Repraps becoming more mainstream?

Hi all, I've been seeing a lot of people coming on here lately who start asking questions that have been asked a gazillion times before already. Would it be an idea to create a 'Newbie Questions' subforum?

I notice most of these questions range from 'What is the cheapest' to 'Hi, I have no idea of machine, what I have to buy halp'

Now, there is a few groups here, you have the people with absolutely no idea of technology and are not interested in self-building, for those I suggest to buy a pre-build machine.
Then there is the group of people who don't know 'where' to get this and that, and don't really take time to self-discover.
And then there is the group that understands the basics and is just looking for parts.
And then you have the mediocre questions and other newbie relates things.

To me this indeed belong in some kind of General Forum, but it is also a bit polluting. I remember myself being a newbie and I didn't feel comfortable asking my questions in the General Forum.

If there is a Newbie subforum, we can have a newbie guide to the machines in a sticky, a buyers guide, etc. I think this might clear up a lot of the repeating questions I see in the forum. And the amount of questions is going up. Probably because a lot of people have heard about repraps because the media is overreacting on the whole '3D printed gun' thing.

Well, I saw this video about it:
[youtu.be]

It explains exactly what I think about that.

Is it a good idea to anticipate a bit on future userbase and create a Newbie Subforum?

- Marinus

I think something like FAQ, with limited number of questions, thus simpler to navigate, and higher information density of answers than in average forum, would be more useful. I don't say that there can't be both.

I myself started first searching in the wiki, but I notice a lot of 'new' people, or people that are interested, don't bother to search through the wiki and simply just start asking questions in here.

So, thats indeed what motivated me to write this post, a -good- and up-to-date FAQ might help, a dedicated subforum for newbies might even be better, I wonder how others think of this.





miso Wrote:
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> I think something like FAQ, with limited number of
> questions, thus simpler to navigate, and higher
> information density of answers than in average
> forum, would be more useful. I don't say that
> there can't be both.

Maybe link to FAQ on "start new topic" page of forums would help to attract more users to it.

There are dozens of FAQs on the wiki. Here is a small sample:

The incomplete reprap beginner's guide
RepRap project FAQ
QandA FAQ
KlickiBunti
Reprap 2012 Latest Stable Build

The IRC has this announcement at the top:

"Ask us anything, that's why we're here. (don't ask to ask, just ask) | Beginners see [goo.gl] and [goo.gl] | If you are wondering what printer to build, go for the Prusa i3 | RepRapMagazine is out! [goo.gl] | Help save 3D printing [eff.org] PLEASE WATCH IT"

On RepRap's main page this announcement is hidden down near the bottom:

"If you want to Build A RepRap click here for details of some of the more popular designs."

So, the information is out there. What the forum lacks (in my opinion) is an easily visible link to some of the beginner pages. Maybe the moderators could add a sticky to the top of the forum, with a title like "New users please read this before posting" or "New users please start here"? The only sticky up there now is a seven-month-old poll about filament usage that hasn't been updated in over a month...

VDX... Is this possible?

MattMoses, see my 2nd reply, this is exactly what I'm trying to tell.

I think people may be used more to searching through forums instead of wiki's.

So yeah, creating a subforum and calling it 'Newbie Subforum' or something will automagically work like a newbie-magnet and they can find what they need in there!

Perhaps an aside to the question of sub-forums, but regarding the actual topic, I'd love to know how 'mainstream' reprap actually is. Does anyone have numbers at all?

Maybe we can ask the admins to check is the # of unique visitors has gone up since the 3D-printed gun discussion was brutalized by the media

Good question!
Hence the title itself being a question: "Repraps becoming more mainstream?"



marcosscriven Wrote:
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> Perhaps an aside to the question of sub-forums,
> but regarding the actual topic, I'd love to know
> how 'mainstream' reprap actually is. Does anyone
> have numbers at all?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2013 03:24PM by Ohmarinus.

On the main page there is a pie chart from a 2012 study. (A link to the study is provided below the chart.) The study concluded that RepRap was the most widely-used of the low-cost 3D printers at that time.

In the 2011 RepRap Robotica article the authors estimated 4500 RepRap and RepStrap machines in existence in 2010.

How is interest in RepRap changing with time? Here are Google Trends results for "reprap"

As a relatively new reprap user, I would appreciate a beginer questions forum with some helpful stickys. I also have wondered why this subforum hasn't existed.

being a newbie myself.. I sort of thought that the GENERAL section is an area allocated to all sorts of STuff ... yes ?

If so it sorta provides newbies with a get out of jail free card.... we can dribble on forever about STUFF... BUT
If one were to get all super technical... perhaps one should simply hang in the super technokill section... no ? & prey like crazy that no newbie eva starts answering your questions in there...

I sorta feel "general" means "general" & it will always be that way... which sorta gives rise to loads of super interesting enthusiastic people floundering about asking all sorts of freaky questions that get asked zillion times over and over again.. humans are still human & so will always try to ask the big Q right from the beginning without eva taking time out to SEARCH... that's way to hard. till they've exhasuted all channels. then they do a search and hey presto wota ya know.

So I'm sorta guessing that since we are all on this little blue marble for a long time to come.... so we sorta gotta learn to accept the fact that nothings perfect around here either.. unless of course one could isolate themselves to a little tiny island where everything is just perfecto...

Unless of course you weren't referring to the General area at all.... then I'd have to eat all my words & say something like... see I'm a newbie & I have no idea. where am I ?

But hey , at the end o the Day ... I feel for ya man, I seriously do. A Newbie Sub forum would be a good idea.. but then who would answer the questions ?

Regarding guns and bullets & stuff... that video is great it truly puts things back into perspective. I believe all the hype surrounding 3d printed guns may result in 3D printers requiring licenses.. just like a TV or car license. That's what over hyping a story can eventually lead too ... Sad but true ...

ENJOY

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2013 04:53PM by Mickman.

Hey Mickman, I'm not against a General forum, but I would really like to see a better sticky system, stickies are important in all forums I have used before and I think this forum could really use a Newbie sub-forum with all kinds of stickied guides that contain compilations of solutions to problems, whether mechanical, electronically or design problems.

Bringing some kind of structure in the forum will help new users like yourself, to find what they need with more ease. Now the general forum is 'too general' (yes, that is possible, I know how it sounds).

The reason is because I think topics with titles like these:
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]
[forums.reprap.org]

Can all be collected and put into categories and this way you can collect the problems and solutions all in one topic that has one main start of topic that you can update to collect all info and link to other problems and solutions from the starting point.

I think having a subforum for this will be a good step in the right direction For all of us.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2013 05:11PM by Ohmarinus.

Hi Ohmarinus (and everyone else),

I think a new users sub-forum is a good idea. However, if it is not located right at the top of the forums list, I don't think many new users will actually be attracted to it, and thus it won't perform its function. Maybe the mods would put a newbie subforum above the "General" one but I doubt it...

A sticky post at the top of the General forum is probably a good compromise: it is easy for the mods and it is highly visible.

Here is what I suggest: Someone (how about you! ) should make an ordinary post to the General forum, that includes helpful links for new users, and also a polite request to the moderators to make the post sticky.

I would write it something like this:

---

Subject: New users please read before posting

Welcome to the RepRap forums!
Here are some links where new users can find answers to common questions. Please take a few minutes to look at these sources before posting your first question.

The incomplete reprap beginner's guide

If you want to Build a RepRap click here for details of some of the more popular designs.

Print Troubleshooting Pictorial Guide

Printing Material Suppliers

Help keep the forum running, Click here to Donate!

---

I know there are a lot of links left out. What else should be included? I guess newbies could also post questions in the thread, and the first post containing the links could be updated over time.

Mods: does this sound OK? If someone posted this would you make it sticky?

MattMoses, you have made a great contribution there, it is exactly what I have in mind.

I am currently working on my final assessments for this academic year, but after that I can write a post like that.

The -MOST- important thing about the sticky would be that it has to remain editable by the person who opens the post (me?) indefinitely, so that I can keep on updating the opening post.

There will be categories in the opening post with solutions to the most common problems such as setting your endstops correctly, reversing your stepper directions, loading your firmware, simple explanations how to set your stepper drivers, links to places where you can get parts, material suggestions, a special area in the post will be dedicated to 'salvaging' alternative parts and why and why not to use certain materials.

Do the admins even read this?

Ohmarinus Wrote:
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> Do the admins even read this?

... yes, at odd times

---

Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Quote

Do the admins even read this?

Where are admins involved in this issue? There is no thread which could be made sticky and everything else should be done by RepRappers interested in the results.

That said, there have been many many attempts to make a simple overview / beginner FAQ. Can't be done. If one would enforce it, the RepRap universe would implode.

---

Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

Gi Markus,

Traumflug Wrote:
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> That said, there have been many many attempts to
> make a simple overview / beginner FAQ. Can't be
> done. If one would enforce it, the RepRap universe would implode.

... this could be even more true, than you imagine - if you remember the fab@home project, started roughly around the same time as RepRap ... nearly perfect system, really good documentation, structured FAQ's and WiKi ... but they didn't get the "critical amount of interest" to attract enough new members, so the complete project nearly vanished from the common scope

In contrary RepRap - shaky mechanics, endless problems with the extruders and filament, poor documentations ... but it's "expoloding" in counts and interest values

---

Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]