Travis

Thanks all for the wellwishes! I had a great day, even in lockdown.

We got a few volunteers to be content curators for SSV. They will be highlighting some of the great discussions on SSV and will show up on the front page. This will be super helpful for new members, or folks who only want to read the good stuff. I think it will do a lot for promoting SSV and provide a great service to the scroll saw community. We have room for a couple more people if this is something that interests you. It's super easy. If you find something cool that is worth highlighting, you click a Promote button. That's it! Special thanks to our volunteers: @Clayton717 @Fab4 @Fedido @Jim McDonald @kmmcrafts They are also listed on the Staff page (link at the bottom of the forum).

SSV is an amazing great community, full of helpful people and a plethora of great information. What makes SSV great is our members, and for that, I thank you. Without you, SSV would be just a pothole on the information superhighway. Thank you for making our humble community so awesome. There are so many great discussions happening, amazing projects being made, and extraordinary help being given. I want to be able to highlight some of this great content on our front page for new members to see. This is where I need some help. SSV is a big place and I can't keep up with all of the posts and run the site. So, I'm looking for a handful of people (5-6) to help me highlight this great content. The qualifications are easy: Visit SSV on a regular basis (daily, or several times a week) Read most of SSV threads Ability to pick 4-5 really cool discussions each week (we don't want to pick everything, just the extra good ones) If this is something you'd like to help me out with, shoot me a PM. Thanks all!

Even through these weird times, Spring is still my favorite season. I love having my garage door open with the nice cool air. Chirping of the birds and fresh cut lawn fill the air. This month's scroll saw challenge is a celebration of Spring. Post your spring themed scroll saw projects. Birds, flowers, scenic projects, or whatever spring means to you. While you're at it, let us know what you're doing to enjoy the springtime during the lockdown.

Thank you for that. I had my menu settings wrong. It should now be fixed.

I'll be in the chat room for a little bit if anybody wants to stop in and say hi.

Howdy All. I don't think Discord chat room went over too well, so I went back to the drawing board. I added some new software to SSV to accommodate a new chat room that's more integrated into the site. That way you don't have to sign up for a new service. The group chat room is in the navigation bar at the top of the screen. There is also a link in the lower right corner of your screen so you can have it open as you browse SSV (kinda the same way Facebook works). Browse and chat. As an added bonus, if you're a SSV Patron, you can also start a private chat with another member or create a private group chat. This is an extra feature for SSV Patrons as a thank you for supporting this site. Anyway, kick the tires a bit and let me know how it's working.

This is an old thread from 2019. Nothing has changed recently. I haven't had any trouble with typing or posting comments. If your missing letters when typing, it sounds like a bad keyboard.

Heh. One of the things about running a site like this, is you discover shortcomings you never knew it had. I tried to upload a new profile picture and the quality was really bad. Turns out I had the profile picture settings set at a super low size and resolution. Probably been like that for years and I never noticed. At any rate, if you have a poor profile picture on SSV and you want something better, feel free to upload a new one. I made it to a max size of 800px (wide or tall) and 1200kb in filesize. You can also re-import your FB profile picture if you have that set up, too.

These are strange times, indeed. Stay-at-home orders have been issued around the world as they try to wrangle this pandemic. I had to get myself and my team to work remotely, which was no easy task. Non-essential offices, stores, and services have shuttered their doors. Now we're at home hunkering down with some time on our hands. Luckily, as scrollers, we have no shortage of projects. So, what have you been doing with your time at home? Post your Lockdown Projects. While we usually ask for scroll saw projects, I'm going to open this to whatever project you have going during your home quarantine. Scroll saw project, home improvement, cooking, exercise....it don't matter. Show off what you're working on. Also, post a nice thing that happened to you this week. I'd like to see some happy news.

Heh. Don't get used to it yet. It might come back. Y'alls asked for a chat room. I'm just doing your bidding.

I'm testing things. Please be patient.

Holy cow, someone was digging in the archives! This thread is 11 years old! We haven't had a chat room in a few years. Chat rooms are incredibly resource heavy and was taxing the server too much. I might be able to find a different solution. Maybe using Discord or something. I'll poke around a bit and see what I can find.

The bookmark function is available to SSV Patrons. It's a handy way to bookmark forum threads and gallery pictures or Pattern Library patterns. Here's a post that has a little bit more info:

I wish I had a list. I really do. It would make things so much easier. It's all in the User Guidelines. But we can look at these individually: Allah be praised - (Result: OK) Inflammatory: No Defamatory: No Flaming: No Taunting: No General Disrespect: No Vulgar language: No Strong political or religious sentiment: No Intended to incite political or religious debate: No Racist, sexist, sexual orientation/identity intolerance, religious intolerance or other offensive comments: No Trudeau for Prime Minister - (Result: OK) Inflammatory: No Defamatory: No Flaming: No Taunting: No General Disrespect: No Vulgar language: No Strong political or religious sentiment: No Intended to incite political or religious debate: No Racist, sexist, sexual orientation/identity intolerance, religious intolerance or other offensive comments: No Hindus, see the Light and Convert to Christianity - (Result: Probably not OK) Inflammatory: Probably - You're implying that they're wrong and you know the true answer. Defamatory: No Flaming: No Taunting: No General Disrespect: Yes - You're singling out a specific group Vulgar language: No Strong political or religious sentiment: Maybe - Not strong, but it's there. Intended to incite political or religious debate: Not really Racist, sexist, sexual orientation/identity intolerance, religious intolerance or other offensive comments: No Vote Trudeau Out - (Result: OK) Inflammatory: No Defamatory: No Flaming: No Taunting: No General Disrespect: No Vulgar language: No Strong political or religious sentiment: No Intended to incite political or religious debate: No Racist, sexist, sexual orientation/identity intolerance, religious intolerance or other offensive comments: No A little story time: My aunt and uncle have strong political and religious beliefs. I know what they are, and for the most part I disagree. They're unlikely to change my mind. I'm unlikely to change their mind. When I go to their house for dinner, do you know what we talk about? Mostly fishing and camping, and that time all us cousins ganged up on Grandma in a game of Aggravation marble game (but we're pretty sure she let us win). Why? Because I value our time together and our relationship. If you think it something will cause problems or ill will, don't post it. Again, I think we all know it if we see it. If it was me, I wouldn't post anything political, but as you can see, there some wiggle room. We're here to talk shop with our friends, not spiral into a black hole of debate where nobody wins.

Heh. I shouldn't have poked fun at Facebook. I really didn't want to turn this into a thing. It basically comes down to this: SSV isn't a debate club when it comes to religion or politics. Everybody has different opinions, and emotions rise when defending our beliefs. These things spiral out of control very quickly. I've been doing this for a very long time (I used to run a BBS, which is a precursor to the internet, if you remember such a thing....LOL) I've seen way too many communities destroyed over stuff like this. I don't want SSV to fall into the same trap. We're here to talk about our hobby and share our work. You can post a political or religious project. The discussion needs to be about the project, not the sentiment behind it. If the project or pattern is inflammatory in nature, don't post it. It's OK for a person to post a cutting or pattern of a political figure and show off their work. However, if they post a pattern or project that is meant to get a rise out of folks, that is not OK. OK for a portrait of Trump. Not OK for a portrait of Trump high-fiving terrorists. Same with religious stuff. It's OK to post a religious icon. It's not OK to post inflammatory religious projects. OK to post a portrait of Mary. Not OK to post a sign saying death to Christians. Remember, nothing is ever black and white. Let's keep in mind the intent of the poster and not get all riled up over something silly. If you're Christian and see a pagan pattern, just because you're offended by the pagan pattern doesn't warrant removal of that design. Here's a few important things from our User Guidelines: I think we all know what appropriate content and discussion looks like. I encourage everyone to read through the User Guidelines that everybody agreed to when signing up for SSV. I really use that as a guide while running SSV. There's a lot of "judgement" calls that I have to make, which is the absolute worse job to do. I want to keep the peace as best I can so we can focus on what brings us together, instead of what tears us apart. So please do me a favor and don't put me in those stressful situations.

I didn't say FB was a place for politics...I said it was a place to ruin friendships.

yah....I guess that doesn't make much sense....other than positive reinforcement. I corrected my typo.

Hi all. I updated the software this morning. The site might run a bit slower as the software re-indexes and caches older pages. Let me know if something isn't behaving correctly and I'll take a look. Thanks all!

Since closure has been confirmed, I removed Sloans from the supplier list. Thanks all!

Our last scroll saw challenge, it was fun to see where we started and where we are now. It was a great reminder that we were all newbies once-upon-a-time. Anytime we start a new hobby, it is super easy to get overwhelmed and we don't know where to begin. So, this month's challenge is about helping our new friends get into the hobby of scroll sawing. What did you you wish you knew when you were getting started? It can be a tip, a recommendation, a guide, reference, videos, inspirational story, or whatever. This is for folks who are new to scrolling. So be as descriptive and helpful as you can. Bonus points for illustrations/pictures....double extra points for a video demonstrating what you're talking about.

I'd also like to followup....dealing with political posts, either explicit or subtle jabs, is my LEAST favorite chore in running SSV. If anything, please make my life a little easier and refrain from politics. It will really help my stress levels.

We are heading into a political season here in the US. I'm sure it's not surprising to you that politics is a seriously divisive topic. I just want to remind everybody that political discussions and debates are not allowed on SSV. Politics is the quickest way to ruin friendships we've tried so hard to create. If you want to ruin friendships, Facebook is the place you want. If you want to talk about making sawdust, SSV is the place to be. Here are a few things that ARE NOT allowed: Inflammatory patterns/cuttings Political soapboxes discussions Political hot-button topics Political Jokes/Cartoons Political Internet Memes "I can't believe..." discussions. (c'mon...you know it when you see it) Here are a few things that ARE allowed: Respectful cuttings Respectful portraits Respectful patterns (seeing a theme here?) This certainly isn't an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea. Here are the rules regarding politics and religion found in the User Guidelines: If you have a question regarding the appropriateness of a pattern, cutting, or discussion, let me know. If you see anything that you feel is inappropriate, please flag it and a moderator will take a look. More Scrolling! A political platform I can stand by.

Feb is/was crazy. Trying to keep my head above water and haven't been able to work on SSV much. I'll have something for March, though.

Changed Pattern Types to Fretwork, Puzzles, Toys, Boxes/Bowls/Baskets, Clocks, Home Items, Word Art, Other Changed Shop Information to Steve is a prolific pattern designer and blogger. He posts new patterns almost every day and has a lot of scroll sawing information. View his blog here for the latest, but checking out his catalog is the best way to browse his collection.