Summer has always been a slow time but this year is heading towards the ridicules. Besides averaging only between 275-300 visitors over the past couple of weeks, we've only been averaging between 35-40 members visiting the Forums. Today, over a 12 hour period we've only had 2 posts and that was in the Welcome Forum.

With everyone taking vacations and visiting lighthouses we ought to have a lot of members posting their trip like Paul just did. Also, tell us about your preservation activities and club meetings. I realize that this is the summer and there is a lot to do, but, surely you have the time to make an occasional post rather then just reading and not respsoning.

Maybe the words from tha song that "Bubba" sang on "In the Heat of the Night" TV show has some meaning here when he sang "turn off the lights, the party's over" has some good meaning. Maybe we ought to turn off the Forums and save some money during the summer months. It reminds me of having either the air conditioning turned on in the summer, or the heat in the winter, and then opening all the windows and doors and wasting our money.

This is my opinion and should not be taken as negative or what will happen. It should be taken as a wake up call to those that are being lulled into inactivity.

Well, I have not gone anywhere this Summer except work. Don't always have something to say, especially if I am in a hurry. If we turn it off, would people remember to return at a certain day and would they start doing something else in its place, perhaps never coming back. The light may be burning low, but it at least it is burning.

When summer rolls around, a big chunk of our members take time to enjoy it! Many parts of the great USA don't get year-round sunshine and boating weather.

A 25-40% drop in activity has been historical for as long as I've been checking stats on the CF.

When something new or exciting rolls around lighthouse-wise, we'll get 'em back.

Have a great time out there! If you are heading towards a lighthouse or 3, wish I could join you! Take some photos and share 'em when you can!

And as Sturgis Michigan's own Tom Bodett says, "We'll keep the light on for ya!"

Those who hang around year-round checking that the bulb doesn't burn out will be takin' up the slack with poetry, trivia, post card exchanges, old photos we took on past lighthouse trips, opinions on the future of Harbour Lights collecting and likes and dislikes on things in general.

Just no discussions on religion, politics or sex -- at least until everyone is back from summer hiatus.

Darn, it's sure quite out there! I figured for sure that I would get some conversations going with this topic, but, still very few posts on this subject.

Hi All:

I have been a Forum Member for a couple of years but this is my first posting. I am one of those members who enjoys to read (passive), just not write (active).

I have been an executive member of several organizations in the past several years and most all have the same complaint...a drop in member activity. Often they all ask the question..."should we turn out the lights?" This is a valid question but can anyone think of a lighthouse that would have its "lights turned out" just because attendance is down?

In my limited experience, I have found that many people would participate more if they were personally invited to do so. I have found that active organizational members that develop a "personal" relationship with one of two "less active" members helps the inactive members to feel more comfortable to contribute. It is much like a party...many people do not show up to a party late and feel comfortable just engaging the group especially if it is a group of strangers. They often sit back and wait for an opportunity, and if it doesn't present itself, they leave. I see that situation here.
As a trainer, I find it isn't difficult getting people to arrive at the party. The big issue is making them feel welcome and keeping them enaged and active.

Instead of talking about "turning the lights out," maybe it should be discussed how those that regularly contribute can develop relationships with others who do not contribute regularly and allow them to feel comfortable. I realize that keeping this site open is expensive, but consider the real cost of closing it even for a couple of months. Remember it only takes 30 days to develop a new habit...of going someplace else

Sorry for going on so long. Just my "two cents worth." I'll just return to being a wallflower again.

Larry

Thanks for your excellent input Larry. I see you have been a member for 4 years. We do appreciate you as a member of our 'silent service'.

And thanks for sharing your experiences from other organization and applying it to the Collector Forums.

I know some people are outgoing, some are quiet and reserved. We appreciate all kinds. Sometimes the tone of this kind of message is negative -- and I have asked the same question in years past.

Our "Welcome" messages often state (in effect) that we are experts at answering lighthouse questions. This assumes that everyone who is new is a novice. In fact, new members may be experts in this or other fields.

We shouldn't assume that they came looking for answers, but could have come to contribute answers.

Larry, I like your idea of creating a more personal relationship with the newest members. Let's steer this discussion in that direction. What kinds of contact would you and others who are in this same situation like?

Let's hear from others. If you'd prefer to email me your response, send it to webmaster@lighthousekeepers.com

Larry - Very good input on preception to the Forums. I also like John's thoughts on not all new members being novices to Harbour Lights. I have made some changes to my welcoming message because of this.

We are now averaging between 1 and 2 new members a week. This is quite a decline from even a year ago when we averaged 3 to 4 new members a week. We welcome each and every member, but, few respond to these welcomes. I also have taken it upon myself to send out a private email to all new members inviting them to participate. I wish there was a way to reach out and convince these members to take the time to acknowledge these welcomes. If they were to respond and tell us about themselves, it would be easier to for our existing members to draw them in to conversations.

Thanks again for your input and if this original post to "turn the lights off" did nothing else, it allowed us to hear from you after 4 years. Please don't let it become another 4 years before you make your 2nd post.

Larry, Great to have you post after 4 years of sitting on the sidelines! Welcome, we would love to hear from you again. Everyone's opinions and/or views on things are welcomed here.

If there are others out there who like Larry are sitting on the sidelines reading these posts. PLEASE... WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! I know that there are lots of you whom we never hear from, who could provide valuable information to ALL of us. There are also those of you who have questions we could answer, but you don't ask.

Those of us who do post regular don't know everything, but we are just willing to post in areas where we can. We need your questions and your answers, for the good of all. Everyone's opinion counts, wether we all agree or not. And if you've been reading these forums for any time, you already know that we often don't agree..... and that's OK!

I'm still here, look and read almost every week day, just find I don't have as much to contribute as I used to. Only when I have something intelligent to add, which my wife would attest is not often....

Would hate to loose them though!

Mike

Hi All:

The question was posed as to how to establish a personal relationship with the more "quiet" members. I may be out of line but how about each new member, even the more experienced members, post a short biography about ourselves with general demographic/geographic data and subject matter expertise and/or lighthouse interests. This way, new members can look up the membership and see who they should "get to know" or ask questions to about issues.

An example...my wife and I live in the fly-over country (Missouri) and don't have easy accessibility to the many beautiful lighthouses we have in the US. Our life's goal is to visit every lighthouse on the Continental US (those off the coast are "iffy"). Anyway we are traveling to Maine in August for our first visit ever to the Northeast and we are stressing over which lighthouses we can/will visit or which ones are a priority for a 7-day trek. If I went to the membership bios, I might be able to see who are the SMEs on Maine lighthouses and ask them some questions.
After four years I do recognize some of the names and what their expertise is...but if I'm new, I don't have the foggiest idea as to who to ask and I really fear "shouting out" what may be stupid questions to a large group of strangers. As my analogy is the past post indicated, if I went to party as a new member, I generally want my first impression to create a positive image. Shouting a question may not be the best way to start.
I also do not know if my question has been asked previously (maybe one or two years ago) and the "old guard" has beaten that horse to death.
Hey, another idea...how about a FAQ site for new members?
How about a group of experienced members volunteer to take new members on a rotating basis and welcome them by sending a direct email to them and serve as their "mentor" to help with any questions. Just a couple of ideas.

By the way, thank you all for the kind words of encouragement to continue posting. The second post was much easier than the first.

Larry

Excellent ideas and suggestions Larry. Gold star for you. . . .

Sandy

P.S. My husband and I took a plane ride and saw 24 lighthouses in Maine in one day a couple of years ago. If you want details, let me know--ducks2076@hotmail.com. Be sure to post something that will help me recognize you in the subject line.

Search for this topic if you're interested in our trip--New Hampshire & Maine Lighthouses, LSS, Monuments - September, 2007

I agree with what Eric posted earlier. Turn out the lights and people would most likely find something else to fill their time.

Larry also brings up good points.

Let's not do anything too drastic at this point.
Yes, it seems slower than usual but so is the collectible market and many other favorites pasttimes but that doesn't mean we want to hang them up. This website is amazing and very important to lighthouse lovers.

Judy

We'll assume that as a 'kindof' Newbie, Larry may not be familiar with the search function:

http://www.lighthousekeepers.com/forums/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=001223#000000

Thanks John--forgot that I stumbled onto that feature and don't recall that anybody taught me how to do that.

Which brings up another suggestion--one of the Saints pulls the topic on how to post pictures every once in awhile. Larry's idea about a FAQ thread could be an aid to discussing the "how to" do something. I, for one, have no idea how to end a page and begin another on the same subject and have had to ask for help in getting that done.

Sandy

Larry - I have a diary of my March trip to Maine which may help, as well. The link: http://gregfitzgerald.net/blog/category/lighthouses/

(Read from the bottom-up, in blog style.)

And as for the forums...I do wonder if we should try to promote the "real lighthouses" side of this site a bit more. Though, of course, we were founded as, and are at our core, a Harbour Lights collector's group, there is an equal, if not greater, base of knowledge on real-life lighthouses.

I wonder if many people are interested only in real lighthouses, and are intimidated by the expansive HL discussions. Though I don't think we should in the least reduce our discussions on HLs -- they as well need expansion -- I think we have more chance of expanding our base with traditional lighthouse enthusiasts.

If Harbour Lights were to go out of business tomorrow (God forbid, of course), do we have a site which, at a moment, could be rejiggered to be a greater part "real lighthouse" discussion, with a continued HL focus, albeit without any rumours or current release discussion?

Not to wish doom on HL, or even suggest it...but I think that if we can direct some things in the forum towards increasing discussion on regular lighthouses, while maintaining the HL discussion that makes this site special, we could have a very interesting new way to entice people to the site.

This site has become a part of my everyday life (some might say I should get a life), but with my contracting business on the very slow side again, I find enjoyment in reading and posting on these forums.

I think the site is perfect just the way it is. A good balance between Harbour Lights collecting and lighthousing journeys, with a little personal stuff at the bottom. Don't change a thing !!!

I conside myself one of the more diverse posters. I get into all the HL collecting stuff, plus I love to look at the pics of those who travel around the country(and the rest of the world) visiting the real thing. Plus I enjoy trivia, limericks, jokes, etc.

I've only been a member for three years, but I've lirked on this site for a while before that. I think what made me become a member was the desire to post my HL wishlist. From there I've gotten comfortable in other forums.

If I can help anybody with any question, please email me. I promise to respond with as much help as possible.

I am up here in Michigan, getting ready to leave for Hancock for a great ceuise on Lake Superior. Will go arounf the Kewanau Penn. and then over to Marquette. It will take about three days or so. If I can figure out how to put some pics on here I will do so.....

We will look forward to you pics TerryO.

Quotes by Loon
Same here!

I totally agree too!

Me too. I like the balance plus all the Topic choices allow us to pick and choose what we are interested in. But I usually check through all the topics posted to each day.

Sorry I haven't been around much. Between work, the granddaughter and trying to help plan a Sept. wedding for our youngest son, it has kept me busy. I try to check in at least once a week to keep up on whats going on.

I am one of the quiet ones and post if I have something to add. Everyone else seem to know so much more then I do, so I take it all in and learn.

I would hate it if this site "turned the lights off" for any period of time. I post every now and then, but wouldn't be considered a regular contributer by any means. I would post more often, but I'm just not one to post unless I have something to add to the discussion.

However, I check this site almost daily and have gained a lot of knowledge from it. Since I collect Harbour Lights, I love the HL discussion. But I'm also a lighthouse enthusiast, so I enjoy the general lighthousing and travel posts too.

I'm sure there are a lot of people like me out there. We don't post that often, but we read the posts and have found this site to be an informative and valuable resource.

Maybe we shouldn't be too focused on posting, as reading the posts are just as important.

Is the public library only open to authors and novalists?

Loon - How can you read a post if no one is taking the time to write a post? If you don't have authors and novalists, you don't need a library.

I like the Forum as it exists now with maybe a little tweaking to some of the topic forums as some have suggested. I was just trying to bring it to the attention of the non posting members that just like to read, and don't think their imput is important, that their input is very inportant and we would like to hear from them. Fresh blood, so to speak, is crucial to the Forum being successful. One of the ideas suggested was each member post a little history and background about themselves. If you remember, I tried to start that about 6-10 months ago and I think we only had about 4-5 responces out of 40-50 members reading the Forum. We cannot learn more about our members if they will not take the time to introduce themselves. This is my whole point on this topic is we ALL have to be more interactive on the Forum and not just be passive. I would love to see ALL MEMBERS participate, whether large scale or small scale, instead of just reading and not entering into the discussions.

I, while typing on my Mac, agree with Loon on this, Rich. Sure, we need more people posting but only if they feel comfortable doing so. By the way, we have quite a library here after more than 10 years of the Forums being in existence. Just using the 'search' in the Forums, one can spend hours finding information. Since the Forums were opened by John, every year or so this discussion comes up of nobody posting. It seems to go in cycles and it isn't always Summertime. While it doesn't hurt to have the discussion, we need to be very careful to keep it positive. I have a lot of collector friends who have left the forums because they feel, rightly or wrongly, a lot of negative vibes here sometimes.

I find it a great place to share both my collection and my lighthousing. I was in the News business for 37 years sharing what I had done that day with hundreds of thousands of people.. so this is a natural thing for me to do in the Forums.

I wish all the time that some of the early Forum members would come back and add their perspective and adventures to the Forums once more...but they apparently have moved on. Some of things that kept them coming to the Forums just aren't happening-- like 4 Regionals every year and Reunions every few years.

The Hoosier Lighthousing Club has a core group that is still going strong. While our active numbers have dropped a bit over the years, we still are very active and it is because we have the common bond of the Old Michigan City Lighthouse to support.

Rich, I agree new posts are very important, but my library statement has more to do with what Paul explained. There is already a ton of info that can be searched for.

You can count on me to post often in many of the forums. I like to share any info I come across, give an oppinion of many topics, and answer any questions when possible.

These forums are a lighthouse, they quide many collectors and lighthousers. We'd end up on the rocks without them.

Larry, there are no stupid questions if you don't know the answer. I'm not sure how we found the forum other than Sandy telling us to read her input on recent trips. also, Tammy Wolfe was instrumental and getting us to join in. If you saw my house you wouldn't belive this statement, we don't collect Harbour Lights. I guess it is because the house is so full of Glen's other collections that there was no room to add anything new.

So the best way to get Newbies is to tell those you meet on various trips. We met both Sandy and Tammy on WILD cruises on Lake Superior. We were encouraged to go on the first trip by Robert Gurskey. I'm so glad that y'all kept us in mind.

Ellie

I have not posted as regularly as I use for some time now. Due to the current demands of my job (we are in the middle of a platform conversion) by the time I get home the last thing I want to do is sit down in front of another PC. I do try to check in peridically and read posts and post when I can.

Summer has historically been a slow time on the forums. Would the slow down in the ecomony have anything to do with a slow down in postings since some folks don't have the disposable income to buy HLs or even to travel, they don't have anything to post about??

Lighthouse lovers turn the lights on - not off!! In the spirit of keeping the light on, let me introduce myself. I live near Annapolis, Maryland. I have loved lighthouses since I was a child but I had little opportunity to pursue this. About 15 years ago my daughter gave me my first Harbour Lights for Christmas. Then I found out about the Chesapeake Chapter of the USLHS. I joined and started going on as many of their trips as I could. I have now been near, on, or up all 40 lighthouses on the Chesapeake Bay and down the 3 lightships. My husband and I also love the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Since our daughters now live in Wilmington, NC, we sometimes take the "long way" and go by the lights again. I still have not been up Hatteras. It was closed for so long, then moved, and now my timing has just been off.
When I retired from teaching High School a few years back, I could participate more in the Chapter outings. Whenever we travel, I pull out my map of all the lights in the US and see which ones are near wherever we are. The most exciting was to go to Hook Head in Ireland. I try to limit my HL collection to only the ones that I have seen, but then are the ones I want to see and the one's that just look interesting. I had a great time at the Baltimore Reunion in 2001, the week after my daughter got married. I just went by myself and relaxed after all the doings of the wedding. What a wonderful group of people. I met new people every day and loved it. I hope there will be another Reunion before too long. My favorite lighthouse is Thomas Point. As a member of the Chesapeake Chapter and of the Annapolis Maritime Museum, who bought it along with the City of Annapolis, I feel that I am a part owner!!
I would like to use one of my own pics for my avatar, so it would be great to get an update on how to upload my own.
Thanks to all of you for keeping this conversation going and keeping the light on.

To create your own avatar, just crop a photo square and resize it to 75 pixels x 75 pixels. Follow the same uploading instructions as with any other photo and in your profile, select that uploaded avatar image using the full URL to the uploaded image.

Remember what was said earlier? There is tons of information on this site, but you have to search. When you go to a thread, set the show topics choice to at least the past year or even better, to the very start of each forum. You will find pages like this that have great info. Another really interesting place to search is the Travel Center . . .

No new posts to this thread in the last 5 days. 463 visitors to the Collector Forums in the past 24 hours.

Looks like the crisis (if there was one) is resolved.

I'll check the number of posters in the past 30 days.

71 Members have posted at least once in the past 30 days. Just a bit below typical - but not bad for the summertime.

??????????
I've been remiss in posting my lh trips on the Forum but I've also been putting off my website, digitizing film, not enough time in the day. LOL
Rochester, Newport, Reno, Salt Lake, Gloucster,Montauk,Alaska since January.
I'm here almost daily. Part of ritual in turning on my PC.
Bob

I don't see any crisis here. Actual, I haven't posted in this thread yet, cause I don't even know what the "fuss" is all about. Many, Many people still visit the forums for both general lighthouse information and Harbour Lights info, even if they don't post. We ALL have busy lives, especially in the summer and between HL announcements when no new HL info is available.... Keep the LIGHTS ON!

Yeah, don't turn the lights off. I just got here!

Well said, ginnyanne, Christopher and Tread22. Keep the lights on.

Judy

Is it time to close this thread and start a new one? Never was a danger we'd shut this down. And welcome Tread22 - thanks for posting. Share your like of and knowledge of lighthouses.

CLOSE THE THREAD !!!!!If any one wants to poast they will
RIP

Never was a threat but we've had more responces to this thread then any others in a long time. I knew those lurkers were out there and we finally heard from a lot of them. Now, if they will just respond to other topics. I'll be closing this thread now but if someone wants to add something they can start a new topic.