This Chatboard Is Getting Boring , Needs New Focus .

Irfanview is also great for stitching unlike images together, i.e. the front and back of a postcard or cover. Many image programs will only create panoramic views.

I've also found Irfanview the quickest program for cropping which becomes very handy when you have to plow through 10,000 images to crop at a time.

I thought there were a lot of excellent comments made and some ideas that the moderators can put in the 'food for thought' area.
Tom

Hi Gar,

Yes I have Preview but seldom use it. I use Vuescan with an Epson V700 scanner which automatically sends the scanned images to PhotoShop for adjustment there or in ImageReady ( I don't use any of the built in scanner tools such as coulour balance, dust removal or unsharp mask to fine tune my images as this just increases scan time. All done in PhotoShop. I still have to make a dupe file to resize down to export to here and this does limit image size.

Terry

Edit for error. TC.

One thought would be a beginner topic clearly marked on the home page. It would be an area where newbies could go to with a basic question about collecting and the monetary value of the inherited collection. The subtitle of it could be "the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask"
Tom

Vuescan is one of the best pieces of scanning software I have ever used. Out of everything I have ever used, it consistently gives me the best scans that match the color of the original image the closest. It's a tad pricey at $69.95, but, in my opinion, nothing beats it.

http://www.hamrick.com

Not affiliated with the company. Just a happy customer.

Also it could have a read only "no reply" type subject topic with photos from the forum members for stamp identification and other areas of collecting. Sort of like the photobucket or virtual stamp albums. (Mike33). I know there is alot of websites with this, but it would still keep them local to SCF. This way a person who has many stamps can look at photos and compare. Which could include some average values of the subjects. Respectfully, Gary

One type of post that seems to be becoming more frequent is the first post from a person who has recently inherited grandfather's, grandmother's, uncle's, aunt's, father's, mother's stamp collection and wants to know the value of it and how to sell it. Maybe it is me, but I view these posts with some scepticism. (Had to have two goes spelling that one).

Terry

Yes sir that's correct. Most don't have a clue on where to begin. That's a subject that should be dealt with in research based topics. Being that there are quite a few different opinions about, how, what and where. It could be simplified to a group of topics. Gary

A "Beginners Start Here" section of the forum with some stickies might have some function around here

This chatboard is getting BORING, need's new focus.

rotisserie baseball thread?

I don't know that it's getting boring, I just think it's not nearly lively enough. That may be due to the relatively small number of collectors out there but I'd love to be able to get on and see a couple of hundred posts a day, like many other non-stamp forums I visit, there's always something new to see or do or think about. I don't know if it's a lack of interest in participating and most people are lurking? I don't know what the average number of visitors here are per day (anyone have any idea?) and maybe it's because stamp collecting tends to be a very solo hobby anyhow, but I'd really love to find a rip-roaring active forum where there's always something new and interesting going on.

Not that I'm complaining about it, just an observation.

I came across this site about one year ago while googling for some information on postal history covers. I've followed the site ever since and learned a great deal. Its impressive the depth of knowledge some possess and I'm greatful that they are willing to share. I always (daily) read posts on those topics that are of interest to me. I comment when feeling I have something appropriate to contribute. I feel this site is user friendly, has excellent camaraderie, and generally sociable as a bonus to the knowledge exchanged. There are time when I feel that some of the comments are not necessary; i.e. "great stamp" or "nice cover" or other such comment that really don't add anything to the learning experience but thats just part of the interchange.

As has been previously suggest, it may be beneficial to the "newbies" if there were a series of topics designed for them to go to before jumping into some of the other topics. Some frequently asked questions, some general informational web site addresses and other information that could be deemed helpful to a new stamp collectors or inquiring inheritors may benefit the site. Once newbies have been exposed more to some of the basics, they may be better able to follow and comment in other topics.

On some other chat sites, there are some very knowledgable contributors that are not using this site. Bill Weiss is a welcomed addition to the site; he has a depth of knowledge and will readily contribute to topics. Thrre are others; Ken Lawrence, Dennis Gilson, Clark Frazier to name just a few who could add to our understanding and knowledge. If there are folks on the site that know them, perhaps they could be invited to join in the discussions?

For those belonging to local clubs, I'd ask if they are encouraging members to join this site? I'd also ask if they are sharing the site live at meeting to demonstrate its benefits? I'd like to see more participation for a greater number of contributors--a larger audience of folks reading and sharing. I notice there is a pretty good count of readers but generally a low count of responders. I know that I read and don't respond to many posts/topics, as do many others, and perhaps a larger audience could improve that?

Ok, enough--all that having been said, and $5.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks--or is $5.00 enough nowdays?

Here's an idea to curtail the 'what is my album worth?' question that seems to pop up here regularly. Make an addendum to the rules of the board thread which states that such specific inquires will not be responded to and make a reference to a stickied thread that lays out the basics of stamp collecting and stamp values. That way when another 'what is this worth?' thread pops up concerning someone's inherited album, it can be delted by the mods or redirected to the thread which will already say 'this isn't about monetary gain in most instances' or whatever else can be added to that.

This of course directly implies the creation of one or more stickied threads on basics. One stickied thread I would suggest would be dedicated to stamp album values (or lack thereof) explicitly saying what I've seen repeated several times in similar threads already, only locked in place this time. Another would be 'how do I mount stamps?' combined with the topic of stamp hinges and albums in general. Another thread could be about soaking stamps, self-adhesive stamps and stamp flattening/drying. The final thread I would suggest creating/making a stickied thread would be a series of links to cover whatever collecting topics are out there.

It may seem draconian to delete people's posts about their recent inheritances but there are some folks who are just too lazy to either search for topics or read forum rules. There's always going to be that percentage of visitors who just want to skip to the head of the line. I've seen other forums where someone will violate a rule in an initial posting and receive a warning form a mod, then the poster corrects their mistake and after an amount of time the original thread is removed. Perhaps that could work here?

this site can be very helpful.
i appreciate all the help I get from this site.
it still amazes me that there are not more members..
i understand that there seems to be at times very little posting.
we should all maybe try more..
thats my 2 cents worth

An interesting supposition and responses - I freely admit that my enthusiasm for the site has waned over recent months and that I spend more time on another site - As to why it is hard to put a finger on it - The undertone of the site doesnt seem to be what it was when I first joined and that some of the regular contributors from that time have moved on - I still sign on every few day but.... - Another thing that seems to have gone astray are the auctions - There have been several lengthy discussions about auctions over the last several months but sales/auctions are no where near what they were - Right as of now there are none despite all the "positves" that people have said about the change in format - And this is by no means an isolated example - So does something need to be done? - mmmmmmm - Hard to say