn't mean you have to participate on it or read anything posted , that is anyone's choice to do so, you give or take what you want from it. Seems the ideal meet place to me, join it , make one or two posts just to say " I'm here " then set it aside for a rainy day. If or when that day comes then discussions can take place as what to do next.

Edited May 11, 2024 by Neverenoughwatches

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

To me this is a simple solution but not just for UK. I know a lot of us are not into facebook groups. But Mark has one, so does Mike Bolton of my retro watches, so does Kalle Slapp. They cost nothing to run, my daughter runs a few dog groups with thousands of members. And it does not have to be actively used, just because you are not interested in facebook ( i wasn't for a very long time ) that doesn't mean you have to participate on it or read anything posted , that is anyone's choice to do so, you give or take what you want from it. Seems the ideal meet place to me, join it , make one or two posts just to say " I'm here " then set it aside for a rainy day. If or when that day comes then discussions can take place as what to do next.

As a temporary measure we could have a " to trash " email, it takes a of couple minutes to set up . I've just used yahoo , so staying out of the microsoft and google zone. I know that IP addresses can be pulled from just about anywhere by folk clever enough, i prefer not to get too paranoid about this stuff. My daughter was got hacked massively a couple of years ago by a random scammer, he got into all of her accounts except her banking. It was a headache but she fixed it and no real harm done.  Waggy's list now has my name but my wife's maiden name and a yahoo email that's it. Safe ish but contactable.

10 hours ago, rossjackson01 said:

Just come back form a 2 week holiday. Bride had a wonderful time. Day two. Full blown tooth ache which had been on/off for two flaming month. Ever tried to concentrate on making repairs when a tooth ache is attacking? Sorted today. Call me gummy!

 

So glad to read Mark's posting, and to note the comments. The members who are active may be few, but we do have, and give access to a large community out there. Mark reigns. Some of the greatest names we see on the web give homage. Individuals and companies acknowledge Mark. So pleased to be part of the learning circle of WRT.

Thanks Ross,but please think about how you would make contact if the forum were ever to not be here.

[rossjackson01]

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Thanks Ross,but please think about how you would make contact if the forum were ever to not be here.

Thinking. 

Mark has said he would be here for the foreseeable. 

I have looked at other watch forums. One will not let me join as my 'browser' is not set? Another feels very complicated. Another has showing of collections of Rolex etc, all vying to show what they have. Not what they do for watch servicing. And, the criticism of others is so prevalent.  I asked a question and received, "Read a book more often" as a reply. I was given advice and constructive criticism by members, who advised the book, but realised as a result of my dyslexia, my difficulties. And so spent time assisting me. 

I like and enjoy this forum.

I am at 2 1/2 years into my self imposed 5 year apprenticeship. Averaging 10 hrs per week. I can do virtually anything that needs to be done. I still lack some tools. DIY skills makes a lot of things available to me.

Someone made the comment about 'Facebook'? Open my life for the inspection of others? No thank you.

[Neverenoughwatches]

22 minutes ago, rossjackson01 said:

Thinking. 

Mark has said he would be here for the foreseeable. 

I have looked at other watch forums. One will not let me join as my 'browser' is not set? Another feels very complicated. Another has showing of collections of Rolex etc, all vying to show what they have. Not what they do for watch servicing. And, the criticism of others is so prevalent.  I asked a question and received, "Read a book more often" as a reply. I was given advice and constructive criticism by members, who advised the book, but realised as a result of my dyslexia, my difficulties. And so spent time assisting me. 

I like and enjoy this forum.

I am at 2 1/2 years into my self imposed 5 year apprenticeship. Averaging 10 hrs per week. I can do virtually anything that needs to be done. I still lack some tools. DIY skills makes a lot of things available to me.

Someone made the comment about 'Facebook'? Open my life for the inspection of others? No thank you.

 Ross yes we all love the forum and yes a lot of these facebook groups are awful and will never compare to what we have here. But facebook is exactly what you make it for yourself, some let the world know what they had for tea and if they threw it up again lol. It took me years to enter into the realm of facebook and 95 % of it i ignore completely,  i use it to my advantage, I'm not an addict of it like most of the world is. My profile contains absolutely nothing about me, its not even my real name, all it is for me is a vehical for me to access information, if i dont like what i see i ignore it. You develop an attitude of indignation towards the vast majority of it.

[Neverenoughwatches]

Hiya watch people,  any more ideas on what to do here yet ? How about just adding ourselves to waggy's list for now. You dont have to add your full name and an email that can be trashed takes minutes to set up. 

[rjenkinsgb]

Added, with a new unique address for this forum.

One simple option for some security would be make them understandable but not correct; like swap the parts before and after the @, and using at rather than the symbol? eg.

xyz.com,at,johnsmith

It should hopefully prevent web scrapers / spam bots recognising them?

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

12 minutes ago, rjenkinsgb said:

Added, with a new unique address for this forum.

One simple option for some security would be make them understandable but not correct; like swap the parts before and after the @, and using at rather than the symbol? eg.

xyz.com,at,johnsmith

It should hopefully prevent web scrapers / spam bots recognising them?

 

Good idea

[tomh207]

38 minutes ago, rjenkinsgb said:

Added, with a new unique address for this forum.

One simple option for some security would be make them understandable but not correct; like swap the parts before and after the @, and using at rather than the symbol? eg.

xyz.com,at,johnsmith

It should hopefully prevent web scrapers / spam bots recognising them?

 

That can easily be programmed around and already is in some instances 

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

16 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

That can easily be programmed around and already is in some instances 

 

Tom

What do you mean Tom ?

[tomh207]

1 minute ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

What do you mean Tom ?

It is easy Rich to create a bot program that can open a Google spreadsheet and harvest data. It is trivial to program it to look for any delimiter you want as well as the @ symbol. There is NO easy way to prevent this.

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

5 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

It is easy Rich to create a bot program that can open a Google spreadsheet and harvest data. It is trivial to program it to look for any delimiter you want as well as the @ symbol. There is NO easy way to prevent this.

 

Tom

What about th

 

6 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

It is easy Rich to create a bot program that can open a Google spreadsheet and harvest data. It is trivial to program it to look for any delimiter you want as well as the @ symbol. There is NO easy way to prevent this.

 

Tom

What about the use of email addresses that are not connected to real selves. 

[tomh207]

They are still email addresses to be spammed Rich.

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

5 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

They are still email addresses to be spammed Rich.

 

Tom

I get that Tom but their only use is going to be in the event of a forum loss. Other than that a facebook group that can be set aside in case its ever needed. 

[Chief]

Sorry to jump in here guys, but I've read through this whole thread and it seems there are a lot of people who think joining Facebook means everyone will have access to their lives.

You could make a Facebook account with a fake name. You could even use your real name if you wanted to and set it to completely private so people can't even find you in a search and you don't have to add anyone as a 'friend', so you won't see anyone's posts. Literally use it to join a group full of members of this site. Admins could even set the group to private and require a password of some sort to gain acceptance into the group, so you can be sure that it's only members of this site that get in.

@tomh207 is right, the form with email addresses and names is a bad idea. That will be abused by scrapers.

Facebook is only as personal as you let it be. You can be completely anonymous on there if you wish. Don't think of it as Facebook. Just think of it as a watch repair group as that's all you'd use the account for. It doesn't even have to be set up with your current email address. Make a random one on Gmail or any other free provider just for the Facebook account.

Tagged you by accident and now it won't let me remove it

@Neverenoughwatches

[tomh207]

2 hours ago, Chief said:

Sorry to jump in here guys, but I've read through this whole thread and it seems there are a lot of people who think joining Facebook means everyone will have access to their lives.

You could make a Facebook account with a fake name. You could even use your real name if you wanted to and set it to completely private so people can't even find you in a search and you don't have to add anyone as a 'friend', so you won't see anyone's posts. Literally use it to join a group full of members of this site. Admins could even set the group to private and require a password of some sort to gain acceptance into the group, so you can be sure that it's only members of this site that get in.

@tomh207 is right, the form with email addresses and names is a bad idea. That will be abused by scrapers.

Facebook is only as personal as you let it be. You can be completely anonymous on there if you wish. Don't think of it as Facebook. Just think of it as a watch repair group as that's all you'd use the account for. It doesn't even have to be set up with your current email address. Make a random one on Gmail or any other free provider just for the Facebook account.

Tagged you by accident and now it won't let me remove it

@Neverenoughwatches

We already have a Facebook group run by Mark , so this is a bit moot.

Search for “Watch repair lessons” group.

 

Tom

[Zendoc]

As a beginner, I’ve found this forum invaluable. I doubt I would’ve persevered without its support. I’ve had the confidence to attempt things that seemed to me impossible only because I knew there were patient and giving folks gathered around this watering hole, available to share their skill.    I would very much like to know where to go if this one dries up and everyone needs to decamp.  There’s something special about the folks gathered in this group.  How to keep in touch?  

[Waggy]

OK, I have created a solution to the above, I have made a fake protonmail account, if you PM me I can send you the password, just click on the contact link and enter your information, this should be as secure as it gets:

 

Website:     Link

Login: email as highlighted in above screenshot WRTArk    @   Proton.    me

Password: ..........PM me and I'll let you know

 

Only intend to use the contacts function, not the email or anything else - we are all grown ups, please act responsibly.

Edited May 13, 2024 by Waggy

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, Waggy said:

OK, I have created a solution to the above, I have made a fake protonmail account, if you PM me I can send you the password, just click on the contact link and enter your information, this should be as secure as it gets:

 

Website:     Link

Login: email as highlighted in above screenshot WRTArk    @   Proton.    me

Password: ..........PM me and I'll let you know

 

Only intend to use the contacts function, not the email or anything else - we are all grown ups, please act responsibly.

A group email account, works for me  thanks Scott . Its there if you want to add to it people.

[oldhippy]

What is this going to be used for. I don't want to be part of anything that will drive traffic away from here.  

[Neverenoughwatches]

27 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

What is this going to be used for. I don't want to be part of anything that will drive traffic away from here.  

Morning OH, absolutely not, that has never been the intention, there does seem to be a lot of emphasis placed on that point. Its only a contact storage location. Honestly OH , i cant get my head around why anyone wants to think why members would be pulled away from a forum that works so well. Your fear of losing the forum OH is exactly the same as everyone else's. Hopefully it will wont happen for a very long time, but not having a back up would mean that everything would be lost if it ever came to that. Scott has set that up for anyone that wants a failsafe,  if they are not comfortable with it then of course they dont need to participate. Its entirely of their free will.

Edited May 13, 2024 by Neverenoughwatches

[Neverenoughwatches]

Back again, come on peeps, not many members are responding, are we burying our heads in the sand ?

[RichardHarris123]

2 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Back again, come on peeps, not many members are responding, are we burying our heads in the sand ?

Is that Hull?