Will Stamp Collecting Survive?

No one makes anyone post a response to a newbie question.

Anyone who does not have the patience to explain something simple, over & over again, should congratulate themselves on being smart enough to stand aside, and let the patient people do it.




I'd like to be able to ask an animal husbandry question on a farming forum without promising to eat the animal.

I'd like to be able to ask a sewage treatment question on a public health forum ...

Well, you get the idea.

Good on the folks who handle the newbie questions ... even the greedy newbie questions.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

At the risk of potentially enduring some wrath, when I first discovered this board I scanned the various forums and threads. I seem to recall a thread in which a new member seemed to "go out of his/her way" (albeit bending the rules) to offer assistance to another member and was very publicly denounced and banned from the forum. (It seemed that one member in particular would have preferred to have that ex-member drawn and quartered if possible.) Perhaps an email from the admin or moderator to that person informing him/her of the expulsion would have been more prudent. Frankly, that one thread gave me pause, but the information and posts in other threads convinced me that situation may have been an anomaly.

Anyway...

All I am suggesting here is that we shouldn't jump to conclusions too quickly. Sometimes novices, or people who inherit albums don't always ask the appropriate question, or may ask the same question repeatedly, or perhaps assume too much about a find or inherited collection. Yes, some people are probably individuals who have no interest in the hobby and are only hopeful of a gold mine in some dear departed relative's collection.

(NOTE: As a teacher I get asked the same question by students all them time. I give them an answer and they ask the same question again. Occasionally I think the student is daff, but in most cases they didn't understand my explanation, so I have to reframe my answer and try again.)

So, what if someone took some time to patiently explain why the album or stamp might not be as valuable as they assume, pointed individuals to some resources so they could do some of their own research, and perhaps even suggest to them ways they could build on that collection and be prepared to offer some guidance. Perhaps we might win some hearts and minds and attract new collectors into the hobby.

I am a member of several other forums and I am thankful to the admins who put them together. There many helpful people on many of the forums, and they are a great way to bring philatelists from around the world together and share knowledge and enrich the hobby.

ikeyPikey, as always you surgically get to the heart of the matter...it is the commendable patience with the uninitiated newbie questions that sets this Forum on a higher level than others I have joined.

owsi's experience I would hope to be a rare one in SCF. At a time when some life-long stamp collectors fear the demise of collecting, folks who care about solidifying a future for stamping must make a special effort to share what we have learned with kids and the adult novice. Since I have yet to come across posts from youngsters, I would urge our members to offer their patience and willingness to spoon feed the many adults who visit the SCF for basic guidance. Some may be folks in their 30's or 40's who reconnect with stamps; some may inherit a family collection. Either way many of these folks represent the future of stamp collecting.

Amen.

No one ever prevented anyone from answering questions.

You can do what you want and spend 24/7 on SCF
answering questions for all I care.




As I said previously there is no shortage of members here
who share their knowledge and answer questions promptly.
The question of this thread is
Will stamp collecting survive?
not Should we answer greedy newbie questions?
And I said that people who only join this forum to find
out what their their stuff is worth and then disappear
will not save our hobby.

What thread was this?

owsi15757, excellent post above.



That is a great sales skill to use to keep your customers (new collectors) coming back for more.

I wonder if the high price of stamp catalogs such as Scott have effectively smothered the hobby. When I was a kid, Scott consisted of 3 volumes. My parents and relatives got me started with those, albums, and piles of stamps over various birthdays and Christmases. The price of a full set of Scott today is well above what one might give a kid to get started, a kid who may quickly get bored and move on to other hobbies instead.

This thread is sending very mixed messages to me. I guess you will view me as a "newbie". It seems some of you will be happy to share your knowledge with me and some of you will not. Yes I am not a stamp collector and yes I have inherited my fathers stamp collection. I have cherished it since the day he died 18 years ago, I have loved looking through it and reading all the notes he made, I remember how he occasionally went to London to buy or sell stamps when I was a child. I spent endless hours with him learning about stamp collecting, if he were here today I could ask him the 2 questions I have posted on here, but he is not here so I ask for your help. It has taken me 18 years to actually get here so please don't judge me.

Cas63, welcome to you! I am very new in this Forum myself and I am very impressed and thankful for the
extraordinary generosity shown by dozens of members. I suggest you search out and reply to existing threads that interest you. In order to post a new subject the SCF requires that you post 100 meaningful replies to show interest and commitment. But if you reply to existing topics most members will be happy to answer questions and/or steer you toward solutions. I hope you enjoy your info search.

Hi Cas63/Caroline

First of all, Welcome to SCF.

I gather from what you write that you feel that there are
some on this site who are anti-newbie.
This is not the case. Yes there have been some who joined here
solely to ask abruptly "What's this worth" and after being
advised then didn't believe it and started arguing that
nobody knows anything here etc.etc
Then you have the trolls who just want to cause trouble.
Like who needs them?

You say you cherished your late father's stamp collection
and



Well then you are a newbie here on the forum but
definitely not a newbie stamp collector and it appears that you
spent many happy hours with your father's inheritance.



There are many knowledgeable members on the forum who I'm
certain will be able to answer all your questions.

You are the kind of collector this hobby needs since
as you say...

A person may post on most any thread or forum at any time, appropriately, without restriction. The only restrictions are family polite and politeness to members.

Rules that may aply to having 100 posts are:


Rules are at Button top right.

Thank you dcaraz1949 and lithograving for the welcome :)

Easily distinguished, one from another: the former will answer your questions, the latter will find something else to do.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey