Dislike of the new forum...

Thanks MAXQ - I don't do facebook but it good to know he is alive and about. Sure miss his steady and knowledgeable hand here.

Thanks MAXQ.  Good to know he is still with us.  

Hey Chris, if I recall you're down in the Carolina's now.  Whatcha doing first weekend of April? BBQ Brethren are having a Carolina Bash at King's Mountain State Park. I have this one penciled in on my calendar. I'm headed to the Texas Bash in mid March, Russ asked about it so hopefully he might make the trek north. 

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/fo...wthread.php?t=266648

Cookshack is an excellent forum, it is very convenient to not have to search for a long forum and is very convenient to use, thanks!

It gets the job done but it is not the same. 

Alyssa posted:

Cookshack is an excellent forum, it is very convenient to not have to search for a long forum and is very convenient to use, thanks!

Actually to me it seems longer and harder to find things. Is it just me?

For us old timers it just doesn’t feel like family. Must be a millennial thing. 

Not many members posting recipes or pics of their latest achievements these days (I'm guilty too, but I hope to improve once the winter weather is done). Not many (sometimes secret) BBQ competition winners giving expert opinions on techniques anymore. Not many really excited CS newcomers asking technical questions about their new cookers anymore. Not many subject-matter experts (Mr. T for salmon, Chaplain Bill for pork and bacon, Tom for brisket (and cal of course, sorry cal), DLS for pastrami, PAGS for almost everything, etc). And not many ideas or questions that elicit "WOW, I wish I had thought of that!" responses anymore. Sarge, I agree with you. There used to be a feeling of solid BBQ professionalism here that both humbled and emboldened me. Those days, and I guess (most of) those people are gone. Pretty sad.

Agree with Old Sarge and Jay, it's not the same. 

The forum comments are what sold me on buying a CS. it seems CS provides the forum, but certainly doesn't drive viewers or posters here. This could be a huge marketing vehicle for them.  It could be a vibrant community that increased sales if they gave it some love and attention.  I agree, I used to check in daily.  Now its once every 2-4 weeks. I wouldn't have become the cook I am without all of you. We used to do BBQ exchanges twice per year. Now I don't think we would have enough of us regulars to make it work.  Perhaps its the new forum, perhaps everyone has migrated to FB. Not sure, but I will continue to hang out here, just not as often.

This is from an earlier posting of mine:

As you've pointed out, Sarge, CS has stated they had no choice but to change platform. And as we've seen, the change was chosen and handled very badly and some of CS's employees who were really trying to help fix the disaster have disappeared. I wonder about their fate. Now the changes seem cast in stone, and no one at CS seems to think is is a problem for them, just us, the members. I still want to use the Forum and I still want people interested in all aspects of BBQ to be here and contribute, but if the really strong, experienced, and even professional contributors are gone, where's the draw? I really miss so many of the former regular contributors for their expertise, their humor, and their welcoming feeling.

I still think that if the people that do not like the new forum would call Customer Service and tell them what you think about the new forum, they might start looking into it.  There are some nice new high end pellet grills out there that fit right into the price range of the PG 500 and 1000.  These things are not selling themselves.  I wonder how many smokers and grills got sold because of the old forum?

Customer service is fully aware of the dislike of the new format. I have contacted them and emailed the the young lady who was initially trying to make a go of it. For all I know, CS may be locked into a contract.  I just don't know. The old forum was hoopla as well. I just think it is the format, how it is organized that is very off-putting to many. And the dislike is compounded if you are a member of other forums whose format closely resembles the old CS forum. But times do change. And with change, comfort and familiarity sometimes disappears.  I consider many of us as fathers and mothers, we are in that age group (I'm a grand father); we appreciate the quality of Made in America.  But younger folks like quality at bargain prices. They are also of a different mind set, one that I don't understand.  The last election with all the new and young faces as well as new ideas has me stymied and to a degree, upset.  This new forum format, as well as the results of the last election,  is what it is.  Bob Dylan may have said it best:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

David

Well said OLDSARGE !

Sarge, I really appreciate the nostalgia. I spent a lot of time listening to that song in the 60's. I've been a great fan of Dylan since the summer of 1965 when I heard "Like a Rolling Stone" about 40 times a day on the jukebox at the beach stand I hung out at.

However, I always found that particular song whose lyrics you posted to be a bit condescending in that it assumed "their" (the young "hippies") way was better. I thought there wasn't enough convincing logic or "homework" done by the insistent crowd, even at my young age.

Similarly, I haven't seen much evidence that CS did their "homework" before choosing a new platform. Many, many choices out there. Yeah, I'm a bit "stymied" too. But I'm trying hard not to be the "Get off my lawn!!" old guy.

People and times change.  Sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Call it a changing of the guard.  Zippo Lighters are probably the exception.