Signs101 - Is it just me....

[neato]

...or are about 90% of the posts on this site these days about requesting font ID's, or what plotter/printer/inks/material should I buy?

I wish we say more layout and design questions. There doesn't seem to be that much interest in that aspect of the industry anymore.

Or maybe I just hit the site at the wrong times.

[animenick65]

Do you have a premium membership? I would imagine a lot of the great discussions we miss take place in the paid section of the site?

[omgsideburns]

hey neato, since i have your attention ...

can you tell me what font that is?

[mikey-Oh]

i find it funny most layout discussions occur after somethings been installed/created . aside from business cards and logo crits, just haven't seen that many layouts in the development phase

[jscarl]

If they ask a question, they seem to get slammed by some. Lately it is getting shameful. This is supposed to be a helpful site. A couple only want full professional members. Or so they act. I don't know, but i had to start at the bottom. Even Gino,I-sign, Dave and a lot of the older members who was rough on newbees at first, are now offering more help to beginners, and becoming leaders. Glad to see this.

[ProWraps]

Originally Posted by jscarl

If they ask a question, they seem to get slammed by some. Lately it is getting shameful. This is supposed to be a helpful site. A couple only want full professional members. Or so they act. I don't know, but i had to start at the bottom. Even Gino,I-sign, Dave and a lot of the older members who was rough on newbees at first, are now offering more help to beginners, and becoming leaders. Glad to see this.

funny you posted this. this is the reason i pretty much dont post anymore. if i say anything im a know it all. if i try to make a funny, im ruining someones thread.

too much work to be a member of this site. unfortunately it seems to be getting a very bad feel anymore. definately the most unfriendly site ive ever been a member of.

then again, im just a know it all that probably just ruined this thread. cest la vie.

[steve b]

Hey neato...Come on down to the NHB section. OP will tell you all about Bush. Rodi is very entertaining as well, and if ya like Bob, you will find him down there! Heck even Big Dawg hangs out there. Join the party my friend. YEEEEE HAAWWWWW

steveb

[acothran]

I'm working on a design that I'll be glad to post for critique but in order to work on the design, I had to find out the main font, hence one of my post this afternoon. I've noticed a lot of Font ID post lately and hate to post one too but after about an hour or searching my font library and trying What the Font, I had no luck.

For me, the posts here go in waves. A about three weeks ago it seemed as though I wanted to open/read every post and give input on several. In the past week or so, it seems as though there haven't been many that interests me or as many that I felt I had anything to offer. I guess that's the way it goes.

Allen

[neato]

I understand completely Allen. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with asking for help, I've done it many times. Just seems like the industry is lost in a sea of CMYK, profiling and Mimaki vs. Roland discussions, and at the same time the overall quality of signs being produced is horrendous. All a person has to do is drive through their local business district to see where the industry as a whole has gone.

Just ranting. Happy Friday everyone! :)

[T3]

You make some great points! You have a happy Friday afternoon and a great weekend!

[SignManiac]

Phillip the more things change, the more they stay the same. Might as well accept the fact that it's going to stay this way. I've been preaching to the choir for the past twenty five years and have had no real affect on design, pricing or anything else related to the business.

I'm even beginning to question my involvement in the business at all? I must be getting cantankerous, impatient, and ornery in my old age :) Screw you all and have a great weekend!

[neato]

lol. Now that's a good post.

[SurfaceSigns]

I have to agree, the site has become more toxic in the last few months, with little in the way of networking going on. As for the premium section that seems to get mentioned every time a deeper question is asked, I have to say that I was disappointed with the offerings in that section of the board. I found the traffic in that section very light, and the info provided not much different from that in the "free" sections.

For me, This Tread about mentoring speaks volumes about the mood of the board and it's members currently.

Having been part of a number of boards over a few different industries, it does seem that, unfortunately, every board has a life span before it becomes a toxic, spiteful place as opposed to the board it started out as.

[Rick]

Intersting.. I see over 100 posts today and at least a few things I have read interested me.

This site is doing very well, especially if you compare it to other sign sites. Is their room for improvement? Yes, but we have had times where the negative energy was a lot worse than this...

I think we are doing pretty good....

[Bigdawg]

I agree with the waves... sometimes there IS a negative feel here - I'm as guilty as anyone else. But it's not just this board.

It seems to be overall - more road rage, more ranting about seemingly little things - just an unhappy feeling in the world now-a-days. It's rough to make a living and when things get tough like this, I don't think some people are as willing to share what they know. Maybe it's a fear that a competitor might see it... or something they think gives them that little edge... or whatever it is, but it has definitely changed the tone some days. I wish we would all peace out (my inner hippie talking )

Part of the reason Fred set up the review section is to try to get more members to look there before they post the "which plotter should I buy" thread. I truly find that to be laziness when they've done no research. If you are that hap-hazard in the beginning what kind of business are you going to run? How will you learn? How do we direct them there? If you have any ideas... please share!

This place is where I learned signs are a whole different kind of design and I will admit that I am saddened sometimes by the tone on both sides. Newbies with no respect for the craft and craftsmen that can't accept there HAS to be newbies to keep the craft going. An unwillingness to learn coupled with an unwillingness to teach means what? To me it means an end to an art.

I'd like to see more designs too... I used to like to jump in if I had time and tweak them to my thoughts. I learned from that by seeing how my vision compared to others... I was really disappointed that I couldn't jump into Fred's Funky Fondue but it was great to watch and to read.

The pendulum will swing again tomorrow... or the next day and there won't be time to read everything again. Or as I say... This Too Shall Pass.

[Rodi]

I have actually seen far less negative stuff here than other places. In general when people ask questions they should not ask (they should read read read well before any question), they are, in fact… asking for it.

You should always have an intro about yourself and a little about your background. I started mine about wanting to make vinyl signs and I know Illustrator like the back of my hand… people were really nice. ALl the stuff I needed to learn was already in the archives… so why should my stupid question have to be answered again and again?

As far as design goes… I dunno, I see most and I hate them, but usually it is a matter of taste, and that is not fair to someone who may not communicate what went into the pre=design of a piece.

I usually see a lot of stuff I learn about and find it quite interesting… and there are some people here who I have really come to see as friends and even almost family.

[joeshaul]

The tone isn't as bad as it was about two years ago when I first found these forums.

Sometimes it felt like it's just a bunch of old people that are just waiting for the kids to step on the grass so they can run out and scream "GET OFF THE LAWN!", but where a newbie's thread would get like 3 pages of those posts, usually there's only like one page now, but there's also some helpful advice in there, as well as a "please introduce yourself first" kind of notation.

To say that there is no impact on the design industry and such isn't for naught though. People willing to learn will learn, as they always have and I use these forums to help learn about my trade, be it different substrates, look at different designs and projects to better help myself and my business. Some people do it by hand, some people do from a book, some people need a teacher/mentor to show them by hand. I don't really have the latter, never been a fan of that method anyways, so it leaves me other people's experiences and my own to rely on.

Threads about the design critiques are great in that they bring new idea and talent to light, you also learn a lot about yourself when you critique someone else's work. You may say "Well, the colors don't contrast enough", then go back to working on your own project and low and behold, the colors don't contrast enough, so you fix it.

The administrators of this board seem to be willing to make changes for this forum and the industry, like the attempt for the board of reps thing, the new networking feature, etc. I don't expect them to be the babysitters, but I also don't expect them to go yelling "GET OFF THE LAWN". I know of no real solution for the "toxic tone", other than to just let the poison run its course, either trolls will gather, or they will lose interest and move on.

[Sign Works]

let's not overlook the helpfulness of the font ID threads, a few members have been extremely helpful to me in a couple situations where I was totally stumped and pretty much at my wits end trying to locate/identify a paticular typestyle. I find it interesting to follow all of these threads and I believe it's helping me become more familiar with various fonts. Although I'll never get to where Tiki is, I swear I think he is actually font recognition software mascarading as a real person. LOL
I for one truly appreciate the time members take to help others with font ID.

[Replicator]

I know that for the most part I stopped posting work here several years ago, for critique or otherwise, as all that ever happens here

when work does get posted is that it gets bashed uncontrollably.

It's sad really, and I am not myself untouched by the practice of jumping on the band wagon once the bashings have started.

On the other hand, there are members here who can do no wrong, they may post the most hideous piece of work ever, but because

of who they are . . . They get praised up and down for their genius.

It just doesn't seem worth posting anything.

I'm all for asking for or helping with font ID's . . . Anytime !

[brian the brush uk]

Bash my work..................... if you dare !! ha ha !!

Brian. X

[SignManiac]

You suck mate! But in an extraordinary way Brian :) JK...

[The Sign Dude]

Originally Posted by ProWraps

funny you posted this. this is the reason i pretty much dont post anymore. if i say anything im a know it all. if i try to make a funny, im ruining someones thread.

too much work to be a member of this site. unfortunately it seems to be getting a very bad feel anymore. definately the most unfriendly site ive ever been a member of.

then again, im just a know it all that probably just ruined this thread. cest la vie.

What he said

[HeathSignCompany]

Honestly, I haven't looked at this site in months, but only due to the fact that business picked up while I was in the middle of moving shop, investing in a digital printer and laminator, the learning curve that comes along with that, and to top it all off...I have a 10 month old baby!

I really missed the site, all of the great members, the great posts, the creativity, contributing to post, getting bashed, and all while learning on a daily basis!

All in all, this is a GREAT site! It might feel as tedious as weeding sometimes (peeling through all of the garbage to get to the good stuff) but in the end it's worth it!

[high impact]

There will always be mountaintops and valleys in regards to business and attitudes but this last recession has seemed to really take the cake.

I've not done much posting since the days of reciprocity have all but disappeared around here. I've seen some people provide years of solid ethical business advice on this forum and yet still have rookie "know it alls" come in here and constantly belittle credible advice from proven sources. I have recently shared a book cover layout I was having difficulties with in the premium section but hardly had anyone post any helpful advice at all. People are definitely not sharing what they used to, including myself. The layout and design elements I learned when I first joined here were priceless and I thank all those who gave solid constructive design advice over the years. I would love to see some more of that kind of mentoring.

[Outlaw Graphics]

Originally Posted by Replicator

I know that for the most part I stopped posting work here several years ago, for critique or otherwise, as all that ever happens here

when work does get posted is that it gets bashed uncontrollably.

It's sad really, and I am not myself untouched by the practice of jumping on the band wagon once the bashings have started.

On the other hand, there are members here who can do no wrong, they may post the most hideous piece of work ever, but because

of who they are . . . They get praised up and down for their genius.

It just doesn't seem worth posting anything.

I'm all for asking for or helping with font ID's . . . Anytime !

pretty much sums up how i feel too to me, this site has really gone downhill, it use to be my no.1 site that i visited everyday usually on and off all day, now i occasionally drop in but usually dont post much. Just too much negativity and you have to buy a membership attitude, although i am thankful to Fred for the site.

[gabagoo]

I joined this forum originally to get help with digital printing. I was lost and although I have many friends in the business, none were digitally printing.

It was very frustrating for me to get any real help from my dealer and I even begged them to give me a list of those they sold my particular set up to so that I could compare notes. They would not cooperate. Maybe for obvious reasons.

Finding this forum was a God send for me. The help and advice I get daily is worth more to me than you could put a dollar amount on.


I do not come from a design background and sometimes feel intimidated to actually post anything here. The truth is that outside of basic design and layout, I really do not run that type of business.

Most of my work comes from customers that already have logos and files ready to go, or I just have to re size and do some layout work for vehicles etc... From the perspective of generating income, I sort of like it this way. I can pump out quite a bit of work when everything is generally ready to go.
Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the odd chance I get to design and I have a few customers that allow me to be creative although for the most part I am a duplication artist...lol




I think we all come here for many different reasons.
I love this place

[Artildawn]

I haven't been on here much lately because of the same toxicity that others have already mention... and I wasn't on the receiving end before anyone asks. Now I just peek in occasionally to see what's new.

[astro8]

Way I see it is as the world economy nose-dived so did the attitude on here.

People on here with less to do vent their frustrations. If you're busy and prospering you haven't got the time nor inclination to do so.

It's human nature I s'pose...people see newbies with a plotter or printer as a threat and give give them a hard time or take a stab at someone's work that they wouldn't normaly do...or see someone doing well and then get envious, jealous or nasty.

If you don't see them as a threat you don't care what they do, as time will sort them out. The genuinely keen and interested will go on to better things, but most will fall by the wayside.

If you're doing bigger, better and brighter work than the newbies or your competition for that matter, what have you got to worry about?

I'll take Prowraps™ as an example. I don't know the guy from a bar of soap. From my understanding he hasn't been in the business forever, but he seems to be doing ok. He's positive, passionate and proactive but yet it does seem everytime he posts he's getting crap in return. Some off the stuff he says is outright boastful (with tongue in cheek)...so what? He has the foundation to back it up from what I've seen. I don't see him putting newbies down or getting around here with a bad attitude feeling sorry for himself...because he has worked hard, researched hard, marketed hard and manouvered his business into a position in the market whereby he doesn't perceive newbies as a threat.

I'll probably be labeled now as a 'Prowraps™ lover' ..ahahah!

[pointjockey]

You are so wrong....you're just a putz!

Originally Posted by ProWraps

funny you posted this. this is the reason i pretty much dont post anymore. if i say anything im a know it all. if i try to make a funny, im ruining someones thread.

too much work to be a member of this site. unfortunately it seems to be getting a very bad feel anymore. definately the most unfriendly site ive ever been a member of.

then again, im just a know it all that probably just ruined this thread. cest la vie.

[FrankenSigns.biz]

The way I see it, there are two types of people on this forum. Those that believe that there are two types of people and those that do not.