Why do we love Net 54? Why do we all keep coming back?

[the 'stache]

160,877 members, of which a whopping 64,758 are active-more than enough people to fill Yankee Stadium. 116,690 threads with 893,523 posts. All this hubbub over a bunch of long dead people on pieces of really old cardboard. If somebody were to stumble across our little corner of the virtual universe, and take a peek behind the wizard's curtain, they would not find the Great and Powerful Oz. They'd see discussions about T202s, W555s, cabinet cards, type collecting, and one old poster, "Archive", with entirely too much free time on their hands (I mean, 58,919 posts. Jesus, man, go outside and see the sun once in a while!). They'd see modern day poets. They'd read about a bunch of people engaged in an epic fight with some monster. They might wonder why somebody didn't buy that Joe Jackson fella some shoes (especially after his teammates got paid all that extra money at the end of the year). And they may opine that spending a few million bucks on a little picture of some guy named Honus was wasteful, especially when a shiny new one costs only a dollar or two. Yet despite all these seemingly mundane topics, Net 54 keeps drawing people in like so many moths to the flame. It keeps putting the butts in the seats, so to speak. And more trickle in every month. Why? What is it that keeps us all coming back? If you were asked by somebody that is unfamiliar with this forum why you are here every day, rain or shine, what would you tell them? What is it about Net 54 that we love?

[Eric72]

I have been collecting baseball cards on and off since I was five years old. Even during the times when I wasn't collecting, my love for the game never wavered (although the strike in '94 ticked me off a bit.)

I suspect that I will continue to have a passion for the game all the way up to the moment when my days are done and I finally visit that great ballpark in the sky. As an aside, am I required to become an Angels fan at that point?

Anyway, for me, baseball has a way of connecting all of the various dots in my life. And, away from the field itself, as spectator and amateur player, baseball cards are the part of this game that I enjoy the most.

As for your original question, I keep coming back because I firmly believe that Net54 has the greatest group of hobbyists I ever had the pleasure of encountering. Their overall respect for the hobby is refreshing, their collective knowledge is peerless, and I have learned more about baseball cards in the past year from them than I did on my own in the forty that preceded it.

Thanks to everyone here for making this site all of the great things that it is. You are truly appreciated.

Best regards and happy collecting.

Eric

[Samsdaddy]

I have been collecting on and off since I was a kid. I have said this before in other threads that I have gone from having thousands of cards to having just a small collection as I do now though working on growing it when I am employed again.

Eric, on the previous post said it best:

"As for your original question, I keep coming back because I firmly believe that Net54 has the greatest group of hobbyists I ever had the pleasure of encountering. Their overall respect for the hobby is refreshing, their collective knowledge is peerless,"

I second this. And, I love when you all post pictures of your cards, especially from the 1960s as that is my favorite era of card collecting.

I also really admire the professionalism and good humor of many posts. I have yet to come across people who are crude or posts/threads that are inappropriate.

During this dry time for me in terms of acquiring anything, looking at the vast collections of everyone as well as just learning more about the hobby sustains me and makes me look forward that much more to a time when I can collect again.

So, thank you to everyone.

[Steve D]

I guess I keep coming back because I don't have anything better to do

Plus, I've learned quite a bit from the local denizens, and I hope to learn more!

Steve

[steve B]

For me it's the sort of thing I looked for for a long time.

I'm in other hobbies, and there are boards and mailing lists for those too, but only a couple I really like.

As far as cards go this feels more like when I started hanging around a card shop in high school. The owners knew a lot, and some of the customers knew more about some areas, and hanging out talking about cards or baseball or any sport sometimes even non-sports was totally ok. A great education about what was a fringe hobby at the time.

Later on, it got so there were shops everywhere, most run by guys who only knew what was in Beckett. The smart ones sold around 91-92, the rest took a big hit with the strike. The rise of the internet took out the ones who couldn't figure out how to use it. All that led to a sort of "scratch ticket" mentality, and not much interest in anything older than a couple weeks. Nearly no technical knowledge, not even an ability to ID a less known set. (Never mind figuring out M101s or anything like that) It was literally a hobby that never grew up.

For me 96-09 was a period of relative inactivity. I still collected, but went to fewer shows and focused on other stuff. I helped go through a collection in 09 and found information about a few cards I'd never seen before over on the NS side. And finally checked out this side. And it felt like home. Even really obscure topics like unlisted varieties of modern sets got some respect. At worst an online version of the blank stare I was used to, without the obligatory derision follow up. (Ok, sometimes but typically a polite silence if the subject is one that bores people into a coma)

And some of the posters are people who I'd never met, but knew their names from ads etc.

Pretty cool.

I think my intro to the harsher side was mentioning I had some blank back T206s and basically getting a polite "put up or shut up" - Posted scans and all was well. Yeah, this can be a harsh crowd, but in some cases it needs to be.

Steve B

[Section103]

1. Unsurpassed knowledge
2. BST
3. Exposure to cards not easily found (share your...)
4. Dick-swinging contests

[Gradedcardman]

Originally I thought I would like the board to meet some good people with similar interests. I found that the knowledge I have gained is the best. Yes there are a good core of people but damn there sure are some douchebags on the board that are legends in their own minds.

[grainsley]

Because we are addicts.

[g_vezina_c55]

I read the Net54 many time everyday. I try to learn everyday a new thing with reading the net54

[Howe’s Hunter]

Seeing things I wouldn't get a chance to see otherwise, and the friendships I've made, even though I've never actually met anyone on the board in person. Sometimes at home, I'll be telling my wife about something in someone's collection (usually Paul M and his autographs) and my wife will say "Have I met them?" and I have to respond, "No, but neither have I." It's all about community.

[smrtn240]

Because it's the best d*mn sportscard collectors board on the net!
Thanks Leon!

[Jason]

Originally Posted by smrtn240

Because it's the best d*mn sportscard collectors board on the net!
Thanks Leon!

Yeah what he said.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by StuckInOmaha

Seeing things I wouldn't get a chance to see otherwise, and the friendships I've made, even though I've never actually met anyone on the board in person. Sometimes at home, I'll be telling my wife about something in someone's collection (usually Paul M and his autographs) and my wife will say "Have I met them?" and I have to respond, "No, but neither have I." It's all about community.

That's funny, Ed! We do share a bizarre corner of T206 collecting: ink on cardboard.

I have found that Net54 is an integral part of my collecting experience. My wife bought and started for me a website for Christmas 1997 to share my cardboard collection and some ideas I had about it, but a website is a very one-way communication, and not particularly interactive. Cardboard doesn't do much but sit there and be looked at. Never does my collection -- or collecting -- feel as alive and vital as when aspects of it are being actively discussed. I share here, not only to inspire others, but to inspire myself to keep on with the pursuit. For it is the positive affirmation, both specifically with respect to my interests and acquisitions, as well as generally with respect to this madness we call a hobby, that keeps me regularly checking back in -- as if to make sure there are others out there doing this; that this is normal. In a word -- community.

[DHogan]

I keep coming back so I can learn something new about vintage cards. A high school teacher once told me " if you don't learn something new every day. It's a wasted day. And it would be no one's fault but your own."

[midwaylandscaping]

For me it's a learning experience. Overall knowledge on the board of 19 century - WW II cards is something I lack, and not ashamed to admit it.
When I do eventually branch out into pre WW II collecting there's any number of posters on here who if i asked a question, they wouldn't hesitate to answer.

[4815162342]

Net54 is like King Arthur's Round Table. Unless you're just bat-crazy, every board member, regardless of what or how they collect, has a seat at the table. Leon has made sure of that.

[ZachS]

I dabble in a few different hobbies... old cards, military collectibles, military vehicles, firearms. Of course, if there's a hobby then there's a forum dedicated to it.

One of the best things about Net54 is the fact that Leon seems to be very anti-censorship. A lot of other forums have owners/admins that will delete posts and entire threads or even ban members over seemingly insignificant comments.

I like that people are allowed to voice their opinions here whether everyone agrees or not. Sometimes it's good to read all sides of a story.

[Jeffrompa]

I don't post much but I love to see what is being discovered and collectors who are excited about expanding such a great hobby .

[the 'stache]

Well, now to answer my own question. I think I keep coming back for a variety of reasons. Being able to talk to people who have the same passion for collecting has really enriched my life. I realize I have a long way to go, but I feel that I've learned a lot because of the incredible knowledge that permeates this forum. You guys make the hobby more fun.

I know someday I'll have seen all the sets, and most of the cards. But right now, it seems every time I come here, I'm seeing something for the first time. And that's pretty damned cool. I think that I know what I want to collect, and then I end up finding something else that really intrigues me. And that "want" list opens up a little more. Hell, I have pretty much everything before 1900 to really look into, and learn about yet. It's a whole other world, really.

I've had a lot of fun meeting new people here, if only in a virtual sense. But I feel like the Scarecrow just starting down the yellow brick road.