Are We Becoming A Stagnant Forum?

[jamesgibby]

It hit me yesterday only after having a PM conversation with another forum member, why i had not logged onto the forum for several months, my theory is that our once interesting and active MB forum is becoming slightly stagnant.

 

All we seem to get is a steady trickle of "is it real" topics from new members. Don't get me wrong, i think its perfectly fine to make those posts and we are all more than willing to lend a hand, however, i think this forum has lost its focus a bit. we should be sharing our knowledge in other ways not just as a cheap and quick authentication service. Perhaps forum projects like a catalog of all MB's and their variation to make something akin to a MB wiki... it would give us all something to put our knowledge into ( or just a chance to show off )

 

i also think that the vast about of general forums doesn't make our lives easier, for example if i have a question on a repair i would have to post to the general repair forum and not this one. perhaps if ALL MB related posts (save for sales) were allowed on the forum then it would encourage a wider variety of topics...who knows?!?

 

anyway...rant over....

[meiers]

I agree

[KBeezie]

Based solely on what I see of the forums (and my only connection is that I own a 225 and that's it), I've often joked about how Montblanc's slogan should be :

 

"MontBlanc, You sure it's real?"

[BrandonA]

I've not been online for a couple of moths for person reasons. I've had the old look but not posted.

 

I agree about the "is it real" threads.

 

The ones I hate the most though are when people that start new threads about pens they know are fakes. It's a Complete waste of time to read them and they block the front page of relevant threads.

 

The forum has lost a lot of it's very knowledgable posters which is a shame. None the less lots still exist and they still post great photos of their new pens and also provide information about upcoming pens, I love April time when we learn about the new WE pen, my boutique is great but they don't provide this info until close to August.

[eidola]

Are we discussing a stagnant brand?

[meiers]

Are we discussing a stagnant brand?

No.

[KBeezie]

I've not been online for a couple of moths for person reasons. I've had the old look but not posted.

 

I agree about the "is it real" threads.

 

The ones I hate the most though are when people that start new threads about pens they know are fakes. It's a Complete waste of time to read them and they block the front page of relevant threads.

 

The forum has lost a lot of it's very knowledgable posters which is a shame. None the less lots still exist and they still post great photos of their new pens and also provide information about upcoming pens, I love April time when we learn about the new WE pen, my boutique is great but they don't provide this info until close to August.

What about all the "How much is it worth" threads?

[Brian C]

I actually despise the "is my Montblanc real" and "how much is my Montblanc worth" and "when was my Montblanc made" questions. The Montblanc forum has an awesome sticky to help authenticate and value pens and if you are concerned that a pens isn't authentic don't buy it. Of course all of these pale in comparison to the old "recommend me a pen" question. I hate those.

[Paul Raposo]

"MontBlanc, You sure it's real?"

 

[PerryJ]

I have a very different perspective since I have only been around a few months. I have to say I have learned a ton!!! Plus I have met some wonderful people who have provided me much knowledge in the purchase of my vintage 144 and modern 146. Then most of my time here is spent scouring the search and past pages. I went back to the first page and have thumbed through most of them. I don't think that it's stagnant as much as regarding MB fountain pens since they don't make tons of varieties of pens there is only so much you can say or discuss that hasn't been said before. And honestly it's not like we are buying a new pen every week so the "hey I got a new pen" threads (which I love) are spaced out. Most of my other reading is in the ink and paper forum.

Edited December 29, 2014 by PerryJ

[PerryJ]

It hit me yesterday only after having a PM conversation with another forum member, why i had not logged onto the forum for several months, my theory is that our once interesting and active MB forum is becoming slightly stagnant.

 

Perhaps forum projects like a catalog of all MB's and their variation to make something akin to a MB wiki... it would give us all something to put our knowledge into ( or just a chance to show off )

 

i also think that the vast about of general forums doesn't make our lives easier, for example if i have a question on a repair i would have to post to the general repair forum and not this one. perhaps if ALL MB related posts (save for sales) were allowed on the forum then it would encourage a wider variety of topics...who knows?!?

 

anyway...rant over....

The wiki would be AWESOME for us newbies! And I agree that when I want to ask about a paper or ink or journal then I have to leave the MB forum :-( Edited December 29, 2014 by PerryJ

[jar]

So a suggestion:

 

There is no reason that this forum can't have sub-forums; "Is this a real MB", "How much is my MB worth", "Is Precious Resin ..."

[OngL]

The wiki would be AWESOME for us newbies! And I agree that when I want to ask about a paper or ink or journal then I have to leave the MB forum :-(

Agree on the Kiwi. I was commenting the other day that there isn't much stats on various releases of MB pens. All ink reviews, tabled into one would be great as well. I personally use google to search and found lots of information in this forum from past years, hence saves some repeating questions.

[KBeezie]

So a suggestion:

 

There is no reason that this forum can't have sub-forums; "Is this a real MB", "How much is my MB worth", "Is Precious Resin ..."

Other than having too many sub forums, but I do agree that a FAQ of sort section may be desired since most of the people who ask that do not generally seem to be FP enthusiast but only looking at the collectable/resell value of them. Like getting one as a gift and the first thing they do is try to get a value on it or send out feelers for buyers.

 

Maybe even a valuation subforum for just bout any brand

Edited December 29, 2014 by KBeezie

[luckduck369]

The wiki would be great. If someone knows a good way to collaborate such big project and gets it started, I am sure it will be done very soon.

[jamesgibby]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I think I could get a wiki together in fact if that is something that people actually want to do. It will take some time and effort but it may be worth it.

 

My other idea was to do it similar to the review forum where they have an index but wiki may be better

[Michael R.]

Finally I found a new way to put up some web content again (see my signature); this time I'm using a blog.

 

While I'm currently using mostly old material I had and which I've also posted here on FPN during the last years I'm planning on adding new content on my blog and also here in the forum in the near future.

 

I'm mostly looking forward to learn and see more about rare vintage pens, announcements of new Montblanc products and to hear about personal experiences in this forum.

 

Unfortunately I think this forum has lost a little bit of it's former glory but it is us members to post interesting stuff :-)

 

But to me it is still worth a daily visit to see and learn new stuff each day!

 

Cheers

 

Michael

Edited December 29, 2014 by Michael R.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I was thinking the same thing.

[OngL]

A bit sad to read this, I hope the forum will continue. It has been the primary source of my research before venturing to fountain pen and even after. Lots of historical reviews, questions and so on discussed here. I have even donated to get the site going on.

 

Wishing for the best and happy to contribute when I can.

[JLS1]

FWIW, I don't think the problem is that the forum (or the brand for that matter) is stagnant - I think what's necessary is an pinned FAQ topic that makes it easy for people to find information about commonly asked topics. Putting together an FAQ with references to (what the mods/forum thinks) are particularly good topics would probably be enough to divert or curtail a lot of the 'quasi-filler' discussions, as well as give us 'greybeards' a way to refer people to

 

IMHO, such an FAQ would handle the following topics:

1. Is my MB real? (This would take care of the "I bought this pen on eBay for $15..." questions as well as "Is my serial number legit/I don't have a serial number" plus "Where do I find the PIX trademark on my pen" questions)

2. How much is my MB worth? (This would take care of the "I found/was gifted/inherited an MB pen and want to sell it" type questions")

3. What kind of MB pen do I have? How old is it? (This would take care of the "I don't know what kind of pen this is...can you help?" type of questions)

4. What are the types of pens MB sells and what are the differences between the series? (This would provide one reference for known MB WE/LE/POA/etc. series so that people know what the various series represent.)

5. I think my pen is broken...where do I get it fixed? How much will it cost? (This would handle common questions regarding MB repair (e.g., modern vs. vintage) as well as describe the different MB service levels and facilities)

 

What do you think?