What coating is used on Circuit boards?

[Platdigger]

Well, I supose it could be alot worse. Thanks to the continued efforts of a few key people, this site is still up and running smoothly actually.

 

[seawolf]

I agree with the moderators completely. If a method of screening should be required then how about a short quiz of say 10 questions from Hokes' book the kind that are hard as all get out if you haven't done your reading.
Just a thought, Mark

 

[Harold_V]

You guys are doing great. Keep the suggestions coming. From all the input, we may come up with something that's functional.

Personally, I'm all for approved registration. The only problem is, that takes a lot of time, and I'm not convinced any of us that act as moderators are free to pursue the effort.

We use such a system on the Chaski board, which, from the position of the board administrator, was not a good idea. We were forced to go that route when we were inundated by spammers.

I have moderated that forum since 2002. In all that time, we have banned maybe four readers (shocking when you see how many get banned here). Wise guys have been chased off (by me, if you can imagine that), and those that were trouble and didn't leave were banned. It speaks volumes about the quality of people that are on that forum--and speaks just as loudly about the benefit of screening applicants. It didn't take long for word to spread, so now the forum is known for its kind demeanor. and attracts those that look for a good place to hang out. Let the goons reign and that goes away almost instantly.

This forum is unique in that it is the only real place where functional knowledge can be obtained. That's one of the things that will keep them coming----so we need a functional plan. It is my opinion that it should include a statement advising anyone that wishes to become a member that they will be banned IMMEDIATELY for violating our simple rules. We need to continue with a no tolerance attitude.

Harold

 

[patnor1011]

I saw few questions (many times answered btw) by new members with just one answer: Read Hoke

Maybe that is the way how to deal with problem. If somebody ask basic question answer should be: Read Hoke, use search all this is on forum already. End of story.

 

[joem]

Ok, one point of view is that
as much as you may not like it, as soon as you offer information you become a teacher. You can not teach to every single student to perfect satisfaction. But if a larger number of student, no matter what attitude or past expriences, are dissatisfied then the method of teaching to the whole must be examined.
Therefore I tried a test. I logged out and came back in with a google search as a newbie wanting gold. Here are my observations (which you may know already)

Google will bring me to almost any topic on this forum.
As a Browser I can read but not post.
Clicking on Board Index brings them to log in.
I did not want to read terms.
I was able to create a free login without any guidance or cost.

As me and my life experience, I must learn, evolve, and change. The same is happening to this forum. These are my points:;

Free reading is just fine, it's what most of the internet is about.
Login page needs to be updated with simple clear information of what will get you banned up front.
Each rule must be numbered and agreement to the login information is a must if banning is used.
Information on why unpaid members do what they do must be conveyed
Enforcement of the rules must be equal to all.
A message will be sent to the offender explaining resaon(s)
A hierarchy must be established with proceedures in place to allow offenders and defenders to come to a solution.

In the little time I have been here I have also seen a change in the attitude of new members. I also think this is because better page ranking is making this site available to more people. The age of people signing up is matching the overall attitude of the "click want it now generation".
The problems on this forum mirror but in some cases fall behind the problems faced by the traditional education system. This "Y Z" generation that requires a faster solution that solves the immediate need is growing along with the very thing this forum can do.
We can't change the generation proceeding us by we can change the way we interact with this generation.
my thoughts

 

[arthur kierski]

If we do not reply what we consider an elemental question or a repeated question,i think that that is more then suficient.
Even i ask sometimes stupid,repeated or elemental questions, and i noticed that no replies comes in(returns)----this is enough for me to realize that i am in the wrong path
Arthur Kierski

 

[texan]

I have also noticed an uptick in new members of the forum that come here with an attitude in the first couple of posts.

I have the misfortune of having a job where I deal with the general public every day. This seems to be a generational problem. Last year in my office we had a retirement by a senior (35 year) employee...the remaining 3 employees are 31 years (me) and 2 twenty plus year veterans. The replacement is a less than 3 year employee who considers the rest of us as dinosaurs. This employee resents the relationships and company experience the rest of us have and pointing her ire at me since I am the only male in the office. She has mixed emotions about my retirement that is planned for some time this year as my replacement is going to be an older female employee that has a reputation for not putting up with any BS and already has this ladies number as it were. Where I am going with this is the junior employees of about 30 years of age and younger and customers in that age bracket seem to have a real problem dealing with older, experienced people. What is somewhat humerous is that my youngest step-daughter and her husband have started home schooling their 8 year old son since he was picking up too much of an "attitude" from the public school. She was 14 years old when her mother and I got married over 20 years ago and do I have some stories about her "attitude" at that time....but as they say that is another story.

Perhaps it would be possible to have new members read and agree to a statement of policy such as what Steve has on his webage before being able to post.

I would not object to a charge to continue to be a member of this forum...it would probably cut back on the riff raff.

Texan

 

[trashmaster]

I agree with joem,, To become a member there should be check off boxes ;

1. [*] Introduction-- ( what this forum is about)
2. [*] Code of conduct-- ( how one shoud act here and what will not be put up with)
3. [*] Safety--must read and understand
4. [*] hoke-- must download , ( as this is the refiners bible)
5. [*] Stanous chloride--

there are more things that can be included in this list ,, each one should be highlighted , when you click on the item it will take you to that info to be read. they cannot check the box untill they have at least clicked on the highlighted item.

when they get to the login or submit button if they do not complete all the steps above they will be redirected back to complete the steps missed...

Just an ideal or something to start with

P.S. $10.00 doesn't sound to bad either.

 

[joem]

I agree with joem,, To become a member there should be check off boxes ;

1. [*] Introduction-- ( what this forum is about)
2. [*] Code of conduct-- ( how one shoud act here and what will not be put up with)
3. [*] Safety--must read and understand
4. [*] hoke-- must download , ( as this is the refiners bible)
5. [*] Stanous chloride--

there are more things that can be included in this list ,, each one should be highlighted , when you click on the item it will take you to that info to be read. they cannot check the box untill they have at least clicked on the highlighted item.

when they get to the login or submit button if they do not complete all the steps above they will be redirected back to complete the steps missed...

Just an ideal or something to start with

P.S. $10.00 doesn't sound to bad either.

oh yes an important check box...
6. [*] I understand that members are not obligated to answer your questions and by joining this forum in any way does not entiltle you or your questions to be answered.

 

[Claudie]

I ran across a video advertising the forum today.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1100758/gold_refining_forum_com/

It has been out for nearly three years. Maybe advertising the forum this way, "all free, all the time" is attracting some people to come get their FREE refining information. I don't know how many different videos are out there, or what they say about the forum but, maybe it's time to scale back on some of them. Just some thoughts. :|

 

[wrecker45]

the video would look like there is tons of gold in electronics. and easy to refine to the unknowing.

 

[Palladium]

The expression “ All free-All the time “ was adopted as a way to express the openness and free exchange of information here on the forum. At the time of it's inception the forum only numbered a handful of members and the industry was full of misinformation and mystery processes like those still found on such sites as ebay and we won't name any of the many others. It was a recruiting drive to help expand the knowledge of the refining field and take the control away from the one's proving incomplete or misinformation. One of the founding principles of the forum was for it to be a universal gathering place for the expansion and the knowledge of the real gold refining industry as could be represented and expressed by both the hobbyist as well as the professional and that knowledge could be exchanged freely without charge. The forum as a whole has always been expressed as a non commercial venture and remains so till this day. Hence All free-All the time. I've even recommend charging for a member to have posting rights and this is something you will never hear come out my mouth when it comes to to the forum. Just like any industry that experiences growth you have a higher volume of crap that comes with the expansion. What we have been experiencing here lately is that side effect. We want people to know we are here for the industry.

 

[joem]

Then I myself have stepped on the heart of this forum with the suggestion of a pay site, I am sorry for that, but I do believe clarification of what this forum is about and how a member must act on this forum must be clarified and acknowledged from the initial sign up process.

 

[jimdoc]

A "certain" other forum went to the pay for membership, saying it was to stop spam. My guess is they did it to keep out those that were calling them on all the misinformation they were giving, even by the guy running the forum.
I wouldn't doubt a site like that sending all their trouble makers here.


Jim

 

[Harold_V]

One of the most important considerations for the new guy in is to gain an understanding of acceptable behavior. Because the internet has had little to no supervision, the vast majority of people have abused what would be considered common decency. It's much like a guy driving his car---picking his nose---running people off the road, all in the name of remaining anonymous. They're even allowed to use a name that doesn't represent them as the person they are. We have allowed individuals to become faceless, which has emboldened them to the point of doing things they most likely wouldn't do if they stood face to face with others. They think they can hide---although if a transgression is great enough, it's well known that they can't. Still, many take the gamble, as the recent situation confirmed: a reader making threats against the forum via the use of US military equipment. Above all others, I would expect that this person would be wise enough to know better. He deserves to be locked up.

To be very frank, if I had control over enrollment, two things would be required, and it's clear that they would not be popular. One is that every applicant would be required to register by their proper name. The other would be that they would be required to provided (publicly) their email address. Both would be verifiable, and when their email address became non-functional their registration would be eliminated. That, alone, would eliminate the vast majority of curiosity seekers, to say nothing of the cowards that are disruptive because they think they can remain anonymous.

Harold

 

[Claudie]

I agree with what Palladium said in his post. "Just like any industry that experiences growth you have a higher volume of crap that comes with the expansion."
With volume, you're gonna have this type of thing. It is something that will always need to be dealt with. I don't believe it has gotten to the point of making this forum any less than what it was, the best place to find useful information about refining precious metals. The moderators do a great job of keeping the contaminates out, refining the forum to a high percentage of quality people, with years of experience, to teach the next generation of refiners the safe and proper methods of refining.

Claudie

 

[goldsilverpro]

When I joined, the forum was about one month old. I really don't think it's getting any worse. We've always had a few jerks. Early on, though, we just didn't ban them so fast. One horrible deal with a "man named Sue" seemed to go on forever before Harold finally bounced him. Sue was probably the most insulting (yet, very knowledgeable) person we've ever had on the forum. Besides banning him, everything he ever wrote was deleted.

As far as these problems are concerned, I would leave the forum as is. I think it's working fine. I definitely think we should continue it as a free forum, with zero charge, not even a penny.

The forum tends to go through cycles and the atmosphere changes, depending on the particular people active at that time. To me, some groups are more interesting than others.

We probably should list a bunch of rules, etc., and make the new member click on something like, "I have completely read the forum rules. I accept them and I will abide by them. I understand that failure to do so will result in banishment."

 

[texan]

To be very frank, if I had control over enrollment, two things would be required, and it's clear that they would not be popular. One is that every applicant would be required to register by their proper name. The other would be that they would be required to provided (publicly) their email address. Both would be verifiable, and when their email address became non-functional their registration would be eliminated. That, alone, would eliminate the vast majority of curiosity seekers, to say nothing of the cowards that are disruptive because they think they can remain anonymous.

Harold

I think there could be some serious security issues involved with making members come out of the "closet" as it were. We all deal with a certain amount of precious metals and as large as the net is there is a fair number of nut cases and crooks that might be interested in taking advantage of the situation were all members to be public about their id's. Many members reside out of the US where security is even more precarious than here. I would be willing to provide my id to a designated "membership security directorate" as long as the database of membership was not web based and subject to being hacked.

Texan

 

[stihl88]

Harold, i wouldn't be too keen on having my email address made public either, it's an open invitation for nasty things such as spam, disgruntled emails and the above mentioned security issues also.

Can we have a REPORT button created above each members postings which can be used if the post violates the forum rules ?

The Moderators have the power to ban people here instantaneously but that can be a lot of work especially if the banned member decides to return under a different alias and cause more trouble, so on and so forth.
I would think that if we had a banning system in place that would give the buffoons a week or more to reflect on their bad behavior this would make them think twice about playing up here.
This style of governing would likely encourage a growth for the forum, rather than just banning someone after listening to his kettle boil for two weeks then finally flicking the switch on him we could ban him/her for a few days or more to give them a moment to reflect on their behavior


A large RC forum i use (17million posts) has a great system in place where the members posts can be reported be any other member if they believe the post to be in breach of the rules, if the reported member is in breach of the rules then they receive a ban period be it 1 week, 6 months or indefinable depending on how serious their crime is. This system seems to sort the men out from the boys quick smart.
Also, each forum topic has a dedicated Moderator who can respond to any of the REPORTED posts and sweep the forum for any nasty stuff also.
If more Moderators are required to scout and patrol the forum for these buffoons then i can be available if needed.

I'm sure this type of policing could be coded into the phpBB forum style?

You can take a look at their ban policy here http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/wlist.php

 

[Harold_V]

Please note that I did not say I wanted information made public, although I did state that "if I had control over enrollment". I don't have! <<<sigh of relief from most readers>>> I'm just trying to emphasize a point that we have a few morons that make life hard for the balance of the readers. We need to control them, otherwise the overall quality of this forum will be degraded badly.

For the record, all readers already have the ability to place notice of a post that is in violation of our simple rules. Did anyone take note of the bottom right side of their screen? (Note that I use subsilver2)

Do you see the :!: ? (It's colored red, and in a square box}

If you highlight the :!: you'll see that it enables you to make a report on the post in question. Click the :!: and follow the instructions. That notifies moderators that something is amiss. You can also send a PM at any time. Readers can be very useful in controlling what we must see on our screens.
If I apply a little thought to this, key to success is a fast reprimand, and a short suspension. Maybe only a few days for the first infraction, depending on the attitude of the reader. Our purpose isn't to get rid of readers, but to have them understand that this forum isn't like the balance of the internet. Here, they must be mannerly. If they are not, they are not welcome. None of us are willing to tolerate offensive behavior, in particular when you consider that some of us are here strictly to help others. If I find I'm wasting my time, what's the point?

The best help you can give anyone isn't a handout---it's a hand up. Teach others the proper way to do things and they become self sufficient. Give them anything they desire with no effort on their part and they become the problem we're facing--an over abundance of people that believe there's a free lunch---the entitlement attitude we're seeing all too frequently.

Harold