To the way my mind works it's not the easiest thing to find, which is why I'm pointing out others might have the same trouble although it's of minor importance on the scheme of things. As I see it: A newcomer wanting an answer to a simple stove overhaul question will not know that on CCS the term 'fettling' is used. In southern England this term means to clean up castings before machining, that's the only way I've heard it used, but have heard it to describe 'fixing something' once up north. So the newcomer may ignore the fettling forum and go straight to the stove forum. On my browser at least, the definition 'fettling= to fix, repair' is left aligned down the right hand side of the fettling forum picture, easy to miss. The topic in question is part way down a list of sticky topics with a title which does the job but maybe could be clearer for beginners to spot. That's my excuse anyway!
As an aside, the search function here is great, the best I've found on any site. True, you should set it for all forums. Similarly, as I've said in the past, I review 'unread posts' without regard to forum, starting a few years back. Threads that don't interest you can eventually be marked read. But this method gives what I'd call a 'gestalt' of the site: a wider perspective on and feel for the many subjects and categories available here.
bump We have surpassed 17,000 registered members. The caveat for these stats: Stats are not accurate long term due to major site changes (which will continue), data purges and updates etc., but given that caveat, the stats provide a snapshot reflecting steady growth, milestones and levels of forum participation. 2023, Oct 23 Members: 17,002 Discussions: 49,070 Messages: 556,022 2023, Mar. 7 Members: 16,081 Discussions: 47,633 Messages: 539,027 2022, Aug. 10 Members: 15,167 Discussions: 46,290 Messages: 522,645 2021, Dec. 23 Members: 14,019 Discussions: 44,896 Messages: 505,735 *A reset: #s after housekeeping data purge ( -2500 members: w/no posts, w/no visits in 5 yrs) 2021, Oct. 11 Members: *13,705 (-2500 purged) Discussions: 44,469 Messages: 499,386 2021, Sep. 26 Members: 16,262 Discussions: 44,359 Messages: 497,795 2021, Feb. 28 Members: 15,100 Discussions: 43,092 Messages: 480,706 2020, Oct. 17 Members: 14,268 Discussions: 42,233 Messages: 469,018 2020, Mar. 19 Members: 13,073 Discussions: 40,787 Messages: 448,764 2019, Jul. 19 Members: 12,031 Discussions: 39,47 Messages: 429,652 2019, Jan 6 Members: 11,080 Discussions: 38,189 Messages: 414,177 2018, May 17 Members: 10,021 Discussions: 36,649 Messages: 391,522 2017, Aug 23 Members: 9,000 Discussions: 34,920 Messages: 367,891 2017, Jan 17 Members: 8,000 Discussions: 33,512 Messages: 351,051 2016, Feb 3 Members: 5,999 Discussions: 31,216 Messages: 321,407 2015, Jul 11 (CCSv4 launch) Members: 4,748
bump We've surpassed 18,000 registered members. The caveat for these numbers, they're not accurate long term due to major site changes (which will continue), data purges and updates etc., but given that caveat, the numbers reflect rate of growth, milestones and levels of forum participation. 2024, Jun 16 Members: 18,008 Discussions: 50,263 Messages: 570,081 2023, Oct 23 Members: 17,002 Discussions: 49,070 Messages: 556,022 2023, Mar. 7 Members: 16,081 Discussions: 47,633 Messages: 539,027 2022, Aug. 10 Members: 15,167 Discussions: 46,290 Messages: 522,645 2021, Dec. 23 Members: 14,019 Discussions: 44,896 Messages: 505,735 *A reset: #s after housekeeping data purge ( -2500 members: w/no posts, w/no visits in 5 yrs) 2021, Oct. 11 Members: *13,705 (-2500 purged) Discussions: 44,469 Messages: 499,386 2021, Sep. 26 Members: 16,262 Discussions: 44,359 Messages: 497,795 2021, Feb. 28 Members: 15,100 Discussions: 43,092 Messages: 480,706 2020, Oct. 17 Members: 14,268 Discussions: 42,233 Messages: 469,018 2020, Mar. 19 Members: 13,073 Discussions: 40,787 Messages: 448,764 2019, Jul. 19 Members: 12,031 Discussions: 39,47 Messages: 429,652 2019, Jan 6 Members: 11,080 Discussions: 38,189 Messages: 414,177 2018, May 17 Members: 10,021 Discussions: 36,649 Messages: 391,522 2017, Aug 23 Members: 9,000 Discussions: 34,920 Messages: 367,891 2017, Jan 17 Members: 8,000 Discussions: 33,512 Messages: 351,051 2016, Feb 3 Members: 5,999 Discussions: 31,216 Messages: 321,407 2015, Jul 11 (CCSv4 launch) Members: 4,748
Ross aside, Arch and Peter (abbahco1)have me beat. Perhaps one or two others; not sure. For those that are still regulars…
Yes, there are just a handful left of the original ones, like yourself, still posting. And that's not bad for an internet forum! It's actually sort of a quality stamp that people stick around for a quarter of a century.
I started regularly reading CCS just over a year after you joined. But being only 15 at the time, the internet was still for nerds let alone internet forums and I didn't dare be caught belonging to one! Oh the folly of beign self-conscious! That was back in the days when a search for 'camping stove' on Youtube would get you maybe a dozen results...
Interesting, Blackdog. I was 51 and had 6 grandchildren when my office put a computer with an internet connection on my desk. Before that I knew nothing about computers (still don't, really) and couldn't qualify as a nerd. But I saw the potential of the search engines and forums pretty much off the bat. The internet came to the masses, or at least the masses of the middle-aged, in 1999-2000. Before that it was the province of academics and technical people and the like. I too remember how a search would bring up a handful of results where now it's millions. I also saw in real time the emergence of Google's dominance. I remember using Yahoo, Alta Vista, Google, and a couple of others I forget. Every time, Google would produce more results; often many more. Soon it was the only one I used.
It seems @Ed Winskill that the States normalised the internet sooner than over here, or at least around the rural backwater when I grew up! I remember older brothers, students or in first jobs, hooking up to dial-up around the millenium as a bit of a novelty using free dialup available from supermarkets. In my last year of primary school (aged 11, 2001) there was big excitement as a new computer arrived which had access to the internet. Moving to secondary school the next year there were four computers in the library with internet which could be used at lunch times, the three main computer rooms/labs were not hooked up for a further year or so and all lessons were based on offline skills. My father was keen for us to keep up with developments so we had a new computer with a whole gig of RAM around 2002, online with dialup from AOL. I seem to remember searches were done with Yahoo, Ask Jeeves (remember that?) or the emerging Google. Remember Geocities? There were some good sites hosted on there, long gone now, to do with my many various interests at the time (windmills, exploring old mines, etc etc). Even by 2005-ish, to most schoolchildren computers and the internet were for nerds. The earliest social media was just starting to take a hold that year (Bebo then Myspace) and the world suddenly started speeding up...
Late 90s I made a dialup modem, to access free dialup, from an old pc and a free Linux distribution. We have come a long ways.
@Ed Winskill has already mentioned Alta Vista (which IIRC was DEC), how about gopher? or archie?? -R (cut my Internet teeth at 2400 baud)
I came by computers (and hence the internet) not out of any interest in computers at all, but because one with an internet connection was placed on my desk by my law firm. In short, it was a ready-made business tool that I had to learn how to use. We had broadband, fast connections from the get-go. The first thing was I needed to learn to type. Most guys of my generation didn't take typing in high school. I was married at 19, so such papers in college or law schoot that had to be typed (not many), my wife typed for me. After law school, I always had a secretary, and dictated on Dictaphones and, later, cassettes. So at 51 I got a good program and learned to type in a weekend (slowly). I eventually became a fairly fast touch typist. (Being a contrarian, I learned Dvorak typing.) Thereafter, my work product was typed. Dictation went into history. I never needed to learn any word processing softwear, so never did. I did all correspondence and pleadings by email to my legal assistants, who formatted them accordingly; right up to the time of my retirement.
I started similarly around the same time. I think it was a Zenith PC with two 3.5” floppy drives. Internet in those days was a dialup to something like a university modem bank using terminal software like c-kermit or if you were lucky, a UUCP feed for mail and usenet, or a SLIP connection for “real Internet”. -R
