The Kent History Forum
Members Only Area => General Discussion => Topic started by: grandarog on December 21, 2020, 03:02:29 PM
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Looking through the Members list I was struck by the lack of participation by many members.
At a rough estimate of our 117 Members approximately half have never posted on the Forum. I have seen said that the forum is Guess the Place dominated. Perhaps if more topics were posted there would be a lot more to attract comment and discussion.
I am determined to put up more topics in future. Lets all make a new year resolution to submit topics.
There is so much relevant too Kent it should not be that difficult.
Stuart has put so much work into getting the Forum up and running for us it would be a terrible shame if it was to slip into obscurity through lack of use.
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I'd very much agree with you Grandarog. What would be interesting is to see how many reads there are though. In fora such as this I suspect that there are a significant number of people who read with interest but never post for many reasons. Some that come to mind are:
- Too busy to do relevant research
- Afraid that their research/reminiscences are not "good enough" for public consumption
- Afraid that their standard of written English is insufficient
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Grandarog and MartinR, I agree with everything you've stated.
To be fair, it was much the same on the old Forum, with hundreds of members but only a dozen or so regular contributors. I'm not going to complain about the lack of participation and to be honest, Guess the Place keeps people interested. I'm sure I'm not alone in only contributing to subjects I'm interested in, in my case, the "Nelson's Navy" era. The old Forum had a lot of stuff around social and military history, fortifications and stuff, though there was some stuff about the Dark Ages and the period of the Roman occupation. Most of our nation's wars have historically been fought against our continental neighbours and Kent was on the front line in those wars, so it makes sense for Military and Naval history to feature strongly in the overall story of our County. The English Civil Wars are another era which interests me personally, but our County really only featured in the second of the three civil wars fought in the mid-1600s.
All contributions are welcome (as long as they're relevant to our County's history) and I particularly welcome people's personal recollections of life in the County. It is that kind of 'Living History' which I find the most fascinating, the minute details which get overlooked when academics write their history books. I look forward to reading more of them.
You may have noticed that I am not a grammar and spelling nazi. I will correct some if they're glaringly bad and I hate the so-called "text talk", but the beauty of reading someone's recollections is to read it in their own words. If spelling and grammar are spot on all the time, I think it can take some of the "personal" out of "personal recollections" and their words seem to lose something as a result. So, don't worry if your spelling and grammar are not inch-perfect, it's the message you're trying to get across which is important, not the layout of the piece.
What I do expect is that if you do publish a piece of research, you've made the effort to get the facts right. I've learned the hard way to use more than one source of reference, because particularly in detailing events which took place hundreds of years ago, the sources do not always agree. And please, do not copy other people's work and claim it as your own. As far as being too busy is concerned, again, don't worry about it. If you want to do the research, do it, but don't rush it, do it at your own pace. I find that the longer the story, the more time it takes. My story about HMS Royal William spanned well over a century and took weeks to research and write up. I've started work on a similarly long story which I'm also expecting to take weeks, possibly months, which I'll be doing in between other stories which take far less time to do. The average time for me to research and write up a Nelson's Navy ship history is about a week and a half and that's not a full-time commitment, that's based on spending an hour or so as and when I can, so the total contiguous time would add up to about ten hours on average. Make your articles as detailed as you want them to be; the whole point of a forum is for other people to fill in the gaps if there are any. So, do not be afraid to ask questions or comment or contribute to someone's post as long as what you put is constructive or adds to it in some way.
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Stuart. I certainly agree with your comments about members not contributing. I am, what certain members call "The Good Shepherd" of the 55th RAF Halton Association. I send a News Letter every Christmas- since 1978- & sadly only get acknowledgements from a handful. You've guessed it, always the same ones( e.g. John W., Grandarog, DtT, Castle,etc.,etc.). It doesn't put me off & many others used to turn up for reunions & say how they enjoyed being kept in touch. So people who occasionally come on the site, often I suspect out of curiosity, may be interested in the odd article. I can & do, contribute to some 30's,40's & 50's history for I was around at that time but afraid I am unable to contribute to the ever popular GtP. They're a bit like computers to me, I don't understand the question, let alone the answer! But THEY enjoy it & I like "looking". So, " good on yer"! p.s. I DO like your Naval history, thanks. Dave
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I contribute when I can and it is satisfying to see some other members actually like what I've written. :) Most of the posts I do contribute to are obviously pre 1972 which is when I left the UK for Australia and still live there.
I did return in 1977 but within 6 months the kids were saying..."When are we going down the beach Dad?" or more often "When's the sun gonna shine Dad?". So we came back here within 2 years and now would never return for various reasons.
Actually members not contributing to a site is not confined to this one as others complain on those I'm part of out here whether they're about where we now live or the cars we drive and trips we take.
But I'm sure we all appreciate what has been done to keep it going. Thanks to those that do bother to go into print with their thoughts and feelings about the towns and other parts of Kent.
AlanH.
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I would love to participate but Im not good at guess the place and only stuarts exellent posts about ships seem like what I was expecting although I know nothing about it. I do try to read but what can I participate???? One day I will know more about Kent and start some topics I hope when it is not cold!!! Guess the place seems fun for those people but is not very good as a history forum, do you think that is putting new off?
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It may also be a case that new members are from outside the county and don't have the wealth of memories some of our senior contributors have. Taking my own case, I was born in Sheffield, moved to the Black Country and started school there, Moved back to Sheffield, started at a boarding school in Berkshire, then in Bath and in the meantime the family home moved to Middlesbrough. Thence up to Whitley Bay, back to the Black Country and then Tunbridge Wells. Over to Milton Regis for 10 years and then here in the Medway Towns for the last 20. I've lots of anecdotes about Whitley Bay and the Boro and have traveled a bit in The County, but have relatively limited experience of Kent. Now I'm retired COVID is keeping me locked up!
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For what it is worth................
I guess that I am one of the members who does not participate that much, I think on the current forum I have one article published on the 'Luton windmill' and on the previous forum I was able to actively contribute to the memorable 'slip coach' thread and the 'Faversham Creek branch line'. I also have a few GTP entries to my name though I only participate if I have a good idea on first sight.
I have a interest in history and have learnt much from both this forum and also under its previous incarnation. where I used to attend the Christmas gatherings, organised visits (Amhurst Lines and Fort Horstead), and latterly some of the work parties to Fort Luton.
I tend not to post at least new threads, because my main fields of interests (i.e. railways, football & offshore radio) don't come up very often and also I do not have the information to hand to make a good article. That said I have considered writing a submission about my time on the railways of Kent in the late 70s / early 80s.
In my opinion, if members chose not to contribute for whatever reason that that is their prerogative, it may be however that they may be prompted to join an existing discussion with something pertinent and therefore to coin a phrase 'the whole (forum) is equal to the sum of it's constituent parts'.
The 'Guess the Place' thread is a bit of harmless fun which some members enjoy greatly and so to question its relevance is an unjust challenge, if it does not appeal then don't visit the thread.
I am grateful to be a member of the KHF and was glad that it was relaunched following the demise of the original thread, which I did miss. Personally, I visit this forum daily often on multiple visits.
Keep up the good work Stuart.
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I originally joined the old forum to add some detail to the rebuilding of Christ Church Luton. My professional background is in the Gas Distribution industry and personally in church matters these are not subjects which come up very often on the forum. I do regularly visit the forum and where I can add a viewpoint and join in GTP where I can.
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The discussion which appeared to be developing about Gas Works has been moved to it's own thread, under Utilities - Gas and Gas Works.
It's here:
https://kenthistoryforum.com/index.php?topic=575 (https://kenthistoryforum.com/index.php?topic=575)
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I see we have a NEW member ` Grumpy Granny ` I would love to hear WHAT she has to say ?
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Just a few thoughts. I don't get involved in Guess the Place because my knowledge of the obscure places is (like others here) limited. If I check on the recent posts and see just GTP listed, I tend to move on by without checking if anything else has been discussed.
Perhaps others do this?
It may be an idea to build on the success GTP has by requiring users of that to post additional threads on history of the places mused upon. This will develop a multitude of other discussions that others can now add to and build up a culture of others doing likewise?
Another idea would be to add "chatty" threads that all can be involved in. Like favourite places to visit before lockdown, or recommended walks and the like.
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We have ,for our usage a section on dockyards,a lot of Medway towns people worked in the yard at one time or another,so there must be a load of stories concerning the yard out there ,plus tales of the people who worked therein,funny tragic,sad,stories,let's get them on record via this fourum because very soon there won't be many ex 'yard Maties' left to tell the tails,it would be a shame to loose the very essence of yard life, plus it can only improve the fourum as a repository of local information ,.
I was a radiation monitor ,worked up Untill closure clearing up the radio logical implications of the refueling complex,allso worked at Lodge Hill RNAD as a boy ,after the closure I was approached by a young lady doing her thesis on the nuclear complex and its reprocusons on those who were radiation workers, learnt a lot from that?so come on you yard gals &guys lets lay the ghost of the lazy Maties for ever,
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Cosmo, most GTP photos are, at some point, described and historical context given or requested. Posting a picture of an interesting looking building can then generate replies as to its past, while at the same time providing innocent fun for those searching for its location. I’m also certain that there are a number of others who follow the quiz without ever posting.
My own knowledge of Kent has certainly been enhanced by a few hours searching on google street view. I got quite familiar with Canterbury at one point, which has then fed back into my family history research.
Obviously I’m biased as the current mystery picture is mine...
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There's no criticism of GTP intended. I was just pointing out that I tend to ignore it. I think there's a missed opportunity in that.
For instance I know that churches often feature in GTP, yet there's only 7 posts on churches on the forum. How many interesting church images and information lie buried in the GTP thread now unseen?
I'm sure Temple Manor in Strood has featured in GTP. I'm more likely to browse a titled thread on such an interesting and unknown building than browse GTP.
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That is interesting Colin walsh - you being a Radiation Monitor - as I had a story run on the old site.
Will tell in due time - Concerns when 2 Hunter Killer subs were in 6 / 7 docks & one in Basin 1.
We only had 4 Hunter Killer subs - then.
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Speaking for myself I keep an eye on GTP, and if I can add information when it is claimed, will do so. Whether my little scribblings warrant a new post I leave to others. I've certainly wasted/enjoyed a few hours on GSV trying to identify some of the places, and as may be apparent to regulars I often go to Wikipedia for initial information.
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Castle261,yes indeed there were a number of times hunter/killer class submarines had to have 'emergency " docking .Due to some technical / operational requirement .It wasn't unusual to have two boats in at once,one refueling ,to'ther for alterations and additional work ,the capacity was controld by the ACRC system (alternative cooling reactor systems)a system that kept the boat under refuel supplied with a supply of cooling water to its reactor(very simplified description )I am proud to say much pioneering work was carried out in the complex in Chatham,we were good ,Rosyth & Devonport both grew from the ground work at Chatham,yes ,we made mistakes,but it's safe to say Chatham perfected Nuc refueling ,things such as MAC 10/12 another story for another time.
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I'm still waiting to hear from Grumpy Granny. Surely you must have SOMETHING to say? PLEASE.
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Of the five newest members, only one has posted at all. That was a single post recommending another site.
I'm guessing these newbies are joining up looking for something and not finding it? Or perhaps logging in issues?
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I think Covid has mucked us all up a little bit. In my own case, I am working from home. I have an office set up in the back bedroom. But, I reckon I am working far harder than when I went into the office. And because I am spending all day at the computer in the "office" I am less inclined to go back to it later in the day to look at KHF and the other two forums I am on.
I hope once we get back to normal, I will get back to my usual post-dinner posting.
DTT
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I've just noticed today that John Walker has recorded 1,000 posts, so congratulations from me.
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What must it be, to be a Walker
What must it be, to be a Talker
You need a camera + some time
A church or chapel - that rhyme
1000 times + a lot re-searches
John knows + a lot of churches.