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LMichaels

LMichaels

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Going more to new members but others as well. When we look at your location info, and see something totally generic i.e. Illinois. It's kinda useless. Unless you live in Rhode Island which isn't much bigger than my home county in IL it's pretty useless especially if you're looking for regional advice or help. At least put an "area". I.E., county city, regional area.
Maybe Chris won't want this post in this thread area but, it's where I see more of the new members crop up
 
I would suggest that having a city or town field as mandatory would be fine. Also a first name as it took a while to figure out LMichaels;-). It would also aid in getting and getting rid of parts if we knew who was close by.
 
Good points. At least a region within a state, such as "Central" or SW or something similar.
I know some people are hard pressed to give up any more personal info than they have to and that is fine. But it does help with tailoring advice and possibly connecting for parts swaps or sales.

For instance, if someone comes in looking for a green lid for a Silver B, I won't bother responding if they are 300 miles away, but if they are within an afternoon's drive, I might reach out.
 
I also enjoy it when new members post their city/town. I like to click on it on their avatar and see all the beautiful pictures from their home town. 😉

But, I do understand not wanting to post too much information on-line. Oh the good ol' days when there was such a thing
as PRIVACY!!!!!! :cry:
 
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Joe Anshien said:
I would suggest that having a city or town field as mandatory would be fine. Also a first name as it took a while to figure out LMichaels;-). It would also aid in getting and getting rid of parts if we knew who was close by.
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Well, I thought about using my URL but I wasn't sure Chris would like me using his site for free advertising of it. As for using real names, it can be risky. There are web bots that scan looking for that kind of thing and back when I tried that on a couple forums I ran into some nastiness from those "devices". So ever since I've not done it. On this type of site though where much interaction takes place re maybe getting "help" from another member and the like I think having at the least a "region" within reason is very helpful. After all, if I did not put it out there, I would not have that nice Q320 and Bruce would not have the Q220 (we swapped :D), Jon would not have that Summit and it quite honestly would have been in the scrap heap by now. We all seem to be able to help each other out from time to time so I thought it would be helpful
 
I think this is a point well taken. Privacy is a legitimate concern and I've used "Central NC" for years on all sites, but that's a truly big area. With your comment Larry (a name which I know from reading), I think I'll go back to "South of Chapel Hill" which I used on an old favorite, now defunct grilling forum. I like the personalness of it and it's far from pinpoint.

Anything we put anywhere on the internet is a risk. Assessing and trying to manage are all we can do. And I can guarantee all of us that much more than we want or ever would guess is already available. As @Joan indicated, privacy isn't an option for almost everyone.
 
Larry, I totally agree with you. You don't have to pinpoint your location, but something a little more descriptive than "Illinois" which I am guilty of as well. Thanks for pointing this out, I updated mine to better reflect what part of the state I reside in.
 
Joan said:
Hi Rich, I think the problem here is, Chris has made this site so darn warm and friendly, that most of us feel like we are talking to family members and we let our guard down. OK, so maybe that is just me. :love: Here is my bank acco..........HAHA
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Joan, everybody is so nice here. I would like to make sure nobody has hacked your Amazon account, so if if you could send me your account info to verify....😀
 
As one of the targeted new members, I respectfully disagree. I value my privacy. I decide which personal information I wish to disclose on this website or any other website. My generic location "California" was deliberately chosen to be vague and provide limited information. If "California" is insufficient, then so sorry. In truth, I have disclosed more personal information here than anywhere else on the internet, ever. Anyone who knows me would be shocked to see what I revealed here. I must be getting sloppy as I get old. Thank you for the reminder.

This thread reflects another recent discussion about new members that started with this post:
https://tvwbb.com/threads/change-to-time-limit-on-editing-deleting-own-posts.91472/post-1042621

Between that discussion and this thread about new members, the subtext from the old timers is plain and clear. I have gotten along for many years without this website, and this website has gotten along just fine for many years without me. Some sites encourage new members while others browbeat them. Sorry to have been an interloper.
 
Emory, this was just a simple discussion. There is no immenent requirement to add more information to your profile than you have already provided. I hope you will hang around until you feel uncomfortable with the information that you are required to provide.
 
I can’t fathom a situation where a state is insufficient. Even a state as large as Texas, the perceived “need” for a more specific location goes right over my head.

Please enlighten.
 
TimA said:
I can’t fathom a situation where a state is insufficient. Even a state as large as Texas, the perceived “need” for a more specific location goes right over my head.

Please enlighten.
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I think I stated it pretty clearly. Also did not put it out there to put people's panties in a bunch. Just a friendly suggestion is all
 
If one reads through the thread, there are posts advocating for adding more specific location details and for not adding them. There is no requirement to do either, it is just a suggestion at this point. One post advocated for making it mandatory, but I do not think Chris (Forum Owner) has any inclination to do so.

So, all I can say is lets keep this a civil discussion and not start deleting accounts over something that at this point is just water cooler talk. If you want to put USA or North Pole in for a location, go for it.
 
Joe, as they say "If you see/hear something, say something". Don't be surprised if a couple of guys in black suits show up at your door and confiscate your spatulas, charcoal and LP tanks.
 
LMichaels said:
I think I stated it pretty clearly. Also did not put it out there to put people's panties in a bunch. Just a friendly suggestion is all
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Well no Larry, you didn’t. You mentioned regional help, what kind of regional help can be given that’s so crucial to a more specific area than, say, California? I’ve never been to California but understand Northern California is different from southern climate wise, but neither should be overly crucial to operation of a grill. Or even selling or trading with the great big brown boxes on wheels!

No panties in a bunch here guy.

I come from automotive forums primarily, specifically diesel pickups where a truck behaves far differently in Florida in January than one in North Dakota in January, or a carbureted vehicle at sea level is far different than one at 7000ft.

I’ll assume you’re referring to more populated areas than I’m in, where the likelihood of another member being in proximity is higher, and leave it at that. Rural folks think differently, we talk how many hours to get to the next town over or how many hours on the road. Not minutes and rush hour isn’t a thing.
 
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