NEW GUY WONDERING

relax and surf around to get your bearings. it is a great site and easy once you get the hang.

-- making sawdust....

I’m like you. I can’t seem to keep up with everything. What I have been doing lately is scanning/reading the pulse area, daily, for topics I find interesting. Then each day I can pick up where I left off- that way there isn’t too much to try and read. I gave up on trying to welcome everyone and I feel bad about that because when I joined everyone made me feel so welcome- but there are only so many hours in a day. This place is addictive. I found myself spending more time here than in the workshop. Had to set limits on my surfing!
So I guess I’m saying- there’s no trick just try and find what you like.

Lew

It’s not too bad once you are caught up on everything.

It’s getting harder and harder to do as the site grows.

I would suggest just keeping track starting now and look at what’s happened already as time permits.
I basically look at every post but find that I am able to make fewer comments due to time constraints.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

At one time it was pretty easy to not only keep up with all the individual posts but also the comments as well. But with all the posts that are coming at us now it is difficult to keep up. This site has seen explosive growth recently, which is wonderful. But it does make it difficult to post comments on everything. Eventually we all are just going to have to be more selective about the posts that we are able to read.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I’m with you on this one. This site is HUGE. Just trying to handle reading all the posts in the forums and then you add in the blogs and it becomes rather daunting pretty quickly. If I didn’t like woodworking so much, I’d give it up to just surf this site full time.

-- Chuck Bender, period furniture maker, www.acanthus.com

I can definitely say it is much harder to keep up compared to a year ago…even 6 or 3 months ago…

I think this is why project TAGS will be critical..since our projects stay in the forefront a lot less time…they will each get fewer comments…and as people do reseach for “book shelf” or “table” then our stuff will pop up again…

I find myself spending more time just looking and not commenting…which is a bummer since the part that has kept me coming back is the sense of community and friendship via this site…

It is up to all of us to keep it friendly…maybe we can be the first community on earth that stays great as it grows over time…

matt

-- Matt, Napa, CA...SING WITH ME: "Sum...sum...sum...summ...summ...summ...summertime..."

You have to watch yourself. You need to keep your chisels and machines going as well as your keyboard.

-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville

I use the Lumberjock Pulse and then use the filters to get to what I want to see at the moment, essentially. divide and conquer. I also gave up watching T.V. altogether.

-- Thuan

Like lew said, just surf the “pulse” for stuff that interests you, and check out “projects.” You will get into some interesting conversations and eventually you will start to recognize people and relate more.

This is a community. You’ve been here a short time. I hope you are enjoying yourself, and always feel free to ask questions or for advice. You can be as involved as you want to be. Have fun and happy woodworking.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Yah… the Pulse button at the top right hand corner is the only way I can navigate this site. It’s absolutely huge if you try to go thru all the forums manually… You can sort what you want to look at in the pulse too… I use the search feature alot, also.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

My advice? Forget about catching up with everything posted so far. Add the LumberJocks toolbar to your web browser, and then that will tell you anytime there is a new blog entry, forum post`or project. Just stay on top of that and surf the rest of the site as you have time.

-- Eric at http://adventuresinwoodworking.com

I’m an RSS feed guy myself. But I also work in an office where I see the feeds coming in all day, and I still miss a ton!

-- Tom, Central New York

I joined this wonderful place a little into the new year, and I agree with every comment on this page, I am sure all that frequent here also realize that we all can’t comment on everything and hopefully no feelings get hurt along the way. I myself just discovered the pulse button not that long ago. I also start there. Napaman is sooo right about the tags. It is an essential part of my L.J.’s experience. I think one just basically slowly develops their own feel for the site and that is because we all have different tastes and needs, and learning levels. But we all have one great thing in common, and that is our love for working in wood. The shuffle button is a great place also. So many things being posted, one just can’t see it all. I also have the tool bar and love it! You’ll find your way, just kick back and enjoy!
PEACE!!!

-- Allison, Northeastern Ca. Remember, Amateurs built the Ark, Professionals built the Titanic!

RSS and incoming rules for folders and colors in Mail.app makes things very easy to classify and recognize immediately. Learning to be selective also helps of course. ;o)

Good luck.

-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto · [http://www.japanese-woodworking-tools.com/]

I have found that if you eliminate sleep altogether you’ll have more time for LumberJocks! But also like Thuan said, I too watch much less TV since joining this site. I have also picked up a ton of hints and ideas from this site, including making new friends, which has encouraged me all the more to spend even more quality time in my shop. But now with the opening of HomeRefurbers.com there’s even less time. Maybe I should install the computer in the shop, then I can say I’m getting even more shoptime than before!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

i dont know if you can my friend but this is very addictive and as im new i hope to learn so much from different people so just enjoy and go luck

-- cut it saw it scrap it

Thank you all for your help. I think my next step will be the pulse and maybe play with the filters. I could also try the tool bar like a few of you said. Thanks again for helping a fellow lumberJock, but then that’s what WE do.

-- ??? My mistakes heat the house. It's very warm in here. ???

Know what you are here for—tips? use the pulse to show you the latest blogs and forum discussions and pick out the ones that seem interesting to you

looking for inspiration? use the pulse to show you the projects posted. Some projects are also in the blogs but you can always backtrack and read them after you find a project you are interested in.

The key is knowing “why” you joined in the first place (or what your current needs/interests are).
Then in your spare time click on the latest discussions to see what’s happening.
Oh, and ALWAYS check the Site Blog to see what is new and exciting. (an easy way to do this is to add Martin to your buddy list)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Do you wear the bag when you go on L J site? I have come to the conclusion that with things coming in every 10 seconds or so, you never will keep up. I just do it when I feel like it, but it is getting more and more addictive. My wife is tired of me complaining about not having enough time to carve. L J must necessarily become a sacrifice at times. I have several questions answers through the L J site, so needless to say I love L J.

Dave

-- Dave Leitem,Butler,Pa.,http://dlcarver.etsy.com

have a kid, then when they take a nap you get a couple of hours to surf and do drawings. it works for me.

-- Roper - master of sawdust-

MsDebbieP has it exactly right, except she forgot one thing. Look for things from “odie” ... they’re a hoot.

-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke".

oops.. forgot that one :)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

The site has gotten too busy to really keep up with the way I’d like. So I have officially given myself permission to browse when I have the time, and not beatmyself up over what I might have missed.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Agreed Charlie. I know there are things that I miss, but I may catch them later when they pop up to the top of the pulse page again.

I skim the pulse page for titles of things I am interested in. It may be tables, or boxes, or perhaps the Kreg jig. Whatever it is, I will skim through several pages looking for those items. I also have my pulse page set up to show just items I have not seen before (read things are hidden). This does help.

I love the way the site has grown. A bunch of topics, more people to chat with, and projects galore. Its all good.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Don’t get too excited about doing everything, just look a the bits that interest you & the ones you can help others on.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python