Lurkers.....Esteemed members

[PlateauNDN]

In the efforts of conservancy I'd say both sides should work together better. I support regulatory but not stripping away and some other agency trying to take away the rights my ancestors fought and died for.

There should be some type of monitoring and regulatory on my side of the fence but it's damn near impossible. Some day we'll get there and I hope it's not to late.

Otherwise, it'll be like the green/white river watershed and the damn Mucks, a barren wasteland deprived of animals because of uncontrolled and unregulated killing.

Then we can put on a face and parade around like we didn't cause it.

[runamuk]

How do tribal members suggest we have discussions about tribal rights, abuses, enforcement, and/or lack of enforcement without coming across as anti-native?  Serious question that I think could help the mods police those threads.

I have avoided those threads, simply because I do not know a way to address such issues without it appearing anti-native.

With civility, even in disagreement.

1. Don't stereotype.
2. Don't make personal attacks and derogatory comments.
3. Stick to facts as much as possible.
 

Ding ding ding

I will add treat people the way you want to be treated. 

[singleshot12]

In the efforts of conservancy I'd say both sides should work together better. I support regulatory but not stripping away and some other agency trying to take away the rights my ancestors fought and died for.

There should be some type of monitoring and regulatory on my side of the fence but it's damn near impossible. Some day we'll get there and I hope it's not to late.

Otherwise, it'll be like the green/white river watershed and the damn Mucks, a barren wasteland deprived of animals because of uncontrolled and unregulated killing.

Then we can put on a face and parade around like we didn't cause it.

  Sure wish those agencies would get it figured out soon tho,but they may never. Guess we should keep telling ourselves everything is still in the hands of The Great Spirit.

[DOUBLELUNG]

I have never been to Off Topics, never opted in, so that is one frustration I don't share.  I was one of the 50 or so original members, I do miss the respect and courtesy of the small number of members, but without growth I would have not met at least a dozen high quality fellow hunters with whom I am friends on social media and IRL.  I have found that blocking the occasional ignorant inflammatory toxic doorknob greatly improves my Huntwa experience; who to censor would be tricky on a site owner or moderation basis, but booting the worst apples probably would not be a bad idea - would go a long way toward restoring some civility and respect.  Unduly critical responses that are unsubstantiated and rain hate on someone else sharing their hunt/experience/trophy pics would be a good place to start.  I have also received and shared good information that I really appreciate, and has made my Washington hunting a better situation. 

I'm not bothered by the irrelevant threads, I just go to unread posts to see what is new, and skip past anything that does not interest me.  Sometimes I'm checking a few times a week, sometimes I don't check in for months.  I do appreciate the site overall, I would miss it if it was gone.

[CoryTDF]

Got really burned out on all the drama. Stayed away for quite a while and just recently came back. Honestly, I understand the whole thing about pictures. I am, and also belong to, a group of very successful waterfowl hunters and I almost never contribute to that thread or add any pictures as it is a freaking joke! I have no intention of arguing with some keyboard warriors whom I will never hunt with, hike with, drink beer with, or even meet in person. Guess I've turned new leaf.

I also take my daughter hunting with me and have posted her success here. I quit that as well because I cannot stand the judgment that often comes. When it comes to my little girl my tolerance for stupidity is very low. I am not going to listen to somebody berate my child or myself for stupid things like rifle caliber or visible tag in a picture.

This forum can sound a lot like what I imagine a middle school girl locker room is like. DRAMA!!!! Used to be able to come on and ask advice and not get blasted by all the super cool dudes who "did it on their own". I hate when I see that on this site. If somebody wants some help or has a question just freaking help them! Send them the link to the other 623462349786 threads that may exist about the same topic. The HW search engine is not the best and it is possible that they just didn't pop up.

Anyway, I'm back for now. We shall see how long I last this time.     

[hntrspud]

I don't post often anymore because of the holier than thou attitude of some. I enjoy the site, people's success, but am reluctant to post a doe, or a spike because it's not the biggest around.

[bearpaw]

Got really burned out on all the drama. Stayed away for quite a while and just recently came back. Honestly, I understand the whole thing about pictures. I am, and also belong to, a group of very successful waterfowl hunters and I almost never contribute to that thread or add any pictures as it is a freaking joke! I have no intention of arguing with some keyboard warriors whom I will never hunt with, hike with, drink beer with, or even meet in person. Guess I've turned new leaf.

I also take my daughter hunting with me and have posted her success here. I quit that as well because I cannot stand the judgment that often comes. When it comes to my little girl my tolerance for stupidity is very low. I am not going to listen to somebody berate my child or myself for stupid things like rifle caliber or visible tag in a picture.

This forum can sound a lot like what I imagine a middle school girl locker room is like. DRAMA!!!! Used to be able to come on and ask advice and not get blasted by all the super cool dudes who "did it on their own". I hate when I see that on this site. If somebody wants some help or has a question just freaking help them! Send them the link to the other 623462349786 threads that may exist about the same topic. The HW search engine is not the best and it is possible that they just didn't pop up.

Anyway, I'm back for now. We shall see how long I last this time.     

Corey I'm sorry to hear that happened to you and your daughter as well as others. 

We try to watch topics but miss a great deal. We are realizing the extent of this particular issue and want to stop the trash talk, especially in story and photo topics, but we'll need help from everyone, help us by using the "Report to Moderator" button on the right side of any post when you see trash talk. 

[bearpaw]

I don't post often anymore because of the holier than thou attitude of some. I enjoy the site, people's success, but am reluctant to post a doe, or a spike because it's not the biggest around.

I think we have seen some positive change already. A member recently posted about his August cow elk hunt this month and I didn't see much negativity. I look forward to seeing your future  success stories and photos, you should even shgow us what you got last season. If someone trashes your topic please use the "Report to Moderator" button. As soon as we deal with a few trash posts this forum should get even better. 

[Tschaefer72]

Just wanted to say thank you for those that have helped create this site and for taking the time to ask this question in a continued effort to make it a better experience. I use to live in Walla Walla and would spend much of my recreational time out in the woods and setting up trail cameras. 5.5 a half years ago I moved over to the Bothell/Mill creek area for a job and got married. My availability to be in the woods has drastically changed. I found this forum while looking for ways to stay connected to hunting and the outdoors between the hunting seasons. I love seeing the pictures and stories of people's hunts. I enjoy following the progress from drawn tags, to scouting , to the hunt. It gets me excited for my upcoming opportunities. I am not out in the woods enough to contribute a lot of content but am appreciative of all those that do. I got to buy and sell hunting equipment from members as well as recieve a lot of suggestions on different hunting equipment. i dont read any of the off hunting topic threads as i am just on this site for huntning purposes only. When posting pics of my success (no big animals) I have only had positive interaction and comments.

Look forward to the fall and the opportunities to hunt and will contribute what i can. thanks.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Just wanted to say thank you for those that have helped create this site and for taking the time to ask this question in a continued effort to make it a better experience. I use to live in Walla Walla and would spend much of my recreational time out in the woods and setting up trail cameras. 5.5 a half years ago I moved over to the Bothell/Mill creek area for a job and got married. My availability to be in the woods has drastically changed. I found this forum while looking for ways to stay connected to hunting and the outdoors between the hunting seasons. I love seeing the pictures and stories of people's hunts. I enjoy following the progress from drawn tags, to scouting , to the hunt. It gets me excited for my upcoming opportunities. I am not out in the woods enough to contribute a lot of content but am appreciative of all those that do. I got to buy and sell hunting equipment from members as well as recieve a lot of suggestions on different hunting equipment. i dont read any of the off hunting topic threads as i am just on this site for huntning purposes only. When posting pics of my success (no big animals) I have only had positive interaction and comments.

Look forward to the fall and the opportunities to hunt and will contribute what i can. thanks.

I'll echo the importance of the site in staying connected to hunting when your field time is drastically curtailed.  With health problems of my own, and as caregiver for my disabled wife, my field time is less than 10% of what it was 10 years ago, probably less than 1% of what it was 25 years ago.  Had it existed 25 years ago, I would not have had time to participate - I was too  busy doing.

[Machias]

I hope a lot of the lurkers and in particular some of the members who used to post, start posting (again), we will all be better for it.

[mhbrewster71]

I'll have to admit, I'm a lurker. I originally joined to voice my opinion on youth and disabled hunting and hoping for more opportunity for those user groups. I've posted a few times since then, and reached out to the group looking for an opportunity for a young man with a heart condition, whom I coach in baseball, to see if the Forum could help him out. I have to tell you, you all were awesome in that regard and PM's were flooding my in box!! I thought to myself "We stick together and take care of our own"!! And in the boys' case, we did and you all helped make his dream come true!!!!

On the other hand, at times I see divisions being formed amongst us through remarks and comments, judgments, and the like. It is disheartening at times to see how divided we can become, when in essence, we share many of the same passions and love for the great out doors, and being able to share it with others. 

I don't know PLAT but was particularly disappointed the last time he became so frustrated he logged off and didn't come back for a long while. I looked forward to reading his perspectives and thoughts, and what a valuable asset to have on this forum! Thick skin or not, it can get darned tiresome and at some point throwing one's hand up and saying "I'm done" might be the best option.

A suggestion would be: If we have an issue or a thought about a particular thread, why not PM the OP or the person who made the most recent post who got your dander up, get in contact with them personally, and have a discussion? I've reached out to a couple folks on this Forum through PM when I saw an issue was getting heated or turning south, or when I read something I thought was truly inspirational. It is a tactic I've used and it has so far worked well. Just my  twocents:
.

[Lowedog]

I personally got burnt out with all the arguing that went on.  I found myself wrapped up in some of it.  Wolves, ethics, modern vs archery vs muzzy vs... 

I decided to take a break and stayed away for a long time.  I actually think this may be my first post in years.  I even didn't hunt much for a few years.  My daughters rekindled my hunting desires a few years ago and since then I have been a lurker.  I will go long periods of time not checking in and then other times I will pop in and look at the topics to see what is going on. 

Things certainly have changed.  There isn't nearly as much sharing of pics or stories as there used to be.  The shed forum used to be my favorite to check in the spring and this year there wasn't much to see. 

I would guess that is because we all became so critical of each other.  I think there is also some education that has happened over the years that has caused a lot of us to keep things to ourselves. 

[OutHouse]

Not a lurker, not an esteemed member, but I think I've been treated pretty well on here. Yea, there are disagreements and some passive aggressive behavior seeing how we are all behind keyboards. I guess I would agree that sometimes there's obvious division. I remember a thread that somehow got on about whether one enjoys the killing part of the hunt. The griping and anger about people's responses was obvious and I probably fanned the flames because I said something to the effect that people who enjoy killing for killing sake probably have mental health issues. So I've contributed to the conflicts, no doubt.

The Native bashing certainly turns decent folks off. I can recall a thread where it got so far that a member said something to the effect that if the government wanted the help, he'd help them re-conquer the tribes. I didn't respond kindly. I think I said this was a B*** S*** thread, and then got called out by a moderator for THAT reason. Not sure if any of the Native bashing even got called out.

I certainly would like to contribute more but sometimes I think to myself "why even put in your two cents if you know it won't be well received". Everything I do or comment on in the Deer Hunting section seems to go well though--More pics of special permit bucks please!!!

[greenhead_killer]

I think most of the guys who have previously responded and pretty much nailed it for me. There seems to be a few 'elite' members, including some mods, that have the mindset their s@&t doesn't stink and they like to let the rest of the peasants know about it. Also the knit picking to get the 10 pts. I've seen stuff that made me think but have always just sat back and waited to see the whole thing play out and 9.9/10 times it was all well and good, some guys seem to not be able to just appreciate things for what they are. What a way to live. I'd bet most are great in person but for some reason or another, guys//gals get behind their keyboard and turn into their Hyde character. It's nuts. I'd like to post more and have contemplated it in the past, but there is always something in the back of your mind, do I really need to read some twats response to what I have to say or experience I had? No, I do t have time nor do I care to have time. We will see if this stuff changes but for now I will do my lurking. Also, seems like if you don't have 5 billion posts then you must be stupid and inexperienced. Seems like a waste to miss opportunities from low post count guys, but what do I know, I'm at 500 in 7 years.