Serial tinkerers chat group and the members who bring newcomers in

[SebastianPri85]

General discussion, not a terminal question for once.

A few of us run a chat server for people who tinker with serial devices, microcontrollers and old test gear. A lot of CoolTerm screenshots get shared there. About 130 members.

Most of the active members came in through a handful of regulars who invite friends, help them get a first board talking over serial and keep answering questions. We wanted to recognise those regulars, but the join count counted everyone, including the many who joined to fix one baud rate problem and left.

We now use a bot that only counts people who stay past their first week, and the credit finally goes to the right people.

How do others here keep newcomers around after their first problem is solved?

[roger]

In my experience, most folks who only show up to have one problem solved and then disappear were never serious serial tinkerers to begin with. I get a lot of inquiries by email from people with specific problems with specific devices. In most cases, it's either students working on a project where they need to interface with something but then do something else afterwards, or software contractors who were hired to get an old piece of hardware running again but move on to other things once the project has been completed. In all of those cases, these are not people who are really interested in serial tinkering. They had to deal with a serial device for one reason or another, but it probably wasn't by choice. You're not going to keep those folks around. They got what they needed. They had a problem they needed help with, but they are not really interested in giving back.

Then there are those who grew up before USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc., who have worked with serial stuff their entire careers, and in many cases, as a hobby. I'm firmly planted in that category. They see an old device with a serial port, and their first thought is, "ooh, I can talk to this thing!" And then they go and figure out how to do it. I'm guessing that these are the members of your chat server who stick around. People like this are also the reason why I keep developing CoolTerm. They have had a lot of experience with serial stuff and are happy to share the wealth.

Lastly, there are some folks who have never done anything with serial ports but are curious and get into it for that reason, like Arduino hobbyists. They are new to the topic and need a lot of help in the beginning, but as long as they stay interested, they will stick around. At some point, they will get experienced enough to be able to help others. Once that happens, they're in it for good.

So, where might one join your chat server? Sounds like something right up my alley!