There are lots of forums out there, perhaps most notably CoffeeGeek and alt.coffee. But I am particularly interested in suggestions specific to this site (e.g., what articles you would like to see, what machines reviewed, etc.), something that would be lost in the flurry on a more general site.

So what the heck, let's see how it goes...

Dan,
I hope you do not mind using the suggestion box to congratulate you.
Well here goes: 'Congratulations on the new 'forums' site, Dan. It occurred to me that I just register and go. Then I stopped to think of all of the time that must have gone into this. Wow!
Regards,
Arthur

Do I mind?!? Arthur, yours is the best kind of feedback! You're right though, hundreds of hours have gone into the development of this site. It's been a fun project. I am grateful to my patient wife, support from folks like yourself, and the site sponsors.

Hi everybody. Thanks for inviting me in Dan, hope you don't regret it. lol.

One of the things I think would be useful is a personal aptitude profile so we could streamline responses in a language that's easily understood.

When answering posts sometimes it isn't easy to figure out a persons level of comfort with a repair or modification, etc. If someone is really technical but stumped with a problem, the response would automatically be different from someone who is grappling each and every inch of the way.

As we learn from each other we could update the criteria as a personal yardstick of our accomplishments. Call it the "Goal Post" or something.

This is just a beginning thought so please add your own. Kevin

Hi Kevin, wanted to add on your comment. I tinker a bit with old porsches and try to maintain my myself. What I have found useful is that alot of the self repair hints try to use a standard scale on how difficult a procedure is. Washing your car is one wrench and engine rebuild is five. Then each procedure is ranked by number of wrenches and it is the responsibility of the reader to determine whether they want to tackle it. Also useful is an estimation of how long it will take and on some..how may beers should accompany the activity to keep the frustration manageable. Just another way to look at your idea.

Good to see you on the board.

my hope would be that this would be like a more serious and advanced and adult version of Coffee Geek with a far better signal to noise ratio and far less uncorrected misinformation. imagine a combination of the best of alt.coffee and coffeegeek.

Hello all.
I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Dan on what I think will be a great site. I have already posted a few times, something that I am hesitant to do on other forums. Solid topics, interesting perspectives, and a good deal of knowledge... a winning combination. This is a refreshing change from "how many scoops do I use in my french press when using a krups blade grinder with chicory infused gevailia decaf, and at what rate should I plunge?" type posts commonly found elsewhere.
Rock on Dan... Raise the standard.
Ken Nye
Espressocraft, Inc.
Ninth Street Espresso, NYC

I've often looked up Dan's site before and dearly love his reviews plus the patience and moderating influence he's shown as a moderator (sic!) on CG. Still, personally I'm not that happy with an additional coffee forum (and one that's too good to miss out on - true) adding another stop on my already too long daily routine list. I'm a little afraid this will diminish the vibrance (my Random House doesn't know this word - what a shame ) and "turnover" on CG. I have yet to understand the added benefit, as it seems to me most topics so far could've been discussed on CG, but that's just my 2 cents.

That being said, I do have a suggestion combining two aspects:
1) A fellow HBer pointed out to me that HB was meant to be more open to giving a forum to dealers/ manufacturers than CGs rules allowed.
2) Dan has introduced the very ingenious idea of the "Pro's View". Ingenious, because I gather many members here, on CG and a.c. are indeed looking for advice, and who better to give it than a pro.

Now - in the first instant "pro" referred to a barista, a guy with professional espresso making abilities. I would like Dan to bring in the guys with professional machine experience, the guys in the workshops of WLL, Chris Coffee, EPNW what have you, who know all these machines inside out - their components, quirks etc. Whenever I visit with a dealer who has a workshop I try to sneak in there chatting with the guys, they can tell you amazing stuff.

There's one obvious problem, I think: One can imagine that sooner rather than later these "Workshop Chats" would arrive at some sort of "machine A has a lot less problems than B" conclusion. If both A and B are still being sold by that specific store, they'd be loath to have that kind of statement publicised. But, if one managed to somehow circumvent that (or find vendor-independent workshops?), this could be one hell of a show-stopper imho.

sheygetz

sheygetz wrote:I have yet to understand the added benefit, as it seems to me most topics so far could've been discussed on CG, but that's just my 2 cents.

I've received offline comments both for and against a new forum. Afterall, there's a plethora of boards out there (alt.coffee, CG, TMC, and the BGA to name only a few), why another one?

At first I considered simply a blog to share what you see in The Bench, since it is for the most part a monologue. To make a long story short, the innovations coming from Team HB suggested a site-specific forum was worth trying. The SwagFest is the latest endeavor demonstrating the motivation behind site-specific projects.

I would like Dan to bring in the guys with professional machine experience, the guys in the workshops of WLL, Chris Coffee, EPNW what have you, who know all these machines inside out - their components, quirks etc.

I've been working that angle behind the scenes. Techs are busy people and not easily enticed to join an active online community. I'll keep at 'em.

Hi Dan,

As general feedback, I'd like to say that HB stands out as a great site. It is where on a single site I find a wealth of information that is well written and covers the entire spectrum of topics that I as a home espresso aficionado am interested in. I am impressed. I salute you and those who help you make this happen!

HB wrote:what articles you would like to see

The Swag Fest is a great idea and I look forward to reading the entries. While I've been thinking of a topic for a write-up in relation to the contest, I am having a hard time in coming up with anything that would not have already been covered very comprehensively on HB. That is, with my limited experience I find it difficult to expand on what has already been written.

Having said that, it is good to read the writings of those who know more and are willing to share their knowledge.

One item that comes to mind and one that I have not seen anywhere else either (or have I just missed it?), would be a single article that draws together and elaborates in more detail on the merits of different distibution and packing techniques...

On a related note, for some reason I am unable to watch the video clip on the stockfleths move - even if I use IE instead of Firefox. All I get is the opening screen.

HB wrote:what machines reviewed

The feature spotlight on grinders is a good article. Since the grinder is such an important, perhaps the most important piece of hardware, I'd be interested in seeing more reviews on them. This could include drawing conclusions when comparing to the competing models from other manufacturers. A lot has been written on the Mazzer Mini, including the detailed review on CoffeeGeek, but since it is quite significantly different from the doser model, I'd be most interested in seeing a review of the Mazzer Mini E...

I take it that the dual boiler PID machine that Chris is working on will be subjected to a HB review? Including a comparison to the S1 and Brewtus I hope?

Thanks again for a great website!

Br,
Teme