SF is dying

[POLAND_SPUD]

glad I could help

[mobile chernobyl]

I just think a lot of us grew up around the same time on this site - we're all now 20-somethings and busy with life more so than what spudgun we're going to build next.

I'm certainly not done with this hobby, just lack the time to do anything as of late!

There certainly is a new generation and also a fresh crowd of people building stuff and I feel that if they get a good footing, they have a gigantic amount of information available on this site to more quickly evolve this hobby!

[mark.f]

I just think a lot of us grew up around the same time on this site - we're all now 20-somethings and busy with life more so than what spudgun we're going to build next.

I'm certainly not done with this hobby, just lack the time to do anything as of late!

There certainly is a new generation and also a fresh crowd of people building stuff and I feel that if they get a good footing, they have a gigantic amount of information available on this site to more quickly evolve this hobby!

Pretty much this. Most teens growing up in the early 2000's played with energetic things like spudguns and other banned topics. Seems interest has shifted to other things.

[evilvet]

I joined SF as an outlet for my interests in engineering, electronics, mechanics and tinkering with stuff. It satisfies all those.

One thing I have noticed in my short time on board is the increasing trend, particularly amongst the non-US members to build something other than two lengths of PVC slapped together with a ball valve.

I do not mean that in any way to be disrespectful but wonder if those outside the US where building cannons can get you 10 years in the Big House has led to more creative projects, like a low pressure pneumatics, JSR's pen gun, a quad-copter with BBMG fitted, etc. With what I have learned here I'm sure I could build a cannon that would put a golf ball through a brick wall; I am equally sure that I would be missing my wife and kids for a while.

As to time and resources, I am at that stage of life where I can fund pretty much what I want and have endless hours in the shed every evening in which to pursue the hobby. It's cheap psychotherapy in a stressful career.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Alanstone, that was a genuinely moving post, cheers!

I just think a lot of us grew up around the same time on this site - we're all now 20-somethings and busy with life more so than what spudgun we're going to build next.

Not quite, according to this poll: http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/age-pol ... 22824.html

It's good that the whole age spectrum is well represented

[MrCrowley]

I didn't really think about things the way mobile put them. It's weird to think that quite a few of us have literally grown up on this forum with one another. Probably doesn't apply so much to those who were in their mid-20s or so when they first joined but I can remember there were a lot of members my age during the first few years of my membership (probably still today*) and a fair few have stuck around. I've gone from aged 14 to aged 21 as a member here and there's not much of my life that I can remember before I was 14 years old.

*I'm not sure whether I (or we) have disengaged more from the newer members as time has gone on and haven't got to know some of them as well as some of the members still here and long gone. Or maybe it just seems that way because the members I know reasonably well, and myself, now spend less time here and things like the chat aren't so popular any more.

A lot of it might have to do with my reduced effort on the forum as I no longer moderate as much as I used to (though there hasn't been much need for it) and I don't really post any long replies to help answer questions by new members as I figure someone else will. So I'm not as familiar with all the new members and can't tell how far they may have progressed.

Spudgunning does seem like a very 90s/00s thing now that I think about it. Kids seem to be too busy with facebook and reddit these days to get bored enough to build spudguns even though the amount of information now out there is massive compared to what it was when I was 14.

[SpudBlaster15]

I agree with MC and Mark. Those of us who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s found ourselves in something of a golden age. Information was widely available via the internet, and hands on projects and experimentation were still popular and encouraged. This resulted in the birth of websites like SF, Roguesci, etc., as well as a generation of knowledgeable and well connected amateur experimenters.

Fast forward a decade or so and we're all in our 20s, some older. Most of us are now either busy with life endeavors such as college and work, or have lost interest and moved on to other things. The younger generation has been raised in the presence of technology that makes life a much more virtual experience, so despite having easy access to large amounts of information, they are much less interested in constructing physical devices for the purpose of entertainment. This, along with ever increasing public fear and paranoia, has dramatically reduced activity here and on similar sites across the web.

Personally, I haven't given up on Spudfiles, but after 7 years of lurking, posting, building and sharing, I feel that it just doesn't have much to offer me anymore. I still check in once in a while to see if anything has changed, but it's clear that the site is in terminal decline and is now more of a historical timeline of spudding than a discussion forum.

It's unfortunate, but times are changing. In 10 years, energetic hobbies will likely be completely underground. In 20 years, they may not exist at all.

[MrCrowley]

Just read Alanstone's post and I think he does touch on some truth about this forum. A large part of what is now the part of the spudgunning hobby has been invented/refined/improved in the last decade, meaning we started out with less information available to use and had to do our own R&D as a community to test ideas. Now, we've hit a bit of a wall where there's not many obvious areas for improvement that aren't impractical/costly/dangerous/illegal or don't require a good knowledge of physics/chemistry. Obviously I'm thinking about high pressure (1000PSI+) designs that are either pneumatic or hybrid (or maybe even something along the lines of what DYI was making).

So not only is there a wall of information that any new member slams in to immediately after joining, there's also less testing and development going on and this reduces community input and collaboration. Also, due to the amount of information, we can now point new members to dozens of links on the same topic and even though those links contain all the necessary information there is still a disconnection between the members as there is less need for discussion.

This problem also contributes to observations like the one below. With so many established ideas proven by multiple prototypes and finished cannons, we may assume that everything is now common knowledge without realising that new members still have to make a few important connections before they can begin to understand and figure out things on their own.

I am a noob and I won't easily post a question because this is important to me and I don't want to experience being flamed for my ignorance.

However, if we all had the money, time, and space, a lot of us would still be churning out new and important designs. It just so happens that many of us lack at least two of those resources.

edit:
A lot of what SB15 mentioned makes sense too.

We need to encourage the newer members as much as we can and get them building hybrids and high pressure pneumatics. Maybe a few of them will go on to make some new designs that we haven't seen before and then they can encourage the new members that come after them.
With a little bit of effort on our behalf, we get to see some cannons being churned out more often than present and even some new designs if we're lucky.

A lot of what we know is still new to many members so there's still a chance that the passion and collaboration that once was the norm of this forum can rise again

P.S. Alanstone,
Post any questions that you have, even if you think they are stupid. They may seem simple to us but we're quite biased and probably don't realise that the answers to some questions aren't very obvious. As long as we can see that you're trying to figure something out no one should flame you and, as a moderator, I can make sure that this doesn't happen unnecessarily.

[dewey-1]

However, if we all had the money, time, and space, a lot of us would still be churning out new and important designs.

You can have all three mentioned as I have, but there is a fourth which I do not have which prevents me and that is your physical health!
Do not blame it on only two of the three.
Do what can with what you have while you are healthy enough to do it and enjoy it! Life is to short for lame excuses!

edit; spelling error

[sagthegreat]

What do you mean spudfiles is dying, im pretty sure im a healthy person, and so are the other people on this site

[wyz2285]

As long as I'm alive, I won't give up this hobby. With my machines on their way, I'm seriously considering building a 50x hybrid, also a couple rifles I had in mind for a while.

[Brian the brain]

You can have all three mentioned as I have, but there is a fourth which I do not have which prevents me and that is your physical health!

Hear..hear..

I'm waiting for my wife to switch to a dayjob so I got some time to start some serious projects.
Adhd wearing out my Fibromyalgic body is a bit too much when you concider I need to take care of the kids alone 4 nights a week...áfter coming home from work..

1 month...aah... she'll be working daytime again..

What do you mean spudfiles is dying, im pretty sure im a healthy person, and so are the other people on this site

Except at least two...

I've been hooked to making my own projectile launchers since early 80's.
My brain is programmed like that..
I've figured out how to mill perfect slots using my lathe..combined with all the other techniques I now have available, such as welding, lathing etc...
my goal is to build a semi, possibly full auto, 12 gram operated, 10mm leadball firing machinepistol..
Maybe throw in a suppressor.
I seriously doubt I'll like the cost of firing at full auto with it though.

This being said..

Not the kind of project a newb is likely to follow up on.
Maybe it would be good to do a number of complete guides on popular launchers for the beginning spudder.

Going from easy to semi advanced?
Crash course spudding..like a seperate forum section, so it would be easy to find.

[wyz2285]

Maybe it would be good to do a number of complete guides on popular launchers for the beginning spudder.

That's why I made that semi and QEV "how to"... But the problem is most new people come here dreaming that they can build a fancy semi sniper rifle with parts they find in scrapyard at least that's the problem I'm facing on my youtube channel and facebook page.

[Happy]

I have a new area to explore for sf. Railgun and coil gun technology. If we can incorporate an efficient rg/cg then we could really ramp things up with spuds. Also the technology to actually miniturize railguns could come from this website!! We COULD make history!!

Btw to fire a non magnetic object you just have to wrap it in aluminium foil, it should create a plasma with the massive current running through it (atleast thats the impression im getting from my research).

Btw i cant build any cannons since bunnings is sorely understocked with threaded copper fittings, i need to find myself a suplier -_-"

P.s No one ships to Aus on ebay for under $5 Its all buy one threaded fitting for $2 but the shipping is $30!!! cheap cheap. Im all like No! -_-

[Brian the brain]

We COULD make history!!

You have the right mindset!

I think we've made history before...And that's the issue!


You're the new generation. Go ahead and make your own!
You'll get a buzz out of presenting something original, something nobody's thought of before.Some ideas could be big, but a small contribution can also get a lot of attention.

Contribute your own ideas!

It's what most of us wanted to do when we joined. If a new member steps up with the need to make a lasting impression on us oldies this site would never die.

Lurking and waiting for the spoon to feed you won't get you the same satisfaction.

It's to be expected that newbies need to learn the basics though, before we can expect them to amaze us with new idea's.
Newbies on the other hand should not expect us to do all the work.



So it seems senior members do have a responsability to make sure they get educated rather than flamed.

I'll start thinking about how to put together some complete guides..