About the ‘off topic’ chatter - THIS IS NOT THAT FORUM! This is BLF. We OT when we wanna, and there ain’t nuthin’ wrong with that! 
Now, wonder where those other two Q8 protos are. It would be nice if they’d turn up soon, for real! :innocent:
I generally enjoy the chatter, but I also think those who do not enjoy it make a valid point.
There are a variety of different cultures interacting here, two of which are often described metaphorically as the cathedral and the bazaar. That may not exactly match the situation here, but I find it’s still close enough to be a useful lens to view things through.
I’ve been pretty solidly in the bazaar camp for ages, where things are messy, loud, and chaotic… TBH, I kind of thrive on chaos. However, there’s nothing wrong with preferring a cathedral approach which is more structured, orderly, and quiet. For some, this is a fun place to hang out; for others it’s a place to get news. If both can be accommodated, that seems like it would be ideal.
So, is anyone willing to maintain a highlights reel in a separate thread? Copy/paste the most important on-topic comments from the main thread to the summary thread, for the benefit of those who don’t want the full firehose of discussion? All it takes is one volunteer.
> What is that?
photograph showing moths flying over a bright light (strobed so you see their tracks)
Biotech flicker: put moths in the diffuser cup.
Just, um, being silly.
TK, that’s already been done; sort of. Every time the thread changes subject line something major has happened and that’s seen in the email notifications if one is the least bit attentive. Then one doesn’t need to chase down the posts at the end of the thread, but just go to the first post for the “Cliffs Notes” version. The rest is just minutia. Maybe these folks don’t understand that.
To those unhappy folks, Sorry, but it’s friends discussing stuff with friends. We’re waiting the same as everyone else and it does no good to take it out on others, it won’t get the Q8s here any quicker. Learn to speed read and skim posts to get through the minutia if you won’t use the navigation aids at the top of the page to get to the first post in the thread for the latest news. The Miller does a great job keeping it up to date as major events occur.
TK, Your 2 thread idea would work (posted back aways), but it’s basically already been implemented if folks just go to the first post in the thread.
Since this is my only light forum, I have no idea how the “other” forum is run, but I can definitely state that this is NOT that forum. It’s definitely the BLF since it’s my only light forum. 
I’d probably find the other forum to be stuffy and unsociable. This sort of thread is the “worst” for this behavior, so just deal with it. We (mostly others and not me) deal with the endless questions that have been dealt with repeatedly regarding cells, yada, yada, that were answered many times previously. It did no good to keep things on track regarding the Q8, hence the “bazaar”. Might as well have fun and enjoy each others company if we’re going to be asked the same questions over and over anyway. It feeds on itself. High post count hides info so noobs ask it all over again upping the post count so that it making no difference what’s discussed. So IMO the folks complaining would complain anyway no matter what was discussed. That doesn’t make their complaints irrelevant, just unworkable. Basically the complaint as I see it is that there is no index. No one is paid to do it… all volunteers here. Now make it worth someones while and negotiate a price and it could happen. I’m not interested in the job since I choose what I do today and if I don’t want to do it there is no price that can entice me, but others might be. Yeah, I thought that wouldn’t happen either but I had to mention it.
One approach to the too-long-and-messy thread side effects would be to have someone maintain a blog, posting updates, news and pictures when it’s worth it.
I miss Gary Coleman.
LOL 
What do you mean?
Sad indeed!
Yup, real easy!
I bet I would!
You said it, teacher!
Oh, I agree. I think The Miller is doing a wonderful job. Some people remain unsatisfied though, so I wonder if maybe there’s something to what they’re saying? Maybe there’s a need which hasn’t been adequately addressed?
Now, it’s not the responsibility of the Q8 team to make sure all 1000+ people in the thread are 100% satisfied. Volunteer-based systems don’t work that way. But perhaps someone who isn’t happy with things as they are might be willing to scratch their own itch and provide a solution for the benefit of other like-minded folks?
Each forum has its own purpose and audience. For everyone’s sake, we try not to make judgments about other forums… it tends to get awfully political.
You guys in the “anything goes” camp need to keep in mind that some people don’t have an infinite amount of time to keep up. And they might still have useful contributions to make to the project.
There’s a huge difference between a few off topic posts in a 5 page thread and a few hundred off topic posts in a nearly 300 page thread. What you’re doing is effectively a denial of service attack on the project. Yes, that’s harsh, but it’s what it is. You’re saying that because you have a lot of free time on your hands, only people with as much free time are allowed to contribute. That’s selfish beyond imagination, no matter what rhetoric you use to justify it.
And seriously, registering a new user just to spam the thread? That’s just childish.
Hmmmmm, it would seem there is a prankster at work possibly……
Welcome to BLF, quite an entrance; enjoy the party.
I totally & completely disagree with what you have said here. BrianK, TK, and others have mentioned ways to easily keep up with what is going on in this thread. You have no idea who has “time on their hands” or in what amount either.
So yeah what you said is “harsh” but it is far from “what it is”.
Totally agree.
+2 . :+1: . :+1:
I disagree to agree.
C’mon fellows, don’t you realize what’s going on here? Thorfire promised us one lumen per post on the production Q8. We need to keep this up so we’ll all have a 12,000 or even 15,000 lumen Q8 in our hands! They might even throw in an Ove’Glove!
Click < first (below the “reply”) button to see the first and frequently updated post with all the vital news and information linked there.