@Multisubject the problem I see and everyone else I’ve spoken to sees is that this section is getting abused. It should be for discussing other hobbies, etc. but it’s getting used just for people to attention seek, vent, and talk rubbish.  It’s getting used more like a social media update on people’s life section. I won’t name other topics as not to cause issues but if you don’t see the problem, I really cannot understand how. However that’s your opinion on it, and you’re welcome to that.

Mechanical robustness against the external atmospheric pressure?

The most robust shape is a sphere, the least (assume smooth surface now) is flat panel. The curvature helps to make sure no part of the material is exposed to tension and no leverage amplifies any of the stresses.
These lamps use rather long internal structures, so true ball becomes impractically big.
The tubular has curvature only along one axis but becomes rather slim shape along the lamp working structures (the arctube with its frame and connection), elyptical across both direction, so it is stronger. Plus has its glass further away from the hottest part of the inner workings, so does not need to work at that high temperatures and that high temperature gradients.

On the other end the tubular means it could start from a tube - an easier format to make for a high volume production, which may make it cheaper even when eventually using a bit more material or requiring a bit more consistent structure. Elyptical requires more forming, which may make it more expensive for processing and more prone to defects that make it weaker.

At the end both are an engineering compromises, neither a "clear winner", their exact choice was dictated by the weaknesses and strengths of the particular plants and processes they originated from, but to big extend also the legacy - continue making what has been working and what people were used to in that area, e.g. also what the various fixtures became designed for (lamp anchoring mechanisms,...) and what the lamp engineers were familiar to work with (so they know what they can get away with and what not to do in their designs when using given shape, so avoid mistakes).

At this point the only reason I am still on LG is drama like this lol
My interest in lighting has turned into a broader interest for electrical engineering and electronics (but let’s face it, it was pretty much already like this, but I have learned a lot of useful information here and playing with lighting in general though)
I still like a collection of the big glowing things because I just find them cool, and I pretty much use LED and boring fluorescent exclusively.

Some of you might find this useful - ignoring boards.

We have enabled the SMF ignore boards feature.  When enabled, posts from the ignored boards will no longer show up in unread & recent, and the new post indicator won't show.  However, it will continue to be available on the home page for you to access.  To ignore a board, go to your profile and look for Ignore Boards Options under Modify Profile.

I made this suggestion and while it had people agreeing with my post, nothing has happened since then...

I'm okay with an off-topic section, but it should be hidden away just like the gallery one for people who don't want to see those posts.

Most of the members that leave seem to have always mentioned the off topic section growing out, or just having plain dumb topics, and that taking the interest away from lighting related topics. I can understand, and I could live without the off topic section.

@Danny
I do agree that some topics should be deleted, however I can't think of any topics that haven't been deleted yet that should be. Whenever things invariably get heated, those topics should be locked, but I don't think full-on deletion is always necessary. Exactly what kind of topics are you talking about? "Depressing" is definitely a large category, I am sure lots of things can potentially fall into that depending on what you mean.

For example, Maxim's "RCM442, why?" topic did have some rough spots, but I think it fizzled out reasonably, and looking back at it can be useful to understand the opinion of other users on this site. As an example of a thread that was relatively inactive, my topic about microwave torches has only two comments (really only one since one of the replies is from me). But in my opinion valuable insight was provided from the one person who commented, and deletion would cause more harm than good.

And yeah I do think the attitude here is pretty complain-y, but I don't think that's anything new, and people are going to complain somewhere wether we like it or not. Maybe these typoes of complaining topics should be banned, but that might cause more controversy and member departures than it is worth.

As with people leaving because of this section, I am not sure where I stand on that. A reason I have heard is "negativity", but again I am not sure what they are referring to because that is a very broad descriptor. Not sure about the lack of comments on photos either, I know that the general quality of uploads has dropped but the people still uploading good stuff should still be getting good comments, but they might not be.

No matter the amount of complaining or negativity that may be present here, I can't imagine it possibly affecting me so much as to want to leave the site. Of course there were some members who had half the LG population turn against them, but I think it is pretty easy to prevent that from happening by just using respectful language and not trying to stir the pot, which most people do with some inevitable exceptions of course. It is sort of a mystery to me to be honest. Maybe some people are here just to watch LG burn to the ground lol

@Baked bagel 11
What exactly is the aim of wanting this section locked? I just can't draw a connection between locking the off-topic section and making the site better, that's all.

And yes the majority of new members who join seem to be inactive, but we are gaining active members slowly but surely, I forget the username but I think in november/december of 2025 we got one that seems promising. One is not great, but better than nothing of course.

I do agree with danny here, I've been to the ER many times, last saturday even, after breaking my wrist, I don't expect anyone to give a f, just as I wouldn't if some stranger did so themself.

Locking off topic for a bit seems like a good idea.

Funny thing is, the number of registered members keeps going up, but none of them are active!

@James
Thanks! Good to know