To All the "Guests"

[MartinPens]

I am noticing as I check the threads tonight that there are 78 members and 222 guests. So hello to all the guests! I hope many of you will jump on board and become members. It's a ton of fun and people are very encouraging and accepting of all levels of work.

I once was a guest. I would check threads and ingest information and tips and really appreciated the enormous amount of help available on the forum. But i stayed invisible on the sidelines. Then, when I took the simple steps of becoming a member I realized how much more information there was to access and began to make some genuine contacts with other members.

Much has happened since that time and I enjoy the depth of skill on this forum and the occasional opportunity to show my craftsmanship and - even richer - to pass something along as I experiment. Right now I've taken the jump toward kitless/custom pens with all of the taps and dies ~ dizzying!! But I'm getting so much help and really enjoying the process of figuring it out.

I encourage every guest to take the leap and become a member! You DO have something to offer - even if, at first, you are just soaking it up. I hope to see our numbers grow! Jump on in - the water is great!

Martin

 

[wiset1]

And you never know,... one day they might be able to trade with a master artisan like you Martin :biggrin: I did, and the cigar illusion pen is the coolest one I own next to the one my son and I made together.

Join up and jump in

 

[LarryDNJR]

Welcome to all the guests. Don't be shy come and say hi!



LarryDNJR

 

[eliasbboy]

I concur wholeheartedly! I just recently made the jump from "guest" to "member" and I'm kicking myself in the proverbial ass for not doing it sooner.

I've had so many questions and concerns answered in the last month than I can possibly give proper thanks for.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hey Martin just a heads up alot of members sign in as guests because they won't sign on unless there is something they want to share. In other words they are just checking in.


What I would love to see is more of the advanced pen makers sharing their work and taking this site to new levels. If you are an advanced pen maker and are a guest than please do get involved and show us your work.

 

[alphageek]

Hey Martin just a heads up alot of members sign in as guests because they won't sign on unless there is something they want to share. In other words they are just checking in.

Really John? Do you do this? This really surprises me if this is the case for a couple of reasons.
1) If you don't sign in, you will see ads on the pages.
2) If you sign in, the software helps you track what you have seen vs not. You don't get the "New posts" link if you aren't signed in.
3) If you are an active member, but don't sign in you won't know if you have PMs.

I'm sure there is more reasons to sign in that I didn't think of. I guess I'm just a bit surprised - I almost never come here not signed in.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hey Martin just a heads up alot of members sign in as guests because they won't sign on unless there is something they want to share. In other words they are just checking in.

Really John? Do you do this? This really surprises me if this is the case for a couple of reasons.
1) If you don't sign in, you will see ads on the pages.
2) If you sign in, the software helps you track what you have seen vs not. You don't get the "New posts" link if you aren't signed in.
3) If you are an active member, but don't sign in you won't know if you have PMs.

I'm sure there is more reasons to sign in that I didn't think of. I guess I'm just a bit surprised - I almost never come here not signed in.

Don't believe me just ask the question. As far as PM's you get an email. As far as ads it may not bother some if they are coming to just look for a particular post. I am sure there are as many reasons not to sign in as to sign in. You have been around a long time. I am pretty sure this was discussed before. Go back in the archieves. It was, just recently some of the changes you mentioned were just implimented. By the way I do not do this.

 

[dbledsoe]

Ok, I was lurking as a "guest", but I had to log in to respond. Usually, I check in often to see new posts and new pictures because I am really interested. However, it seem like I have to re-login every time I want to say something or look at anything special, even when I click the "Stay connected" box. It's just too much trouble to stay logged in, so I just surf the public posts. If I get fired up enough to comment, I will log in, knowing if I see something the next time I look I will have to log in again.
Is there a login time limit I don't know about?

 

[edicehouse]

Ok, I was lurking as a "guest", but I had to log in to respond. Usually, I check in often to see new posts and new pictures because I am really interested. However, it seem like I have to re-login every time I want to say something or look at anything special, even when I click the "Stay connected" box. It's just too much trouble to stay logged in, so I just surf the public posts. If I get fired up enough to comment, I will log in, knowing if I see something the next time I look I will have to log in again.
Is there a login time limit I don't know about?

It has to do with your settings on your computer, delete cookies or something like that.

 

[MartinPens]

And you never know,... one day they might be able to trade with a master artisan like you Martin :biggrin: I did, and the cigar illusion pen is the coolest one I own next to the one my son and I made together.

Join up and jump in

And I love the pen I traded for! It's in my display case and occasionally in my hand as I write. I have collected/traded with several members and hope to do more of it!

This thread is here to encourage guests to jump in and is meant to be a positive thread. I'm sure some of the 222 "guests" we're actually guests, so the topic still applies. If you are a member and not signed in, that's a different topic. Why not sign in and start your own thread. It's fun!

Please feel free to leave comments of your experience with the IAP and encourage our guest "guests" to join in on the fun. (and the occasional spats)

I am currently working on trying to figure out kitless/custom pens, so all I have to show is broken threaded parts! ; )

Happy turning.

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

 

[IPD_Mr]

A lot of those numbers are also members that are in the invisible mode.

People do this for a number of reasons. I usually have a tab open with IAP, but I am not always at the computer. When I walk by I can hit refresh of the front page to see if anything looks interesting. When I use to be visible people would think I was ignoring them because I did not respond to PMs quickly. When I would actually be in the warehouse or in the shop running equipment.

 

[Gregf]

The "guests" can also be web crawlers and spambots looking for email addresses and hackers scanning sites to hack.
You'd be amazed how much sites get scanned.

 

[Gilrock]

I was just looking at that Invisible mode option wondering exactly what it does. I've noticed some people's profile will show their current activity and some don't. That is the only only option I can see that may affect that. I've often thought there's probably someone sitting there stalking people's movements because you could keep refreshing the page and watch every thread someone brings up if they don't have it turned off. I've also noticed some have the line showing Last Activity. There was one member who was really good at the kitless pens and I wondered why I hadn't seen a post since August and his profile doesn't show the Last Activity at all so I can't tell if they fell off the face of the earth or what.

I did find it interesting that just a few minutes ago it said 59 Members but there were only 53 names in the list. I guess 6 were in Invisible mode so I don't think setting that option puts them in the Guest list. What's weird also is I clicked on one person's name who had just responded in this thread and in his profile the icon was green and said he was online but his name was not in the list of current members online. So if that's what the invisible mode option does it seems strange to hide them from the list but still show a green icon.

 

[skiprat]

Gil, I'm one of those in invisible mode but that's cos I'm a ninja and have to be stealthy all the time.

I think the green / red icon in case was just a 'refreshing' difference. I have also seen where the various stats around the site forums vary but not for long. I guess each section of the site refreshes at different times.

I'll be logged on for the next hour or so at least, but I think my icon is grey?

I can understand most peoples need to use the Invisible mode, but I'd be quite happy if the feature didn't exist.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I to looked and awed at all the nice pens and read all the info. I could. The only honest reason for not joining was laziness. One day I was checking out the website and a window popped up asking me to join up for free. Not only did I not have to deal with money it walked me through the whole process. I don't know if that's still the case but if anyone runs across it I would suggest taking advantage of it.

 

[Dalecamino]

Gil, I went invisible awhile back, because I was being stalked by someone who wanted me to send him some pens for review. Every time I logged in, there was a PM waiting for me. I just haven't bothered to change back. But, I really think it helped to use that feature, as I didn't hear anymore from him.

As far as a time limit here, just click the "Remember me" box next to your user name. I've been here for hours at a time (slow reader) no problem.

 

[markgum]

Ok, I was lurking as a "guest", but I had to log in to respond. Usually, I check in often to see new posts and new pictures because I am really interested. However, it seem like I have to re-login every time I want to say something or look at anything special, even when I click the "Stay connected" box. It's just too much trouble to stay logged in, so I just surf the public posts. If I get fired up enough to comment, I will log in, knowing if I see something the next time I look I will have to log in again.
Is there a login time limit I don't know about?

I check the 'remember me' box next to the user name; and that seems to make it so I don't have to log-in every time I jump a page.

 

[ed4copies]

OMG---You joined for FREE!!!!!!!!!!! gasp!!!

I to looked and awed at all the nice pens and read all the info. I could. The only honest reason for not joining was laziness. One day I was checking out the website and a window popped up asking me to join up for free. Not only did I not have to deal with money it walked me through the whole process. I don't know if that's still the case but if anyone runs across it I would suggest taking advantage of it.

Bulletin to all who are "watching"!!!! We ALL joined for FREE!!!!!!!!

The IAP, much like Alcoholics Anonymous, has NO DUES!!!! Only here you are not even asked to contribute for the cost of coffee!!!!

Now, there IS a "donation button" at the top of the page. So, if something I say (or one of the other members) saves you from screwing up a $50 pen blank, you can say thanks by contributing a few bucks to the IAP!! Only you and Jeff (site owner) will know it, if you do or don't!!

So join!! Introduce yourself and become part of the community.

BYO coffee!!
Ed

 

[jeff]

Ok, I was lurking as a "guest", but I had to log in to respond. Usually, I check in often to see new posts and new pictures because I am really interested. However, it seem like I have to re-login every time I want to say something or look at anything special, even when I click the "Stay connected" box. It's just too much trouble to stay logged in, so I just surf the public posts. If I get fired up enough to comment, I will log in, knowing if I see something the next time I look I will have to log in again.
Is there a login time limit I don't know about?

I hear about this sort of problem from time to time. It's definitely an issue with your computer, either a cookie problem or a full cache, or some other oddball thing. I have a test account I use with IE, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome, and it stays logged on until I log it off. So persistent logon does work. Sorry you're having troubles. Unfortunately, you've probably already tried everything I'd suggest, such as a log off, clear cookies from penturners.org, then log back on.

 

[jeff]

Gil, I went invisible awhile back, because I was being stalked by someone who wanted me to send him some pens for review. Every time I logged in, there was a PM waiting for me. I just haven't bothered to change back. But, I really think it helped to use that feature, as I didn't hear anymore from him.

As far as a time limit here, just click the "Remember me" box next to your user name. I've been here for hours at a time (slow reader) no problem.

Chuck, did you know you can block PMs as well as ignore postings from any members? The PM block list is on your options page about halfway down.

 

[Dalecamino]

Gil, I went invisible awhile back, because I was being stalked by someone who wanted me to send him some pens for review. Every time I logged in, there was a PM waiting for me. I just haven't bothered to change back. But, I really think it helped to use that feature, as I didn't hear anymore from him.

As far as a time limit here, just click the "Remember me" box next to your user name. I've been here for hours at a time (slow reader) no problem.

Chuck, did you know you can block PMs as well as ignore postings from any members? The PM block list is on your options page about halfway down.

Thanks Jeff. Good to know for the future. This forum has many features I have yet to learn about.

 

[CharlesJohnson]

By all means,if you are visiting-especially for a while,jump in.Cann't get more afordable,--or easy.Dosn't matter if you aren't ready to contribute questions, answers, or other comments.I'm an aufull (dosn't look right.didn't get closs enough for the dictionary.How about that for timing)speller.But quess what?It is getting a little better with the practice I get now here and other sites.My spelling dosn't even have to embarass me.Though I do work my dictionary real hard because I "like" to be right.But only I care.And that is only about my own.When you are all ready registered you can just speak up.No"I'm not going to now because I donn't want to bother with registering now." delay in your participation.Happened to me guite a bit.And then 'we' miss out on your company.As you can see,I am very pleased and happy to have been welcomed into this family.And I'm sure you will too.In some ways "this" family is easyer than a regular family."Do" register!