Missing members

[DWF]

I see in today's birthdays  someone who used to be on quite bit (Andrew Fritsche) been missing for years. Wonder what ever happened? Others missing too, I guess that's how it goes.

DWF

[Farmall1066]

I know some left over the policies being enforced during the plandemic, others I’m sure have passed on to a better place, and some may have just got too busy with life to participate any longer.  Quite a few years back I went for a year or more just checking in every few months and moving on again.  

[ChrisNY]

He is still around on Facebook. A lot of former members use the groups on FB still. Honestly I participate more there as well, as that is where most of the people who were very active during this boards heyday are now. Politics and other problems here over the years drove many to other places. 

[acem]

I don't do Facebook. Various reasons. Mostly related to family.

It's easier if you just don't know some things about people...

[twostepn2001]

Tony Ramos used to be very active here but started having problems with his computer. He replaced it but couldn't get back in Red Power with his old info. he didn't want to lose all his old stories and pics concerning his tractor restorations. l think he finally just gave up and stays on FB now. He posted just a few days ago about the big meeting in North Carolina.

[jass1660]

Facebook is the work of the devil. 

[zleinenbach]

2 hours ago, acem said:

I don't do Facebook. Various reasons. Mostly related to family.

It's easier if you just don't know some things about people...

that’s why we get so bully about the deere stories!!!! 

[rustred]

2 hours ago, jass1660 said:

Facebook is the work of the devil. 

yep, very hard to find good actual info , as most is b.s. and smart azz answers.  best info is having an actual service manual not relying on hear say. u tube is not much better, with all the wanna Be mechanic's.

[Big Bud guy]

I think a few took their toys and went home 

[Lazy WP]

And a few more should 

[Chester5732]

1 hour ago, rustred said:

yep, very hard to find good actual info , as most is b.s. and smart azz answers.  best info is having an actual service manual not relying on hear say. u tube is not much better, with all the wanna Be mechanic's.

I have said for a long time that anyone who is very knowledgeable is busy fixing and doesn’t have time to be posting how to videos for people to watch for free.  They would be doing jobs in their shop making money.  

[vtfireman85]

I understand leaving, i don’t understand leaving for facebook. The bad info, bad actors and unnecessary vitriol is just such a turnoff. This is a good bunch on here, it’s a lot like family, you take the good with the bad, but it’s definitely mostly good. 

[ray54]

This place has thing organized so I can find things. My experience of looking in on FB everything is random. Or at least organized in a way that my brain does not think. Everybody knows their right on FB even if they look to me to know nothing. I will stay here as long as this functions about the same way as now. 

[bitty]

9 hours ago, rustred said:

yep, very hard to find good actual info , as most is b.s. and smart azz answers.  best info is having an actual service manual not relying on hear say. u tube is not much better, with all the wanna Be mechanic's.

Yep on fashismbook you get lots and lots of answers quickly but usually most of them are completely wrong and don't know it. I often won't answer a question on here if I'm not sure if I have a correct answer. 

7 hours ago, Chester5732 said:

I have said for a long time that anyone who is very knowledgeable is busy fixing and doesn’t have time to be posting how to videos for people to watch for free.  They would be doing jobs in their shop making money.  

Agreed. Most of those with the knowledge are busy working on things and don't get on here every few seconds. 

[Dirt_Floor_Poor]

1 hour ago, vtfireman85 said:

I understand leaving, i don’t understand leaving for facebook. The bad info, bad actors and unnecessary vitriol is just such a turnoff. This is a good bunch on here, it’s a lot like family, you take the good with the bad, but it’s definitely mostly good. 

This. If you think it’s bad here, I don’t know how you can be on Facebook. 

[DT Fan]

17 hours ago, Chester5732 said:

I have said for a long time that anyone who is very knowledgeable is busy fixing and doesn’t have time to be posting how to videos for people to watch for free.  They would be doing jobs in their shop making money.  

Ah, my boy, there is more to life than just making money. While I never claim to be a great mechanic, or one at all most days, I do really enjoy fixing things. The YouTube thing has been a lot of fun. Met/got to know a bunch of wonderful people that I would not have ever known without it.

As to the missing members, life happens. My participation ebbs and flows and I expect others do too. I really don't get leaving for facebook though.

[acem]

My presence on here has changed over the years. At first I posted in the Tech section, or whatever it was called back then, almost 20 years ago. Then I branched out more. Now I check in often. It's a pleasant place for me to visit and helpful too.

I occasionally see the crap on Facebook. My wife is on. Some good some bad but the signal to noise ratio is terrible. Just the other day a friend was talking to me about something he found on Facebook and wanted my opinion as an engineer. Didn't like it when I told it was BS. 

I am missing out on marketplace though...

[Chester5732]

3 hours ago, DT Fan said:

Ah, my boy, there is more to life than just making money. While I never claim to be a great mechanic, or one at all most days, I do really enjoy fixing things. The YouTube thing has been a lot of fun. Met/got to know a bunch of wonderful people that I would not have ever known without it.

As to the missing members, life happens. My participation ebbs and flows and I expect others do too. I really don't get leaving for facebook though.

You missed my point.  If they were that talented they would have better things to do than make mediocre at best videos.  One that comes to mind is a guy making a new pin for an IH distributor spring. He was trying to tap a hole and used vice grips as a tap handle and was surprised the hole was messed up. Duh. 

[CRVB91]

I deleted facebook/social media nearly 3 years ago now, I was at the beginning of going through something that I didnt truly understand at the time - and I had the reality check that most people who post there do so for limited reasons; for attention, to portray a life they're not truly living, and to judge the lives of others/be nosey - then you have the politics and the ones who think they know everything. 

If you put all of the facebook people in a room, and told me to go into that room and socialize with them, the answer would be a hard no, so why keep up with them online? 

I'll stay here, its quieter and I prefer the people and conversation, for the most part. 

[FoxrunFarms02]

I joined on here in 2023 after my work related injury caused by a 3rd party. I was resting a lot, and on different cloud 9 meds. It was a good time to be on my phone and scrolling through the forum. As I got more mobile and could enjoy lighter activities I posted on my M. It really killed time,  I  " met" some nice people, and really learned a lot. I try to come on here and check in when I can but unfortunately between getting back to work, family, and trying to catch up on projects there just isn't enough time in the day to be scrolling.  I was active on here, a john deere garden tractor forum, a toy tractor forum, and Kubota forum, and see the same thing and not active on them either.

Being in my late 30's I consider myself " young" and not very tech savy. I enjoy forums because of the older, mature, wiser members, and you can go and search for your problem. You can usually tell when a new younger member joins a forum. They ask a ton of questions and get mad when some suggests searching, or it's  a lot of screen shot pictures  of " this is mine"  or " this is cool" What I don't like about forums is. Being a google or youtube mechanic and looking for my problem online. I scroll through pages on pages reading of the same issue I had with suggestions and either the o.p ghosts the page or says " I figured it out, thanks," but doesn't say what solved the issue. I had Facebook early on but didn't feel the need to post my life on it. I got rid of it getting so sick of people posting their perfect Facebook life, vs their actual life, ( here's me and my husband  on date night.......even though we're getting  divorced, heres this big fancy vacation.......my parents paid for, here's my new truck.......that replaced the other one that got repoed) a family member is rushed to the hospital by ambulance and in the crazy, hectic, unpredictable moment some one's 1st thought/reaction is to take a picture of the ambulance and post, and related to that someone posts " please pray" and that's it to have everyone ask " omg what happened?" I recently created a Facebook just for marketplace and honestly I'm going to get rid of it and just deal at the consignment lot. No more trying to get scammed " is it still available ", no calls no shows. I honestly think fb is taking over forums for the newer generation, everyone is on it and you get instant answers. I just laugh that 5 minutes of research is quicker than waiting for a hand out. 

I also try not to be on my phone much. Every so often we go out to eat as a family. Looking around at the restaurant here's a whole family, work crew or high school couple at a table, heads down phones out. I try to set an example for my son. The world changed and not for the better 

 

Those are my reasons for not being online as much.

[vtfireman85]

7 hours ago, Chester5732 said:

You missed my point.  If they were that talented they would have better things to do than make mediocre at best videos.  One that comes to mind is a guy making a new pin for an IH distributor spring. He was trying to tap a hole and used vice grips as a tap handle and was surprised the hole was messed up. Duh. 

There are some very talented individuals making decent content available for free, I for one appreciate it. Like anything else,  you have to take the good with the bad and wade through some garbage. I have also gleaned critical information from not so great mechanics and mediocre videos if they gave me a glimpse of something I was trying to figure out. My personal pet peeve is people who feel the need to lace their dialogues with profanity and call names to people asking questions. We all start somewhere, and there’s nothing to be gained by calling names and swearing. 

[FoxrunFarms02]

On 4/4/2026 at 8:22 PM, vtfireman85 said:

I understand leaving, i don’t understand leaving for facebook. The bad info, bad actors and unnecessary vitriol is just such a turnoff. This is a good bunch on here, it’s a lot like family, you take the good with the bad, but it’s definitely mostly good. 

I figured we're all on here for the same reason......the love of IH.......we're one big family.........some days we're the Walton's...........some days the Manson's.

[U-C]

11 hours ago, acem said:

My presence on here has changed over the years. At first I posted in the Tech section, or whatever it was called back then, almost 20 years ago. Then I branched out more. Now I check in often. It's a pleasant place for me to visit and helpful too.

I occasionally see the crap on Facebook. My wife is on. Some good some bad but the signal to noise ratio is terrible. Just the other day a friend was talking to me about something he found on Facebook and wanted my opinion as an engineer. Didn't like it when I told it was BS. 

I am missing out on marketplace though...

honestly one has to be very careful on that marketplace on Facebook was checking stuff out for sale when I noticed the same tractor for sale by two different people same pics too but one had correct info on it and the other didn't. 

I'm on Facebook but I only chat here and there with not even a handful of people compared what it was a few years ago. Did a few house cleanings over the years as well. The novelty of Facebook has worn off the past 9 years since being on it. Also cause of all that AI crap on it now and people that have no idea about history too 

[acem]

36 minutes ago, U-C said:

honestly one has to be very careful on that marketplace on Facebook was checking stuff out for sale when I noticed the same tractor for sale by two different people same pics too but one had correct info on it and the other didn't. 

I'm on Facebook but I only chat here and there with not even a handful of people compared what it was a few years ago. Did a few house cleanings over the years as well. The novelty of Facebook has worn off the past 9 years since being on it. Also cause of all that AI crap on it now and people that have no idea about history too 

We were looking for a fridge recently. Wife found many for sale on marketplace. Found some local at really good prices. Showed me the listing.

I knew the woman selling them.  She has been in and out of jail for drugs, theft, etc. If she's selling them they are probably stolen... Ended up buying a good one at an estate sale.

[ChrisNY]

Facebook is all what you make of it. You definitely need to sort through the BS and bad information but that is pretty much anywhere, just like real life. There is no better platform for reaching a large audience for events or if you are looking for something. There are some good groups on there but you have to pick and choose. I have connected with many people through Facebook that I would never had the opportunity to talk to and become friends with otherwise. Many former IH employees, higher level management people, former dealers etc are on there and have lots of good information and stories that would never be heard otherwise. Long lost family tractors have been found frequently by networking. Events such as the 1206 Roundup at HCOP were highly promoted on Facebook, and without that the number of 1206's that made it to the show from across the country would not have been nearly as many. 

I network with professionals in my other career from across the US and Canada through different groups. Ideas, tactics and experiences are shared. There are many private groups that are highly monitored and BS is not tolerated. Members are vetted by the moderators and if bad information is put out they get the boot. There are groups on there with local history and nostalgia and images are shared and information passed on that I would never have the opportunity to see otherwise. These are just a few examples.

Not taking anything away from this forum as I have been a member here since the very early days and I still check in here daily at least and if I have a technical question it is a go to place for me. I have made many good friends through Redpower over the years and am the caliber of people here are top notch. Just like in life, things change, new opportunities open up, people change and it is always good to have a wide variety of information out there at your fingertips from whatever sources you choose to use. Also just like in real life you hear a lot of BS and you have to use your own intelligence and to filter out the truth from fiction.  Just my opinion, but to each there own.