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Who are you

I generally couldn't care less who you are......except that we share a passion for lathe turning.


......but



For those of you who want to know something more about me, I have added information in my profile.

otis of cologne
 
I think it's nice to at least list ones city and state. Also, what's wrong with using a real name instead of a user name?
 
Who I am? and what's the average age?

I have noticed at our local club meetings that the age of our group is about 60. I'm only 38, does this seem to be the norm? We have a guy in our club that has been turning for 80 years. Me, only 2.
 
Tom Lewis said:
I think it's nice to at least list ones city and state. Also, what's wrong with using a real name instead of a user name?
Click to expand...


Why?


Because the internet is full of criminals, thieves, identity stealers, etc., who would love to know your name and location, place of work, whatever. Just mention something like you bought your wife jewelry for anniversary, you own a Harley, what your salary is, what part of town you live in, how much your home is worth, what you drive, etc., on a public forum........and bingo!.....Bad guy knows everything he needs to know, or at least he's got what it takes to find out what he needs to know to steal your name, your car, your life, your whatever. He'll know who you are, where you are, what you have, when you'll be there, and when you won't. He'll know enough about you to be valuable in accessing online accounts, government registries, business computers that have your data stored.......and on, and on, and on........


What's wrong with anonymity?


Why would you need to know my location, or my real name?


Does it really matter?


It certainly doesn't to me.


.....but, I'm not a crook!


Ladies and gentlemen......For many of us, this isn't the world we grew up in anymore. Just as a few of us learned about something called "street smart" in an earlier time, there are a few of us who need to be reminded that in the current times, the same alertness we used to avoid trouble, and bad situations in the physical world, needs to be applied to the cyber world of today.


otis of cologne
 
Matt Rabe said:
I have noticed at our local club meetings that the age of our group is about 60. I'm only 38, does this seem to be the norm? We have a guy in our club that has been turning for 80 years. Me, only 2.
Click to expand...


Matt......

I think you are somewhat of a rarity. My guess is that of the woodturning hobbyist crowd, most will be around 60yrs old, and 90% of them will have been turning less than a couple of years......and 98% less than 5yrs. You keep it up, and someday you'll have far more experience than the average woodturner.


Also, about online forums.....it must be understood that this IS the internet. I am a member of other online forums as well.....for about a dozen years now. One thing I've concluded is there are plenty of impostors on the forums.......those know-it-alls, and pseudo-masters, that can come off well enough to convince 95% of the other forum members that they really are what they say they are, and try to convince everyone of it. It's unfortunate for those who get led on by the "internet Pied Pipers", because they will be led down a path of "theoretical" knowledge......rather than knowledge that's gained by experience. The only thing these imposters gain, is an undeserved sense of self-worth.......they might become "idols of the unknowing", but there will always be a few who will know exactly who, and what they are.....that's because "you can't fool all of the people, all of the time!"

One thing about it, Matt.......by the time you are 60yrs old, you will have enough experience under your belt to not let very many of the "Pied Piper Woodturners" pull the wool over your eyes.....and you will be thankful you stuck with this art craft over the years.


otis of cologne
 
When someone writes in about a method of drying wood, it is nice to know what part of the country or world they are in. Whether it is a humid or dry area. When someone mentions working with a type of wood I am not familiar with, It's nice to know where they are located. Also, It's nice for me to know if a woodturner is in my area or not. If I could find several woodturners in my area maybe we could start a AAW local club.
As far as using real names is concerned, I hope to attend next years AAW Symposium. If I know someones real name that uses the AAW forum, I can look for them and we won't be complete strangers when we meet.
I am also a member of a knife forum. Several years ago someone suggested we use real names. Many of us did. That allowed me to make several lasting friendships at the Blade Show in Atlanta, and the Guild show in Florida. Without knowing real names I would have had no idea who they were. Knowing real names allowed me to in person thank individuals for help they gave me on the forum.
The yearly AAW resource directory in addition to names, cities and states also gives addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. What's the difference between that and a real name, city and state on the AAW forum?
If one wishes to remain anonymous thats their privilege, but these are some of the reasons I use my real name.
 
Response to Odie


I think you are somewhat of a rarity. My guess is that of the woodturning hobbyist crowd, most will be around 60yrs old, and 90% of them will have been turning less than a couple of years......and 98% less than 5yrs. You keep it up, and someday you'll have far more experience than the average woodturner.

One thing about it, Matt.......by the time you are 60yrs old, you will have enough experience under your belt to not let very many of the "Pied Piper Woodturners" pull the wool over your eyes.....and you will be thankful you stuck with this art craft over the years.


otis of cologne


Just wanted to let you know Odie, that I'm already sharing my love of turning. I applied for and received an EOG grant, and have taken a mini lathe up to the local Junior and Senior Highs, and demonstrated to over 100 kids this past year. Plans are in the work for even more demos next year, plus mentoring to several other older turners.

Matt
 
odie said:
Why?


Because the internet is full of criminals, thieves, identity stealers, etc., who would love to know your name and location, place of work, whatever.
Click to expand...

Hi Odie

First of all, I respect your desire for anonymity completely. It is a personal choice we all make.

For myself, I have been online for 13 years now, going all the way back to Compuserve before there even were internet forums. I have been my real self on all the forums where I have participated. I sort of have to be given the nature of my business. We even have a huge picnic here year after year where we invite anyone who wants to come. We have had hundreds of people here in our home over the years, and at the picnics all at the same time! I have yet to lose anything as a result of that, with the exception of an inexpensive live center that I think went home with someone by mistake.

I have started out "anonymous" on some other boards, but my political activism got in the way, so I am known there too. 😉 But seeing as how they are 2nd Amendment related, and I am fairly direct in my beliefs, no one has shown up to contest them yet, or try any shenanigans. :cool2: The possibility is always there of course, and we are aware of that, so we are watchful and alert.

As a side note, I did have some guy steal my identity a number of years ago, but it was not traceable to any of my activity on the interweb. I got it back eventually, with no real problems. And things are a lot tighter today than they were back then, with the protections offered by various institutions.

Bill
 
Hey thanks, Bill.......

Yes, it is my choice, and I choose to remain anonymous. There are other reasons for my choice, other than those I've mentioned. We have something wonderful and of significance we can share between us, and I wish to concentrate on woodturning. Thanks for allowing me my point of view.....and wishes.

otis of cologne

============================================

Matt......

You are on your way to a great way of expressing your artistic interests, and I admire your desire to share that with the school kids. You will find, if you stick with it, that it only gets better with time. I predict you will find for yourself, a great fulfillment in life.

In a small way, I've been sharing a few turning ideas and tricks with the members of this forum, as well. Some of them can be found in the "tips and tricks" forum here under the heading of "odie's crazy ideas". I may choose to be a bit reclusive (....and, I have my reasons.), but at least I've found a way to relay a few of my ideas to other turners.

Although I've been turning for the better part of 25yrs now, I've been impressed with some of the other input to this forum......and, in a few ways I've modified my ways of doing a few things.......for the better! Thank you to the others here who've shared their knowledge......it's been appreciated more than you know.

otis of cologne
 
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I know one fellow that used his real name on a boating forum and got in the habit of posting messages from work. His boss happened to join the same forum and notice all the messages that came in during work hours.

He has a new job now. If you are not retired, your own boss or completely indispensable then it's something to think about.

Ed
 
Ed If your boss really suspects your on forums all day it's extremely easy for them to find out. We had that happen here. They just called in the computer guru and said, look on his computer and tell me what he's been doing all day. He was gone the next. That's why I try to restrict my time and responses, at least during the day.
I use my real name simply because when I go to other meetings and symposiums it's nice to see other people who I recognize from their name on the forums so I try to offer that courtesy. It's simply too hard for my simple mind to keep up with, Hi I'm Ken but you probably remember me by "penturner from Zimbabwe". It is purely up to people if they want to use pseudonyms on the web but I find it impossible to keep up with those type names.
Besides if I use my real name I can't BS as much, you'll figure me out.
 
udated my profile - strange - normally I post at least my location - not sure why I didnt here

Thanks for the heads up
 
Larry Marley said:
Hey Stu,
I just spent 45 minutes cruising your web site. You have a lot of interesting shop projects going on in Tokyo.

Larry
Click to expand...

me too! stu, that is one kick butt website you have there. i really enjoyed looking around... is there anything you don't have?? 😉
 
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