Murano Wiki - your thoughts?

[fossilfly]

Are you guys and gals interested in creating a Murano Glass Wiki? Or do the forums meet everyone's needs? The software is identical to Wikipedia's, so installing it is no big deal.

Forums are great for discussions and question and answers, but not ideal for gathering information in one place. I tried tying threads together in a rudimentary fashion by using tags, but its really a stopgap measure.

I was thinking of specific categories or pages for Artists, Companies and maybe glass techniques?

The Wiki would be under the Creative Commons license, so anyone can copy/redistribute/expand upon it as their needs require. I'm just not certain that there would be enough contributors or interest?

Just a though, and would be interested in hearing your ideas as well.

Thanks

[tam bam]

Hi Charlie,

I think it is a fab idea. I think it would certainly help me a bit. Searches take up a lot of time and having something in a wiki format would be quite helpful actually. I often resort to Wikipedia so why not!:D

tam bam

[annie04bell]

Sounds like a great idea and sooo useful.

[antiquerose123]

Sounds good to me too :):):)

[TxSilver]

I have been thinking about it and I think it is a good idea. One thing I would like to consider is the "what it's worth." Since most of the people here really don't know the worth of most things, maybe we can just limit it to "what is it?" We could still offer some idea of value if we have an idea. IMO, including the "what is it worth" can lead to disappointment when no one knows.

Just an idea. Please feel free to ignore. :)

[fossilfly]

I have been thinking about it and I think it is a good idea. One thing I would like to consider is the "what it's worth." Since most of the people here really don't know the worth of most things, maybe we can just limit it to "what is it?" We could still offer some idea of value if we have an idea. IMO, including the "what is it worth" can lead to disappointment when no one knows.

Just an idea. Please feel free to ignore. :)

Sorry it too me longer than expected to respond..

It can be confusing for a novice since there are frequently varying estimates or even no estimates on the value of an item, and everyone may have different ideas based on the venue the item was sold in (auction, ebay, retail) Despite this, it is by far the number one emailed request that I receive on a daily basis. They all generally fall into the same category. "I have a Murano (vase, figurine. etc) how much is it worth?"

I agree that members may not be able to pin down an exact price since valuations change, but the ballpark values offered are generally accurate, and other members are good enough to offer counter values if an estimate is too high or low, based on their own experience. I can't say that I have ever seen an estimate that was wildly off the mark. Most casual posters are satisfied with an ballpark range (eg.$10- $50, few hundred and OMG Priceless! ;)) However, to your point I will update the sticky on the beginning of the forum and my emails to ensure that posters are aware that the valuations are indeed estimates and that they may not receive a response if no one is familiar with the piece or style in question. I agree that for a brand new member it probably is a turnoff to the forum in general if no one responds, even though it may be due to a lack of familiarity with the piece.

Does any one else have any ideas or suggestions that would make this forum a better place for both new members and established pros?

[tam bam]

Charlie,

Rose, raised this issue last month. Members are posting items that are either clearly not Murano in origin or if we tell them that their piece is not Murano in origin then they still want us to find out who made it. I agree with her that we should just stick to Murano items only or either add another category for all other types of glass once we find out it is not Murano and move those posts to the non-Murano glass category. There may be some questionable pieces here and there that we are not sure of the origin but I feel that sometimes the forum is cluttered with non Murano items and it can very easily confuse a new comer or heck even me for that matter. Just a suggestion.

tam bam