ST's Future Discussion

[Mark Blue]

For the record, the last warning or infraction to be issued here was in August 2011. That's over three years ago! All this talk about relaxing the rules actually happened a long time ago FWIW. It's neither here nor there at this point, because some people are never going to forget about it no matter what we do or change in an effort to improve.

 

[Shane Adams]

At this point, I'm starting to think making a change will actually kill this place. After all, if it ever does happen, it'll make the one thread that's been carrying the load the past month obsolete. I don't consider any opinions on this subject to be "garbage" fwiw. If I'm remembering correctly, I believe Tim said he was going to wait until after the holidays the make a decision, so I'm content to wait this thing out until the first week of the new year. However, if nothing has been decided/resolved by that point, I doubt it ever will.

 

[Danny Neal]

I used to frequent ST 5-10 times a day back in it's "hey day." In fact for several years it was my home page for my internet browser. I served on the management team for a year or so and once my term was done I had stopped logging in altogether. Whether it was seeing too much behind the scenes or just getting overloaded with requests and issues I decided to step away and become more involved with other forms of social media. During my term on the management team there was a lot of change going on with the forum and some of the aforementioned individuals were unfortunately encouraged to seek other interactive opportunities. It's been 2.5 to 3 years since I checked ST regularly, maybe a post here and there. My previous experiences and the mindset "well if the owner don't care, why should I?" were to blame. May 31st marked my 10th year belonging to the forum so it really holds some value to me, even if I had cast it away. If the correct plan is implemented, I will definitely do my part in re-participating. As for my fellow exiled peers, I guess time will tell.

 

[Rob H]

I used to frequent ST 5-10 times a day back in it's "hey day." In fact for several years it was my home page for my internet browser. I served on the management team for a year or so and once my term was done I had stopped logging in altogether. Whether it was seeing too much behind the scenes or just getting overloaded with requests and issues I decided to step away and become more involved with other forms of social media. During my term on the management team there was a lot of change going on with the forum and some of the aforementioned individuals were unfortunately encouraged to seek other interactive opportunities. It's been 2.5 to 3 years since I checked ST regularly, maybe a post here and there. My previous experiences and the mindset "well if the owner don't care, why should I?" were to blame. May 31st marked my 10th year belonging to the forum so it really holds some value to me, even if I had cast it away. If the correct plan is implemented, I will definitely do my part in re-participating. As for my fellow exiled peers, I guess time will tell.

Danny, I respect your opinions and your contributions - hell you were one of the first chasers I first looked up to when I started 5-6 years ago. I'm kind of bummed that I've somehow never bumped into you on a chase and gotten to introduce myself. I'm just tired of this thread, it needs to s**t or get off the pot, to put it bluntly. Proxying Lanny's messages that are just echoing the same stuff we've heard for 300+ posts doesn't seem very constructive. The guy's seen a lot of storms, but he had the tendency to go beyond "brash" and "rude" at times.

There are more than a few posts in here that seem to be longing for the good ol' days. I guess I'd like to see people stop hoping for those days again, and instead try to figure out how to inspire and teach a new generation of chasers. I really don't think disrespect is part of that equation, but everyone deserves a second chance.

 

[Shane Adams]

There are more than a few posts in here that seem to be longing for the good ol' days. I guess I'd like to see people stop hoping for those days again, and instead try to figure out how to inspire and teach a new generation of chasers. I really don't think disrespect is part of that equation, but everyone deserves a second chance.

That's the problem. Chasing doesn't need to be taught anymore. Anyone with the ways and means can do it (and succeed) fairly easily & quickly now. Put simply, there's nothing left to talk about. The pining for the 'good ole days' (for me anyway) is nothing more than me missing that time when chasing was an art form, a craft that had to be learned, absorbed, assimilated into one's being. Now it's just whatever cell provider is best and the latest software...doesn't inspire much lively convo IMO.

The reason ST started to suck is because chasing started to suck. As the times changed, nobody cared to look past obvious flaws with either the forum itself or others, and instead chose to break off into cliques because, as aforementioned, learning wasn't necessary. There's nothing stimulating about tech talk amongst peers who will end up spending more time jerking each other off trying to persuade one another that Canon is better than Nikon, that this HRRR solution is better than that one, or that we old-timers are silly for longing for the type camaraderie that only having to know how to chase can forge.

Forget changing ownership. What ST needs is a change of membership.

 

[Danny Neal]

That's the problem. Chasing doesn't need to be taught anymore. Anyone with the ways and means can do it (and succeed) fairly easily & quickly now. Put simply, there's nothing left to talk about. The pining for the 'good ole days' (for me anyway) is nothing more than me missing that time when chasing was an art form, a craft that had to be learned, absorbed, assimilated into one's being. Now it's just whatever cell provider is best and the latest software...doesn't inspire much lively convo IMO.

The reason ST started to suck is because chasing started to suck. As the times changed, nobody cared to look past obvious flaws with either the forum itself or others, and instead chose to break off into cliques because, as aforementioned, learning wasn't necessary. There's nothing stimulating about tech talk amongst peers who will end up spending more time jerking each other off trying to persuade one another that Canon is better than Nikon, that this HRRR solution is better than that one, or that we old-timers are silly for longing for the type camaraderie that only having to know how to chase can forge.

Forget changing ownership. What ST needs is a change of membership.

So how do you propose the membership changes? I understand everywhere you're coming from. Personally I feel caught in the middle. I grew up the old school way, but have adapted to the technology present. I like to think that would set many of us apart from just a new age technology chaser. Instinctively many of us here can read a storm..... not only by using data but by actually looking at it and feeling the environment. I guess my question is can instincts be taught by others or by trial and error?

 

[Adam Lucio]

Shanes right, and something I eluded to in an earlier post. Chasing doesn't really need to be taught anymore. Advice from old timers and experienced chasers isnt really saught out anymore. Just questions and trouble shooting advice relating to technology. Todays breed of chaser has changed, there are fewer actual weather/science geeks and more photographers/artists just looking to take pretty pictures.

We have a photography section here, but its pretty dormant. Perhaps a way to have that section stand out and be a forefront of the site could boost interaction. A new facebook group dedicated for photographgy and videography of storms just formed about a month ago, and the memebrship is exploding. The sole purpose of the group is to post pictures and videos, thats it. Each member is allowed 1 photo and 1 video a day, and right now its the most active group Im in on fb, I see at least a dozen posts from it a day clogging up my feed (in a good way!)

 

[Rob H]

That's the problem. Chasing doesn't need to be taught anymore. Anyone with the ways and means can do it (and succeed) fairly easily & quickly now. Put simply, there's nothing left to talk about. The pining for the 'good ole days' (for me anyway) is nothing more than me missing that time when chasing was an art form, a craft that had to be learned, absorbed, assimilated into one's being. Now it's just whatever cell provider is best and the latest software...doesn't inspire much lively convo IMO.

The reason ST started to suck is because chasing started to suck. As the times changed, nobody cared to look past obvious flaws with either the forum itself or others, and instead chose to break off into cliques because, as aforementioned, learning wasn't necessary. There's nothing stimulating about tech talk amongst peers who will end up spending more time jerking each other off trying to persuade one another that Canon is better than Nikon, that this HRRR solution is better than that one, or that we old-timers are silly for longing for the type camaraderie that only having to know how to chase can forge.

Forget changing ownership. What ST needs is a change of membership.

This is probably the best post in the thread, we should really just lock it now. If we do nothing, the forum limps on like it's doing now. Catering to the veterans isn't going to work because if they wanted to post they'd already be doing it (except Lanny, since he's forbidden). Chasing maybe doesn't need to be taught to *us* but there's a lot of chasers out there that still haven't seen a legit tornado because they haven't figured it out. There's a lot of guys out there that think Parkersburg is the way to chase, calling back to your recent show, Shane. If there's no value in changing that, or an audience for it, or desire to teach/lead it, then maybe there's no need for a forum.

 

[James Gustina]

Todays breed of chaser has changed, there are fewer actual weather/science geeks and more photographers/artists just looking to take pretty pictures.

This hit the nail on the head with a sledgehammer. I'll never begrudge someone doing chasing for the photography but a lot of those who do just do not care about the meteorology of it at all. I don't want to sound pompous or anything, but its just how it is. Outside of the people on here, some select veterans are the only ones I know that are legitimately interested in meteorology pre/post chase. I don't count using a buzzword-ridden FB forecast as being interested in meteorology. Basically, this place is one of the last that has a somewhat stimulating forecast discussion, even if there aren't many posts in a thread and sadly it just has no pull to people anymore.

 

[James Gustina]

I do agree there. Photography is the new "thing" that everyone and their mother seems to be in on. There's 10 billion [Insert name] Photgraphy pages and a lot of HDR it until you can't see it was shot without a tripod storm photos. I am not particularly interested in photography as a hobby itself so I don't really keep up with it but it does seem like a lot of the good projects or people with actual skill and not the Rebel T3i their parents bought them are being drowned out by the noise.

 

[Brandon Lawson]

I haven't posted in Stormtrack for a while, but I still lurk from time to time. Whenever I think about a new person potentially taking over the site, the first person that comes to my mind is Steve Miller. He has a lot of experience and would be capable of bringing about a lot of much needed changes. Like others have said, it's rather pointless to discuss what Stormtrack used to be or to even worry about how to maintain what it is now. The site needs a major overhaul with better integration for mobile access as well as a connection to FB. Then we can worry about the size of the Stormtrack community. I'd like to see Stormtrack live on for discussion on upcoming chase days and the analysis of chase days after the fact (I love reading Jeff Snyder assessments lol). Also it wouldn't hurt to make winter weather and tropical weather have a larger role to the site as well, since the chase season doesn't last forever. The tropical and winter forums have some legs already.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Wow, I'm puzzled as to where all this negative talk about the future of the forum is suddenly coming from. As someone else already mentioned, Tim said he was going to make a decision on the ownership flip after the holidays. Seems some are jumping to conclusions here.

Furthermore, from my perspective, the chatroom has become much more lively recently. I've logged on and spent significant time there the last three nights, and there have been more than one or two people there each night. I've had lively discussions all three nights (granted, with the same one or two people). In fact, last night I was actually excited to log on and looked forward to the prospect of another animated discussion. We even talked about the science and art of chasing a little bit.

We can hash, rehash, and re-rehash the nostalgia all we want, but many have already mentioned that there's probably little chance of getting many "veterans" to "come back" to this forum. So what? Let them stay away and chat in their circles. They are not required to cater to the masses. If you guys want this forum to become something more, then make it something more! It doesn't require you to recruit new members. Become more active yourself! One way (which a handful of people have started to do): become more active in the chat.

Another way: post more on the forum.

 

[Rob H]

Not trying to be negative, just saying if people generally feel that they have nothing left to talk about in chasing at this point, and there is no desire to cultivate a new generation of chasers, there is no point to keeping the forum going. I personally think there's plenty to talk about and that it's worth providing a learning resource for new chasers - the alternative is that they learn from watching YouTube videos like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h84yTNXCXPQ

On a somewhat related topic, regardless of whether it lives here or on my own site, the chase game is coming along well. The guts of it are pretty much done, and all that's left is the user interface and the game logic. We're hoping to have a limited beta up and running by the new year.

 

[Dan Robinson]

It's worth noting that many of the veterans and scientists bailed from WX-CHASE and StormTrack very early on. StormTrack's heyday happened largely without them - as a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, most of the ST activity was with the newer generation of chasers that began in the late 90s and early 2000s.

There was plenty of chasing talk still going on on Facebook, or at least there was when I was still using it. I like the Reddit-style threading, possibly a more conversational forum structure (similar to FB) would be better? As long as it could still be categorized and searchable.

 

[mikedeason]

That's the problem. Chasing doesn't need to be taught anymore. Anyone with the ways and means can do it (and succeed) fairly easily & quickly now. Put simply, there's nothing left to talk about. The pining for the 'good ole days' (for me anyway) is nothing more than me missing that time when chasing was an art form, a craft that had to be learned, absorbed, assimilated into one's being. Now it's just whatever cell provider is best and the latest software...doesn't inspire much lively convo IMO.

^^^this.

There's nothing I could add to the conversation. I guess "chasing" passed me by almost a decade ago but I still feel an attachment to many of old friends and partners.