Newcomers Feedback

[m.tweedy]

6 minutes ago, Philip R said:

I have been on SGL for 21 years in September. Does that count...

I joined in 2009 as well and i have been a member for 11 years. Obviously we live in different Universes and my time travels half the speed yours does😷. Joking aside In the early days especially i sought a lot of advice which was always freely and willingly given. I hope i now contribute in the same manner.

[Stardaze]

I've only been on here for a couple of weeks and haven't ventured much outside the beginners threads as they have most of the answers I need. Many knowledgable folk that do seem to want to help in the right manner, which is a rare asset on many sites these days. My only suggestion which I find a little slicker on the phone would be an app. I use a photography forum regularly and the app works much better for a phone. The site works very well when sat at a PC and browser. A great boon here is the ability to upload pictures directly, they don't seem to compress much either. Hopefully I can contribute something at some point.

[Stu]

17 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

My only suggestion which I find a little slicker on the phone would be an app. I use a photography forum regularly and the app works much better for a phone.

Have you tried the different genes available? Down at the bottom of the page you can select a Simple theme which is much easier to read on a phone. Makes quite a difference to the useability.

[Stardaze]

10 minutes ago, Stu said:

Have you tried the different genes available? Down at the bottom of the page you can select a Simple theme which is much easier to read on a phone. Makes quite a difference to the useability.

Thanks Stu I'll try that 👍

[Blackware]

I joined last week and i'm in love with the extremely active forum. I did have to search quite a while to add a signature. Maybe you guys could add a hyperlink to the signature page on your edit profile?

Thanks for running this awesome forum 😁

Edited May 26, 2020 by Blackware
Typo

[Kluson]

I am so glad I came back here. The advice I have received has been great. The clothes peg trick was a real gem

Thanks Guys

D

[Astro_90]

On 28/12/2007 at 12:46, daz said:

This is directed to all newcomers to Astronomy, with the aim of generally improving the 'service' that SGL gives you.

The Management Team are always looking to improve things on the forum i.e. make it easier for you to find information and make decisions. We see a huge range of questions being asked and hopefully, you get the help and advice you were looking for, and we thought it about time to find out your views on this process.

So, quite simply, what else could we do for you? How can we make it easier for you to get to the information you need? Or do you just have some general feedback?

We really do want to know, however, if you don't want to post your comments here, you can PM me (or any other Admin/Mod) directly.

Many thanks

Hi, thank you for your work!
I'm new here, but I already like this forum

[Kram]

Hi just joined last night to get some advice as I’ve just got my first telescope. Within a minute of joining I got one of the things what I was looking for. The post by warthog about eyepieces. Such a minefield when ye don’t know what yer doing. But that post was perfect 

[sputniksteve]

Having only recently joined, I can't praise SGL enough. Such a welcoming, friendly and helpful bunch of people. I've already learnt quite a bit from reading the various topics and asking a few questions. 

[AstroNebulee]

I think it's an invaluable forum, I know for one that  wouldn't make some purchases or how to take images without the vast knowledge base here and always someone ready to advise and help you. All members are polite, friendly, informative and not condescending in anyway of inferior scopes or set ups compared to theirs, everyone is equal and share the same goal of enjoying astronomy and sharing our passion for everything astro. Keep up all you do here it's my one and only place I trust the views 100%

Edited July 8, 2020 by LeeHore7

[Starwatcher2001]

I started amateur astronomy in the nineties and am back after a long break. In the month I've been here I've leared a lot from the good people, who are all so willing to share their knowledge and enthusiasm. I love the friendly atmosphere and feel quite at home here. Second only to being under dark skies, this is a great place to be. Thank you everyone.

[Daf1983]

Totally agree with starwatcher. Only got into astronomy a couple of months ago, and I have already learned so much from people on this site. Such a friendly forum, and members so happy to share their wealth of knowledge.

[Matt61]

It's a bit churlish to be critical on a site I've just joined and I guess it happens on a site that's been active for so long. But links on older posts often lead nowhere. 

On a positive note my browsing stopped me getting that bargain 200pds that was undermounted and would have been a pain to store and move . I've discovered software and apps to use before investing unwisely. I have realistic expectations and can even explain why Mars is so good at the moment. The search function works very well in researching and members reviews have led me to what I think is going to be a wise choice. 150P on EQ3 2.

[Zermelo]

Not brand new here, but I've only just noticed this thread.

Overall, I've found this to be a massively useful and inclusive forum, hosted on a very capable platform.

If I had one request for an enhancement (assuming that it's not already a feature that I've missed) it would be the ability for a user to set a single switch that would cause every forum view to default its sort order display to "Start Date" rather than "Recently Updated" (which is the current default). As it is, the first thing I do whenever I switch view is to re-sort the display.

[M40]

I am going to echo Zermelo in that although I am not brand new here, I have also just found this thread. I joined the site because after asking google many questions, most were answered here so I was a long term lurker. This site is huge and a fantastic resource for any questions I have, so thanks to all who support and provide the platform and to all that contribute to the various topics. Most visited place? FLO FOV calculator, without a doubt. What a fantastic tool. I look through a topic on the site, think wow how did they achieve that, look at what they used, then work it through the calculator. Superb. Have I learnt stuff? oh yeah, I now know what eeva and nv stand for, no idea how you do it but at least I can look good in front of the grandchildren 🤣

[And_yB]

I bought a Scope about 3 weeks ago.  I am a complete beginner.  Always had an interest, but never the time to really get into it.  I will now as I move quickly towards retirement with excitement/alarm.  

With regard to the Forum, I have been particularly pleased to find a pool of knowledge like this.  All of my questions have been very well received and responded to  Although there are many readers who probably think 'what's he saying' or 'that's a stupid question' they have been polite enough to assist or stay quiet.  

Please keep up the good work all admin staff.   When I am in a position to offer something more constructive I will.  Have a good Christmas, and a safe and happy 2021

Andy

[Phil gillespie]

I am a newbie to sgl. I am also a member of astro mart and sgl is better by leaps and bounds.  Members here are by far much more helpful. 

[DPF]

Hi all.

I’m new to astronomy and SGL since December 2020, after getting a scope for Christmas.

Having been on other forums in the past and also being slightly nervous about posting, as you’re never sure what replies you’ll get back.

I can honestly say that I’ve been welcomed and looked after on the forum. Thank you all so far for your kindness and patience. 
 

 

[StuartT]

So I only joined at the beginning of this month, so I guess I qualify as a newcomer 😉

TBH, I find it very difficult to think of anything to criticise at all! Everyone here has been incredibly friendly, respectful and helpful. Whenever you join a bunch of people who are way more expert than you are, it can be a little intimidating to ask the really basic questions. But on SGL no one has ever made me feel stupid - whatever I have asked - and I was made to feel at home here right away. 

It's a really great crowd and I am very much enjoying it. So thank you all! 😊

[barbulo]

I joined SGL community a few weeks ago, after lurking some others. 

I want to congratulate the moderators and all the members because this is one of the very few forums I've participated in, if not the only one, that makes you feel part of the community from the very beginning. It's highly appreciated when you're a newbie lost like Bambi.

Finally a suggestion if I may: I've noticed (and suffered) that when you want to dive in the practical astronomy world, you just jump into the forum and ask for advice to buy a new telescope (good, cheap and cute). You may consider creating a kind of questionnaire asking the newcomer a few questions: background in astronomy, observing and/or AP, limitations, budget... Whatever it may help. This way, the advice received by the beginner could be more precise. 

Just food for thought. 

Congrats again for hosting this community.

JR.

[Trevor Matthews]

Hi

I have been amazed at the response to questions I have asked, the members are fantastic.

 

The only problem I have experienced is often during logging in I am taken away from the forum and to a Twitter log in page.

It is frustrating to say the least.

The only way in then is to delete my browser cache, refresh the page and try again.

 

But great site, really helpful and I look forward to getting to grips with the new scope and spending some money with the sponsors.

Just don't tell the wife......

 

 

regards

Trevor

[StuartT]

31 minutes ago, Trevor Matthews said:

The only problem I have experienced is often during logging in I am taken away from the forum and to a Twitter log in page.

It is frustrating to say the least.

The only way in then is to delete my browser cache, refresh the page and try again.

 

Yes, I think I had that initially, but if you stay logged in ('remember me') it stops happening. Not sure why it has to happen in the first place tho to be honest!

[AstroGee]

I've only been on here for a short while now but am grateful for the info on the site and its members.

Please keep up the good work, it does make a difference. 

[cajen2]

I can only echo the positive comments of many newbies here. I've been a member only for a couple of weeks and a complete beginner in scope observing.

People on here come across as helpful, tolerant, friendly and not patronising at all. I also notice very little one-upmanship here in comparison to some specialist forums I know ('oh, you have a 6" dob? I have a 12"!') 😛

[Maideneer]

I joined sometime last year as a total know-nothing to astronomy, quite literally like "uhhh what's a telescope?".  Nobody ever treated me like I was stupid here, nobody got frustrated with me, and they actually stuck by me when I asked the same thing over and over and over again...I feel like I have my very own troubleshooting department here.

I'm still a know-nothing but I've gotten to the point that I was confident enough to build out a 'rig' if you will and have taken some great planetary shots (in my own mind at least).  I could see my own progression right before my eyes - Jupiter turned from a huge bright blob of nothing into an HD quality close-up, processed with three different programs and the whole bit.  None of that would have EVER been possible if I wasn't here.

The most important quality displayed here from users is the build-up.  You CAN do something, it's never you CAN'T do that.  Wonderful group.