@Multisubject i respect your opinion and the fact you like this part of the forum, thanks for your reply. However this part of the forum does need to be cleared out. IMHO there is a lot of depressing content here that can be seen by everyone. Lots of topics need to go, whilst others can be useful (rarely). But I know from speaking with members over the last couple of years that this part of the forum is the main thing pushing members away along with the lack of interaction on photo comments etc causing members to leave, or abandon their accounts. I knew 90% of members here by about 2012/13 after I joined in 2011… I now know maybe 3 or 4 as the rest have all gotten fed up and disappeared. I just want the best for this site.

It also happens with lithium.  That is far more corrosive towards quartz even though its chemical reactivity is less than sodium.  The reason is because lithium atoms are smaller and can more easily penetrate deeper into the silica structure.

Yeah, Ive noticed the same thing. It feels less like people lost interest in lighting itself and more like the community just spread out across other platforms. I can kinda relate to that too as I haven’t been that active myself. My last photo post was about a year ago. I have been losing interest in lighting quite a bit over the past few years. Another thing that @joseph_125 mentioned was the winter storms that came here in Ontario. I could barely go out and shoot stuff in those weather conditions. I unfortunately totalled 2 cars due to the harsh winter conditions.

I also think part of it is just life in general. People get busy these days with jobs, families, etc., that they just move on from their hobbies. I am quite worried that this site might meet its fate in the next few years.

@lightsofpahrump
That is an interesting experience, I myself have never been to the ER but my brother has, but it has always been for nuisance things like that fortunately.

@Danny
In a forum, people have the opportunities to share things that some may care about and others not so much. This applies to me with the Wanted section and Dating & Specifications section, neither of which interest me at all (purely a personal preference). What I do to fix this is just not looking that them. If I know I am going to be bored or unsatisfied by what I see in a particular section of a forum, I simply won't check it.

Whether you choose to lock it down or just not check it, the outcome is the same. Judging by the fact that some people enjoy this section of the forum, I would personally suggest just not checking it, that way everyone gets what they want.

I will be completely honest I don't completely understand your viewpoint, do clarify if I am misunderstanding you.

@Beta 5
I just checked the stats and you are right! I was not expecting to see that. Of course the core purpose of this site is lighting, but like I said with Danny just because other non-lighting topics exist on the site doesn't mean you have to read them if you are uninterested.

As to "steering back on track", I think we currently have a decently steady flow of lighting related content, and I personally doubt restricting off-topic content is going to change that for the better.

@Olav
I politely disagree with that. We are getting plenty of new members lately, and they seem to be asking good questions and trying to learn more about lighting. Some are met with knowledgeable people that don't have the means or the intent to share their knowledge, and that is unfortunate, but they are trying. People still have interest in my opinion.

I’d be interested

I’m with Beta 5 let’s lock it down As a trial

The subject of lighting technology is fading further into the background.
There is no longer any desire to write another article on lighting topics.

Sadly this is true, look at the forum stats - the off topic forum is the second most active.
It isn't a social media site and while it is good to share other hobbies some of us may have and to get to know each other, it becomes a problem if that starts to overtake the the core purpose of the site.

Perhaps we should consider locking the off topic side of the site for a while to try and steer the forum back on track?

@RRK
Ahh I see, so it literally is the photoelectric effect, I assume this is slightly less of a problem in gas filled envelopes where the electrons can't travel as far. Very interesting, does this happen with mercury or other compounds in lamps or mainly just sodium?

UV radiation causes electron emission from lamp's metal conductors nearby the arctube. Negative electrons land on the arctube surface and attract positive sodium ions. Sodium atoms are relatively lightweight, so can migrate through hot arctube walls at practically significant speed.

Iodine has heavy atoms and so stays mostly inside, also free iodine does much harm by increasing ignition voltage.