WarmGlass.com

The forum has been quite silent recently.
Active topics last month has 4 entries, three of selling, one for buying.
No technical discussions, questions or even Spab.

What is the problem? Is this craft fading out like tiffany or is it only economical crisis that restricts business and hobby.

-lauri

When you see the same questions repeated year after year it is easy to understand why seasoned, experienced, "artists" no longer participate. How many discussions can you have about bubbles or cracking glass before deciding to your spend time more productively. I respect those that continue to tutor novices, but I think many newcomer/crafters are looking for a quick fix in place of personal research and testing.
Many creative Artists have contributed over the years on this site and I do miss the quality input they generously gave. It is however understandable why they have moved on.

I had a favourite here. No fuss and straight to the chase but some people would get their noses out of joint. If it was television, the mix would have really worked because who really wants sugar on their sugar? Not enough would want it I'm sure, only those in lah lah land. peace, haydo

Lauri- It's a mix: the aging baby boomers who fueled the popularity are getting too old or bored or are downsizing. The kids only want stuff with batteries and buttons. The economy has definitely contributed. The collectors are aging and not buying like they used to, even though there's better and better stuff out there. At the same time there's been a dumbing down of fused glass. Anyone can throw together a bunch of coasters or ornaments and try to sell them.
Maybe we taught them too well?
As to Don's point, there are a few of us left to answer those same questions over and over; some are more conscientious and kinder than others. And maybe some have decided that they'd rather, at this point, get paid for it- come take a class and all will be made clear.

Thanks Marty
So it seems. I was not worried about missing answers, but missing newbie questions. I have noticed the same on my site in Finnish language. One of the most popular pages is Q&A, still only 0-1 new question per year.

At the end of last year they closed the abandoned hospital building where I had my studio. No heat no electricity that readds no fusing. So I decided to use this year to write my testament, a book telling what I had learned about warm glass.
Now I wonder if somebody wants to read such book.

The Swedish site glasskonst.ifokus.se is a bit more lively.

-lauri

Facebook has dominated the Social Media. There are several active and vibrant Warm Glass type boards on Facebook right now.
Diversify or lag behind.

I have followed Warm Glass for years and could pretty consistently count on finding good advice from people who really know glass. I am very familiar with the Facebook groups, however there is a significant difference in that everyone that has been working with glass for a couple months feels like they can give advice, often times in error. It amazes me to watch people seek advice from certain people who put themselves out there as having great knowledge, when possibly they do not... Thanks to those experts that remain with the Warm Glass forum and are still willing to provide advice based on the expertise that they have developed from many years of hard work. Tim

facebook sucks up people's need for spabtalk. There are plenty of opportunities to exercise your thoughts over there. I learned an awful lot from Spab discussions here. The best for me was back when healthcare reform was first proposed in the USA. Many Canadians piped up and basically said. We love our healthcare. We pay about 10% higher income tax, and about $150 a month for health insurance. When I'm sick I go to the doctor. This was repeated over and over, then one person added: My dad has a rare cancer and is not being helped. He is going to the USA for help. Many Europeans added their experiences. Every health insurance system on earth has to draw lines about what is covered and what is not. There is always somebody on the wrong side of those lines. Pointing these out will always make the system look bad. It took our little forum to get reality perspective, from real experiences.

Warm Glass BB remains the best place on earth to ask and answer questions about warm glass.

i am on a couple of facebook sites. d brady popped up recently spouting his usual bs. i miss brock too. r.

Yes, the Facebook Pages are certainly the Wild West of advice, but that's where the people are, and that's where the cool ideas are being shared.
We know where to go for real advice. I share this page when necessary.

Facebook and as Marty said "the dumbing down of fused glass" go hand in hand.

The problem with Facebook is that posts eventually fall off the bottom, never to be found again.

With a forum like this, you can at least search older posts to understand your cracks and bubbles (if you are so inclined... )

Dana W.

How prophetic, that Lauri would start this thread called "Silence'. Jen

Dana, there is a "search this group" feature in every Facebook group that allows you to search a particular topic. It's very helpful. Many folks STILL (*sigh*) end up asking questions that could easily be answered by plugging in a search....

Studiodunn wrote:Dana, there is a "search this group" feature in every Facebook group that allows you to search a particular topic. It's very helpful. Many folks STILL (*sigh*) end up asking questions that could easily be answered by plugging in a search....

I am well-aware there is a search feature for groups in Facebook -- no need to sigh in my direction. But posts STILL eventually "fall off the bottom", never to be seen again. It is the nature of the site.

Dana W.

Dana...The sigh was not directed at you. It was a hypothetical *sigh* at all the many folks who ask questions that could easily be answered by running a search. Please reread my post. I was actually trying to be helpful since your post from 10/31 gave the distinct impression you were not aware of the FB search feature :

[quoteThe problem with Facebook is that posts eventually fall off the bottom, never to be found again.

With a forum like this, you can at least search older posts to understand your cracks and bubbles (if you are so inclined... )
][/quote]

Sorry for the confusion on your part.

I also have noticed that things have dropped off here on WG, and at the same time the facebook pages have lots of action...why would that be? I think the responses to posts here tend to be more honest. The more I know about making (warm) glass the more I want honesty. And maybe this site is less anonymous? Also this audience seems to be more quirky and "out there"? Maybe there are more true "artists" on this site? I do miss Brock, he knows glass.

I am just now returning to warm glass. I have been away because one of my good friends almost died from e coli and my sister has stage 4 cancer. Unfortunately, I haven't found the time or energy to post on here or even look at posts for that matter. I sure would prefer to work on some glass projects to relieve all of the stress, but I don't have the time. I love this forum and hope it will always be here when I have time to look.

All the best to you and yours, pshash in this very stressful time. I, too, hope this forum will be around for a long time. I don't do FB and enjoy the feeling of still being connected to a larger community and the members I think of as friends, most of whom I've never met, whose input I follow and who kindly and promptly answer my questions as I am happy to do when I can.
Jen

I love this forum too
While I've not had much time for fusing in many months due to busy work schedule and family responsibilities, I frequently read this forum and love the way it keeps fused glass alive for me
Thank you to all
Susan