This forum dead or dying?

[dc38]

...which leads me to the question: "If the forum was dead, would we realize it?"

"BRAIIINNNZZZZZ"

 

[aznsx]

...which leads me to the question: "If the forum was dead, would we realize it?"

That's a very good question. Human denial is a very powerful thing, so we might not. I only know core content is becoming more and more scarce. What does that mean? That's what I came here for. It might / not 'die', but the name may need to be changed at some point;-(

 

[NotRegulated]

See. This forum is not dead or dying. It is merely invoking other intellectual conversations as a diversion when there is a lull in new flashlight content.

 

[Monocrom]

Our oldest spawn speaks in Celsius. It drives me crazy.

Good thing you have back-up off-spring.

 

[dc38]

See. This forum is not dead or dying. It is merely invoking other intellectual conversations as a diversion when there is a lull in new flashlight content.

All the lulz

 

[dc38]

Good thing you have back-up off-spring.

I can see the exec discussion now..."faulty firmware? Warranty, there will be a backlog of about 9 months. At least we enjoy making these things. Go easy on the sodium this time, yeah?"

 

[F89]

I think it died a while ago for the most part, for me. At least it’s not a total cesspit like many forums.

I’m not big on forums or antisocial media but I’ve knocked around here on and off for quite a while starting in around ‘12 and joining in ‘14.

I actually enjoy looking through the old back logs rather than anything new on here.
Recently I considered deleting my account but I may just keep it and give it a miss for a while. I can’t imagine joining another forum anytime soon so it’s CPF or nothing for me.

 

[Chauncey Gardener]

I think it died a while ago for the most part, for me. At least it’s not a total cesspit like many forums.

I’m not big on forums or antisocial media but I’ve knocked around here on and off for quite a while starting in around ‘12 and joining in ‘14.

I actually enjoy looking through the old back logs rather than anything new on here.
Recently I considered deleting my account but I may just keep it and give it a miss for a while. I can’t imagine joining another forum anytime soon so it’s CPF or nothing for me.

I think CPF is better with you than without you. Hopefully, you'll stick around and make it even better.

 

[aznsx]

I think it died a while ago for the most part, for me. At least it’s not a total cesspit like many forums.

I’m not big on forums or antisocial media but I’ve knocked around here on and off for quite a while starting in around ‘12 and joining in ‘14.

I actually enjoy looking through the old back logs rather than anything new on here.
Recently I considered deleting my account but I may just keep it and give it a miss for a while. I can’t imagine joining another forum anytime soon so it’s CPF or nothing for me.

I think CPF is better with you than without you. Hopefully, you'll stick around and make it even better.

Ditto. This place needs some Aussie grit around:-)

 

[carrot]

I see your point, and observe that because this forum has been around so long, and contains so much information already, there isn't really a whole lot of info to add to it. I mean, it's like how much info is there to add to an encyclopedia each year? Not a whole lot, but that constitutes everything, whereas this forum is only focused on light sources. It therefore makes sense to me that the largest number of posts nowadays will be social in nature, rather than technical.

Every time I think about posting, I see that someone else has said enough on it. I for one, am glad that CPF sticks around. It's nice to see some friendly names.

 

[F89]

I think CPF is better with you than without you. Hopefully, you'll stick around and make it even better.

Kind words.
CPF is a good forum and comparatively it’s likely the most sane and friendly (civilised by comparison to what’s out there as far as I can tell).
While the days of great innovation and enthusiasm are well behind us on here, in my opinion, people continue to chat away regardless.

Occasionally someone stirs in the all but forgotten corners that still have my interest.

 

[cave dave]

Occasionally someone stirs in the all but forgotten corners that still have my interest.

Amazingly the small radio thread is still going. Also HDS thread even though they never do anything new except raise prices, I checked it occasionally because they have been promising an 18350 update for years.

 

[olrac]

I don’t know why but this forum popped into my brain after many years absent I decided to drop by and see what was going on. Seems quite different from it’s “Wild West” days of the early 2000’s.

 

[ghostguy6]

Considering how often the Admin is pushing the upgraded memberships I would say the days of this forum are limited. Every other forum where I have seen a rapid push for paid membership usually shuts down in a year or two. Hopefully that wont be the case here but I do take it as a sign.

 

[Jash]

This is the first time I’ve logged on in years. Used to be in here almost daily, at least weekly.

It was a lot more exciting years ago when LED development was in its infancy and getting a new emitter in a particular model was something to celebrate.

Now you can buy multi-thousand lumen lights for $100 from any of a dozen different manufacturers and it’s boring.

I still buy the odd new flashlight once or twice a year, but in reality the excitement is largely gone as what was once considered innovative and new is now just ubiquitous.

My needs are for 200-300 lumens or even less for 99% of my illumination needs at night, so most of what’s offered today is just surplus lumens and runtime I don’t need.

I simply don’t need 3,000 lumens or 250k lux. It’s fun for showing off, but that’s about all.

 

[nfetterly]

Yup, the Golden age of CPF, and we never knew it at the time. Though, you sure it was the L1 model? Well, if anyone could get a 17500 to fit inside, it would be Scott. I bought another one of Scott's creations, a tear-drop SureFire E2E model second-hand that was designed to run off of one AW 17500; back in the day.

I've got an L1 modded to run on an AA...

 

[Robocop]

I was away from this forum for some time as life in general threw me some curves. My father and grandmother both were fighting cancer and it was just a time I needed to focus on other things. Then shortly after I myself had to have a surgery (gallbladder) however after discovering I was in septic shock as a result also shifted my focus. Although I was away I still checked the flashlight section of every store I entered and continued buying all sorts of interesting lights. Every few months I would check in just to poke around however did not participate as I once did.

When I returned full force it was different however the biggest difference right away was there were very few long discussions on any certain product. It appeared as if the innovators had gone and the industry as a whole had become idle. For me the memories of being involved in the early days was exciting. There is no doubt the flashlight industry was watching us and shaped the future of lighting from things we were doing here. We were the only game in town and we had members who were passionate and very capable with bringing new ideas to the industry.

I remember the excitement of watching a product evolve and then we had the chance to own it. The fun of waiting for that package to arrive and then the fun of tearing it open and just enjoying something that we here had a part of bringing it to market. Then we had the brilliant modders who just changed the whole game. There were some good ones too and they were just fellow members who we talked with every day. I remember thinking the CMG ULTRA G was simply perfect. Then one day I see a thread where a member who happened to be a machinist had cut down his CMG to take a CR2 cell. Then a second member took that idea and added a luxeon mod to it and holy smoke I wanted one. I do not see many doing this type stuff today however I believe this is not because there is no interest.

I believe the flashlight world has grown so much there is no real interest in wildly modded lights anymore. The CR2 Ultra G mod was amazing then however today there are several lights on Amazon that are smaller and pack more power for usually under $30. Having experienced the early days here I will still buy almost anything older that was popular back then. I do so not because I need it however solely to experience that excitement again of waiting for a package to arrive just like I did back then.

I had no idea there were ever any problems here with management and was surprised to read a few recent threads (this one included) talking about people leaving here as a result. I remember a few arguments however again never really saw anything that made me want to leave. I was actually a moderator here when I stepped away. I remember getting involved a few times in the random dispute however most respected me enough that it was resolved and we all moved on. Perhaps I simply never noticed however again I never saw a reason to want to leave here at all.

I think lighting in general has reached a point where not many innovators are trying to just have fun. Most anything you can think of you can buy today online however I firmly believe that the original forum here shaped the current lighting industry in a big way. I was very happy to see a few here that are still tinkering and offering nice things to us. Even after all these years I have still found a few things here that make me glad to be here. Most recently I found FrazLabs and really like their products. It was new to me and showed a little old school thinking out of the box and reminded me of the old CPF.

I also really have enjoyed watching Matt at Lumen Craft who has some very cool stuff and most importantly appears to just be a flashlight guy having fun with this hobby. He also reminds me of the old CPF and again I think this forum ,for me at least, could use more like this. Although the lighting industry is kind of peaked I think the next wave of innovation will be with battery technology. Perhaps as battery tech grows lighting will change around it and we can once again be involved with some very cool products coming out. Regardless I hope CPF is not going anywhere as for me it is still a familiar refuge. Some old friends are no longer active however I still see a few remaining and I have also made some new friends as well. This was a little long winded however it is a topic that for me that is very personal. The time I spent here in the last 23 years is very special and regardless of any changes there is still a little bit of the old feelings left here.....thanks for reading all of this and here is to several more years of CPF

 

[jarobi]

I never posted much, but spent many hours here and learned. Bought and sold a lot. The last few times I posted something for sale, a few who'd dealt with me before didn't trust the payment method and asked for a different one I hadn't listed. Not a whine & cheese....things have changed with the culture. Again, the halcyon days of the forum as a platform are long past. I B/S/T elsewhere due to more traffic and less BS but will donate a bit here out of gratitude and sentimentality.

 

[Monocrom]

I was away from this forum for some time as life in general threw me some curves. My father and grandmother both were fighting cancer and it was just a time I needed to focus on other things. Then shortly after I myself had to have a surgery (gallbladder) however after discovering I was in septic shock as a result also shifted my focus. Although I was away I still checked the flashlight section of every store I entered and continued buying all sorts of interesting lights. Every few months I would check in just to poke around however did not participate as I once did....

Hey Robo, very sorry to hear about your health condition and that of your father and grand-mother. I know what it's like to lose someone close, to Cancer. And yes, CPF has changed completely since the old days. I have nothing but respect for Kelly (Greta). But towards the end, before she sold CPF, the forums went from "PG" rated to "G" rated. It was ridiculous. If a disagreement got ever so slightly heated but everyone was still respectful of opposing views.... Instant lock! Later, maybe full deletion of the thread. We're talking continents away from the behavior typically seen in the CPF Underground. Didn't matter! Had to leave for work, planned on posting a reply after work. Come back, Locked! Look through the topic. No clue why it got locked! So frustrating. And, it happened often.

Having a theater that went from PG-rated and G-rated films, down to G-rated only with no official policy change; made no sense. Especially since the surrounding community wasn't made up of very religious Christian families. But mostly single, adult men. I mean who are you catering to by doing that?

I do miss some of the members who left. Others? Honestly, good riddance! I think most of the ones who left enjoyed CPF for the modding. The fun, personal stories of creating something that put the Bigger brands to shame, in terms of brightness. Discussions have clearly shifted to other topics. But it's still a great site to visit, a great community. Also, a good chunk of the trouble-makers were part of the Exodus. Don't need a Moderator Team any more. Most of the ones left on CPF, we can police ourselves.

 

[nfetterly]

I've got an L1 modded to run on an AA...

Rereading this thread and I thought - I have one too !!!
Then I realized it was my post...