Here are my personal opinions of the points raised by Stelmer:
Change General Chat to Off Topic Chat or Discussion.
If it makes things clearer then perhaps the title should be changed. I can see why "off-topic discussion" would be clearer than "general chat", because "general chat" may be misinterpreted as being general chat about street lighting the first time you look at it.
:arrow: Introduce a New Members Forum and do away with the one thread for new members. This will give a more personal touch to new members and will look miles better.I don't think we need either new members forums or new members threads. Just bring new members straight into mainstream UKASTLE, just monitoring them in case issues arise.
:arrow: Possibly introduce seperate discussion areas for hobby enthusiasts like me and professional enthusiasts like Phosco or Claire.What's the difference? Yes, I have around 20 lanterns in my collection, whilst Claire has a collection about 20 times as large. Does that mean that I am 20 times less of an enthusiast? I'd suggest not. We all collect street lighting as a hobby. The term "professional enthusiast" would technically suggest an enthusiast who is involved in collecting and restoring lanterns in order to make a living (to make money). Agreed, we do sell and swap items, but it's as a means of passing on duplicates or spreading hauls from depots. We don't collect street lighting to make money, so technically none of us are "professional enthusiasts" in that respect. The closest you get to a "professional enthusiast" is one who actually works in the street lighting industry too.
:arrow: Put the Archive at the very bottom of the forum.Agreed, that would tidy things up better.
Hide the collections thread from anyone not logged in. Currently it is visible but not accessible.
Agreed, something that is not accessible should not be visible.
Possibly expand the collections area further with things like a dedicated ''For Sale & Wanted forum with a sub heading ''Streetlighting Related Only'' and another one with ''For Sale & Wanted'', sub heading: ''None streetlight related''. Also ban replies in these areas as any enquiries will be by PM. The seller can delete the thread once sold or an admin can set it to auto delete topics after 30 days. PHB forums have bbcode for a ''FOR SALE'' or ''WANTED'' tag to the title too.
I fear going down the branch of creating a specific section or thread for buying or selling non-street lighting related items. Street lighting or non-street lighting related though, once there is the knowledge of an item that is wanted or for sale it would be better to continue messaging via personal messaging (PM) rather than in-thread for all to see.
Urbis Saturn Land, what is the difference between preservation and collection? Preservation is a form of collection and collection is a form of preservation. The two go hand in hand. If you don't preserve lanterns they end up in the scrap pile, and if you don't collect lanterns, they also end up in the scrap pile. Or are you referring to whether enthusiasts leave lanterns in original condition or clean them up or restore them or even make up new parts whilst fully restoring them? On the one hand, restoring lanterns could be seen as preservation, because they are being brought back to a good condition that should be good for many years. But on the other hand, leaving lanterns in their original condition is preservation, because you are preserving their as-acquired condition. It's also not all about mercury. Put it this way, in the 1950s there were people who thought that new street lighting installations were monstrosities and that street lighting from three or four decades earlier were much nicer. Nowadays, there are people who think that new street lighting installations are monstrosities, and that street lighting from three or four decades earlier are much nicer. There is a great degree of nostalgia and personal taste in the mix. The fact is, one day SON lanterns and SON lamps will die out, just like mercury is, and enthusiasts will hark back to the days when street lighting didn't all produce a boring white light. It will happen. At present, there is so much SON that we take it for granted. It won't last, and you could also argue that it is better to collect SON lanterns at a time when they are still modern and in good condition rather than waiting 30 years when they are more rare and there are few examples in decent condition. All street lighting is important, it's just that time is running out faster for certain street lighting lamps and lanterns than others.