Bob Foster-

All it takes is your name, email and a self-generated password. What issue are you having?

I checked the database and see no registration attempt by you. If you want to register I'm sure we can do it in short order. I'll be happy to help.

.........

Years ago when I registered for the photo page I never got a validation e-mail. Turns out it was in my spam folder. I responded to it and that got me in. Ten to One some people are not responding to the validation e-mail. It is probably in their spam or junk mail folder. Not a whole lot else I can see to go wrong.

Alex Weissman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Norm,
> Is the address the URL or ? When I click on the
> blue (www.rodbuilding.com) my picture comes up.
> What I want to do is insert it in a new post.
> Alex

Alex...just copy the link past it....and add "["img"]" (leaveing out the quotes) and "[" /img "]" on the end.



This is what it should look like in the text window (I have to use an image to show this)


If you upload the image to the photo page....nothing is ever lost this way.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2023 04:33PM by Chris Catignani.

El...that image is not resized...you could however resize an image in Paint and then upload the smaller version.

Chris Catignani Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alex Weissman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Norm,
> > Is the address the URL or ? When I click on
> the
> > blue (www.rodbuilding.com) my picture comes up.
>
> > What I want to do is insert it in a new post.
> > Alex
>
> Alex...just copy the link past it....and add
> "["img"]" (leaveing out the quotes) and "[" /img
> "]" on the end.
>
>
>
> This is what it should look like in the text
> window (I have to use an image to show this)
>
>
> If you upload the image to the photo
> page....nothing is ever lost this way.


You shouldn't have to add anything such as img nor anything else. Just copy the URL as it appears when you click on your photo and post it, here or on any forum, and it'll come right up.

Mike Ballard Wrote:
> You shouldn't have to add anything such as img nor
> anything else. Just copy the URL as it appears
> when you click on your photo and post it, here or
> on any forum, and it'll come right up.

What comes up is a link to an image...not an image. Why would anyone prefer that over an actual image?
www.rodbuilding.org <-- click this and see one falicy

Chris Catignani Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mike Ballard Wrote:
> > You shouldn't have to add anything such as img
> nor
> > anything else. Just copy the URL as it appears
> > when you click on your photo and post it, here
> or
> > on any forum, and it'll come right up.
>
> What comes up is a link to an image...not an
> image. Why would anyone prefer that over an actual
> image?
> www.rodbuilding.org <--
> click this and see one falicy


No, no, no. If you paste the URL into a forum post the actual photo comes up, not a link to an image. The image itself comes up.

Here is the URL posted just as it appears on the photo page, nothing added - [www.rodbuilding.org]


........

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bob Foster-
>
> All it takes is your name, email and a
> self-generated password. What issue are you
> having?
>
> I checked the database and see no registration
> attempt by you. If you want to register I'm sure
> we can do it in short order. I'll be happy to
> help.
>
> .........


Well @#$%&, this is a little embarrassing. I just tried to register again and it told me the email and username were already on file and poof, I'm logged in...ugh...

Sorry about that and thanks for the help. Imma just go, haha

Bob,

Did you register under your actual name just as you did here? If not that may be why I couldn't find it.

..............

...and this is what I get:

Using Windows 11
Using Microsoft Edge Version 110.0.1587.41 (Official build) (64-bit)




Looks like different outcomes from different browsers?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2023 05:04PM by Chris Catignani.

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bob,
>
> Did you register under your actual name just as
> you did here? If not that may be why I couldn't
> find it.
>
> ..............

Registered under my name as here with a username of Creddog. I am able to log in but it is not apparent how to post and in truth I am not sure I ever got a verification email? Still a bit confused and hope I'm not missing something simple but I've seen me miss simple things before...

You're supposed to use your actual first and last name. That's why I couldn't find it.

In the meantime, just click on the "upload photos" and have at it. I'll put the following from the instructions below in case it'll help-

POSTING PHOTOS

There are several categories listed for your convenience. Anything you would like to post that does not perfectly fit into one of the listed categories may be uploaded to the "miscellaneous" folder. Do not attempt to upload photos into the "Gallery" category - instead select one of the sub-categories. This will place your photo into the selected category as well as into a "Personal Member Gallery" at the same time.

Photos should be in jpeg file form and not larger than about 1000 pixels square. Larger photos may not successfully upload and will not display at any greater clarity or quality than the perferred and optimum size of about 800 to 1000 pixels square.

Make sure to select a category for your photo to be placed into or you will get an error message and the photo will not upload.

Chris Catignani Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...and this is what I get:
>
> Using Windows 11
> Using Microsoft Edge Version 110.0.1587.41
> (Official build) (64-bit)
>
>
>
>
> Looks like different outcomes from different
> browsers?


Chris,

The URL you show is not what I posted. I tried it on Safari, Firefox and Chrome and all go directly to the photo.

...........

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're supposed to use your actual first and last
> name. That's why I couldn't find it.
>
> In the meantime, just click on the "upload photos"
> and have at it. I'll put the following from the
> instructions below in case it'll help-
>
> POSTING PHOTOS
>
> There are several categories listed for your
> convenience. Anything you would like to post that
> does not perfectly fit into one of the listed
> categories may be uploaded to the "miscellaneous"
> folder. Do not attempt to upload photos into the
> "Gallery" category - instead select one of the
> sub-categories. This will place your photo into
> the selected category as well as into a "Personal
> Member Gallery" at the same time.
>
> Photos should be in jpeg file form and not larger
> than about 1000 pixels square. Larger photos may
> not successfully upload and will not display at
> any greater clarity or quality than the perferred
> and optimum size of about 800 to 1000 pixels
> square.
>
> Make sure to select a category for your photo to
> be placed into or you will get an error message
> and the photo will not upload.

I had used my real name and it asked for a username which i did not realize had to also be my real name. At any rate I now have two accounts with different emails and I am able to log into both of them but do not see "upload photos" and as yet I have not seen a verification email for my last registration attempt ("Bob Foster" in both the Name and Username boxes.

I'd rather not be a pain to be honest and it kind of feels like that's where this is heading...

Try clearing your cache and see if you don't see the upload photos button then.

...............

I want to emphasize again that I was not downplaying, or degrading this forum or the archive, merely making observational facts.

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This forum has proven to be the most popular rod
> building forum in history, so I don't think it
> lacks in any functional aspect.

It certainly might be the most popular rod building forum, but it is also certainly lacking in almost all relative functions as a forum in general compared to practically any other forum on the internet. And compared to some rod building Facebook groups we're a country road and they're Main st in any major city in terms of commuters. Lets be real here, most popular forum is like winning best Fax machine at the office...

the rest of the building is using email.

One example is quite literally that, email has to be utilized here to make connections with people here versus organically building a comradery with multiple fellow builders at once. To have any meaningful discussion or just shoot the breeze about how my water turns solid and yours doesn't has to be had off the forum - it's best to keep traffic on the forum and build greater wider reaching connections with more people joining the conversation (its also good for sponsors ;) is actually more like a bulletin than a forum by its design.

Forums nowadays are for the diehards and for niche interests where information isn't always readily available elsewhere. I've mentioned before I've been part of forums that have died, two of which are literally not on the internet anymore and all my posts are gone forever (years worth of posts and creative works just gone), and 2/3 others that are shut down and unsearchable without an account but no accounts can be created so again all my stuff is effectively gone. I think it's outstanding and commendable this place has lasted and you have my respect Tom for keeping it together, but let's not pretend it's kept up with the times in any fashion - it just happens to have a community that will continue to return and call this place home and without them this place would've died out with countless other forums. It's the active members here keeping this place alive, I vote they all get a raise!

I'd love to see the data on how many page visits a day we get and how many are unregistered, how many active users on at one time or total in a day, how many active members in the past 30 days vs how many unregistered and how many inactive members that have registered in the last six months and haven't posted in 5 months (whats the retention rate?). Since I've been here the past 5 months I've seen a number of people join, post 5 or six times and disappear. The platform doesn't lend itself to the younger new builder, Google brings them here, they dip their toes in, and then find an indoor heated pool with a bar and a water slide....

The value of this forum is exactly what Aleks saw in it to make an offer on it - it is over 20 years worth of content on rod building, a storehouse of information and because of its longstanding existence (and domain name) that makes it pop up when searching rod building along with the rod building stores that pop up above it.

The only problem is some of those rod building stores have video and tutorials- that's where the young new builders are spending most of their time, plus you can chat directly with those people you see on your screen and anywhere between 100-300 other builders all in the same place. In 20 more years I'm sure the page visits will tell a different story than they do now if this place doesn't aim to be more than just an encyclopedia for people who like to read instead of watching the documentary (most people nowadays are watching the documentary and nobody under the age of 24 has even ever held an encyclopedia)

> It's always worked on a cell phone and now there is a specific App
> for your phone as well.

The forum works on my cellphone, but the photo archive doesn't. The App is also so glitchy that I can't use it except to post photos, trying to type in the app on android or ios will freeze and crash after typing about 3 lines worth of text. This is using a Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and an iPad- it's not my tech having the issue.

> The photo page has never required any BBC code in
> order to post photos from there on any forum,
> including this one (yes, it works with all other
> forums as well) - you just copied the URL and
> pasted it into your post as I did with Alex's
> above.

You posted a hyperlink not an actual image (thats what Chris meant), as it stands that is one step above posting a url that has to be copied and pasted into a browser. One step above your hyperlink is using BBC code to share an image from the internet. The absolutely most convenient and efficient way to share a photo is using the app to directly upload an image that isn't first uploaded somewhere else and then copied and pasted into the thread.

>
> In the meantime, I checked for your registration
> on the photo page and there is no record of you
> creating any account there. What name did you use?
> I'll be happy to look into it further for you.
>
> .............

I'm pretty sure it was the same name here, I'm pretty sure I had already seen the post about not creating a screen name. I appreciate the offer, but not l now that I can upload directly from my phone and not have to upload and then copy paste and link away from the thread I'll just use the app going forward.

I do want to yet again reiterate I'm not trying to bad mouth the forum, I love it here - these are truly just observations and opinions based on those observations. I happen to land in between generations and had an upbringing that I have a little more balance than some others on either side of my time-line. I understand the value of all the tech bells and whistles and instant "everything," but also appreciate the value of the ones who paved the way the hard way.

I respect and appreciate the wisdom and experience of all the posters on this forum, I dont mind the slowed down pace of a forum, but I also want more out of it. I'm watching countless hours of videos, and if I was on Facebook more I'm sure I'd spend many more hours in some rod building groups over there.

I'm only even saying any of this because I did happen to find another passion I never expected to, and not only for the act of the hobby but the community I found here. I think this place has some great people in it, and some great information, and I think this place could do a lot of good for the next generation of builders. But that doesn't take away from the fact that the engine is 20 years old, transmission probably is too... I'm just sayin that next generation is probably gonna get a ride in a different car. Maybe all this shoulda been in a different thread, but it all still goes back to and started with the topic of posting pictures here so here it went.

I've said it before and I'll mean it again, I'm grateful for everyone here and the time they invest in building up this community. Go check what my very first post was on the forum, and I wasn't just a stalker very long here.

I'd love to see this place and the rod building community at large grow, I think there's a missed opportunity reaching out to/ appealing to high-schoolers and college students to get involved. I wish I knew about this 17 years ago, I wish I could've been building since I was in high-school and I think there's another generation who just doesn't know this is a thing they can do. I think I'd have had a better understanding of fishing much earlier properly learning about the tools we anglers use.

Grace and peace
El

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

Rod building on Facebook doesn't comprise even 5% of the custom rod building market. If you keep an eye on the trade magazines and their research data you'll see that Facebook in terms of rod building is not a large percentage of the market.

In our own direct mail research a few years ago we learned that 70% of the rod building market is above the age of 50 (and that's fine). Most of these folks aren't active on Facebook or other social media networks. Direct mail remains king and is why the three largest component and supply dealers still publish hard copy print catalogs. It's why RodMaker Magazine continues to reach more rod builders than any other venue, including RBO.

Use the photo page or not, but either way I'm happy to help you if you want to register for it. I suspect you didn't respond to the validation email but that wouldn't be unusual.


.......

I believe the market majority is 50 or above easily, but Dale Clemens wasn't 50 when he started. Gary Loomis wasn't 50 when he started. I think the market is mostly 50 and above because nobody is marketing to the next generation, that's my point.

My point is also that it's very clear 70% of the rod building community isn't posting here.

Whoever in this game wants to build the community it starts with reaching the youth, whoever in this game wants to make a profit off anything to do with rod building by appealing to an untapped market - that's the youth.

Because the next generation of 50 year old's are going to want the tech not the magazine.

I'm in that remaining 30% and if I was in this business I'd want 100% of that 30% instead of 20% of that 70% because of that remaining 30% the ages between 10-49 make up 52% of America according to the 2019 census. That is a crazy source of potential builders/clients/customers/members/whatever you want to call'em.

Tom, if you want to sell more magazines, or if you want to make a positive impact on rod building, if you want to preserve the art don't just fish in the small pond for the same fish over and over again - hit the big lake deep in the woods the other guys haven't trekked to yet.

It's all in the marketing, 140% more people will buy what you sell if you tell them it's more sensitive!

Honestly, I'm really hard pressed to spend money on a paper magazine without first exhausting thousands of hours of free videos online and that many more hours of posts on forums. Make it digital, save yourself the cost of printing, bring the price down enough to pass that savings on to the consumer and the amount of fish you catch will greatly increase. For the right price you might hook me into it, I'd even be curious about some of the legacy articles that might be a little out of date and behind on the rod building advancements out of my curiosity and appreciation of those that came before me. But it's probably gonna take me years to get through the internet and feel compelled to spend money on uncertain quality or applicable content, or some better marketing to convince me of it's value over free content.

A digital bundle deal? A YouTube channel with a paid membership perk that is something to do with the magazine? I'm telling you Tom, you could reach more people if you wanted to. Same for NFC, I believe in what they're doing, but I think they're missing a major market opportunity too (honestly I see a number of missed opportunities there for building the community and generating more sales/internet presence/brand awareness/greater market share).

If I missed a validation email it must've went to spam and that automatically deletes after 30 days, and without registering I can still poke around there if I ever feel so compelled- but again without the ability to add specific context to the searches with reliable results I'll probably just search here and then Google if I need to.

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

Actually what our demographics show is that most people involved in custom rod building don't get involved in the craft unit after the age of 45. Marketing to a younger generation is wasted money - they're not the proper target audience and we have the research to prove it. If you're actually interested in the demographics or interested in rod building as a business, you should read this, I think many rod builders will find it interesting - [www.rodmakermagazine.com]

Once you register on the photo site you an use the "Advanced Search" feature which allows you to add specific context to any search you do.If you decide to register and have an issue just let me know and I'll be happy to help.

........

Face it Tom- if you want to ever have a successful publishing business or be able to put on a large rod building event you better listen to these wise folks!