Thoughts for a NEW Creating Tiki Forum Structure....

This is not a post that has anything to do with me personally or anything I have made or concocted. It is a post in a forum it needs to be brought to attention in and can be moved to bilge or wherever if deemed necessary. For what my opinion is worth....here goes.

After reading this forum for a couple of years now, and seeing the direction it has taken, I was just wondering if I can find anybody that would agree with me on something here......

"Personally", I think there should be sub-topics in the "creating tiki" forum. Like one for drawings and paintings, one for ceramics and mug making, one for wood carvings, one for tiki bar building, one for landscape designs etc, etc, and so on.........Hanford can figure all that out if deemed agreeable.

It just seems like it would be easier to narrow down ones interest to one topic rather than have it all mixed together like it is now. Kinda has become one big cluster @#*! if you ask me.

I liked it the way it was in the good ole days when it was just the "carving post" for carving tikis. I knew I could go there and find everything about tiki carving and that was that. Nowadays, it's just a forum for whatever tiki art your into.

Why not say under "Creating Tiki" forum:

You have Sub-topics like: Tiki Carving, Painting, Ceramics, Bars and so on.....

Then have individual carvers/painters/etc. pages under those........

Hell, the way it is now if you don't post anything for a while your personal page get's pushed soooo far down nobody can find it.

For instance I was looking for Gecko's page the other day and had to scroll through page after page to even find it.

Nothing against other forms of tiki art. I just think this would make things easier and more beneficial to all members, old and new, to find what they are looking for without having to weed and read through stuff your not really interested in. Why not be able to go straight to your highest interest/priority?

"Segregation" is the word I'm looking for I guess, but only in an understanding and diplomatic way.....

Any comments on this, or to post to just tell me to "shut the hell up" are more than welcome. No responses out of me, so do not look for any. I started this, and I can let it end right here too.

Just throwing a bone to see if we could form some kind of a majority involving all types of artisans involved with this "Creating Tiki" forum. Who knows, maybe someone else has a better idea. I was always told that two heads were better than one........

G.

I agree G. Sub category's for "Creating Tiki" forum is a great idea.

Thanks J.T.,

That's one for the money.............

That is basically what i was wanting to start with my post "Carving Post 2005", but the catagories would also help. Great idea.

That is basically what i was wanting to start with my post "Carving Post 2005", but the catagories would also help. Great idea.

I believe that the Creating tiki forum Has gotten a bit big for its britches and could easily be divided into different catagories. TikiG is right that if a person doesn't post for a day or two then he gets buried under tons of great art.
Don't forget, you can add comments like these in the "U-moderate" area below left.

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2005-06-20 12:21 ]

I think that this is a great idea.
I have seen postings and went to try and find them later and with no luck. Thanks Tiki G for the suggestion.

Yep - I agree - a top idea me thinks.

double post...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2005-06-21 22:03 ]

Tiki G wrote

It just seems like it would be easier to narrow down ones interest to one topic rather than have it all mixed together like it is now. Kinda has become one big cluster @#*! if you ask me.

Ya see, that is why I can't be a Grand Member. "Cluster Fuck!!!" That's what he meant to say...

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Agreed... if this can be done.

Ben is right... when this started as a "Carving" section it was young... it has now grown into so many forms of tiki art and things do get lost...

A search can be made... but would be easier if "Creating" was divided into types of "Creating"

A good idea G.

Not a bad idea, Gary. Something to ponder... I'm all for organization. Is there any downside to this? I don't see one. I wonder what Hanford thinks of the idea?

What would be done with the existing posts? Would it be hard to classify some of the art? Would it be hard to implement? It would suck to be put in the "miscellaneous tiki" category! What if someone made a tiki out of a toilet paper roll? Where would that go? (Yes, I think it's been done) :)

I personally think it's a great idea. But I'd also be interested to hear some thoughts from the painters, ceramic artists, mixed media artists, etc...

Don't make "new guy" here walk the plank, but I think I smell a mutiny!!! I happen to enjoy the variety of creativity in the single forum and don't mind digging for the hidden treasures...

[draws blade]

I guess I am a "mixed media artist". Pastels and a few sketches is what i do. I wouldn't mind if I had a sketch topic and a seperate Pastel topic to be honest.

A possible downside is that if one was to stick to a particular area all the time eg. carving, they may miss other creative stuff that would occasionally catch your eye. Kinda like window shopping. Big deal I reckon.

AA you mentioned what non carvers thought - well it works the other way too. I wanted to look at what people had done in tiki paintings, and I had to go through all of these carving topics to get there - theres too many of yas! And your all so productive and talented! It makes me sick :)

Also have to make sure it is easy to navigate. The rest of the site is a piece of piss to get around so I dont think this would be any different.

For instance I was looking for Gecko's page the other day and had to scroll through page after page to even find it.

What about under a persons profile, as well as a "view posts by this user" having next to it "view topics started by this user"? Would make looking for an individuals topic quicker, particularly for someone like Benzart who has a trillion billion posts - imagine going through all of this posts to find a topic he created years ago!

On 2005-06-20 22:29, Capt'n Skully wrote:
Don't make "new guy" here walk the plank, but I think I smell a mutiny!!! I happen to enjoy the variety of creativity in the single forum and don't mind digging for the hidden treasures...

Could we somehow have it so we can view all of the "creating" topics like scully (and I too)like to, as well as having the option to look within a particular method? Does this make sense? Is it too complictaed?

Hanford is a talented guy, surely could pull this off.

I thought this was gonna be the first
unanimous thread in a looooong time till
the Captain piped up. I also like the idea
of separate categories...mugs...carvings...
paintings..but I am sure most of us will finally whiz through every post anyway.

Hehe... I brought this idea up with Hanford myself just a few weeks ago... been meaning to post it in the Grand Members area, but hadn't gotten to it... I'll bend his ear again.

Coolio....Humuhumu. Bend then.

Glad to see all the different ideas and suggestions from everyone who piped up over night, even "skully's"!

[G. takes blade away from skully upon draw and holds it to skully's own throat very quickly] "just kiddin'" Skully:)

Thanks to everyone who has voiced on this thus far, and for seeing my point, or at least tried to decifer it.

I think Hanford could come up with something reasonable for everyone if he thought this was agreeably needed.....

G.

Totally agree....sometimes I feel like; "geeez where is a particular thread amidst all of this excitement" Sometimes I just want an idea surrounding a carving style or a building style or a landscape idea. Since I'm newer, I am just accumulating right now in all of the venues spoken of here. It would make it more organized.

Humbly submitted,

McTiki

On 2005-06-20 22:35, hewey wrote:

What about under a persons profile, as well as a "view posts by this user" having next to it "view topics started by this user"? Would make looking for an individuals topic quicker, particularly for someone like Benzart who has a trillion billion posts - imagine going through all of this posts to find a topic he created years ago!

Now THAT is a brilliant idea, Hewey!

What do you think, Hanford?

I'm definately all for it. But, I bet Hanfords' goin "awww crap!" That's alotta work! We need to hear from him if it's possible.

Heya tiki G - I'm all for organization and separating the peas from the mashed potatos. I think an initial breakdown of different artistic types would be benificial, but if we got too specific we'd end up with many forum topics that never get read. Separating carving, print type art and maybe landscaping/home bar building would be cool for organizational purposes, but I know that I would end up not frequenting all of them as often as I just plug into "creating tiki". But that's really a moot point

If the committee agrees to separating the art forms into their own categories, I at least say keep the categories as vague as possible.

We have artists on this board who do many different styles of art (like fink and raffer to just name a few) - would they have to have separate threads in different forums? That could get complicated

just my 2 chisels worth...

Thanks for the comments everyone, I think we'll do this.

Please continue your comments here on the categories/structure. There are some limitations to what we can do, but I'll try to accomodate everyone's ideas.

Thanks Hanford, I think it will eventualy make things easier for some people. That's why this is the Only site worth a darn.
What do we need to know, the different catagories desired?
Tiki Graphics, Tiki rooms and bars, Tiki Sculpture and signs, Tiki Ceramics, Tiki furniture and lamps, Tiki clothing and jewelry.
What did I leave out or how could it be different??

I have been thinking about this and after looking at some other artists based forums heres what i came up with( keep in mind these are just ideas of mine and may not be right)

Carvers Forum : carvings and anything carving related or sculpted

Tiki paintings and sketches : uh, anything paint..or drawn or computer designed

Tutorials and tips: Got some to give? Share the wealth your knowledge!

Other art: Not sure what it is or not quite tiki.

Tiki at Home : for all landscaping and home building projects or ideas

I hope some of what I have come up with may work or may lead to better ideas .

The Creating forum used to be my favorite and first stop on TC. But it is so overwhelming now that I sometimes skip it altogether.

When someone adds a new project to their existing thread (which is already multiple pages in length) the thread name is often changed, and then you have to look for "Updated 6.22.05, page 17" within the title.

Quite simply, the Thread names are far to chunky for a quick, easy glance. My small brain could really benefit from a new format.

-Z

But if you nest folders within other folders, won't the complexity of that confuse the Mac users?
:wink:
/Just kidding....sort of....

Here's my thoughts on categories.

Subfolders under "Creating Tiki" would be best.

Like Polynesiac said, best to keep the categories as general as possible. The more you try to nail it down, the more categories you'll have. The more categories, the harder to navigate, and some will become less visited than others. And there will always be some art that defies categorization no matter what you do.

Great ideas, Ben and Rodeo. Working off your lists, here's my ideas.

1. How about "Tiki Images". This seems more general than "Tiki Graphics", or "Tiki Paintings & Sketches", and would cover photography as well.

2. "Tiki Sculpture" sounds good, Ben. not sure about signs. They fit in with carving, sort of. But I think Sculture would cover carving, concrete style tiki like Seamus', and even some ceramics if the artist wanted to put them there. I think people would put their posts wherever they thought they would fit best, so it would be sort of self-regulating.

3. I personally don't think there should be a dedicated area for "Tutorials & Tips". These things come in all different types of posts if the artist feels so inclined.

4. Miscellaneous. I hate having a category like that, but there will always be art that doesn't fit anywhere else. How about "Tiki Mixed Media" or "Undefinable Tiki Art". None of these are good, I don't know...

5. Other Art. I don't think we need a category for that in Creating Tiki. If it's not tiki, someone could post it in the forum of their choice if they want. I know Sam and some others have posted non-tiki stuff that was interesting and beautiful work, but it doesn't need its own separate category.

6. How about "Tiki Spaces and Places"? This would cover Homes, Bars, Landscaping, etc. Basically any type of construction or decorating project.

7. "Tiki Ceramics" and "Tiki Jewelry" both sound good to me, Ben. Maybe the signs could go under "Tiki Furniture, Signs and Lamps"?. And maybe "Tiki Clothing & Textiles" to be more general than "Tiki Clothing"?

See, that's eight categories there and I'm not sure if it covers everything. What do the rest of you artists think? I'm sure the more input the better here to help Hanford out. Thank you Hanford for accomodating all of us fickle artists. And mahalo to Gary for the excellent sugestion. Its time has come.

A-A

Creating Tiki (View all threads)

• Carvings
• Painting, Illustrations and Graphics
• Casting and Molding
• Home Bars, Rooms, Yards and Decor
• Clothing and Jewelry
• Newest Posts (across just Creating Tiki)
• All Things Benzart :)

Food and Drink could be assimilated under Creating Tiki with this structure, too... ?

Speaking of mac users, who's up to making a Tiki Central dashboard widget??

-View all threads
-Tiki Carving
-Tiki Two Dimensional
-Casting & Molding
-Tiki Spaces & Places
-Clothing & Jewelry

View All Creating Tiki
Tiki 3-D
Tiki 2-D
Misc. Tiki Art
Tiki Spaces & Places

I read this a few days ago and agreed wholeheartedly but I didn't post. After not being here for a few days and coming back, I realize that this is even more important to me.

I would love a "carving only" area. I would still visit the other areas but sometimes I need a "quick fix" of new carvings and it would be nice to find it fast.

My only comment is this. I have gotten some great insperation for many diffrent media here, If it is all seprate we may miss something really great. Maybe 2 or 3 areas. Next thing there will be a Carving Klan, Drawing krew,,, wars,, Blood shed.. Death to first borns..........

I love the idea of more organization, but I have a concern. I'm in the minority here, but I worry that we would miss out on each other's art and the chance for further inspiration if we're separated. I get my art fix on TC now, and I have been so impressed with the art education I've received from artists of other media. I don't think if I had just started posting to other ceramicists my knowledge of art of all forms would have grown as much as it has.

Furthermore, I often use other's art to jump-start my own. For example, Rodeo has been doing a carving based on Sam Gambino's work. Where would that fit in, and if we were segragated, would that have been encouraged?

Don't get me wrong. There's a majority of carvers out there, and then the rest of us. Will it become a clique of carvers, because that would be horrible. I love the camaradie of the group as it is now. It's a feeling of "we're all in this together, so let's just support each other." If we were broken down, would the minorities such as myself hear from the greats such as Benzart and Raffertiki?

I'm always playing devil's advocate, but it's just something I see and I'd be interested to know if that could be addressed.

All of that said, I'm a huge fan of Tiki Central and the excellent way that it is run. Whatever decisions are made about this forum are alright with me. My hat's always off to Hanford and the amazing job he does with this site.

For myself, I go thru the "creating" forum to see All the art no matter what the media. I'm sure when it gets divided up and segregated that I will be visiting All the creating forums. It will make it easier for me to follow Sam's work orHeweys work or Beachin's work or even Thor's paintings. I will spen less time scrolling up and down to find a specific piese I want to follow. I will probably see more art because i will be looking on 4 or 7 or who knows how many pages there will be but I will see them all. Now, if it isn't there by the bottom of the page I don't go into the archives so I'd miss it.
I will see more art faster, WELL MAYBE NOT AT FIRST BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE AWHILE TO CATCH ON. It may take awhile but it will be quicker once we get used to IT

Captain Skully, Surfintiki, and Slacks Ferret all said it. Let's have a "View All Creating Tiki" and subfolders too. Think of it like specific art filters IF we want them. We could have the best of both worlds.

On 2005-06-24 21:27, Aaron's Akua wrote:
Captain Skully, Surfintiki, and Slacks Ferret all said it. Let's have a "View All Creating Tiki" and subfolders too. Think of it like specific art filters IF we want them. We could have the best of both worlds.

I agree Aaron. (I even said it before, just not as succinctly :))

On 2005-06-20 22:41, hewey wrote:
Could we somehow have it so we can view all of the "creating" topics like scully (and I too) like to, as well as having the option to look within a particular method?

Can I be the A Grand Monkey 2nd degree in the carving klan? Just kidding, why do I hear crickets...

I don't think it should be too chopped up keep it simple.

Under Creating Tiki:

"Interior Tiki" section that would be a place for interior decorating type things.

"Tiki Artist" section for the artists to show off their work.

:)

You know.....I guess we just need to find out exactly what Hanford CAN do in the first place, then work on it from there. It's great to read all the comments and suggestions on this. I agree with some of the ideas, but then again I do not with others. I appreciate all of them, but I just keep thinking....

Ok, say you want to look at nothing but carving stuff...click here.

Nothing but paintings and drawings...click here.

Nothing but ceramics, mug making and jewelry (crafts)....click here.

Home re-model deco stuff...click here.

Now how hard would it be to miss something? All the new stuff would be where you knew to look for it at. It sure would be a whole lot easier to find all the stuff that you would have probably missed if it were still all jumbled up in "one" tiki artist folder.

Thanks everyone for your input and all the great ideas on the forum re-structure. We’ll figure it out, but like I said, let’s see what Hanford can do for us first.

G.

[ Edited by: Tiki G. on 2005-06-28 04:04 ]

I think Gary is right , Lets see what Hanford says.

On another note about begining carvers having it "made". I disagree with that statement . I could read a thousand cookbooks and I will always burn stuff.
Just because those that are willing to share their insight on what tools to use or how to use them have doesnt mean everyone is going to be able to carve.

Those carvers new and old that have shared their knowlegde , I say thankyou. Just because they give tips and secrets doesnt mean anyone has it made. Tc has grown lots since even I joined and I dont see it as a changing of the gaurd.

Just my 2 cents . Sorry to get off topic.

[ Edited by: rodeotiki on 2005-06-27 12:52 ]

Thanks for the continued feedback. I am working on some new things that I think will make you all quite happy. But it may be a while ....

~Hanford

Thanks Hanford. I understand this is not a small undertaking as simple as adding a new forum, so take your time. I'm sure we will be happy with anything you add to an already Fantastic site.
Happyhappyhappy

Thanks Hanford.....That's awesome! Cool deals....can't wait to see what you have done.

G.

[ Edited by: Tiki G. on 2005-06-28 04:05 ]

Gary , I didnt mean to jump on you. Please dont think that at all. I guess maybe some praise is in order more often for the carvers that are willing to swap info.

I was going back thru some of the old old post and realized that maybe when you started to carve not as many were out there. So the info was alot harder to come by for you.

Your work speaks volumes about your talent and I respect that. Sorry for any misunderstanding and I hope no one else read more into this than needed.

Thanks Rodeo. I decided to edit my post to keep from starting another fiasco. I appreciate what you say. It's all good:)

G.

Some problems have not been addressed but some seem to be headed in the right direction.

I will use Diablo Tiki as an example.

He is talented in wood, paint and cermanics. Its amazing to see one man master all the field of creating tiki.
I like how the greats keep their work in a folder of themselves. It saves space as to not post multiple posts when something is new.

I like and hate when Diablo Tiki updates his photos at the top when the replies to the new stuff continue on their way. Its not in the correct timeline or next to the replies (i believe)and few TCers pratice this.
But I see why why he does it. Sometimes I just want to see the pictures and then read the captions if I'm interested in want I see. Sometimes I just want to see the pictures without interference.

I'm a guy who in interested in all things created and tiki and want to be good at it all someday and will continue in try all mediums.

My next project, A painted carving for the home bar wearing a hawaiin shirt, holding a mug.

p.s. where do we put all the stuff that is already.

[ Edited by: teaKEY on 2005-06-29 16:24 ]

Just wondering if there is still any action happening with these ideas. It seems the Creating tiki forum is getting pretty large and spread out.