Shopsmith Forums

I have never been a fan of Facebook and have in fact spoken out with comments against Facebook. I just may be changing my tune, however, with regard to using Facebook for a limited number tasks.

I have joined the Shopsmith User's Group and while it is not yet polished...it is very informative. There is an interactive video streaming right now. They are responding to questions from the viewers in real time.

This is a closed group so not the whole world is viewing. Furthermore, you can drop out of the group as easily as you got in.

I say - BRAVO.

Keep up the good work - Brian and Stacy.

My only concern is "social media". Be stingy with the information that you give up to join. Nothing personal.

dusty wrote:I have never been a fan of Facebook and have in fact spoken out with comments against Facebook. I just may be changing my tune, however, with regard to using Facebook for a limited number tasks.

I have joined the Shopsmith User's Group and while it is not yet polished...it is very informative. There is an interactive video streaming right now. They are responding to questions from the viewers in real time.

This is a closed group so not the whole world is viewing. Furthermore, you can drop out of the group as easily as you got in.

I say - BRAVO.

Keep up the good work - Brian and Stacy.

My only concern is "social media". Be stingy with the information that you give up to join. Nothing personal.

Dusty,

I am glad to see that you have come around on this one. I am still not on FB myself, but I am seriously considering it after browsing the posts over there for Shopsmith. I think Shopsmith is going in the right direction here in trying to connect with their customers more on a platform like that. It is too bad they don't do it here. Unfortunately, when you login in to platforms like FB, they log and collect all kinds of data about you without you knowing it. Of course, the same can be said of anyone that logs into a Google browser anywhere as well, so there is no "safe" online connection where you are not logged and monetized in some form or fashion.

The real question going forward, I think, is how this forum interacts and coexists with the FB Shopsmith pages. Each offers something a bit different, so I hope that is apparent to the forum users here. I would hope this forum doesn't lose interest because Shopsmith exists on FB now.

I am now a FB user (Shopsmith Owner's Group) but that does not mean that I have changed any of my opinions regarding 'social media'. I am very skeptical and with withdraw immediately if I sense any sort of inappropriate activity (I determine what is appropriate).

My joining has been driven by curiosity. What is going on with Shopsmith? It seems as though Shopsmith might be moving toward this method of communications rather than expanding this Forum. Unfortunate but that is the way it is.

dusty wrote:I am now a FB user (Shopsmith Owner's Group) but that does not mean that I have changed any of my opinions regarding 'social media'. I am very skeptical and with withdraw immediately if I sense any sort of inappropriate activity (I determine what is appropriate).

My joining has been driven by curiosity. What is going on with Shopsmith? It seems as though Shopsmith might be moving toward this method of communications rather than expanding this Forum. Unfortunate but that is the way it is.

Thanks Dusty. I agree and think you have the right path of being skeptical of all social media (this site included). Everyone should be skeptical of social media and carefully consider how their information and identity are being treated online. It seems like the number of posts and activity have decreased on this forum lately. I was wondering if it is because of members gravitating more towards the FB posts....or if everyone is just busy in their shops.

RFGuy wrote:

dusty wrote:...or if everyone is just busy in their shops.

Busy, but not in the shop. Grass is in hyperdrive and wife wants the flower gardens and vegetable gardens cleaned up and tilled and mulch is piled 5 feet high waiting on me. I love spring but hate the prep. Luckily she is out of town tomorrow and I am going fishing.

I have, for years, maintained a spread sheet of daily user activities (how many users, how many posts and how many new threads). The numbers are down a little from past history but not by an alarming amount.

The names that I see on Shopsmith Users Group are for the most part not recognizable to me. That doesn't mean they are not forum members but I believe most are unique to FB. Example: You will not find dusty on FB.

Dusty,

Glad to see you are least trying out this new Shopsmith group. I look at Facebook and social media as similar to surfing the internet 30 years ago. Kind of scary at first but something that will mature into a very useful tool. The only time I have ever had credit card fraud was in 1989 when I used one to book a flight on what turned out to be an unsecured website run by American Airlines but that did not stop me from using the internet. I just got very security conscience in using it. FB is similar.

I've been on Facebook for many years without any problems. It's like going to the state fair, just decide to not be a sucker...
Now... That you have taken a step out into the light... I have somewhat recently joined a Shopsmith group on Facebook for Shopsmith sales (specifically a buying and selling group. I mostly just read it, but it is kind of a useful filler since we do not/should not sell stuff here. I have advised a few there to consider joining here, many are starving for SS knowledge. I lied and told them you guys know your stuff. You can find that group by searching (search box at the top left) for Shopsmith Sales.
One caveat on anything Facebook, on some groups you will find a slightly higher rate of trolls than on a site like this one. Most groups are pretty well operated. I belong to a bunch of antique tractor groups on Facebook. If anybody causes you problems it will probably be some family member...

sehast wrote:Dusty,

Glad to see you are least trying out this new Shopsmith group. I look at Facebook and social media as similar to surfing the internet 30 years ago. Kind of scary at first but something that will mature into a very useful tool. The only time I have ever had credit card fraud was in 1989 when I used one to book a flight on what turned out to be an unsecured website run by American Airlines but that did not stop me from using the internet. I just got very security conscience in using it. FB is similar.

I doubt AA had a booking site in 1989. We were still typing code into VIC20's and Commodore 64's back then. Do you mean 1999? The first dial up service to the internet for the home user was around 1991/2. That is when I got mine and have been with the same ISP (Xmission) since then with the same email address.

I have never had a problem using my credit cards on the internet. I have used my credit cards all over the world in the late 80's and early 90's. They were used IN foreign countries when I was on active duty with the USAF. Of course that was before the internet. I still use my credit cards on the internet all the time today with zero problems. Banks and sites that accept credit cards take security seriously. Social media sites don't take security seriously because they are selling your data anyhow so who cares.

The problem with FB et. al. is that they don't only gather all the information you supply upon registration but they glean everything from the posts you make. A closed group or not, FB is scanning EVERYTHING you post and storing pertinent information to them and then selling it to the highest bidder or using it to push stuff to you that they THINK you are interested in. NO THANK YOU!

At least with Firefox I can mitigate most of that.

They say their sites are secure but the data breech's say otherwise. If they didn't collect all this stuff on you and store it then a data breech would mean nothing to you.

End of rant, sorry (not really)!!!

dusty wrote:

jsburger wrote:

sehast wrote:Dusty,

Glad to see you are least trying out this new Shopsmith group. I look at Facebook and social media as similar to surfing the internet 30 years ago. Kind of scary at first but something that will mature into a very useful tool. The only time I have ever had credit card fraud was in 1989 when I used one to book a flight on what turned out to be an unsecured website run by American Airlines but that did not stop me from using the internet. I just got very security conscience in using it. FB is similar.

I doubt AA had a booking site in 1989. We were still typing code into VIC20's and Commodore 64's back then. Do you mean 1999? The first dial up service to the internet for the home user was around 1991/2. That is when I got mine and have been with the same ISP (Xmission) since then with the same email address.

I have never had a problem using my credit cards on the internet. I have used my credit cards all over the world in the late 80's and early 90's. They were used IN foreign countries when I was on active duty with the USAF. Of course that was before the internet. I still use my credit cards on the internet all the time today with zero problems. Banks and sites that accept credit cards take security seriously. Social media sites don't take security seriously because they are selling your data anyhow so who cares.

The problem with FB et. al. is that they don't only gather all the information you supply upon registration but they glean everything from the posts you make. A closed group or not, FB is scanning EVERYTHING you post and storing pertinent information to them and then selling it to the highest bidder or using it to push stuff to you that they THINK you are interested in. NO THANK YOU!

At least with Firefox I can mitigate most of that.

They say their sites are secure but the data breech's say otherwise. If they didn't collect all this stuff on you and store it then a data breech would mean nothing to you.

End of rant, sorry (not really)!!!

Yup. You are absolutely correct