# Proposal to increase CPF vocabulary - SUGGESTIONS WANTED!



## RetroTechie (Apr 13, 2014)

Hello all,

There's been a recurring phenomena here on CPF: a newby user gets introduced to modern lights, first purchases are lights with ever increasing lumens output, and after a while things 'settle down' and other things like LED tint, switch type(s), body materials, custom mods etc become more interesting.

User archimedes illustrated it best in this post (lumens vs. CPF post count), which by now many will have seen.

I think it occurs often enough that this curve, :thinking: or more specifically: the *peak* in that curve, deserves its own name. If you'd actually find a way to plot a 'curve', I'm sure there's a variety of curve shapes out there that already have a fitting name. Not so the peak in this specific curve...

So I propose we give this phenomena / the peak in this curve its own name. Along the lines of "peak oil", the "Ballmer peak", "Streisand effect", etc, etc. So that in discussions, we can say that user X hasn't hit its .... peak yet, or is long past his/her .... peak. Simply a quick/concise way to describe where user X is in their hobby, without needing to refer to above thread or image. Imho best would be a name that doesn't have CPF in it, but does hint at its origin somehow. So that it _may_ be picked up, used & popularized by other sites too. 

Good idea? If so: suggestions please!


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## mcnair55 (Apr 13, 2014)

I need a new Anorak ,the more i read the more i fear for this hobby.It is a tube with a battery and a bulb.


The above is intended only as representative of my opinion not others opinion,
nor is it meant as an entreatment to invite any response by any other
regarding subject matter, content or anything associated by any other.​


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## StarHalo (Apr 13, 2014)

"Big gun fever", an important step on the flashaholic's journey as it must be satiated before one can continue on, otherwise the user always wonders how much brighter everything could be..


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## thedoc007 (Apr 13, 2014)

StarHalo said:


> "Big gun fever", an important step on the flashaholic's journey as it must be satiated before one can continue on, otherwise the user always wonders how much brighter everything could be..



A "lumen chaser". Although after more than a year on CPF, a couple dozen lights, and hundreds of posts, I really think that each person is different. I hardly care about tint at all, as long as it isn't sickly yellow or green, and I still appreciate monster-lumen lights. Maybe the trend you discussed was more true in the past...but now, with many modes, and so many quality manufacturers, you can just about pick any feature set you want and find a light that matches. I don't buy lights simply because they are brighter, but more output is nonetheless ALWAYS a good thing, all else being equal.


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## idleprocess (Apr 13, 2014)

The _unicorn_. Whenever someone finally catches theirs, they realize that exotic beasts require special care - and sometimes special habitat - that's a lot less practical than initially imagined.


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## magellan (May 21, 2014)

How about:

"metal man"

or maybe 

"tin man" (or woman"

or

"metal maniac"

or possibly

"metal maven"

i.e., someone who's into more exotic metals like titanium or copper.


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## mvyrmnd (May 21, 2014)

What you're describing is a "Hype Cycle"

Generally it looks like this:







Technology Trigger: Start of hobby
Peak of Inflated Expectations: MOAR LUMENS!!!1!!!1!1!
Trough of Disillusionment: Damnit, lumens are cool and all, but where to from here?
Slope of Enlightenment: Maybe lumens arent everything?
Plateau of Productivity: Lets find my all-round perfect light...


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## sticktodrum (May 21, 2014)

^That is brilliant! Haven't seen that before.


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## TEEJ (May 21, 2014)

Its a bit tight a fit in some situations, but does illustrate a general initial propensity to chase lumens alone.

For example, there are those that chase the cd instead of lumens, or brand instead of either, etc.

As in any hobby or interest, people start off wherever they walk onto the set...which, if they looked for a flashlight, meant that the lumen was presented as "The Spec".

That's the starting point for flashlights generally, and, it takes the newbs some time to "see" what ELSE might be a spec too....and how that resonates with them.


UI for example is one of the least discussed features, yet, to me, can make or break a light's actual usefulness. Beam pattern is another issue that gets very little discussion relative to its actual impact on how a light can be used, and so forth.


For the average newb, a flashlight is a plastic thing you bang on to make it stay on, that sometimes projects a dim yellow donut hole of light when you slide the side switch forward, etc. 

They call the LED a "Bulb", and so forth.


They have SEEN those "LED Flashlights" hanging in the check out isle at the hardware store, with the showerhead design, etc, and were actually impressed at how well they worked compared to their prior plastic dim yellow donut maker.


So, when they start to wonder what ELSE is out there, google flashlights, and see LUMEN!!!! screaming from every google hit, its no wonder that they "Learn" that lumens are what you compare between flashlights.


Eventually, they might pick up that ebay lumens are not the same as ANSI lumens, and, that the run time is not how long you'd run the light, and that the WAY a light works, the shape of the beam, the range of the beam, the tint or CRI of the beam, the reliability of the device, and maybe even its aesthetics, and so forth, might also be important.

The graph is a way to illustrate that evolution.


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## ven (May 21, 2014)

Lumatic =someone who is crazy obsessed by just lumens


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## archimedes (May 21, 2014)

RetroTechie said:


> ....There's been a recurring phenomena here on CPF: a newby user gets introduced to modern lights, first purchases are lights with ever increasing lumens output, and after a while things 'settle down' and other things like LED tint, switch type(s), body materials, custom mods etc become more interesting.
> 
> User archimedes illustrated it best in this post (lumens vs. CPF post count), which by now many will have seen.
> 
> ...



I wouldn't object to this being called the "archimedes peak" (lol) 

:twothumbs


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## magellan (May 21, 2014)

ven said:


> Lumatic =someone who is crazy obsessed by just lumens



Ha-ha. That's a good one!


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## mvyrmnd (May 21, 2014)

archimedes said:


> I wouldn't object to this being called the "archimedes peak" (lol)
> 
> :twothumbs



Truthfully, these things usually get names after the person that first realises / discovers the effect.

I'll go with "Archimedes Peak"


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## TEEJ (May 21, 2014)

mvyrmnd said:


> Truthfully, these things usually get names after the person that first realises / discovers the effect.
> 
> I'll go with "Archimedes Peak"



I third the vote for Archimedes Peak

:thumbsup:


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## mvyrmnd (May 21, 2014)

TEEJ said:


> I third the vote for Archimedes Peak
> 
> :thumbsup:



Going once...twice...three times... SOLD!

FWIW I hit my Archimedes Peak two years ago. I've even sold my big-lumen lights since then.


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## TEEJ (May 21, 2014)

mvyrmnd said:


> Going once...twice...three times... SOLD!
> 
> FWIW I hit my Archimedes Peak two years ago. I've even sold my big-lumen lights since then.



I have MORE big lumen lights than 2 years ago, as I find I need them for disaster response work and they work better for searching large areas. 

:devil:


I came into all this backwards though....my first LED was UV, essentially NO lumens, and as I do forensic investigations, small lights with specific wavelengths and beam patterns were my world in that area, and we had to use big honking Halogens or HID, etc, for searching.


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## mvyrmnd (May 21, 2014)

TEEJ said:


> I have MORE big lumen lights than 2 years ago, as I find I need them for disaster response work and they work better for searching large areas.
> 
> :devil:



Yeah, but you have a purpose for them. You're not just buying MOAR LUMENS!!!1!!


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## TEEJ (May 22, 2014)

mvyrmnd said:


> Yeah, but you have a purpose for them. You're not just buying MOAR LUMENS!!!1!!



True.

I use tritium lanterns for nightlight type activities for example, supremely practical for long term power outages.


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