Free: Contests & Raffles.
I want to thank everyone who commented, we listened, I hope the forum changes have provided an improvement in the H-W experience for most members.
I read the entire thread in a single sitting then walked away for a few hours to give it some thought. That didn't help. I think that the many members that posted so far have summed up pretty well what the negative issues are regarding lack of participation and loss of esteemed members. Positive changes have been instituted and only time will tell if morale improves. If nothing else, this thread served as an important outlet for members to vent their frustrations, which I believe is very therapeutic a positive step in the right direction. Personally, I joined the forum to learn more about hunting Blacktails. The negativity and arguing, just for the sake of arguing never bothered me. It is (or was) much worse on the Oregon forum I used to follow. Seems to be just the way life is these days. For me, it is so very easy to close a negative thread and move on to some other topic that I rarely get caught in the quagmire. I tried not to step on toes too often, (though I think I completely broke a few of Bone Addict's toes last season - sorry again!), and I try to accept the fact that someone is probably going to disagree with my opinion before I post - that way I get less irritated when it actually happens. Sadly, many of the members that left the forum over the last few years were the ones who actually took the time to try to teach less experienced hunters. I've read and re-read many of the archived/old posts for more information to the point that I rarely ever search for information there anymore. Once the opportunity to learn something worthwhile here stopped, my desire to spend a lot of time here waned as well. In past hunting seasons and off-seasons, I attempted to start threads or ask questions in order to stimulate conversation and perhaps create a little learning opportunity for those interested in my topics. Many times, I'd get only a smattering of responses, sometimes none at all. Often, the threads would go sideways without ever even discussing the topic at hand. I've pretty much given up on that pursuit. These days, I hit the deer hunting section, sometimes look at trail cam pics, read and send a few PMs to my buddies, and spend a few minutes posting to threads going completely ignored by others, just so that the OP feels like he/she at least got a response to their query. My biggest recommendation for improving this forum, especially for those trying to learn hunting skills and tactics, would be to have a beginners sticky thread in each of the hunting sections (elk, deer, bear, waterfowl, etc. ) where members could post ideas and techniques that they believe are important to learn in order for a beginner to be successful. A lot of this information is already available and could be copy/pasted easily. Additional information could be added over time as questions arise. Eventually, a single sticky thread for each major game species might just become a great resource of knowledge for neophytes and reduce the amount of repetition of the typical questions we all see frequently. If we are successful in teaching someone to hunt well, they will likely be a hunter for life and become an advocate for hunting. If we choose not to try, many will just move on to some other activity. Time in the woods is hugely important in learning to hunt, but if we can reduce the amount of time required to learn basic skills, then everyone benefits.1:00 AM - better get some sleep.
I'll post photos If you can figure out a way of keeping coordinates off of pictures. I usually have my GPS off but it's not worth the risk of ruining a spot to show off a picture of a buck to people I'll never know.
Quote from: JM on September 15, 2017, 08:32:03 AMI'll post photos If you can figure out a way of keeping coordinates off of pictures. I usually have my GPS off but it's not worth the risk of ruining a spot to show off a picture of a buck to people I'll never know.You can always take a picture of the photo while looking at it on your laptop etc. No way those coordinates could ever get out that way. Not the best pics but a extra safe guard.
I'm super paranoid so I use the snip tool and capture the photo that way on my desktop. Plus it helps me to crop out what I don't want in there.
