The only way out is Death.
Or honourable discharge, which you will never be granted
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The only way out is Death.
Or honourable discharge, which you will never be granted
He was part of the problem.
I liked BROBS. He stirred the pot.
Over and done with in 2013, after a massive explosion over a political issue nearly killed this place.
H. L Menken summed it up very well:
Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
And people express their beliefs in the stuff they're being fed with a zeal that goes beyond religious fanaticism. So better to avoid the topic altogether. Much better.
I thought I remembered someone mentioning that political discussion was allowed back in the day. Thanks for confirming that I hadn't imagined it.
I did too.
I miss Mr Lower Case. Perhaps HE should be invited back.
Always enjoyed his well researched (if occasionally over lengthy) posts
With all the negativity toward youtube vids about this practice, not that it has come from you but in general, I am a bit surprised that you suggest one Google anything about pipe smoking ...
In the end we will all go to purgatory. I'm going to kick your asses, like a fresh cauliflower. I swear to God, I haven't had a drink yet. 
This forum has certainly changed. When I first went into business for myself I had trouble finding time to be here. And then the big upgrade, it was too much. Now that I am fairly regular again, the new forum is really much better to use. But I definitely miss some old members. I think we'll see a new glory day again.
I'm with @Chasing Embers on this, the forum has become more tame over the past few years. I also joined on 2014 and can recall several rancorous threads, complete with name calling, as well as many threads that were really insightful. Some of those protagonists haven't been seen here for quite some time. These folks were unlike BROBS -- they had something useful to say albeit in an off-putting way.
I was recently pondering why I've found the forum to be less useful and interesting over the last six months or so. Is it a sign of impending codgerhood (senility?), or a reflection of the small amount additional knowledge gain? Perhaps it's the frequently repetitious posts about mold, gurgling, how dry should my tobacco be, how to clean vulcanite, how to cellar, etc, etc, .... Some of this is probably due to the influx of new members who need to learn the basics.
The forum has changed and I have changed, right now it takes up less and less of my internet time. Regardless of the reason on any given visit I probably open no more than 3-5% of new threads, often I don't open any.
I was recently pondering why I've found the forum to be less useful and interesting over the last six months or so. Is it a sign of impending codgerhood (senility?), or a reflection of the small amount additional knowledge gain? Perhaps it's the frequently repetitious posts about mold, gurgling, how dry should my tobacco be, how to clean vulcanite, how to cellar, etc, etc, .... Some of this is probably due to the influx of new members who need to learn the basics.
The forum has changed and I have changed, right now it takes up less and less of my internet time. Regardless of the reason on any given visit I probably open no more than 3-5% of new threads, often I don't open any.
Why? With a good Google search or three you're off to finding solid information. You can reference the reference libraries of the world. You can even reference the esteemed and august members of this forum on a multitude of topics. Even better, you generally get to the information without having to wait through some amateur host relating some "amusing" story about his used underwear.
The YTPC community is a largely more limited source, largely vanity projects with a very few people who know how to produce an informative video and a large majority who do not, and who take an inordinate amount of time to produce little to no interesting content. But, at least they're having fun.
There are a few channels that are reliably good, like Mike Gluckler's BriarBlues channel, if it's still going, not flashy, just informative. And there are the many other pipe and tobacco related videos on YouTube, George Dibos' series on pipe repair, old documentaries on growing tobacco, or making clay pipes, etc that are truly interesting and worthwhile. When the medium is in the hands of competent knowledgeable people, real communicators with a focus on benefiting their audience and not just on benefiting themselves, YouTube is powerful.
I've been aboard since February 2013. The first few years seemed especially bracing and interesting. I assume part of that was that the conversation was all new to me, so every thread seemed interesting to one degree or another. A few of the best (most informed and most articulate) members were kicked off because they were also contentious and impossible to moderate. On the other hand, as many have commented, Forums is a rare site online where lies, rage, and psychopathology do not gain the edge. So for that accomplishment, I'm willing to sacrifice some excitement.
This is still an excellent source of some high level expertise -- on pipe history, detailed pipe restoration, information on blends, tobacco growing, processing, aging, and cellaring, pipe lore, pipe stores, pipe shows, jiminkks high level reviews, and other highlights on pipes, tobacco, and smoking.
Sometimes, I find it useful to back off and let my posts lapse for a while, although it may not seem so to other members. I also try to come up with a new thread now and again that hits a nerve and adds energy, though there are some others who do better at that than I.
I've come to the point where I try to edit myself, so if I don't have anything informative to add, I simply
This is still an excellent source of some high level expertise -- on pipe history, detailed pipe restoration, information on blends, tobacco growing, processing, aging, and cellaring, pipe lore, pipe stores, pipe shows, jiminkks high level reviews, and other highlights on pipes, tobacco, and smoking.
Sometimes, I find it useful to back off and let my posts lapse for a while, although it may not seem so to other members. I also try to come up with a new thread now and again that hits a nerve and adds energy, though there are some others who do better at that than I.
I've come to the point where I try to edit myself, so if I don't have anything informative to add, I simply
... "like" the post and let others converse.
Yes ... I have found some Tubes very informative ... and some informative and educationally entertaining, or simply entertaining (not necessarily funny). I was taking a poke at the negative pokes at the Youtube vids. Yes, some are ZZZzzzzz ... and we know those ... but others are quite good. I actually found this place via Youtube ...
I’ve only been a member for a little over a year and have learned a lot about pipe smoking/pipe maintenance from the forum. It’s enriching to have a community of pipe smokers to communicate with at a moments notice. It’s oddly captivating to hear the pipesmagazine forum lore in this thread.
However, I don’t have any social media and have been spending boat loads of time online ever since creating my account. Any sudden radio silence on my end is likely not from me biting the dust (obviously possible but I’m only 29). It would be because I found myself spending too much time online.
However, I don’t have any social media and have been spending boat loads of time online ever since creating my account. Any sudden radio silence on my end is likely not from me biting the dust (obviously possible but I’m only 29). It would be because I found myself spending too much time online.
I've been losing interest lately due to the repetitive newb questions, I will admit, but I realize that newbs need to be encouraged. However, I once "suggested" that newbs take a long look at the forums for beginners so as not to bury us in questions that have been answered many times before, and I was told I had a bad attitude by a moderator. So I often just "lurk".
I will admit to being one of those less enthused about the YTPC videos I'd seen years ago, in part because of the awfully wrong information being spouted by some of the presenters, but especially because of long winded, and to my mind, self indulgent monologues, one of which did include a story about the presenter's soiled underwear.
No doubt 43 years of working in Visual Effects and Animation, where people ceaselessly work at honing their storytelling skills, and where criticism can be be severe and sometimes bitingly funny, have colored my view. We're all concerned with engaging and entertaining our audience to the best of our ability. Otherwise, why bother.
And I don't expect amateurs to rise to the same level as pros, nor do I demand it. But, I still have standards, even if much more lax than with professional product. I'll watch a few minutes of a YouTube video before deciding to continue or move on.
As a member of the Academy Of Television Arts and Sciences I volunteered to be a member of the committee that awarded internships to promising emerging talent and the requirement we had was that you had better engage us in the first 30 seconds, better in the first 10 seconds, or you're toast.
One of the reels that was sent to us consisted of 23 minutes of a camera rotating around some CG chess pieces (which didn't move, only the camera moved) while the sound track consisted of a woman screaming haikus. This one we did play for a while, believing against all hope that SOMETHING would develop. Nothing developed. It did provide the opportunity for some hilarious running commentary from the committee. Doubtless, the creator was trying to impress us. He sure did, just in the wrong way.
Concept pitches for a show can amount to a single compelling sentence to get further consideration, such as looking at visuals. That's the pro level.
Google reveals a lot more than YouTube videos: Books, articles, blog posts, and forum postings among them. (In fact, Google produces better search results for this forum than the forum’s own Search does.)
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