OT Forum

[troutbert]

salmonoid wrote:

dryflyguy wrote:

troutbert wrote:
I suggest having a heading called OT Forums.

Then under that have subtopics such as:

Music, Sports, Food, Cars, etc.

And make it open to the public.

No politics. Political forums are a train wreck everywhere on the internet.

Totally agree!
I can't even talk politics with family, co-workers, and (most of) my friends.

So the solution to hard problems and difficult subject matters appears to be avoidance...

You can make all the rules about what is and isn't permissible in OT, but unless the rules are actively enforced, it will decay into personal attack banter.

There are simply a lot more problems with racial slurs and personal attacks (the problems Dave mentioned about OT) on a political forum than with forums on flyfishing, music, cars, food, etc.

All open web forums require moderation to prevent descending into bedlam.

But a political forum would require far more moderation than those other, less controversial topics.

The idea of a well moderated civil political forum sounds nice. But does such a thing exist anywhere on the web? I've never seen it.

It would be an extremely difficult thing to achieve.

 

[FarmerDave]

dryflyguy wrote:

troutbert wrote:
I suggest having a heading called OT Forums.

Then under that have subtopics such as:

Music, Sports, Food, Cars, etc.

And make it open to the public.

No politics. Political forums are a train wreck everywhere on the internet.

Totally agree!
I can't even talk politics with family, co-workers, and (most of) my friends.

I'd like to agree with that as well. In fact I almost posted that I agree as a knee jerk reaction (yesterday). But after thinking about it for a little bit...

For the sake of discussion only...

Those that can't talk about a certain subject without getting ticked off, shouldn't.

I mean, some people even seem to get ulcers in their thin skin when someone refers to a strike indicator as a bobber, or a graphite rod being revered to as plastic (which technically it is).

But because some can't talk about certain subjects, does that really mean nobody should?

I do completely agree that this is not a place for racial discussions unless it is a discussion about the merits of stocking lightning trout versus run of the mill rainbows. or which squirrel species makes better nymph dubbing.

Politics? Well, I could agree, but that will be very difficult since politics enters into just about everything. I honestly don't see how it can be completely eliminated.

Bottom line is, direct personal attacks between participants should not be tolerated from anyone, and I do mean EVERYONE. Cept for Dave Kyle of course, and I have NEVER seen that happen. You have something negative to say about someone on this site, send it in a PM.

But whatever is decided is fine by me. I'm just adding to the discussion.

Edit: Speaking of politics is everywhere, I saw the Hank Patterson video on the home page, and thought it was funny. It inspired me to change my signature. If anyone is offended by that, let me know.

 

[csoult]

dkile wrote:
To explain it a little further. Some of the threads and comments in the OT were offensive. Specifically the racial slurs and tone were not appropriate nor a fit for this site. Some of the conversations were no longer debates but rather just plain old arguments and personal attacks. I felt some people were posting to create a problem.

This is the reason I quit posting in the OT, and it started long ago. I used to really enjoy the OT, but as with anything it evolves with the social tendencies of the the people involved. I didn't agree with the way that people were interacting, and especially any types of racial remarks. I decided that rather than call them out I would just stop reading it. In some ways that has pushed me away, but other interests have contributed also.

Dave, it is your choice to remove the OT, and I respect that but..... I believe that by removing the OT altogether you will inevitably alienate some of the regular long term visitors and possibly damage the core of the site.

It is really hard to get to know someone online, and even more so when all of your conversation revolves around one subject (in this case fly fishing). In order to foster relationships within an online community learning other peoples interests are pretty important.

Let's be honest, if you are just using this as a learning/teaching tool then your work here is done. All the information ever really needed to fly fish in Pennsylvania is already in the content of the posts within the site 10 times over. The only thing needed now are better explanations on how to use the search functions for those who lack the capabilities to navigate the internet. But is that really what this (the site) is all about?

Either way, I really believe all of the moderators do an excellent job of running the site, and shouldn't have to babysit. People know they are posting something that is wrong before they ever click submit.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

+1 Cody. GG

 

[dryflyguy]

Personally, I miss the sports talk - especially at this time of year, with football season in full swing.
And that's too bad. That subject on the OT was always entertaining, but with none of the seriousness and personal attacks. At least from what I recall anyway.

Whatever Dave does, I also doubt that he could let political discussions come back. Even after the election is over, I'm sure many posters would keep on beating that same old dead horse.

 

[csoult]

dryflyguy wrote:
Whatever Dave does, I also doubt that he could let political discussions come back. Even after the election is over, I'm sure many posters would keep on beating that same old dead horse.

I agree

 

[Swattie87]

csoult wrote:
This is the reason I quit posting in the OT, and it started long ago. I used to really enjoy the OT, but as with anything it evolves with the social tendencies of the the people involved. I didn't agree with the way that people were interacting, and especially any types of racial remarks. I decided that rather than call them out I would just stop reading it. In some ways that has pushed me away, but other interests have contributed also.

Dave, it is your choice to remove the OT, and I respect that but..... I believe that by removing the OT altogether you will inevitably alienate some of the regular long term visitors and possibly damage the core of the site.

It is really hard to get to know someone online, and even more so when all of your conversation revolves around one subject (in this case fly fishing). In order to foster relationships within an online community learning other peoples interests are pretty important.

Let's be honest, if you are just using this as a learning/teaching tool then your work here is done. All the information ever really needed to fly fish in Pennsylvania is already in the content of the posts within the site 10 times over. The only thing needed now are better explanations on how to use the search functions for those who lack the capabilities to navigate the internet. But is that really what this (the site) is all about?

Either way, I really believe all of the moderators do an excellent job of running the site, and shouldn't have to babysit. People know they are posting something that is wrong before they ever click submit.

Not the normal type of post I say this in response to but...

^Post of the Year 2016 Nominee.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I WILL miss the discussions on religion (the real ones, not the ridiculous "religion of peace" threads and stuff), and of course, I'd miss the Friday Jam threads.

 

[franklin]

I wouldn't say that all there is to learn is already here. There is always new gear. Changes in water conditions. New flies that offer "a better mouse trap". New regulations or environmental conditions. And ideas on where to fish for those unfamiliar with an area.

 

[steveo27]

I agree with Csoult. I used to enjoy most of the OT threads, then it most of them just turned into pissing matches so I stopped reading more and more of them.

I do miss some of the better thread, especially about hunting, vehicles, guns, and other outdoor related subjects.

My suggestion, for what its worth, is maybe open up a General Outdoors forum. I bet it would be a good place for general chitcat for outdoors people. Im sure there are a lot of members on here who are also interested in camping, hiking, hunting, Kayaking/rafting, rocking climbing, ect.


If that were a success, maybe open up another forum for sports/non outdoor hobbies and see how that grows.

Cheers

 

[FarmerDave]

Good ideas Steveo. No soccer thread.;-)

Sorry, couldn't resist, but I think most know that was a joke. I mean what I said, not soccer.

 

[djs12354]

Miss the discussions that were the good part of the OT. Don't miss the political mudslinging threads. Seems that the few spoil things for the many.

PS:

FD - I'm in OH and waved. Are you going to wave back?