What can we do to give this place a shot in the arm?

Lets do some housecleaning and put up different pointless, one question, locked, or repeated ideas on the chopping block and weed some of the crap out so that the good old stuff is easier to find and more manageable. Most of Marketplace is useless. All those old Ebay links. If Ebay dumps it, we should too.

I probably came to the greatest point of tiki this month. I just got the Grog LOg, Just made of first tiki drink and plan to make more, started making mugs again and the best that I have done just recently, making better connections with great people, and just bought the best tiki art that I have and could afford. The mugs sold are getting better, but its just been a little slow here. But still climbing for me.

On 2006-12-07 06:37, Swanky wrote:
I also think many here think we are more jaded than we are. You don't share parts of your collection because you are under the impression we've seen it all. Well, we have not.

There is a small minority who go the extra mile and add major content to TC. They need to keep doing that and more people need to get on board. Maybe even a new forum! Ha! "My Collection" If everybody started posting what they had, we'd be packed with content. sub-categories for each type of item, and subjects for places or makers and we all just start adding pictures and what we know...

Great suggestions! I agree that lurkers may be hesitant to share their collections after seeing the amazing posts by Sabu and Puamana. But I would love to see more sharing of pictures, postcards, menus, matchbooks, mugs, etc.

Other ideas:

If you revisit a tiki bar or restaurant post a review, even if it's been reviewed before. Updates are always welcome. But only if you can do it without name calling!

If you discover (or rediscover) a good drink share it. There was once a topic on favorite drink of the moment or something like that.

[ Edited by: thejab 2006-12-07 12:22 ]

If some of you think this site is dead I can't imagine what it has been like in the past. Since joining all of you this past summer after finding the Trade Winds thread by Bongo Fury, I have felt like a addict.
Jeff Berry posted that TC is like crack cocaine to him. I laughed at that and then realized it has that effect on me. But its a good thing.
My girlfriend was amused at first and to quote her " I'll give it 6 months" Well, here we are in December and I think she is beginning to understand my obsession with tiki is permanent. I found Tiki Central and a lot of you very cool people and have become a budding urban archeologist. I have photographed and posted a number of tiki sites from Southern California and Hawaii with many more to go and record.

I love to read your old posts and wonder about many of the images that are gone, can any of you please repost some of these if you have them?
I want to do what I can to expand our images with my archives and my own photography, if anyone has a location they would like to see here let me know.
I just found the Hawaiian Garden Apartments because a friend who has been to TC lurking saw the other posts of apartments and hadn't thought to mention it because it wasn't a "Tiki bar" Yesterday I photographed the Kon Akai Tiki apartments 113 unit condo complex that was a swinging singles complex in the 60's that apparently is to be remodeled soon. I would like to see more involvement in preservation as well.

I heard this discussion on the radio about “Tahitian Village” it is in Las Vegas, expensive and apparently a lot of stars frequent it. One of them mentioned “I’d like to stay in the Bamboo room” Is this enough of a shot in the arm?
http://www.consolidatedresorts.com/audio-video/ANIM_640.wmv
Ojaitimo

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2006-12-08 13:18 ]

I started a war between Forbidden Island and the Mai Kai.
I've done all I can do.

On 2006-12-07 12:40, pablus wrote:

I started a war between Forbidden Island and the Mai Kai.
I've done all I can do.

Is that what you meant by "double agent" when you pulled me aside in The Molokai Bar? Oh, I been such a pawn....

*On 2006-12-07 12:40, pablus wrote:*I started a war between Forbidden Island and the Mai Kai.
I've done all I can do.

Woohoo!!!!! I may just yet get my Tiki Uprising!

East-Coasters! It is time! Rise Up Against.......

..... Umm, no, that doesn't sound right...

.... No, not quite it either....

Umm... The Non-East Coasters! Hit them where it counts, right in their Mai-Tais!

im sorry all...

I wont bring up this topic again... Eye of the beholder is true.

Yes you will and it will be great just like this time.

I'm glad you did. It woke a lot of us up.

On 2006-12-07 14:18, Monkeyman wrote:
im sorry all...

I wont bring up this topic again... Eye of the beholder is true.

Dude, I think this thread has been good. I find it really refreshing to be reminded by the newbies of their newfound excitement and all that. And its a kick up the ass for us guys and gals who have been here for a while not to get complacent and fall into a "its all been done" kinda mentality...

On 2006-12-07 09:07, Tom Slick wrote:
I agree with alot that has been mentioned in this thread. For me, digging up an old topic only to discover a small red X in the place of where an image once was is frustrating. Alot of the old posts have become defunct without imagery here.

We've been working on that. After a little research, it became obvious that Shutterfly had at some point migrated some of their older image files and renamed them in the process. The majority of our lost images are due to that file migration.

If you've posted Shutterfly images here in the past that now appear as red "X's", you might well spend a little time and effort to restore them. The images will still be available and visible in your Shutterfly account, but they simply won't appear here because the old link is no longer valid. We could all do TC a huge service by restoring links on some of the old and memorable posts, them bump them up for all to see.

A-A

Thanks AA,
If there are certain images you may need, shoot me a list, and I'll try to help out...I'm sure Sabu also has probably the single biggest collection of images here at TC at his fingertips...right Sabu!? hehe

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cc26b3127cce8fa354643ed000000016100AZtWLZm2ZsWJg

Shot in the arm ...The nurse will be with you shortly !!!!!

Don't know if this will help anyone, but I would be happy to store photos on my webspace (I can build extra pages just for this storage). If anyone is interested, just email me (subject field: Tiki Picture Storage).

I wish there was a "Wild for Tiki" program on The Travel Channel. Wouldn't it be great to take all the expertise of so many knowledgable people on this board and get your 15 minutes of fame on a weekly show. :)

On 2006-12-07 06:37, Swanky wrote:
If you wanna get all technical, think back to those who have posted the "meat" here and see if they are still active. Ask them what happened.

There is a small minority who go the extra mile and add major content to TC. They need to keep doing that and more people need to get on board.

Excellent point Swanky. Perfect example, how many of 'old timers' have posted to this thread, a few, but that's it.

On 2006-12-06 03:52, Humuhumu wrote:
In the interest of offering up a concrete suggestion to the original query of the post, here's an idea. Tragically, Stoopid Shutterfly wonked up all the links to old images (Hanford added the ability to host images here on TC partially in response to this). When those image links died, we lost a ton of really fantastic visual information. A concerted effort to replace those images would be awesome.

The lost images due to Shutterfly was a major blow. ALL of the classic posts are now just a shadow of what they were originally. Relinking those photos is a daunting task. I always posted lots of pics with my posts (everything from pics of my explorations of tiki apartment complexes, items from my postcard collection, etc...). I started to relink my old Shutterfly photos onto the TC server several months ago when I originally discovered the problem. However, I currently have 391 pics that need to be relinked. That's a hell of a lot or work, and frankly, I don't know if it's worth the effort. It will only replace a small shadow of what was lost.

Zulu

On 2006-12-07 19:28, VampiressRN wrote:
Don't know if this will help anyone, but I would be happy to store photos on my webspace (I can build extra pages just for this storage). If anyone is interested, just email me (subject field: Tiki Picture Storage).

In case some folks didn't know, TC has image storage now so you no longer have to link to images in Shutterfly or other sites. See the "Add Images to Your Post" link below the text window.

Like others here, I've been on online forums forever (or 14 years, which may as well be forever). Newbies come, veterans go, some people leave for a while but then return, others stick around and have metadiscussions about How Things Have Changed -- it's all part of the life of an online community and I love every bit of it.

Me, I've only just gotten back in touch with my inner tikiphile in the last couple of years, so TC is still all shiny and new to me.

Earlier this year after reading The Book of Tiki, decided I wanted to create a Tiki Room on my enclosded porch. Discovered Tiki Central & what I've been able to do with the room in the past 6 months wouldn't have been possible without the inspiration & resources of this web site & related links.

I belong to other web page groups, but their daily posting aren't even close to the amount posted daily here @ TC.

Thortiki

Umm, I'm still around but I have been busy doing other stuff - like spending a week in Kauai during Thanksgiving. I still love you guys, but TC is kind of like snorkeling. Every now and then I have to get my head out of the water and spit in my mask. When the fog clears I'll be back. In the meantime please don't chew on my flippers.
Mahalo.
KG

As most of you know, I was the very first person on Tiki Central. It's clearly been going downhill ever since then.

[ Edited by: monkeyskull 2006-12-09 10:15 ]

What is it you're really after with this thread?

Better material being posted or just the daily number of people signed on at one time.

As to the current material and the numbers I would agree with several other posters that it's the time of the year.

You should try being in a Tiki Business!
There are so fewer number of events, less attendance at the ones there are, and people who aren't shopping for other Tiki friends and family don't have the extra cash for buying the Tiki items they want.
Hopefully, when the website is up and running that will change!

Even family band members have told me that it's a seasonal thing.

Sorry kids you don't get fed this week it's a 'seasonal thing' !!!!
Sorry kids no x-mas for you people don't have that 'extra cash' !!!!

On 2006-12-07 19:28, VampiressRN wrote:

I wish there was a "Wild for Tiki" program on The Travel Channel. Wouldn't it be great to take all the expertise of so many knowledgable people on this board and get your 15 minutes of fame on a weekly show. :)

I've not only thought many times about this but also looked into it a little. Besides the more I learn about the "Real World" careers of many of our Tiki Central Ohana there are already people working within television and film careers that could certainly make it happen, or at least easier than you or I.

I've mentioned about "DOUBLE EDGED SWORDS" before and here's the two sides to that scenario:

Pros: A Travel Channel/Fine Living program would bring massive public awareness to the Tiki scene, lifestyle, artists, musicians, restaurants and bars. This would not only mean an increase in business for all those retailers involved but most importantly our ever diminishing HISTORICAL TIKI LOCATIONS would receive the revenue they need and a broader public interest in PRESERVING them!
And talk about a "shot in the arm" here at Tiki Central...try to imagine online membership going from over 5,000 members currently to over 500,000 or more in a year!

Cons: First and most importantly is the usual "sub-culture" mentality. We call TC members our "Ohana", (family), and a pretty close knit bunch of people, (the nicest I've ever known! :D ), suddenly every Tom, Dick & Harriet who saw an episode on TV is dropping in that doesn't know jack about Tiki/Polynesian Culture, (besides what they just saw on TV), posting threads that have no relation to anything here and TC would be a mess of epidemic proportions, (kinda like MySpace), eventually becoming so large and hard to monitor that it would be bought out by Google or somebody!
Suddenly the market would flood over with complete TIKI CRAP! Target, Walmart, Toys R Us and so on would be selling everything from Tiki Barbies to Tiki Toilet Paper, (and some people worry NOW if some of this offends Polynesian Cultures and Beliefs!). Everyone would be trying to cash in on the "Tiki Craze", (more so than now), all of the small direct retailers and many artists would go out of business because the Giant Chain Stores can do it cheaper, faster and reach a larger audience.
Think certain Tiki events sell out too fast now, are too crowded now, can't find a seat, (or sometimes even standing room Tiki Ti), at your favorite Tiki Bar or Restraunt.....places would have velvet ropes, (or hopefully Bamboo Poles), outside as you wait in lines outside for hours hoping to get in.
Not to mention all the big corporations that would want to jump on the band wagon. Imagine chain Tiki restaurants as common as McDonalds all over the world, Tiki bars popping up as fast and generic as StarBucks!

Would we all still enjoy the "scene" as much?
Would it lose it integrity?

I had a pretty good pitch for the show and now there are plenty of "special interest" channels to support it but in my mind the cons out weighed the pros.

Sorry, to the poster of this thread for going off track....just wanted to answer the question.

[ Edited by: Dr.TikiMojo 2006-12-09 23:17 ]

I didn't have time to read the whole thread, Damn brother bothering me to get on the computer.
But I think there needs to be more fun and lightheatedness.
I've heard that alot of people have gone into lurk mode, or just don't
come here anymore, because they say it feels to uptight.
Im not sure if that 100% true or not., as I've never been a 100% hardcore tiki phile. I just like it alot. But don't have the time/money to do, buy, go to all the events,
But I do know that here in LA OC area there have been a good amount of events lately. MM maybe you need to come up here a bit more often.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

and more Bumps too ha ha ha!!!

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Hey Doc Mojo -> We were all at one time Tom,Dick and Harriet's.

I put on the some Tangerine Lip Gloss and went to answer the door.

I misquoted Beachbum Berry the other day.
Here is what Jeff Berry actually wrote.

On 2006-09-10 02:09, virani wrote:
Ladies and gentlemen, here is the reply from the great Beachbum Berry, after asking him to come on that thread :

Aloha Virani and Fellow Alcohologists!
(quote)
I apologize for not posting officially in my own name, but Tiki Central is like heroin -- if I start I would never be able to stop! Then I'd never be able to finish my new book, Sippin' Safari ... which, by the way, has an 8 page chapter about the roots of the Mai Tai, called "Who's Your Daddy? A Mai Tai Paternity Test."

Basically, the gist of the chapter is this: James Michener claims the Mai Tai was invented on Bora Bora and made its way to Hawaii. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel claims its bartenders invented the Mai Tai. Bandleader Harry Owens ("Sweet Leilani") claims he invented the Mai Tai. Trader Vic claims he invented the Mai Tai, and in 1970 he won a court case to prove it. Court case aside, Donn Beach's third wife Phoebe and assorted journalists still claim Donn invented the Mai Tai. Donn himself never claimed he invented the Mai Tai -- what HE said was that his drink, the Q.B. Cooler, was stolen by Trader Vic, who RE-NAMED it the Mai Tai. Ever the gentleman, Donn refused to argue the point in public. Whenever Trader Vic's name came up, he always said, "I am pleased to ignore him."

Shot in the Arm! You wanna shot in the Arm?
Check out the Tonga Hut Winter Wonderland thread!
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=21873&forum=17&start=0
Especially the more recent pages!
Usually in the Events and especially the Other Crafts (favorite lurking spots) things get a little WILD, but we help keep each other stoked with Tiki Art and Well Wishes! I think it's all about how you look at it....and it looks pretty good! Thank you TC!

Let me start by saying that this is my favorite forums on the net, not just because of the tiki stuff, but all of the other retro, space-age, swanky, hot rod, surf, just really cool stuff discussed here. There are times when I get real busy and don't stop by for days at a time, and I don't post a real lot because I don't have anything to add, but I would find it a much less enjoyable world without TC.

I do think that some of the folks here maybe get a little elitist and might come down a little too hard on newbs, but I still respect them and like them because it is the result of their passion for something that I, too, am passionate about. Also, I have to say that results in some of the more interesting threads- nothing like a good debate. It's not important to me that eveyone react or think like me- it is what makes us different as well as our common interests that make this such a cool place to hang. I don't think that anything needs to change at all.

I do think that some of the folks here maybe get a little elitist and might come down a little too hard on newbs

An opinion from a newbie here. But not a newbie on internet bulletin boards in general.

I think what you just mentioned (when it exists) is simply an almost-expected natural dynamic of these internet bulletin boards.

First off...veterens of a BB are certainly not required in any way to greet or answer questions from newbies or anybody else. Perhaps they did at one time and just tired of it. Perhaps they got tired of the same question being asked over and over again. Perhaps they are now just too busy. Perhaps they've seen so many "flash-in-the-pan" newbies come and go after only a few posts...that they are more selective who they respond to or attempt to get friendly with. Not worth the bother. Yet. That sort of thing.

IMHO...all that is perfectly acceptable and expected to some degree. It's a natural dynamic of any social group. Your first visit to a local neighborhood bar...you're likely to be ignored by some of the "regulars" at first, until you "prove" yourself.

I guess what I'm trying to get at in a long-winded and round-about way...is that newbies should expect this. And if they just stick around long enough and contribute on occasion...they'll find things will probably just naturally (albeit perhaps slowly) warm up a bit for them. And I think that any newbie joining an long-established and large bulletin board like this one, and expecting a chorus of "Welcome to the family!"...might be expecting a bit too much.

But some do expect too much or are just too green about such things, and get too upset if they think the community is ignoring them and their questions or comments. And then they do leave. Which is too bad. As they are probably going to miss out some good stuff if they had just sucked-it-up and hung in there.

And on the flip side it could be too bad for the BB as well. As you never know what great things that departed newbie might have added to the community if they had just stuck around.

:)

On 2006-12-12 13:01, PremEx wrote:

I do think that some of the folks here maybe get a little elitist and might come down a little too hard on newbs

An opinion from a newbie here. But not a newbie on internet bulletin boards in general.

I think what you just mentioned (when it exists) is simply an almost-expected natural dynamic of these internet bulletin boards.

First off...veterens of a BB are certainly not required in any way to greet or answer questions from newbies or anybody else. Perhaps they did at one time and just tired of it. Perhaps they got tired of the same question being asked over and over again. Perhaps they are now just too busy. Perhaps they've seen so many "flash-in-the-pan" newbies come and go after only a few posts...that they are more selective who they respond to or attempt to get friendly with. Not worth the bother. Yet. That sort of thing.

IMHO...all that is perfectly acceptable and expected to some degree. It's a natural dynamic of any social group. Your first visit to a local neighborhood bar...you're likely to be ignored by some of the "regulars" at first, until you "prove" yourself.

I guess what I'm trying to get at in a long-winded and round-about way...is that newbies should expect this. And if they just stick around long enough and contribute on occasion...they'll find things will probably just naturally (albeit perhaps slowly) warm up a bit for them. And I think that any newbie joining an long-established and large bulletin board like this one, and expecting a chorus of "Welcome to the family!"...might be expecting a bit too much.

But some do expect too much or are just too green about such things, and get too upset if they think the community is ignoring them and their questions or comments. And then they do leave. Which is too bad. As they are probably going to miss out some good stuff if they had just sucked-it-up and hung in there.

And on the flip side it could be too bad for the BB as well. As you never know what great things that departed newbie might have added to the community if they had just stuck around.

:)

Good points

The 'E' people on Tiki Central. Somebody better tell Mr. H. ...

My 36 cents worth is there are some 'Kool Kids' but no 'E' people around here.....

On 2006-12-13 10:59, TikiLaLe wrote:
The 'E' people on Tiki Central. Somebody better tell Mr. H. ...

My 36 cents worth is there are some 'Kool Kids' but no 'E' people around here.....

Keep the change.

For me TC is always a good reference place, and place to review products that are coming. I attempt to check up as often as possible, but the winter season is my busiest at work and tend to be more active in summer months.

I still very much enjoy this forum, and find most of it very interesting and fun.

First, thanks for getting me all riled up Derek.

On 2006-12-16 11:07, bongofury wrote:
We have our winners! Good thing this is the last contest as we did not get much participation. Maybe I should have done movies that you all are more familiar with. I knew that 2 were pretty easy and available on the same dvd.

This kind of sums up the problem to me. (I am in no way knocking people for not knowing the answers to Ron's trivia contest. I didn't get a single one correct. It's the fact that so few people even had the desire to try.)

The desire to achieve any true depth of knowledge into the world of Poly Pop seems entirely lacking these days.

The fact that hardly anyone thinks that anything is wrong is what's wrong.

I've been on TC for over three years now, and although rationally I know that Bong can't bash me for saying something stupid, I feel that I have a healthy respect for everyone who reads TC, and I don't want to muck it up or dumb it down with all of my attaboys and yippee skippees and countdowns to all the fun and excitement that awaits the clamoring masses.

When I first joined, I used to check TC every half hour or so because for one, I had no life, and secondly, the content used to be so entirely entertaining that I couldn't look away.

I guess I'm just spoiled. I came along at a time when it seemed like there wasn't a question that couldn't be answered by those original "core" members who shared their knowledge freely and created a fantastic data base. Even the off topic posts were great and fascinating reads. Oh well. Things change. (Exception: The Tonga Hut Art Show thread is a 98% pure gem.)

I've been away sick for the past few months, but have noticed the change since early this year. Many members drifted away and many photos just became broken links. There don't seem to be as many people out hunting in the wild, building home spaces or mixing up fancy concoctions. Myself included, and I miss it like crazy. I've been busy building my own little tiki, so just keep your shirt on!

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you're out there hunting, bring along a camera! If you're building a bar, draw some pictures! And if you're mixing up drinks, let's see how fancy and tall and flame-y you can get that garnish.

That'll get me out of the woodwork, and maybe some others too.

"What can we do to give this place a shot in the arm?"

Bring back Tiki_Bong

"And if you're mixing up drinks, let's see how fancy and tall and flame-y you can get that garnish."

Not sure if their is a post in the food and drink area, but I would love to see pics of garnished drinks. JUst pictures.

Ex. Like that SUffering in the current issue of TikiMagazine, looks like hair or wreath made from mint.

I, admittedly, do more reading than posting but I would hate for anything to happen to this forum. I helps keep me in touch with what's happening in areas that have more Tiki.

On 2006-12-06 11:01, Monkeyman wrote:
TC is dead as of late.

Just let it go....?

Move on...?

Geez. Dead? No way. Look in the carving thread, as one example. I'm an idiot, and even I can learn and am learning stuff there every day, literally. There's the serious professional contingent in there, and know their stuff. I get to talk with these guys daily! Are you kiddin' me? DEAD? God I hope not.

I think that's what TC is all about for me. It's a guide, a reference, and a place to meet like-minded people. I rarely venture out of the carving thread because that's what interests me the most. There's prolly lots of peeps like that here. There's a lotta cool peeps in there, too.

how bout sharing your tiki Xmas decor? this is (was--its all going HOME today to the uh-hmm DELITE of my poor spouse)my office or CUBICLE, as many of us unfortunate souls are imprisoned in; I WHACKED it out Polynesian and SANTA UNDEAD style--got a gift certificate and won the contest too!!





brought all my Xmas vinyl from home...this year s scores are a BONANZA Christmas LP (HOSS sings!) and the execreable WALTONS Christmas.....and YES, I own Arthur Lymans Mele Kalikimaka and it is always the FIRST played each year

That Mrs Miley needs to post more!

On 2006-12-06 16:11, tiki_kiliki wrote:

I know there are other forums out there that are helping burn the torch but TC in my opinion is the original and where I hang my hat. Without it, as I've said many times before, there would be no Tiki Kiliki and no Hukilau. And I wouldn't have had the fortune to meet all of the wonderful people whom I call friends MM. I am a lifer as well and plan to stay a member until Hanford has had enough.

I'm with you there Tiki Kiliki.

Trader Woody

It appears that giving away free stuff calls lurkers out of the shadows BIG TIME.

Win Free Stuff

Thank You Swamp Fire.

[ Edited by: Monkeyman 2006-12-21 14:11 ]

TC is so cool that I get lost. I just type anything under Search and it takes me on a journey. It's alive and well here.

If you want to give tiki a shot in the arm call up your local newspaper and suggest an article on your tiki collection. We did that and that led to a show for PBS. We filmed that yesterday. It will air in February 2007. Wendy

How about free TC prints? Coming soon!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=22169&forum=18&5

Wendy, that is your collection? It is amazing.

Hi teaKey, that's a cleaver name by the way. We are obsessed with tiki so the photos show our normal tropical family room, the room I do my art in and a corner of Dan's tiki jungle room, he also has a bedroom full. I'm hoping they do a good job on the show. We were pretty goofy in our interview. Cheers, Wendy