POLL: Members are complaining about the off-topics, how should it be changed?

[b0bbyg]

The idea in principle of off topics I like for things (like political, news, worldview stuff) that should be there.
If it were to go away I could live with it.

I am always annoyed when something ends up there because some boys ( or girls, but lets face it usually boys ) cannot play by the rules.
Things like a funny meme thread, because someone always has to push the line.


My suggestion,   Track the members who cause threads to be moved, warn then ban.   If a thread gets started that is not Off Topics by intent or subject and is later moved because of how members behave, then they get a strike. Keep track of how often this happens and who is involved. set up thresholds for how many times this happens before the bans start and let them know they brought it upon themselves.

I think this is a great site, but just like everywhere rules usually exist and change because of the few not the many.

[Holg3107]

Also maybe something like a 200 post min. contribution to the general site prior to allowing access to off topics would assist in minimizing potential new trolls from rolling through? Doesn't fix existing issues but may eliminate some future.

[bearpaw]

Also maybe something like a 200 post min. contribution to the general site prior to allowing access to off topics would assist in minimizing potential new trolls from rolling through? Doesn't fix existing issues but may eliminate some future.

FYI - There are a lot of members who don't post hunting topics because they don't want drama from the drama queens. There are other members who are new to the sport and read to learn but don't have success photos and topics to post. Just wanted to explain why that rule would be unfair.

[Mudman]

I don't share nada except general knowledge.  Pics?  Nope some genius can find locations somehow off of pic.  Stories?  Well some internet police will criticize sumthing.  I see a guy on a thread posting a pic of his fish and I think uh oh its out of the water when it shouldn't be, or is that the damn within 400'?  Hmm Warden gonna be calling him.  Its a different world and I don't think its better.  I miss the old way the site was.  It seems like its being lost.  Some really great people I have met and I don't regret being a member.  I hope they feel I'm ok too.   Bearpaw, You gave me a tip few years back for bear hunting the Eastside.  Thanks buddy, bear down.  I have shared that knowledge with my family over the years resulting in another bear down.  That's what its about, not bashing others or fighting about Native treaties etc.  I would prefer we just don't go there so to speak..  We can talk about those issues at campfires.

[dwils233]

I voted to get rid of it.

I think I agree with a handful of other people on a few things. From a more objective standpoint, This is a forum for hunting washington, I like it best when it is focused on that. I can go to plenty of other places to argue my political views or find others who share my views on politics if I need re-inforcing. I just don't see how the site and visitors who want to see a page about hunting/fishing/ wildlife in washington/by washington/for washington benefits from bringing in the same crap we can find anywhere else.

From a subjective standpoint, the vitriol there is not pleasant. Its dominated by a few people who make their opinions clear- and then proceed to continually push those opinions at every chance they get. Its not a matter of anyone being thin-skinned, its a self-created and perpetuating echo chamber devoid of any real debate. If everyone is already so set in their opnions and unwilling to learn or change-whats the point in lying to ourselves and calling it a place for debate?  IMHO, people don't join conversations in OT to have a conversation- they just want to argue their point and know they will never will anyone over, so they don't even try to argue their point well or respect the other side.

Which is fine if that attitude stayed in off-topic, but it doesn't seem like it does. Hunt-wa in general seems more snippy, less supportive and less like a community over the past few years, I tihnk other people have said that too. Too many threads seem to devolve in the same way the OT ones do. And even if OT isn't the cause and is just a symptom of that problem- does it actually make Hunt-WA a better site? Are we better hunters, a better community, a tighter tribe of like-minded individuals or hobbyists because of what OT brings to the site? I don't think so, especially not lately. It does not aspire to the "better angels of our nature." and the more I see the attitudes and tactics of OT coming over to the rest of the site, the less I come on here in general and that makes me sad. I think we as washington hunters can afford to lose OT, but I worry about what happens if the issues in OT keep spreading outward to the site. 

And I'd like to point out that if anyone jumps down my throat for posting an opinion they disagree with, you are just proving my point. debates should be like badminton, not dodgeball

[netcoyote]

Wow.....I was away from Hunt Wa for awhile and just getting back on it seems like things have been going south since I last was actively involved. For what it's worth, a whole lot of other social media sites are the same or worse and it's always a challenge for the mods to keep things civil sometimes. Some of them just drop the "ban-hammer" at the first sign of trouble, but I don't think that is a good solution either. It's just a sign of the times we live in. There are a LOT more people in WA and a lot more people with strong and diverse opinions about outdoor activity. Some of the Facebook crap is amazing....
Looking forward to more reasonable discussions and a new hunteing season.....now, if i can just find somewhere that isn't burning.

[Thehowler]

I vote, keep it the way it is, It's fine. If I click on something and decide I don't like,
I quit reading. Nothing wrong with this forum, just some folks need drama in there
Lives.

[DOUBLELUNG]

question for those opted out....does it show up on the right in recent topics

No

[724wd]

I vote, keep it the way it is, It's fine. If I click on something and decide I don't like,
I quit reading. Nothing wrong with this forum, just some folks need drama in there
Lives.

 

[Karl Blanchard]

Off topics isn't the issue, it's individuals who are the issue.   The best forums out there are the ones who get nasty with the ban hammer.  It needs to happen here as well 

[Skillet]

 
Couldn't agree more. You can make up all sorts of rules to try and control the behavior of the trolls who don't get what this forum is about, or you can simply remove the trolls. 

In any case, the "Off Topics" board should be renamed for what it actually is - The Swamp.

 

[Mudman]

The "TROLLS" are on site because of your OT...  Just saying..    No offense meant.

[Special T]

Finally, if some people feel that the site has changed too much for their liking I would suggest that they become part of the solution. Rather than complaining about a thing and demanding someone else fix it, become part of the solution. Become more active outside of the OT area. Start more threads about the activities you love. Make positive comments on other peoples threads. If a troll bothers you then put them on the ignore list.

    Best comment of the day!

Every time I hear a complaint all I see is an opportunity the complainer failed to take.

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[Green broke]

Why do all tribal threads go straight to off topics?

[Special T]

Why do all tribal threads go straight to off topics?

Because so few people can have a intelegent informed discussion about it.
Of the 2 I respect the most, only one is still living and he gets fed up despite his elephant thick skin.

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