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Proposal for a new "Engineering" PDF

Started by Harold Evans4 · · 👁 5 views · 13 replies

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Participants Harold Evans4rustydrifter10Carol Newman2casualharbor9mistyhound94Lisa Jackson7Nicole Morgan5Larry Walker24wearybison63
Harold Evans4 Harold Evans4 Active MemberOP
50 messages
joined Mar 2015
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

So, I’m pitching a brand new subforum dedicated to engineering. With the blessing of our supermod Dorian Gray and admin rustydrifter10, I’m gonna try to push this through—but obviously, we need to chat and see if opening a whole new section actually makes any sense. Does anyone else think this is a waste of space? If you're actually on board with the idea, do me a solid and help me scout out existing threads from other sections that would fit perfectly in this new PDF. Let's hear it.

Look, I’ve been lurking on this forum for years—way before I even bothered making my own account—and I’ve noticed a pattern. Some threads just spiral completely off the rails. People start obsessing over tiny technical details and suddenly the whole point of the discussion is dead in the water. It totally kills the vibe. You see it most often in the Politics and Economics subforums, which are basically my main haunts anyway.
I’m gonna lay out a few topics for you, along with some quick breakdowns for each one (just follow the links in the titles).

PDF Economy, let's talk about it. The gap between US development and the rest of Europe? Honestly, where do you even start? It’s a massive divide.
What started as a decent debate about economic gaps and the psychological differences between America and the rest of the world has spiraled into a total shouting match. Now, everyone’s just arguing over how Western Europe and the States have such insane robotics and automation tech that they won't even need workers anymore. Whether it's actual science fiction or not, the whole thread went completely off the rails. People are obsessing over how advanced these robots actually are and if AI-driven bots are even a real possibility. Honestly? This kind of talk belongs on a dedicated subforum where the actual experts can nerd out over things like mechanics, efficiency, cost, and availability. This isn't the place for it.

PDF Politics, topic. The EU just gave the green light to expand that Canadian nuclear plant. Great. Seriously? Just as long as we don't have a single one of our own, right?
Right out of the gate, this thread drifted from actual politics straight into the weeds of whether nuclear plants, wind farms, solar panels, or other power sources are actually worth the money. It’s just one example of how we constantly loop back to debating how we make electricity—past, present, and whatever comes next. Look, there will always be people on here screaming for or against specific types of energy. But honestly? If we had a dedicated subforum, we could actually dive into the nitty-gritty: the technical specs, the real economics, and where it even makes sense to build this stuff. It’s pretty wild how much certain power plants are hated. Whether it's pure bias or just plain ignorance, it’s glaringly obvious that most people don't have a clue what they're talking about.

PDF Politics, topic. An open NATO conflict against Russia? Seriously?
Look, this is just one thread among a million where we chew on military tech. You’ll find similar debates over in the History subforums or back in the day on the Alternative boards. We’ve got everything from aviation and tanks to warships, subs, rifles, and pistols. Honestly, having these talks in a new sub could get a bit messy if people start veering off-topic—you know, getting sucked into political rants or those wild conspiracy theories about weaponry—but I’m counting on the mods to actually do their jobs. That said, I think discussions on what kind of force it would actually take to sink an aircraft carrier, or the real-world capabilities of military satellites, would be killer additions here.

The economy, via PDF. Let's talk about it. So, let's talk about 3D printing and the economy. Is it actually going to flip the script on how we buy stuff, or is it just more hype? Honestly, who knows? We’ve been hearing about this "industrial revolution" for years, but most of us are still just printing plastic trinkets at home while big companies stick to their massive factories. But think about it—if you can just print what you need right in your own garage, what happens to all those massive shipping hubs and global supply chains? Does the whole system just crumble? It sounds like some wild science fiction nonsense, I know, but the math starts to get interesting when you look at the long game. Are we looking at a total shift in how money moves, or is this just another tech bubble waiting to burst? Your move.
So, let's talk 3D printing. And yeah, I know, the economics part too. It’s sitting there on page three of this PDF, but honestly? I don't think it belongs there at all. If they were actually smart, they'd put a whole dedicated section in the new PDF just to break down the tech behind 3D printing itself. This stuff is blowing up right now, but most people still have no clue what it can actually do—or more importantly, what it absolutely cannot do.

PDF Natural Sciences, topics. Renewable sources, the power grid, alternative energy... honestly, where do we even start? It’s all just one big mess right now. Everyone wants to talk about going green, but nobody wants to deal with the actual headache of fixing the grid to handle it. Is anyone actually looking at the infrastructure, or are we just dreaming? i The Fukushima Nuclear Plant Mess
-Like I said before, I've still got more thoughts on the energy sector

There are endless topics out there debating technical specs, but unfortunately, they're stuck in specific subforums because people would call it off-topic otherwise. We’re talking mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics, IT, civil engineering, biotech, chemical engineering, even medical engineering—all of this could be part of a brand new subforum.
Maybe this is exactly what America needs: some high-quality debate about these fields of science, which are lagging way behind us given our current economic mess. Sure, some of us love playing with the latest tech—you know, computers, cars, skyscrapers—but let's get real: America barely produces any of that stuff domestically anymore. That said, I bet there are plenty of users here who, through school or traveling abroad, have actually seen technologies that feel like pure sci-fi to us right now. I'm talking everything from architectural marvels like the Burj Khalifa to transportation wonders like Maglev trains, or massive energy projects like those fusion reactors being tested over in France.

So, yeah, that's the "short version" of the idea. I'll definitely hunt for more potential topics on the site that belong in this new PDF. I listed the subjects I personally follow or jump into, but I'm sure there are tons more in this massive community we call this forum. That's why I'm calling on everyone to help me find more topics like this—and obviously, ideas for entirely new ones. Just keep it constructive, please. Also, if you know anyone who'd actually want to jump in but hasn't seen this thread yet, give them a nudge. And hey, feel free to suggest potential mods who actually know their way around engineering.
rustydrifter10 rustydrifter10 Regular
693 messages
joined Apr 2011
#2 ·
I actually really dig the idea, and I honestly think a PDF like this could work wonders for us. Thanks so much for sharing it! 🙂 I even reached out to Anderlon to see what his take on this might be.

If we had something like this PDF, it would be so much easier to separate those off-topic discussions that tend to clutter things up. We aren't exactly huge fans of having everything lumped together into one giant thread, especially when those conversations deserve their own space to really thrive. Using this method might actually help us spin off some high-quality, dedicated topics, for instance.
Carol Newman2 Carol Newman2 Regular
413 messages
joined Aug 2013
#3 ·
I'm on board. We've got plenty of folks on this forum who actually have some decent engineering background.
casualharbor9 casualharbor9 Active Member
168 messages
joined Feb 2010
#4 ·
The most logical move would be to split the PZ subforum up: migrate one section over to Philosophy, wipe some of the clutter, and rename another part to "engineering & pro-nuclear lobbying."
Or maybe not.

Actually, wouldn't it make more sense to just introduce specialized subforums? We could have dedicated spaces for the energy sector, theoretical physics, mathematics, material science, biology, chemistry, archaeology, anthropology, practical design, and perhaps even some scientific speculation... plus an astronomy section, since that’s pretty standard for this field, right?
mistyhound94 mistyhound94 Active Member
62 messages
joined Jun 2012
#5 ·
It’s a solid concept, I suppose. We might actually pull it off if we tried. 👍
Lisa Jackson7 Lisa Jackson7 Regular
259 messages
joined Oct 2018
#6 ·
Solid idea—makes total sense...
Nicole Morgan5 Nicole Morgan5 Member
37 messages
joined Sep 2010
#7 ·
A solid thought, and wouldn't you know it, we've already found our first moderator for this subforum 😉
Harold Evans4 Harold Evans4 Active MemberOP
50 messages
joined Mar 2015
#8 ·
I’ve let this suggestion sit here for a while to see how it would ferment. So far, the vibes seem pretty positive. Honestly, though, the handful of people who chimed in isn't nearly enough to get a real read on things—I was expecting way more feedback, even if it was just people hating on it. But hey, looking at the stats, it’s pretty obvious this specific subforum for messages, complaints, and suggestions doesn't get nearly as much traffic as the others, so that’s probably why it's quiet.

Is there any way to actually "advertise" this proposal over on the busier subforums? 🤔

What else can I do to actually get this thing moving?
I know I should probably start more threads to prove why we need a dedicated PDF like this, but let's be real—it’s too much work to hunt down examples and format everything if there isn't even enough interest to justify making a new PDF in the first place.

Anyone got any advice?
rustydrifter10 rustydrifter10 Regular
693 messages
joined Apr 2011
#9 ·
casualharbor9 said:Maybe it would be a good idea to roll out some extra sub-forums, like Energy sector, Theoretical physics, Mathematics, Materials, Biology, Chemistry, Archaeology, Anthropology, Practical design, maybe even Scientific speculation?... and so on.

Let’s take it slow; we might get there eventually. 🙂
Honestly, I think what the OP suggested is actually our best bet right now because, theoretically speaking, we could already pull together a pretty substantial amount of discussion topics for it. As the site continues to grow and evolve over time, the need for more specialized sections will naturally pop up. That said, we shouldn't make them *too* niche, or we risk losing both traffic and overall quality, but there's really no point in worrying about that just yet.
rustydrifter10 rustydrifter10 Regular
693 messages
joined Apr 2011
#10 ·
Harold Evans4 said:Does anyone have any advice?

Hey there.
I know it might feel like nothing is happening on this end, but trust me, it’s not the case—the people who actually make these kinds of calls really do see your proposal as a positive step. The owner should be making an announcement pretty soon, and in the meantime, I'm planning to reach out to the PDF moderators over the next few days to see if they can double-check their archives for any related threads. Of course, I'll be doing some digging on my own too.
Harold Evans4 Harold Evans4 Active MemberOP
50 messages
joined Mar 2015
#11 ·
Aha. Look, it's not like I can't go hunting for more info myself, I just didn't want to keep pushing if nobody actually gives a damn. In my intro, I stuck to the stuff I've been digging into lately—and honestly, I’ve still got plenty of rabbit holes to dive down. I might even have some ideas for new topics if you guys are actually interested.

Glad to see you're feeling the vibe. 👍
Larry Walker24 Larry Walker24 Veteran
1K messages
joined Jun 2022
#12 ·
So, where did we end up with all this?
wearybison63 wearybison63 Active Member
60 messages
joined May 2021
#13 ·
Larry Walker24 said:Where did we leave this mess?

Since there hasn't been a reply here in five years... we aren't far off.
Larry Walker24 Larry Walker24 Veteran
1K messages
joined Jun 2022
#14 ·
Anderson, what about this PDF? Is there any hope here?

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