The Demise of the Metal Detecting Forum?

[Jason in Enid]

Having seen sites evolve, grow and fade or not get far off the ground over the years, T-Net has been the site that often crackles with energy and activity in an exciting manner when others are near/or silent.
That is due to it's active members.

There was a time when TNET almost died off. Back in the early days a huge split came into the membership with one of them breaking away and starting his own forum. LOTS of people left with him. TNET was not being run well and it drove many people away. Enough kept coming around so it didn't die completely, but you could stop in once a week and read everything (thats how slow it had become). This was about the time I walked away from all the forums for a couple years. When I came back, TNET was doing very well again. Finally, a couple years ago the software was finally upgraded (amongst much complaining from many people). The old software was over 10 years old and couldn't be used on any modern servers, it was update or die.

It's been interesting watching it all these years. So many people come and go, the same personalities are always present.

 

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[releventchair]

We have hundreds of new member each month, many of which were long time visitors who decided to join and contribute...

We have 366 new members so far that registered in April...

Currently Active Users

There are currently 5667 users online. 274 members and 5393 guests

Most users ever online was 15,871, Oct 14, 2014 at 09:23 AM.

You bean counter you. You are correct though in some folks signing on .
I lurked/ visited a very long time.
Then it was a while after joining to become a charter member. May have been gifted a membership the first time.
While not all senior members were delighted by change, it as ever was and is inevitable.
Some hung in there as anchors understanding change was needed. Some liked the needed change. Today the site thrives.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

There was a time when TNET almost died off. Back in the early days a huge split came into the membership with one of them breaking away and starting his own forum. LOTS of people left with him. TNET was not being run well and it drove many people away. Enough kept coming around so it didn't die completely, but you could stop in once a week and read everything (thats how slow it had become). This was about the time I walked away from all the forums for a couple years. When I came back, TNET was doing very well again. Finally, a couple years ago the software was finally upgraded (amongst much complaining from many people). The old software was over 10 years old and couldn't be used on any modern servers, it was update or die.

It's been interesting watching it all these years. So many people come and go, the same personalities are always present.

Jason were you under different name then? I joined in 2006, your profile says you joined in 2009, at no time since I joined in 2006 was TN in danger other than failing hardware issues.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Jason were you under different name then? I joined in 2006, your profile says you joined in 2009, at no time since I joined in 2006 was TN in danger other than failing hardware issues.

HAHAHA I have had 3 or 4 different names here, and have been around since at least 98 or 99. I don't remember when I first joined, but I know I was a member before I left OKC to move to Enid in 2000. The problem was always that internet providers changed a lot, so I had a different email every couple years. I would join TNET, then take a break. When I came back I couldnt remember my exact user name or password and I didn't have the old email account so I couldn't retrieve my old account info.

 

[gollum]

ARRC,

"The Devil's Rejects" CLASSIC MOVIE!

Jason in Enid,

Same thing happened to me. I joined in 2002 or 2004. Didn't do a ton, but after a move (2006), I didn't have UN/PW, so I just signed up again.

I don't recall TNet ever being way down in usage. Its always seemed to have a pretty steady flow commentors/posters. I have always warned people to be careful about things that could get them in trouble, because A LOT of lurkers are law enforcement types and unusual federal folks. I know this from reading statistics of my website (no forums though). I have found IP's from NSA, US Army JFK SWC (John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center @ Ft Bragg, NC), FBI, and a bunch more. Now, could it just be that military/government folks interested in treasure hunting, and nothing better to do while on duty? ABSOLUTELY. Could also be something more menacing.

Don't believe me (and I know several that don't), ask the moderators about how often they see the same thing for this forum. HAHAHA I remember years ago that Marc told me the same thing was going on here.

Mike

 

[SeabeeRon]

Good discussion guys & gals!

I think some of it is a "generational" thing. Not sure of the age cut off, but under 45, are more comfortable with the Social Media thing. I am on FB and enjoy "reviewing" it, but don't post allot. I find detecting forums on FB hard to keep up with. Things change and are added so quickly! I have had the same issue with chat rooms. I like the order of most forum formats.

 

[fongu]

I'm always about 25 years behind on new technology. I don't do facebook myself, but do listen to gospel music on youtube while I do my email and visit some metal detecting forums. Haven't been able to detect much this year and only get to the library 1-3 times per week for a couple hours. Hope my At/Pro will be back from Garrett this week and I can see if I can fit into my wetsuit since I gained 21 lbs. Chest waders sprung more leaks a few weeks ago than the Washington Post and it's warm enough to just use the under armour and jeans and shirt to hit the water on the warmer days.

 

[Jason in Enid]

ARRC,

"The Devil's Rejects" CLASSIC MOVIE!

Jason in Enid,

Same thing happened to me. I joined in 2002 or 2004. Didn't do a ton, but after a move (2006), I didn't have UN/PW, so I just signed up again.

I don't recall TNet ever being way down in usage. Its always seemed to have a pretty steady flow commentors/posters.Mike

Upon researching the "other" forum, this was probably in the 99-2000 time frame

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Good discussion guys & gals!

I think some of it is a "generational" thing. Not sure of the age cut off, but under 45, are more comfortable with the Social Media thing. I am on FB and enjoy "reviewing" it, but don't post allot. I find detecting forums on FB hard to keep up with. Things change and are added so quickly! I have had the same issue with chat rooms. I like the order of most forum formats.

Im only on 1 MD FB page....

 

[coinman123]

HAHAHA I have had 3 or 4 different names here, and have been around since at least 98 or 99. I don't remember when I first joined, but I know I was a member before I left OKC to move to Enid in 2000. The problem was always that internet providers changed a lot, so I had a different email every couple years. I would join TNET, then take a break. When I came back I couldnt remember my exact user name or password and I didn't have the old email account so I couldn't retrieve my old account info.

It's happened to me on other places, I hate when that happens. I will remember my password (because I use the same password everywhere, it may not be a wise choice but it is less confusing than having a different password on every website) but I will never remember my username. Coinman123 is the only account I made for me except for the account I made one year ago for my friend.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

As long as members remember their usernames admins can issue new PW and merge the 2 accounts into older account.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I use the same password everywhere, it may not be a wise choice

Not a wise choice, no.

I've been popped, or pooped on, a couple times doing that. But my brain doesn't flexibly remember PW's, or anything else nowadays for that matter.

I carry a small note pad, for everything I think of which I need to do, plus those very complex passwords I use for each individual site. Remember, your password should be a mix of characters. It sucks learning the hard way, and it is almost inevitable. Even the last time back in October, I felt I had impenetrable security. The Yahoo hack back last year just kept resurfacing in my case. Used to be my "home" for e-mail, but my Hotmail account from '94 or '95 became my standard bearer. I've been on-line since '83 on Compuserve, used to "collect" viruses in case I ever needed them. I let myself get over confident over the years. I'm a piddle now versus the ocean of attacks.

There's nasty stuff out there, more than ever before.

Please do yourself a favor and carry a little pad, AND change all your passwords to unique individual ones.

It is only a matter of time...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

And, as far as the Chat forum, in the two years I've been here, I've never entered there.

 

[Oregon Viking]

Not a wise choice, no.

I've been popped, or pooped on, a couple times doing that. But my brain doesn't flexibly remember PW's, or anything else nowadays for that matter.

I carry a small note pad, for everything I think of which I need to do, plus those very complex passwords I use for each individual site. Remember, your password should be a mix of characters. It sucks learning the hard way, and it is almost inevitable. Even the last time back in October, I felt I had impenetrable security. The Yahoo hack back last year just kept resurfacing in my case. Used to be my "home" for e-mail, but my Hotmail account from '94 or '95 became my standard bearer. I've been on-line since '83 on Compuserve, used to "collect" viruses in case I ever needed them. I let myself get over confident over the years. I'm a piddle now versus the ocean of attacks.

There's nasty stuff out there, more than ever before.

Please do yourself a favor and carry a little pad, AND change all your passwords to unique individual ones.

It is only a matter of time...

If you follow best practices and use a strong, unique password for every website, you absolutely need a password manager. I also use a notepad for secondary backup.
The Best Password Managers for 2015 | PCMag.com

 

[Tnmountains]

I think sometimes you may have government employees in agencies who have time on their hands and actually enjoy the hobby and treasure hunting and so they log in some lurk some join. We have had many Archeologist watch and research and they learn things they did not know.Metal detecting is pretty new to Archeologist so they come here and learn from the pros for their sites.They watch North American artifacts and have asked for help on several occasions. There is a wealth of knowledge here and when you combine it all questions get answered.We are strict on and do not tolerate any illegal activity.(rules) But if they want to feel the pulse of the public on certain topics they of course would look here.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I store pws on Yahoo as a mail draft since i can access them from any computer or smartphone..It is also coded so someone needs to know the code to understand them.

 

[coinman123]

Not a wise choice, no.

I've been popped, or pooped on, a couple times doing that. But my brain doesn't flexibly remember PW's, or anything else nowadays for that matter.

I carry a small note pad, for everything I think of which I need to do, plus those very complex passwords I use for each individual site. Remember, your password should be a mix of characters. It sucks learning the hard way, and it is almost inevitable. Even the last time back in October, I felt I had impenetrable security. The Yahoo hack back last year just kept resurfacing in my case. Used to be my "home" for e-mail, but my Hotmail account from '94 or '95 became my standard bearer. I've been on-line since '83 on Compuserve, used to "collect" viruses in case I ever needed them. I let myself get over confident over the years. I'm a piddle now versus the ocean of attacks.

There's nasty stuff out there, more than ever before.

Please do yourself a favor and carry a little pad, AND change all your passwords to unique individual ones.

It is only a matter of time...

My password is like a random mix of numbers and letters with no meaning, just a code thing I memorized. I will change them on each site after hearing what you said because if someone knows one password right now they know all of mine, kind of scary...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

My password is like a random mix of numbers and letters with no meaning, just a code thing I memorized.

An example of the password types I use is this. From what I understand, it can't be spoofed. I no longer use this one, change every few weeks - should change more often. I've still got to be convinced on the password managers...

$$Prw(&^%]G

 

[AuSomeness]

An example of the password types I use is this. From what I understand, it can't be spoofed. I no longer use this one, change every few weeks - should change more often. I've still got to be convinced on the password managers...

$$Prw(&^%]G

I won't mention what I do for a living, but I would like to chime in on this. I think it would be best if folks not publically discuss their password strategies. Instead, let's refer to industry best practices, such as these. DeepseekerADS, I would remove that "sample" password from your previous post. The way things are today, you're more likely to have an account compromise from a software vulnerability than someone brute forcing your password. Of course, that's very dependant on what service we're talking about. Giving away information about your password strategies, including previous passwords will definitely not help you stay secure. I also recommend two-factor authentication for any web-based email account. This creates new challenges though, and requires planning for recovery if you lose your password.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

My secret password is "password", no one would ever think of that...LOL