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Post by felicity on Jul 24, 2019 8:22:53 GMT
I joined the forum nearly seven (!) years ago and always got any help I needed from members (felting or not!). I've even met a few offline and become friends! It's a great community and it's much appreciated by us all as can be seen from the replies. I do not post often because I felt a lot and do not want to overload it with my endless and often nearly identical pieces. But I always show them if I try to experiment! I am a Facebook member and I need it professionally. It's just a different audience and a very different kind of community. I am happy to sponsor ad free forum but not sure about fee (membership?) as it may deter new people from joining the forum. If you think adverts needed to keep the forum going it's OK with me. I know it's a hard work to keep it running, just want to thank you all!
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Post by Antje on Jul 24, 2019 22:01:50 GMT
Thank you to the founders Ruth, Ann, Marilyn, Zed, and Jan of this forum, for sticking with it to provide a place to find information, not just from one source but from many generous like minded fibre enthusiasts. The forum promotes friendliness and a 'can do', 'try it' attitude.
I agree posting can be daunting and time consuming in our busy lives, but as with most things in life it could perhaps be viewed as a challenge, or mental stimulation.
I personally don't find FB a friendly platform so don't use it and speaking with some 25-30 yr olds in events & marketing it appears no longer to be the 'go-to' platform. I think finding any specific information would be very difficult, a definite plus of the forum where everything is in folders for access.
Whilst advertising is annoying I certainly have learned to live with it (various websites & YouTube for example) and simply blank it out. So if we can choose our advertisers (such as mentioned in previous posts above) then I would have no objection.
Perhaps we could widen our FFS posts too to incorporate more textiles, needle felting, machine felting, paper (being a fibre too) etc....would this attract a greater participating audience?
It would be very sad for this meeting place for fibre enthusiasts to close.
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Post by willowsong on Jul 25, 2019 2:36:32 GMT
I joined back in April (can’t believe three months have passed already!) and then just took for granted that the wealth of information and all the friendly people would always be here. I DO read and appreciate all of the emails I receive from the FFS website. Your letter has prompted my first ever post and given me the kick in the butt I needed to get over my fear of posting.
Please keep this wonderful forum going! I would be happy to contribute monetarily, though, as someone else mentioned, it may deter new members. Ads can be ignored and I have no objection. It would be a bonus if they could be chosen based on relevancy to fiber arts. As for Facebook, I probably wouldn’t use a FB group. I don’t like FB and the few groups I have joined are difficult to follow. Posts get lost so quickly.
This is a friendly, generous gathering of people and I’m so happy I found this group. Thank you for all of the time and continuous effort you have put into maintaining these boards.
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Post by jchalmers02 on Jul 25, 2019 9:36:47 GMT
The information you provide is very valuable and thank you for that. I always read but rarely post. Would miss seeing your posts.
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Post by penguin on Jul 25, 2019 11:14:16 GMT
I think this is far and away the best forum I ever joined - very friendly and helpful, and with so much information stored here that you can look back on. I haven't posted for ages because I almost never do felting anymore due to arthritis problems! I am considering getting back into doing miniatures for jewelry etc. but that hasn't happened as yet! I hope the Forum continues. Personally I'd be happy to contribute on Facebook but I don't think you'd be able to store the wealth of information that's already on here in the same way.
Thank you all for all your hard work keeping it going and long may it continue.
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Post by lyn on Jul 25, 2019 11:27:55 GMT
I think this is far and away the best forum I ever joined - very friendly and helpful, and with so much information stored here that you can look back on. I haven't posted for ages because I almost never do felting anymore due to arthritis problems! I am considering getting back into doing miniatures for jewelry etc. but that hasn't happened as yet! I hope the Forum continues. Personally I'd be happy to contribute on Facebook but I don't think you'd be able to store the wealth of information that's already on here in the same way. Thank you all for all your hard work keeping it going and long may it continue. So sorry to hear about your arthritis problems and I hope that you can find a way to enjoy fibre fun without discomfort.
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Post by josiebrat on Jul 25, 2019 15:37:11 GMT
I joined the forum originally as I was a new felter who wanted to be part of the community. I enjoyed being able to ask questions and get good feedback; sharing my work and getting constructive feedback and the wealth of information I could find here. While I don’t come into the forum often enough I still think it’s a good place for Felter’s and would hate to see it go away.. I do find that I comment more on Facebook than on the forum currently, and I’m also more involved in other felting groups on Facebook. I’m also very active on Instagram. With all the newer social media sites available I think it’s just harder for me to navigate so many so I tend to focus on the ones I use more. The one things these other sites don’t have is the history you have compiled on the forum. Sometimes I come in to look for something and go on my way. It’s like a felter’s/fiber artist dictionary and I don’t see Facebook this way.
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Post by MTRuth on Jul 25, 2019 16:36:18 GMT
Thank you so much for all your replies, it's nice to get the input. It is good that everyone is using the forum even if they don't post. We would love for those of you who have been avoiding posting to join in. We would love to have more participation and all of the categories aren't used much. But we'd love to see any type of fiber art that you create, it certainly doesn't have to include felting. So feel free to post about all your fiber projects, no matter what they are. For those of you who think they shouldn't keep on posting what they create just because you might have posted something similar, I wish you would go ahead and show us. We love photos and to see what you're doing. No piece is ever exactly alike and many new members might not have seen your other pieces. For all of you who are new and shy, please give it a try. Everyone here is very friendly and we are happy to answer all your questions. There is loads of information in the FAQ section if you have questions about how to post or share photos. Or just ask, and we'll help out. So thanks again for all your support and we will continue to carry on as before.
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Post by deb243 on Jul 25, 2019 20:47:35 GMT
Hello, What do you like about the forum? more personal especially when people post their picture and talk a little about what fiber thing they do (yes the thing I'm not likely to do)
What do you not like about the forum? I'm just not real skilled in getting around in this platform
Why did you join the forum? newbie with needle and wet felt
Why do you not post or join in the conversations here? that's just how I am. Even if you became a FB group, I wouldn't post much even though I'm much more used to navigating around in those groups. I do like to Like/etc posts to show encouragement
Are you in Facebook groups and would you prefer to share your felting/fiber work in that type of setting? I don't know that I would share more but I would be much more likely to explore the group more. As others have said, I don't really like the FB platform but I'm used to it. FB seems to encourage discontent/fighting/being a bully and there's no doubt FB is collecting data without consent.
What would you encourage you to post more on the forum? more time working on projects which I need help or ideas
Would you mind if there were ads on the forum? I wouldn't mind static ads but on FB or Youtube when a video automatically launches, I usually just move on and skip that post.
By just answering this survey, I have done more exploration of this group and do see many interesting things I will try to read Thanks!
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Post by Pandagirl on Jul 26, 2019 17:36:50 GMT
I think this is far and away the best forum I ever joined - very friendly and helpful, and with so much information stored here that you can look back on. I haven't posted for ages because I almost never do felting anymore due to arthritis problems! I am considering getting back into doing miniatures for jewelry etc. but that hasn't happened as yet! I hope the Forum continues. Personally I'd be happy to contribute on Facebook but I don't think you'd be able to store the wealth of information that's already on here in the same way. Thank you all for all your hard work keeping it going and long may it continue. I can relate about the arthritis. Although I have other health issues. I gave up crochet because it was too painful. But I intend to keep felting if I can, I just love the feeling of getting my hands wet. Although I’m not fond of doing the dishes. LOL. Good luck!
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Post by TheBattyFelter on Jul 28, 2019 6:33:19 GMT
I agree with most of what has been said above and do use the forum fairly regularly. The camaraderie of fellow felters is great and their willingness to share tips and advice is invaluable. I am not really familiar with using forums and I have not been able to post pictures so that is why you haven't seen anything from me. I do use Facebook but I dislike it so would be much happier to use this forum
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Post by elizabeth on Jul 28, 2019 17:27:07 GMT
I am one who posted a lot at first, but have dropped off to only lurking a time or two per month. I love the forum because of the support everyone gives, especially to newbies. I cringe at what I was producing years ago, but my efforts were still praised. I love the suggestions and tutorials. I don't think there's anything I don't like about the forum. I joined the forum specifically for all of the above - to learn and be encouraged to try new techniques. I think my posting has dropped off just because of that old devil, time. My current job is quite busy, so I don't have much time to check the new posts. Then, once I get home the last thing I want to do is sit at a computer. I haven't tried using the forum from my phone yet. I'm on Facebook groups, but I would never post there. Those posts are so far above anything I could ever achieve that I'd feel stupid. It's still daunting, sometimes, seeing what you fine ladies (mostly) accomplish, but I'm more likely to post here. I would not mind if there were some ads on the forum, if that's what it takes to keep it going. I'd even be OK with subscribing, but I know that can be an administrative nightmare. My only disappointment with the Forum is the lack of information regarding workshops and fiber festivals. I usually discover those on Facebook or just googling. Again, that would require someone, or all of us, to be better at posting them. Even the Goddesses are not that all-knowing. Thanks to Ruth, Ann, Marilyn, Zed and Jan for your excellent monitoring of the group.
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Post by lindsay on Jul 29, 2019 7:11:05 GMT
What do you like about the forum? Everything! I agree with what everyone else has said - friendly, supportive, shared knowledge & experience. I feel I’ve got to know some individuals too. There aren’t that many felters around on the ground so as an essentially gregarious team working person who’s working alone I’ve found my ‘colleagues’ here. I’ve also been encouraged to do new and different things, either directly through the challenges or through seeing others’ work, discussions and feedback. It’s also a great archive so I can work back through the collected experience and discussions in an accessible way (ie I like the sections and search functions).
What do you not like about the forum? The short answer is nothing. I’d like more people to join in. It would be great if more people who look at the forum would join the conversations (as they have in response to this question!). You don have to post lots or show work if you’re not comfortable with it but a comment here or there about the things you’re looking at would help to increase the sense of participation. Why did you join the forum? I found the forum while I was on holiday and doing some thinking in the absence of being able to do some making. I was drawn to all the work, information and discussion, all the collective experience I could draw on and ask questions of, and thrilled to be able to share some of what I do.
Are you in Facebook groups and would you prefer to share your felting/fiber work in that type of setting? I’m in a couple of Facebook fibre groups but I don’t look at or post in them much. They’re very ‘immediate’ but quickly become overwhelming. It’s difficult to sort the information into things I’m interested in or not - Facebook’s format strongly emphasises what’s new and anything that’s more than a couple of days old gets lost. It’s a really different thing and I much prefer the forum. I think Facebook groups are also quite time consuming to administer.
Would you mind if there were ads on the forum? I’d tolerate the ads if that was the only way to continue but would prefer not if possible. I sponsored the forum this year and am happy to pay a small amount to keep it going. More people might be encouraged to pay a small voluntary support fee if this was an option (rather than sponsoring a month).
Other thoughts For me the forum is the best of what the internet has to offer. It puts me in touch with people across the world who have a common interest and who I would never otherwise ‘meet’. The format and way it’s managed (well done administrators) encourages building a thoughtful and supportive community. Facebook has its strengths but is a very different animal and I think the things I most value about the forum would be lost in a Facebook group.
I’m assuming the forum administrators know what the overall traffic is like. Have the numbers of people visiting the forum and looking at posts also gone down (as well as those posting?).
Final thought: you’ve said you’re considering various options for the forum. My starting point would be ‘what are you trying to achieve or solve’? I think this is implied in the question but not explicit. If you’re clear on where you want to get to it will help focus / direct the solutions.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2019 7:34:43 GMT
For me the forum is a place to get many opinions, advice, solutions, different approaches, and pictures regarding wet felting. I like the community that is nice and welcoming to everybody, never offensive or exclusive.
I do miss more fresh posts on wet felting, more showing individual achievements, both successes and failures. I'm a natural dyer and would love posts on this section of processing wool/felt but I guess there are other communities dealing with it, only I haven't found them yet.
I joined the forum to see what other felters do, how they do it, to get new ideas, directions, stimuli, and also to just scroll over and enjoy.
I've joined in conversations relating to wet felting and other handcrafts on rare occasions.
I am on Facebook but don't join in felting groups. I do follow a few felters/natural dyers/eco printers there. I don't share much of my work cause I don't do much felting.
What would you encourage me to post more on the forum? Doing more felting! To do it I miss advice on felting coarser wool fibre around 30 microns and natural dyed fibre. And also, I never felted much as I have some other craft hobbies. Besides, English is not my mother language and writing takes more time. All this said, I love the Felting-and-fibre forum!
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Post by andreap on Jul 29, 2019 11:12:23 GMT
Hi Ruth,
I joined this forum not too long ago, as I had a specific question that I was looking for advice on. I'm not a regular felter and have only done a half day wet felting course. I run my own giftshop so pretty much all my time is taken up with that! I would certainly come back here if I do try my hand at felting again, as there is so much helpful info. I do use Facebook but I think a forum like this is helpful for asking questions and having separate categories that people can look through. Ads wouldn't be an issue.
Thanks!
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