Post by Whiterook on Mar 31, 2023 19:50:05 GMT -5
The truly phenomenal efforts of Joe, as well as the members that stuck it out through the Bad Times and those that have returned once again anew, to revive this forum and rescue it from the edge of the Abyss of Dysfunction is inspiring! I happened across a few threads today, made during the sites spiral into Spamageddon, which showed the members that tried hanging with the sites’ woes, frustration and dismay; well founded, as it seemed at the time that things were bleak. I am beyond happy, that the site regenerated and is moving back towards its glory days (and I think beyond, at this rate!).
I felt like sharing a personal side story to this, with direct impact from this endeavor. I’d mentioned on some other threads that I retired last year …1 year anniversary this past week, in fact! Coming out of a high stress career and burned out like a basted chicken wing forgotten on the grill, I knew I’d need that year to recover to a decent degree (and that was correct). What I also knew was, I’d always said I’d have no problem retiring… I have hobbies coming outta my ears! Plenty to keep me busy and out of divorce court. Part of the problem with that working life was, I was always exhausted, burned out, frustrated, and quite often, just pissed off in general. (Great job - Stupid management); I just didn’t have the energy to do my hobbies to any great deal, if at all in most. Model building was one of those hobbies that suffered to the extent that I just stopped building for more years within at least a decade than I can remember.
To take what I just mentioned a step further, what also happened was the emergence of something I truly despise… Social Media. In shorts it single handily killed Forums. I feel qualified in making that statement because I’ve owned and operated three different forums in five different configurations over the past couple decades (I just have the one remaining). The impact of this was and is, I’d watched all my beloved modeling and wargaming forums shrivel up and/or completely closed down (more, the latter). It’s just too easy, especially for companies, and Free, to host a Group on Facebook. The problem I see with that is, it’s all Wham Bam Think-you Mame posting…no substantive content; yiu just can’t follow a whole build from shrink wrap removal to finished work like you can on a forum. The other side of that warped coin is, the people talk in spurts… a quick comment and gone forever. Forums are a true Learning Community; social media can’t really come close to what we can achieve in paying it forward.
So I digress
When I retired last year, one of the frost hobbies o wanted to restart was model kit building. What was missing however, was *inspiration* from fellow modelers. I tried Facebook, and thought I found some good picture examples, the written comment was atrocious. Questions asked were answered in typical social media narcissism, in five words of watered down reply. “I miss modeling forums!” …yeah, there’s some decent ones out there, with great people, but they weren’t MSC (or my other two Go-To’s, KiwiModeleller and World War Two Zone, both long gone). Then, all of a sudden, like a Monty Python cartoon of clouds parting and a booming voice of salvation, here comes an email from Joe! Excuse my vulgarity but, “Holy s***! …this is un-bleeping amazing!” (I tried to show a little restart here). Truly, yiu can’t invent that kind of fortunate timing.
I’d done a reimagining update of an old model for use as an auction item donation to a wargaming tournament last August… it was the first time I did anything model building in a very long time, and it started a very low pilot light in returning to modeling. But the reengaging with the forum poured kerosene on that pilot light and BOOM, I’ve got four kits and a wargaming model on the workbench! “Holy Shi…” …errr “Cow”! It only took a week to feel those wonderful camaraderie vibes of old… a frakkin’ Norman Rockwell “comin’ home” scene in forum form. You all have rejuvenated me, and my fledging but growing skill set in building monstrosities of warfare.
So if I may, what else? Well, there’s all those other hobbies! A return to modeling showed me in real World applications that, yes Dorothy, you can go home again! It’s not easy, though… shaking off rust is real, my friends! I don’t even want to tally the number of rookie mistakes I’ve made (e.g., putting on suspension springs on my Panzer IV completely frakking BACKWARDS!!! OMG). But you know, it’s still fun and a tank full of puppies! I’m having fun again. The creative juices are flowing. And it’s given me inspiration to restart all those other hobbies and endeavors.
An interesting aside to all that is a problem I’m having with Art. My degree is in Fine Art; primarily as an oil painter, but other media as well, including a stint as a sculpture teacher…but I ended up in a career with the Federal government in Washington, D.C. (…life loves to spring these evil surprises on us, doesn’t it?). The last serious artwork I did on a consistent bases was the 1980’s and I a, finding it super hard to jump back into that pond! I’m just not that person I seemed to be back in my 20 and 30’s, and I’m finding it hard to find that path back to art… I’ll find it, in some form or another, but it’s not easy. But then again, hitting the reset button never is, is it?!?
I felt like sharing a personal side story to this, with direct impact from this endeavor. I’d mentioned on some other threads that I retired last year …1 year anniversary this past week, in fact! Coming out of a high stress career and burned out like a basted chicken wing forgotten on the grill, I knew I’d need that year to recover to a decent degree (and that was correct). What I also knew was, I’d always said I’d have no problem retiring… I have hobbies coming outta my ears! Plenty to keep me busy and out of divorce court. Part of the problem with that working life was, I was always exhausted, burned out, frustrated, and quite often, just pissed off in general. (Great job - Stupid management); I just didn’t have the energy to do my hobbies to any great deal, if at all in most. Model building was one of those hobbies that suffered to the extent that I just stopped building for more years within at least a decade than I can remember.
To take what I just mentioned a step further, what also happened was the emergence of something I truly despise… Social Media. In shorts it single handily killed Forums. I feel qualified in making that statement because I’ve owned and operated three different forums in five different configurations over the past couple decades (I just have the one remaining). The impact of this was and is, I’d watched all my beloved modeling and wargaming forums shrivel up and/or completely closed down (more, the latter). It’s just too easy, especially for companies, and Free, to host a Group on Facebook. The problem I see with that is, it’s all Wham Bam Think-you Mame posting…no substantive content; yiu just can’t follow a whole build from shrink wrap removal to finished work like you can on a forum. The other side of that warped coin is, the people talk in spurts… a quick comment and gone forever. Forums are a true Learning Community; social media can’t really come close to what we can achieve in paying it forward.
So I digress
When I retired last year, one of the frost hobbies o wanted to restart was model kit building. What was missing however, was *inspiration* from fellow modelers. I tried Facebook, and thought I found some good picture examples, the written comment was atrocious. Questions asked were answered in typical social media narcissism, in five words of watered down reply. “I miss modeling forums!” …yeah, there’s some decent ones out there, with great people, but they weren’t MSC (or my other two Go-To’s, KiwiModeleller and World War Two Zone, both long gone). Then, all of a sudden, like a Monty Python cartoon of clouds parting and a booming voice of salvation, here comes an email from Joe! Excuse my vulgarity but, “Holy s***! …this is un-bleeping amazing!” (I tried to show a little restart here). Truly, yiu can’t invent that kind of fortunate timing.I’d done a reimagining update of an old model for use as an auction item donation to a wargaming tournament last August… it was the first time I did anything model building in a very long time, and it started a very low pilot light in returning to modeling. But the reengaging with the forum poured kerosene on that pilot light and BOOM, I’ve got four kits and a wargaming model on the workbench! “Holy Shi…” …errr “Cow”! It only took a week to feel those wonderful camaraderie vibes of old… a frakkin’ Norman Rockwell “comin’ home” scene in forum form. You all have rejuvenated me, and my fledging but growing skill set in building monstrosities of warfare.
So if I may, what else? Well, there’s all those other hobbies! A return to modeling showed me in real World applications that, yes Dorothy, you can go home again! It’s not easy, though… shaking off rust is real, my friends! I don’t even want to tally the number of rookie mistakes I’ve made (e.g., putting on suspension springs on my Panzer IV completely frakking BACKWARDS!!! OMG). But you know, it’s still fun and a tank full of puppies! I’m having fun again. The creative juices are flowing. And it’s given me inspiration to restart all those other hobbies and endeavors.
An interesting aside to all that is a problem I’m having with Art. My degree is in Fine Art; primarily as an oil painter, but other media as well, including a stint as a sculpture teacher…but I ended up in a career with the Federal government in Washington, D.C. (…life loves to spring these evil surprises on us, doesn’t it?). The last serious artwork I did on a consistent bases was the 1980’s and I a, finding it super hard to jump back into that pond! I’m just not that person I seemed to be back in my 20 and 30’s, and I’m finding it hard to find that path back to art… I’ll find it, in some form or another, but it’s not easy. But then again, hitting the reset button never is, is it?!?
