A Bit of a Rant

[Ballenxj]

I came to this forum to learn, and maybe share knowledge if I had any on a particular subject.
Many fine members have come and gone. Sternwake, Hepcat, ArtW, and most recently Gotsmart.
I have noted that those whom preach tolerance seem to have the least of it. Further, those that say there is an undercurrent here seem to be part of a much bigger one. I further thought of this place as a place where tribe help tribe. Well, this has hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. Certain people only like, thank, and help you if you fit the mold they are trying to form here. I know this because I can say something and not even get a thank you. Then a post or two down somebody else says the exact same thing and suddenly gets lots of thanks. It's pretty damned apparent what's going on, and most likely via PM's, emails, or whatever, so yeah, there's an undercurrent here, but not the one the overly sensitive complainers are bitching about. 
I plan on spending more time doing things elsewhere where I don't have to put up with all the two faced bias I see around here.
I have made some good friends here, and they know who they are. I have also ran into some bigoted two faced people, here, and you know who you are.
Peace Out.

 

[Cammalu]

Well crap... are you leaving also?


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[CautionToTheWind]

Discontent is an easier focus. The World is full of it. Yes, it is hard not to take things personally however it isn't about "us."

 

[wimc]

Nothing wrong with rants, its good to have one once in awhile to blow off some steam sort a speak.

There are trolls (or bullies) on forums and on youtube comments.

 

[chrisbailey]

I came to this forum to learn, and maybe share knowledge if I had any on a particular subject.

If you can no longer do these two things here then it's time to move on.

If you can, then sticking around makes sense.

Everything else is just garbage that we all sometimes have to endure in dealing with the human animal.

I'm new here, but not to forums/communities.  I've run a relatively large one in the past, moderated a couple, and participated in quite a few more.

There is no Utopian version of a forum.  Humanity doesn't allow it. 

I've seen great contributions from you and a couple of those you mentioned.  Many of you guys have probably helped countless people who only lurk and/or who aren't even registered.  Kudos.

Hopefully you stick around, but it's your life and your time.

Personally, if I die in some solar panel/battery/inverter doodad hickamajiggy explosion, I'm blaming Sternwake for leaving. He could have saved my life.

BTW, I'm thanking, +1ing, and possibly framing a printout of your post to hang on my wall in a weak bribery attempt to keep you here.

I try to focus on the good people and just flush any forum turds.

Best wishes in whatever you do and wherever you go.

 

[Cammalu]

Personally, if I die in some solar panel/battery/inverter doodad hickamajiggy explosion, I'm blaming Sternwake for leaving. He could have saved my life.

That's a big part of the problem. We are losing the experts and when they are gone we will have only the ones who think they are and someone could easily get hurt badly.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Dang....there seem to be a lot of the regulars here falling on their own swords...

 

Is it my deodorant?

 

[Putts]

Lack of it.

 

[chrisbailey]

That's a big part of the problem.  We are losing the experts and when they are gone we will have only the ones who think they are and someone could easily get hurt badly.

The odds are probably just as likely that some dufus like me will screw up the instructions once or twice anyway.  Sort of like the first time I attempted to do my own tune up... :blush:

In a forum this size, there will almost always be someone(legitimate) that will step up eventually.  And there will most likely be someone who is "expert" enough to point out any ridiculous advice.

The ones I'm aware of in my brief time here left of their own free will.  Whether they leave because they are ticked off about something or some other reason, that's simply the nature of forums.  In many cases, they may have just needed a break and the situation gave them a perfect out.  Not necessarily the case here, but it's something I've seen over the years.

By no means am I trying to invalidate Ballenxj's feelings and I certainly haven't been around and participated enough to disagree with the statements made.  We all feel what we feel and are entitled to that.

I've also been in very frustrating situations in forums.  The world would be perfect if there were no people in it.

I just hate to see what seem like good people let those that may not be so good dictate what they do.

 

[Putts]

I shouldn't joke.

I'm a n00b, but I know forums and the numbers here...these folks leaving will significantly effect the signal to noise ratio. I'm at the point where these folks looking over my shoulder was reassuring. It's disconcerting.

I also see soooo many "newcomer's corner" posts every day. The growth rate here seems pretty astounding. I fear our economic situation will only cause it to continue to grow. Big forums can get messy.

I understand Bob's insistence on the philosophical underpinnings of this place. It's good to have a strong guiding foundation as things get more complicated. Thing is, I think this place will get more complicated. (I apologize in advance, Bob, for speaking about you with a degree of familiarity here, we've never met, but I've listened to you for a f air few hours.) I think Bob created something bigger than he ever imagined. I watched his discomfort at last RTR. I bet this place is more stressful on him than we might ever imagine. Thanks for all you do, Bob. Thing is, if you try to hold on too hard to your picture of the place as it grows and changes it might be very hard on you. I wish you well in your journey to adapt and change along with it.

I've been a little to presumptuous as a n00b, I'm sure. My apologies.

My advice to anybody regularly frequenting forums is to learn not to take things personally and know when it's time to push the keyboard away for the day and enjoy the view from the camp chair. 

Oh, and to not press the "Post Reply" button about 28% of the time.

 

[Cammalu]

That's rude Bardo


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[lenny flank]

I think if we eliminated the "Off-Topic and Chit-Chat" section entirely, it would remove 99.999999999% of the problems.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Well....I see it this way...

People log in here for a variety of information AND a sense of 'community' and if there were no outlet here for chit-chat they would go elsewhere for it.

Which means even more loss of memberships and maybe less revenue from third-party ads.

Thing is, you can always just NOT click into the forums that don't interest you. Nobody forces you to go there.

Or so it seems to me.

 

[lenny flank]

Thing is, you can always just NOT click into the forums that don't interest you.

It's not a matter of "interest". It's a matter of where 99.999999999% of all our problems come from.

 

[tx2sturgis]

It's not a matter of "interest". It's a matter of where 99.999999999% of all our problems come from.

Hmmm...well I have seen 'problems' in every category...people are people. In fact, some of the biggest flare-ups happen over seemingly dry, technical subjects....

Nature of the beast, really. People will feel free to disagree no matter the subforum is.

 

[Putts]

I think if we eliminated the "Off-Topic and Chit-Chat" section entirely, it would remove 99.999999999% of the problems.

Nothing like a really good pressure cooker for making healthy grub...

...but they've all got a steam vent.

 

[Cammalu]

Look how many hits the chit chat ain't right thread has compared to the others. It's phenomenal that more people go there than anywhere else. It's also a good outlet for a laugh and letting off steam. There is no fighting at all in over 100 pages.


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[OutdoorFT]

I personally like some of your posts and hope you stick around.

 

[Scott7022]

I agree with all of the above and I wrote three more paragraphs as is my style. Read them thought, yeah, this is accurate. It is polite and helpful and will piss a few people off. So, I edited it and made it more gentle and gentile, (as in belonging to a tribe), as that's what I thought we were? Then I reread it and, thought what is the point? The original meaning was lost in the edit. So I tried again. I wasn't able to get it onto paper, the idea, the feeling, the solution.

Fear and stress are similar in consequences when it comes to the mind. If something has grown to the point it is creating stress, then that growth while good is having a bad effect on some. If left in an unstable stress state actions/behaviour/ideas will attempt to move out of the state of stress. Nothing likes to exist in stress, most notably humans. A plan is always better than chaos.

That is all I have to contribute.
Peace out

 

[karl]

I've updated my ignore file