Hi Will,
TTRAG members don't find this onerous and ensures their membership includes serious students of the craft.
I am sure that the existing TTRAG members do not find the entry and ongoing membership requirement onerous but what about the aspiring members who fail to cross the threshold in the first place? In order to produce a reasonable building recording report a person has to learn both the techniques involved and most importantly how to interpret the building that is being studied and especially the evolution or changes that are to be found within historic buildings. In my experience this is best done by shadowing a more experienced person and thus I would have thought that proactive provision and encouragment should be made to both attract, retain and grow novices into experts.
TTRAG members are looked to for advice by the public as well as members. They are the recognized experts in the Guild on historic timber frames.
What is a historic timber frame expert ?
Since we are talking about historic timber framed buildings, then by virtue of their age, very few people alive today actually have first hand experience of just how they were actually built and instead we rely to a great extent on detail examination of old frames to see whether we can find and interpret the signs and signatures left behind by those who have gone before. Some of this practice and the reasons for it are unfortunately now lost in the mists of time e.g. apotropaic marking and eye sockets (Check out B Bunker).
From time to time I flatter myself into thinking that I am an old buildings expert only to feel a tug on my elbow and have a novice ask the question - "What's that" or "why are these numbers not in sequence". These moments can be sobering and yet at the same time its rewarding to discover that even the novice can make a valuable contribution. We might well not know the answer but at least we now know the question that needs to be answered !
One of the main benefits of being a TTRAG member is participation in their member meeting in the fall.
I think that the point that Don might well have been making was that waiting all year for an event to happen that he (and me) cannot afford to attend anyway might not necessarily be the best solution. The TFG forum offers a daily update for contributors and recipients alike but even this has yet to find its zenith. The work being done by others elsewhere on this forum to pioneer the use of 3D modelling software like Sketchup and the increased use of "U tube" might well overtake the need to spend large amounts of money on travel and accomodation in order to gain valuable insights into past practice.
Many TTRAG members do not use the internet so I wouldn't expect them to be the mainstay of an online group.
I believe that Americans have a saying in response to this type of observation which goes something like - "Get with the program".
This comment really gets to the hub of the matter. It would appear that a group of computer illiterate experts are being used as a valid excuse for not pushing forward the boundaries open to all of the 2758 registered users on this forum who by virtue of their registration have demonstrated both their willingness and capability to at least attempt to grasp and employ web based technology to assist in their earnest endeavour to improve and share their knowledge and understanding of timber frame design and construction.
Elsewhere on this forum Joel has posted a thread seeking ways in which TFG membership numbers can be expanded and one has to ask the question why are there now 2758 persons registered on the forum but only 1495 TFG members. The balance might now be considered to have swung very much in favour of web based membership and as such an effort to satisfy the needs of this group of people might now be long overdue.
My Best Regards
Ken Hume
