Well, now that you bring it up, the Hot Seat series died because of the reputation that Sways had at the time. I couldn’t find anymore Pro’s to join in. One master shaper said he wouldn’t touch it because so many “hacks” jumped into the Q/A answering (wrongly) before the guest could answer.
All the best, Greg
Just to jump back in here , I think all the moderators have done a good job over say , the last ten years , to be a moderator , your a dick if you don’t call out the assholes and your a dick if you do call out the assholes , do you think assholes is to strong ? Some folks have very thick skin and insults bounce right off or they simply ignore the insults , some folks have much thinner skin and simply say screw it and don’t come back . There have been times when over the last year or so Macdingo was just about the only one replying to questions on Sways he seemed to have made it a personal challenge , so what Sways needs is maybe more Macdingos : } . Maybe the Covid wiped out some of our regular contributors I know I lost good friends . Maybe there are far less folks building boards , that is my view , and those that still are don’t need Sways advice and will only jump in if they have something to add to something of specific interest to them , Lemat is a good example he jumps in on anything that is specific to his builds . Going back to the Covid I do think it affected Sways , not just by those who succumbed to the virus but for many other related reasons , I don’t have the answers but I think it would be a tragedy if Sways were lost it is by far the very best source of everything surfboard building in this world . If travel ever gets back to normal perhaps we could organise a Sways get together at the Del Mar show , there are lots of Sways I would like to meet .
Hi Swaylock; I am here since about 2001 or so and yes the reality of the World (and new generations) is other as mentioned by Wideawake and others and as you say may be plug out and called a day could be the best option right now.
You numbered those changes; I do not see what can change implementing its.
I don’t know how they do it, but sites like Beachgrit pop up on my news feed. Eyes on the site is what’s needed. Is there a way for Sways to generate that sort of exposure? It might also go back to my first post, of paying for content.
I know you made a real effort, Greg, to get industry pros involved. It was appreciated.
Hi Mike,
I’ll throw this idea out. Can you work out a way, for the original poster, on their thread, have a way to remove offensive comments?
I know I’d start posting build threads again, if I could keep the negativity away, and the stoke alive.
And also, larger photo file sizes. On my last build thread, I had a bunch of photos, that were too large. I’d take a photo with my phone, try to upload, and the file size was too big. And to compress the photo, made the resolution worthless. Finally, I just gave up.
A website is really content driven. Give us a way to to give it to you, in a positive, stoked way.
Is the Del Mar Show still alive?
Mostly its just that times have changed. There are a couple of good board building groups on Facebook and some excellent accounts on Instagram like Kazuma. Those have sucked the life out of stand alone website based forums like this one. Same thing has happened to a lot of the fishing forums that were hugely popular 10-20 years ago.
I think he’s referring to Facebook and Instagram.
On my Android phone, Google News. I get national news stories, local news stories, Dear Abby… and also stories from Beachgrit and Stab magazine.
Also, if you start cross-posting with sites like reddit.com/r/surfing.
A good post here can be shared over there.
Being able to select an emoticon from a list is a feature I would like to see on Sway’s.
I’ve been a member for six years or so, lurked here longer, have learned a lot and admitteldy not contributed anything of any substance but love reading the archives. I check the site every day. I just gave an old north shore shaper, what many would say, is a lot of money for a new board. I wish I could have given him more than he asked, he deserves it. Maybe sways is past its prime, much like that shaper, and I wish it produced more, maybe it cannot. But I could give a few bucks to keep the servers going just to keep what is here, here. It deserves it.
Hi everybody!
(please excuse my english, google traduction also). I’m from Corsica, France, and discovered Swaylocks a few years ago, when I wanted to make my own surfboard. There were a french forum (shaper.fr) that no longer exist, and all the content is gone now. I think swaylocks is the largest database of surfboard building on the web. I learned so much things here. From real professional shapers legend of the industry, like passionate backyard builders (and that’s the real power of swaylocks: members).
Of course, the interface and the aesthetic of the site is old school, it’s a bit messy and it’s realy easy to get lost. But all the informations are here.
I would be very sad if the site and its data were to disappear one day. Please keep it alive! If a subscription is necessary, so be it. Maybe a call for donations first?
Do not think that social networks, and instagram can replace a site like swaylocks. Most accounts are used for communication and promotion. On these medias appearance is more important than substance. The beauty of boards more important than functionality, and even the picture more important than reality. We need a real reliable knowledge base!
Well, “What features would you like to see on Swaylock’s?”:
a real, precise “search” function, especially concerning the date of the results displayed. Many results dating back more than 10 years, some tools, materials, techniques or prices have evolved since then.
I don’t realy understand the homepage. As I live far away, I’m not interested in classified ads, so I think they take up too much space, but that’s completely personal!
I don’t realy understant the Swaylopedia either. So much pictures are missing. Maybe with catégories families of terms (shape, tools, glassing, surfboards)? With a big cleaning!
a map with the location of members
Thank you for all this work, the involement of all who participate in it.
Yannick
Zdax surfboards (thanks to Swaylocks!)
I think ZDAX is spot on. The greatest value of Swaylocks may be its worth as a database/reference resource/knowledge repository. If for no other reason, it should be preserved for that.
It would be nice if Sways had easy posting technologies similar to FaceBook – ability to just copy and paste photos directly into a post; or pasting video links into a post that automatically give visual imagery and access to the external video of interest.
But don’t say you were not warned if you re-instate post down-voting (i.e. negative input indicators/emojis) – this forum will become a membership participation desert.
What does Swaylock’s need? Preservation.
I think there will always be amateurs interested in hand shaping. There will always be people stubbornly insisting on learning the things the hard way, people who rediscover old ideas and think they are new, people who will try build boards out of laminated construction foam and plan intricate resin tints for their first glass job. For as long as that remains true, there will be people who seek out the information here on Swaylock’s.
Is still possible for a garage hack to grow up and become a production board builder who ends up setting surfing on a new course? Not my place to say. My feeling lurking here is that there are people here who desperately want that to be true, and as such treat beginners the way they were maybe treated back when revolutions were happening more than once per decade: with a signature one-two punch of ridicule followed by constructive criticism.
I think that barrier to entry is inherent to both shaping and surfing. We are a people who, upon encountering a low wall, and embarrassing ourselves once trying to climb it, persisted in making it over to see what was on the other side.
Matt Warshaw said that the scarcity of good waves is essential to the experience of surfing. The word amateur shares a root with the word “love”, as in, someone who does it only because they love to do it.
Take this all with a grain of salt, I’m not a pro, I’m nobody. I’ve only shaped twelve boards, and only posted one or two of them. But every time I start a new project, Swaylock’s is the first place I look for guidance and inspiration.
Given the opportunity I would gladly donate towards the cause of preserving/archiving the information here.
Without the garage and hobby builders, this forum would die.
When I start shaping at 17, long time ago, we had some shaping information with photos in surfing magazines and there was one place, hard to find if you don’t know that sell specific materials. Some diy guys like me made their boards with eps and hot wires like we made our rc planes wings…
Then start internet revolution with forums where passionate pro shared their knowledge and diy builder shared their enthusiasm, some take it, made their business with it and go away, others stay keep fighting for their ideas in more or less good vibes… That’s life.
Nowadays there is at least 4 places where you can buy everything to make boards near me. 3 have internet buying facilities, surfboard building kit and shaping machines, they also can learn you how to lam… Lot of works, many new Instagram shapers that sold some boards and killed old school buisness… Boards quality fall down a lot as priced grown…I don’t look at Facebook groups, sometimes Instagram, a bit megalomaniac. Is it the future?
So if you can, keep swaylocks as it is or at least as an open source that could help guys to build the future.
