Hunting Washington Forum
Community => FAQ: Using H-W Forum => Topic started by: bearpaw on August 09, 2017, 11:16:02 PM
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We're going to take a poll and determine what happens with the off-topics. I'm sick and tired of members complaining and blaming the site for their own lack of ability to simply opt out of the off-topics if they don't like it.
Let's all vote and the member's votes will decide what happens with off-topics. You vote, you decide, this decision is on you, the whole H-W membership!
If there's another option you want added to the poll please post it and I or one of the other mods will add it. I set the poll so anyone can change their vote at any time. Feel free to discuss this or ask question in this topic!
THANKS! :tup:
UPDATE:
I've had some pm's from members with good input, if you have some constructive thoughts but don't want to post them openly in this topic, please send them to me via pm. THANKS
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keep it as is
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I think it is crappy that pertinent topics to hunting get moved to the off topics because a few can't mind their P's and Q's ....... The response I have gotten (more than once) is .....just join the off topics if you want to discuss that topic. I opt out of the off topics because the majority (so I've been told) is a bunch of old ladies complaining just because they can. I try not to involve myself in that mess as it is counter productive. If you want to be on this forum keep it clean and keep it in the campfire forum (hunting or not....at my campfire the only thing off limits is work) but we always keep it clean and respect others around the fire.. If you can't keep it clean and you need an off topics.....pack your bags and move on. Lots of other forms to talk trash about others......this is not it.
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If I may, another poll option? :peep:
Make Off Topics have the same rules as the rest of the forum
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This site has changed throughout the years but that is natural with growth.
Some are thin skinned and some are a little tough skinned for their own good. We all know babysitting has to happen because it does on every forum. I voted opt in and approved because some just need to babysat more and once you cross that line you loose your membership to off topics. But this is a great site and everyone has valuable outdoor advice so you can still contribute on those boards
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If I may, another poll option? :peep:
Make Off Topics have the same rules as the rest of the forum
Good recommendation, it's added, anyone can change their vote at any time!
Did you have any comments to add about that option, I think everyone should air their thoughts so all the members can decide what is best for the forum?
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Wahhhh... off topics is great!! If you can't control yourself and what you read then you'll never be happy anyways! People who are interested in off topic subjects but love hunting get to share their point of views with like minded people. Or people who love hunting and think differently... what's not to love?
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I think it is crappy that pertinent topics to hunting get moved to the off topics because a few can't mind their P's and Q's ....... The response I have gotten (more than once) is .....just join the off topics if you want to discuss that topic. I opt out of the off topics because the majority (so I've been told) is a bunch of old ladies complaining just because they can. I try not to involve myself in that mess as it is counter productive. If you want to be on this forum keep it clean and keep it in the campfire forum (hunting or not....at my campfire the only thing off limits is work) but we always keep it clean and respect others around the fire.. If you can't keep it clean and you need an off topics.....pack your bags and move on. Lots of other forms to talk trash about others......this is not it.
Thanks for the comments, I'm just a bit confused and need you to clarify, are you saying you want the off topics in the Virtual Campfire?
To clarify my thoughts, I don't want non-outdoor related politics, religious topics, and quite a few of the non-hunting topics on the main forum. If we get rid of the off-topics we will get rid of them completely, we are not going to move them to the open forum where we have to babysit it all the time because as most of us know, some members simply will not remain civil in those topics.
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If I may, another poll option? :peep:
Make Off Topics have the same rules as the rest of the forum
No leave it alone we need one ave. where people can let off steam.
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Set every profile that has posted in there, in the last 7 days, to only post in there and lock them out of the rest of the entire forum.
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I understand that there needs to be a place for political views and rants. Good debate is a good thing but unfortunately in OT things have gone way over and above debate. The name calling, personal attacks and vulgar language even in OT should not be happening. I guess you have to look at it this way. A person joined a hunting forum for what? If that person is posting in OT and nothing much else maybe that person should reevaluate why they are really here. :dunno: My vote is for making it a request and approval. Really it comes down to something really simple. Just follow the rules.
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keep it as is
:yeah:
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I think it is crappy that pertinent topics to hunting get moved to the off topics because a few can't mind their P's and Q's ....... The response I have gotten (more than once) is .....just join the off topics if you want to discuss that topic. I opt out of the off topics because the majority (so I've been told) is a bunch of old ladies complaining just because they can. I try not to involve myself in that mess as it is counter productive. If you want to be on this forum keep it clean and keep it in the campfire forum (hunting or not....at my campfire the only thing off limits is work) but we always keep it clean and respect others around the fire.. If you can't keep it clean and you need an off topics.....pack your bags and move on. Lots of other forms to talk trash about others......this is not it.
Thanks for the comments, I'm just a bit confused and need you to clarify, are you saying you want the off topics in the Virtual Campfire?
To clarify my thoughts, I don't want non-outdoor related politics, religious topics, and quite a few of the non-hunting topics on the main forum. If we get rid of the off-topics we will get rid of them completely, we are not going to move them to the open forum where we have to babysit it all the time because as most of us know, some members simply will not remain civil in those topics.
Hunting topics that get too heated have been moved to OT instead of moderating the thread and removing volatile or offensive comments.
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If you don't like what goes on in OT, be an adult and opt out. I did. I never have a problem now with what's posted in there. :twocents:
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I really do like this....
I think it is crappy that pertinent topics to hunting get moved to the off topics because a few can't mind their P's and Q's ....... The response I have gotten (more than once) is .....just join the off topics if you want to discuss that topic. I opt out of the off topics because the majority (so I've been told) is a bunch of old ladies complaining just because they can. I try not to involve myself in that mess as it is counter productive. If you want to be on this forum keep it clean and keep it in the campfire forum (hunting or not....at my campfire the only thing off limits is work) but we always keep it clean and respect others around the fire.. If you can't keep it clean and you need an off topics.....pack your bags and move on. Lots of other forms to talk trash about others......this is not it.
but Id like a place to put all the crap news stories. I get sick of them. I do hate it when a good topic gets moved.
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I don't understand some of the comments about vulgar language in OT. I don't notice vulgar language in there and I believe the board has words censored just like the rest of the forum.
I also don't understand why it is not moderated like the rest of the forum, but at the same time, I don't understand the problem some people have with it now?
Actually, there are a lot of topics in VC that I think should be in OT but aren't. Plenty of things are discussed in VC that are not outdoor related. I guess I just don't understand why some people are opposed to OT but that's OK I don't need to understand why; I think it's great that we have the option to discuss non outdoor related issues and others that don't want to can easily avoid it.
This really is one of the best forums out there.
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I will vote but from my observations, some people only use HW for the Off Topics option. Not really the spirit of the site. If over 50% of your posts are in Off Topics your here for all the wrong reasons.
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I think it's fine, have off topics and then be pretty aggressive about cleaning out comments from legitimate hunting threads. Debate is fine, once the name calling starts, either clear that out with a warning or move the whole thread. If the OP isn't involved in the circus and the thread has some merit, I think it should be cleaned and allowed to stay.
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I voted don't care, because I don't. I subscribe to off topics and I peak through the basement window from time to time. I actually enjoy reading quite a few of the main OT contributors point of views on topics. The language ad comments don't bother me, I hear worse live and in person throughout a day anyways.
And the best part, I leave when I'm full. I voted don't care but really would
Leave it the way it is. For those it offends, OPT out and carry on with life.
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Keep it the way it is! We all get heated over certain things, that just means we are hunan.
Pretty simple if you don't like it, don't go in there.
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I think it is crappy that pertinent topics to hunting get moved to the off topics because a few can't mind their P's and Q's ....... The response I have gotten (more than once) is .....just join the off topics if you want to discuss that topic. I opt out of the off topics because the majority (so I've been told) is a bunch of old ladies complaining just because they can. I try not to involve myself in that mess as it is counter productive. If you want to be on this forum keep it clean and keep it in the campfire forum (hunting or not....at my campfire the only thing off limits is work) but we always keep it clean and respect others around the fire.. If you can't keep it clean and you need an off topics.....pack your bags and move on. Lots of other forms to talk trash about others......this is not it.
Thanks for the comments, I'm just a bit confused and need you to clarify, are you saying you want the off topics in the Virtual Campfire?
To clarify my thoughts, I don't want non-outdoor related politics, religious topics, and quite a few of the non-hunting topics on the main forum. If we get rid of the off-topics we will get rid of them completely, we are not going to move them to the open forum where we have to babysit it all the time because as most of us know, some members simply will not remain civil in those topics.
Essentially....YES. the campfire is a place to discuss anything, as long as it stays civil and clean. Just because you don't like a certain topic doesn't mean others won't enjoy it. If you (or I) don't like certain topic, don't open it and read it. If it is in the campfire it can be moderated.
Maybe I should change my vote to "open the off topics to everyone and moderate it like the rest of the forum". I just think it is silly that the decision was made to move the rowdy crowd to a special locked (opt in /out) thread so mods could shut the door and forget about them...... i.e. not moderate them. It ruins some of those topics for the good kids.
At the end of the day.....allowing an unmoderated board promotes the negative characteristics that are not allowed in the open forum. It is like telling your kid....it is ok to eat your buggers as long as you don't do it in front of the family.
Hope that clarifies......this is a fairly complicated topic so putting words in a screen is sometimes more difficult than being able to express ones self with conversation.
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I voted to keep it as it is. Off topics is not for me but that shouldn't keep other people off of it.
I think that some should put it on ignore.
I also think that there should be a little moderating on it instead of a free for all.
There are some topics that should be discussed and heavily moderated and kept on VC instead of getting thrown to off topics.
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I just think it is silly that the decision was made to move the rowdy crowd to a special locked (opt in /out) thread so mods could shut the door and forget about them...... i.e. not moderate them. It ruins some of those topics for the good kids.
At the end of the day.....allowing an unmoderated board promotes the negative characteristics that are not allowed in the open forum. It is like telling your kid....it is ok to eat your buggers as long as you don't do it in front of the family.
:yeah: Basically my sentiment. If it's going to be allowed in one area of the forum, it is likely to continue to spill over into the rest of the hunting forum. This is not a general discussion forum or a personal facebook page.
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I think one of the benefits of Off topics that some of you might not be aware of, is I believe it isn't picked up by the google bots, so its not searchable and viewable by the general public versus stuff that pops on the main forum. Kind of a nice place to keep your dirty laundry I guess.
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I am a member of off topics, However, I have pondered many times through-out the year to opt out. There are few people that dominate the off topics world that I don't believe ever leave the house or keyboard. I participate less in the forum due to this conundrum, so the right answer is to opt out, but I just haven't taken that step.
I voted to keep it is the way it is, but if I had my choices, I would limit the number of topics started to a certain # per month per member. I know this isn't realistic to moderate in that fashion, but I will say that it is over whelming at times.
Update: I just left off topics. I am going to try that for a few weeks and see if it changes my opinion.
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I'm not sure it can be improved. I've never opted in to Off Topics, nor will I. You have subject area threads, then virtual campfire for civil, moderated discourse on any subject, and then an unmoderated jungle where the less prudish, more opinionated can put on their big boy pants if they want to risk having their feelings bruised because somebody on the internet was mean. You will never satisfy everyone on a public website.
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The only thing I don't like is when a thread gets moved to off topics. The Bullwinkle thread was a pretty good example, instead of moving the whole thread I think a new off topic thread should be started and the general elk hunting thread cleaned up.
Understandably this causes slot more work so if it's not implemented due to lack of manpower I can understand that.
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Off topics is basically the Politics/ Current Events forum. For those not interested in those kind of topics, don't opt in. Pretty simple. I don't like reading about sports but you don't see me complaining about those topics being in the Virtual Campfire forum, even though that forum is supposed to be only for hunting / outdoor related topics. If I don't want to read a thread I don't click on it.
I really like the idea of requiring everyone to opt in to off topics, again. Even those who already are opted in now, clear everyone out, and have everyone do it again. If we could have opting in be a requirement monthly, that would be even better. Then nobody could legitimately complain about the fact that some people like to talk politics on here.
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Agree bobcat. If someone isn't opt-in to the off topics, then how do they know it is there and causing a kerfuffle?
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question for those opted out....does it show up on the right in recent topics
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Wahhhh... off topics is great!! If you can't control yourself and what you read then you'll never be happy anyways! People who are interested in off topic subjects but love hunting get to share their point of views with like minded people. Or people who love hunting and think differently... what's not to love?
:yeah: I love the off topics. Pathetically, that's where I get half my daily news :chuckle:. I voted to leave as is. I don't know what is so hard about opting out if a member doesn't like it. I hunt and fish, but I also like the non outdoors topics as well. I like to read other people's opinions on many subjects, like minded or otherwise. It's pretty simple to me, if you don't like it don't go there.
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question for those opted out....does it show up on the right in recent topics
It does not.
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I liked the Off Topics area a lot more when it was moderated.
There were actual discussions and different opinions, now not so much.
It has degenerated to who can post the most links and blast the others out of the conversation insults, and at times down right childish behavior.
I still go in there, but some threads I will avoid like the plague, because it might be catchy like a communicable disease.
Either way "ignore" is a wonderful feature!
LOL
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Keep off-topics the way it is, members can freely opt in and opt out
Leave it alone. If you don't like it, put it on ignore. If you can't figure out how, ask me.
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:yeah:
I am a member of off topics. I post very little there (or anywhere else as you can see by my post count). There are whole sections I never go to...take the hound hunting section...I don't hound hunt and am not really interested...SOOO, I just don't go to that section.
Likewise, there are certain shows on tv that I watch and some that I don't....no need to take the ones I don't watch off the air just because I don't like them (no matter how much I wish they would :chuckle: )
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Keep it the way it is! We all get heated over certain things, that just means we are hunan.
Pretty simple if you don't like it, don't go in there.
:yeah: Like this poll............
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I will vote but from my observations, some people only use HW for the Off Topics option. Not really the spirit of the site. If over 50% of your posts are in Off Topics your here for all the wrong reasons.
I agree. It would not hurt my feelings to see it tossed.
OT is a disaster. There are lots of political forums and places for people to talk about subjects that are "off topic"; HuntWa should not be their outlet.
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Off topics is entertainment for me and I visit it often but I think the forum would be better without it. I always wondered whether having a place where our members could feel free to rabble rouse like sailors on shore leave was in conflict with the "family oriented" mission of the hunting community. Why have a board that you have to hide under the mattress because you don't want your mom to see it? I also feel that if it is continued it could be improved by limiting or prohibiting the posting of links - When people are required to post their own opinion in their own words the trolls tend to find another place to hang out. Just my opinion and I'll continue to enjoy the forum whatever the outcome of off topics.
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Off topics is entertainment for me and I visit it often but I think the forum would be better without it. I always wondered whether having a place where our members could feel free to rabble rouse like sailors on shore leave was in conflict with the "family oriented" mission of the hunting community. Why have a board that you have to hide under the mattress because you don't want your mom to see it? I also feel that if it is continued it could be improved by limiting or prohibiting the posting of links - When people are required to post their own opinion in their own words the trolls tend to find another place to hang out. Just my opinion and I'll continue to enjoy the forum whatever the outcome of off topics.
Links are necessary in order to act as a reference
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Keep off-topics the way it is, members can freely opt in and opt out
Leave it alone. If you don't like it, put it on ignore. If you can't figure out how, ask me.
:yeah:
Off-topics came to be as a result of people wanting to discuss "Off Topics" with their fellow sportsmen and sportswomen. That said, and if it is to continue, it can be improved by members who do use or want to use it.
As an aside, people suggesting that hunt-wa is not a place for people that, paraphrasing/interpreting, don't have success pics to share every year or are demonstrated experts on hunting, fishing, or whatever is important to YOU, are making a mistake.
I (yes, I can recognize the ire) like many other people who have joined hunt-wa, lurked here for several years to gain tips, insights, and knowledge before joining hunt-wa. I will continue to be a member of hunt-wa so long as hunting and fishing remains an interest, regardless of how my skills improve or how successful I am at either, and whether off-topics continues or can be improved.
It is a mistake, because bemoaning people who do not share success pics or provide tips on areas and/or tactics comes across as elitist, it is repulsive to me as a novice hunter and a relative noob to WA hunting and fishing and to the notion of hunting and fishing as an everyman's sport, and it is counter to hunter and fisherman recruitment, generally, and to hunt-wa member recruitment in particular.
However, cleaning up off-topics is in no way counter to these ideals/objectives and it could and should be done, for the good of hunt-wa members.
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I will vote but from my observations, some people only use HW for the Off Topics option. Not really the spirit of the site. If over 50% of your posts are in Off Topics your here for all the wrong reasons.
I agree. It would not hurt my feelings to see it tossed.
OT is a disaster. There are lots of political forums and places for people to talk about subjects that are "off topic"; HuntWa should not be their outlet.
I agree, and I generally dislike the OT, but if you don't opt into it, you don't see it. If you do opt in and don't like it, opt out or go to the "ignore boards" option and click to ignore it. Again, you literally won't even know it's there.
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I will vote but from my observations, some people only use HW for the Off Topics option. Not really the spirit of the site. If over 50% of your posts are in Off Topics your here for all the wrong reasons.
I agree. It would not hurt my feelings to see it tossed.
OT is a disaster. There are lots of political forums and places for people to talk about subjects that are "off topic"; HuntWa should not be their outlet.
I agree, and I generally dislike the OT, but if you don't opt into it, you don't see it. If you do opt in and don't like it, opt out or go to the "ignore boards" option and click to ignore it. Again, you literally won't even know it's there.
I ignored it a while back, which has been nice. I just hate to see that HuntWa has became a propaganda machine, after a quick look at OT this morning (as a result of this thread) it strengthened that opinion. There are folks that post almost exclusively there; IMO the hunting forum is not the right one to inundate with their garbage.
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Keep off-topics the way it is, members can freely opt in and opt out
Leave it alone. If you don't like it, put it on ignore. If you can't figure out how, ask me.
:yeah:
Off-topics came to be as a result of people wanting to discuss "Off Topics" with their fellow sportsmen and sportswomen. That said, and if it is to continue, it can be improved by members who do use or want to use it.
As an aside, people suggesting that hunt-wa is not a place for people that, paraphrasing/interpreting, don't have success pics to share every year or are demonstrated experts on hunting, fishing, or whatever is important to YOU, are making a mistake.
I (yes, I can recognize the ire) like many other people who have joined hunt-wa, lurked here for several years to gain tips, insights, and knowledge before joining hunt-wa. I will continue to be a member of hunt-wa so long as hunting and fishing remains an interest, regardless of how my skills improve or how successful I am at either, and whether off-topics continues or can be improved.
It is a mistake, because bemoaning people who do not share success pics or provide tips on areas and/or tactics comes across as elitist, it is repulsive to me as a novice hunter and a relative noob to WA hunting and fishing and to the notion of hunting and fishing as an everyman's sport, and it is counter to hunter and fisherman recruitment, generally, and to hunt-wa member recruitment in particular.
However, cleaning up off-topics is in no way counter to these ideals/objectives and it could and should be done, for the good of hunt-wa members.
How would you suggest is a good way to clean it up?
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I sent you a PM.
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Could we change the default settings to "opt-in" instead of "opt-out" for the off topics board? That one small change can go a long way towards decreasing traffic unless people really want in...
I know I've been much happier on the site since opting out of the "off topics" section!
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Dale knows where I stand in regard to the off topics board. I don't like it. I'm against a bunch of political crap on the forum. Back in the day when Ray was still the owner of Hunt Wa I got really vocal with him about politics to the point I was going to cease being a part of the forum. I wasn't alone. To quell those concerns, Ray created the OT. I still disliked it but once I figured out I could ignore it, I no longer had an argument.
We try to be pretty heavy handed about OT crap flowing out into the main forum. One of the big concerns we had/have is that all the crap talk in there doesn't spill over onto the main forum. Some of you have mentioned seeing the spill over. Please point it out if it's happening. We will address it directly.
As much as I openly dislike all the stuff we have to deal with in the OT, I don't have a legit argument for getting rid of it. There are only a few regular posters there(some of which literally never post anything hunting/outdoors related. I don't get it). If they vanished, the popularity would crap out and the board would likely die off in a hurry.
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It is a mistake, because bemoaning people who do not share success pics or provide tips on areas and/or tactics comes across as elitist, it is repulsive to me as a novice hunter and a relative noob to WA hunting and fishing and to the notion of hunting and fishing as an everyman's sport, and it is counter to hunter and fisherman recruitment, generally, and to hunt-wa member recruitment in particular.
No one is "bemoaning the people who do not share success pictures". The bemoaning has to do with all the garbage being posted and the members that seem to be here only for those off topic conversations. You are one of those folks, in case it seemed like I was dancing around the issue.
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Could we change the default settings to "opt-in" instead of "opt-out" for the off topics board? That one small change can go a long way towards decreasing traffic unless people really want in...
I know I've been much happier on the site since opting out of the "off topics" section!
Is it not already that way? It used to be, if it changed I am unaware of it.
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I voted to just leave it be.
First, the reason I believe it is good to have OTs as a part of the forum is that those who choose to can talk about current events and politics with other people from our state who at least share one common love. The love of the outdoors, hunting and fishing.
It gets heated sometimes and that is natural. As adults we should be able to handle that. I've had my hackles raised a few times in there, but that happens with the free exchange of opinions and ideas. I would prefer to deal with a little bit of frustration than to live in a safe space bubble.
Second, there are easy to use options on this site available to those who do not wish to discuss current events and politics here. Opting out and ignoring the OT board is a very simple process. Ignoring individual threads and even individual members is also a very easy thing to do. Honestly though, I have only ever put one member on my ignore list and that was not even prompted by an OT thread. He was just an obvious troll and I refuse to feed trolls.
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.
Hope you all have a great day.
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So my question is if there's no off topics section ,is mods just gonna delete any topic they feel is off topic from hunting. :dunno:
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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.
:yeah: Best comment of the day!
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So my question is if there's no off topics section ,is mods just gonna delete any topic they feel is off topic from hunting. :dunno:
Yes.
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Is it not already that way? It used to be, if it changed I am unaware of it.
I could be wrong. Thought you had to opt-out. If it's already that way, I don't see a big problem.
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In all honesty if you wanted to clean up off topics all you have to do is get rid of 5 or 6 people and the post count in off topics would be almost non existent. There are a half a dozen people that are not on this site for anything but the off topics section and contribute little to nothing to the rest of the site.
Not to name names but if you eliminated a "Bigfish Floundering in a Roundheaded pool of Phills" you would see a drastic difference on the site overall. :twocents:
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I voted to just leave it be.
First, the reason I believe it is good to have OTs as a part of the forum is that those who choose to can talk about current events and politics with other people from our state who at least share one common love. The love of the outdoors, hunting and fishing.
It gets heated sometimes and that is natural. As adults we should be able to handle that. I've had my hackles raised a few times in there, but that happens with the free exchange of opinions and ideas. I would prefer to deal with a little bit of frustration than to live in a safe space bubble.
Second, there are easy to use options on this site available to those who do not wish to discuss current events and politics here. Opting out and ignoring the OT board is a very simple process. Ignoring individual threads and even individual members is also a very easy thing to do. Honestly though, I have only ever put one member on my ignore list and that was not even prompted by an OT thread. He was just an obvious troll and I refuse to feed trolls.
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.
Hope you all have a great day.
Thanks for trying to offer solutions! :tup: :tup: :tup:
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I've had some pm's from members with good input, if you have some constructive thoughts but don't want to post them openly in this topic, please send them to me via pm. THANKS
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I think it should stay the way it is ,that's how I voted.
I see off topics as away to get rid of some topics from virtual campfire .There is a lot of off topics in virtual campfire,i think what's in off topics will spill into virtual campfire,then members will be on mods all the time to delete topics ,that are off topics from hunting.
Anyway just keep the way it is,might be more trouble,to try and fix it,or change it.
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If your gonna delete topics for being off topic , that rule would have to apply for everybody ,not just a few people from the off topics section.
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The problem I see is that someone starts a subject not in the OT section then someone else post/trolls and it ends up in the OT. When this happens then it seems that the OP was punished and the subject was moved to appease the trolls. If the OP is not opted in OT then their thread just got hijacked from them.
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If your gonna delete topics for being off topic , that rule would have to apply for everybody ,not just a few people from the off topics section.
Some people tend to be more outspoken and confrontational than others. It's not the mods as much as it's the poster.
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The problem I see is that someone starts a subject not in the OT section then someone else post/trolls and it ends up in the OT. When this happens then it seems that the OP was punished and the subject was moved to appease the trolls. If the OP is not opted in OT then their thread just got hijacked from them.
I touched on this earlier where the thread should be moderated and cleaned up, not moved. :tup:
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If the topic is not outdoor related it really should go in OT. It seems that a lot of people think OT is just for confrontation and political discussion. But if you look at the topic description for VC it says: OUTDOOR RELATED TOPICS only! .... Join OFF-TOPICS to talk Politics, News, Religion, Rants, etc.
Seems to me that more topics could go in OT if it was supposed to be moderated like the other forums. I liked the idea of less moderation in the beginning but people have proven to need moderating. There are some childish people that need help.
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If your gonna delete topics for being off topic , that rule would have to apply for everybody ,not just a few people from the off topics section.
Some people tend to be more outspoken and confrontational than others. It's not the mods as much as it's the poster.
So should there be more rules for people that are more outspoken and confrontational, or what do you mean by this comment.
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The problem I see is that someone starts a subject not in the OT section then someone else post/trolls and it ends up in the OT. When this happens then it seems that the OP was punished and the subject was moved to appease the trolls. If the OP is not opted in OT then their thread just got hijacked from them.
I touched on this earlier where the thread should be moderated and cleaned up, not moved. :tup:
If it not a hunting/outdoors/general theme of the huntwa forum related thread, it gets moved to the OT.
For example, don't start a thread about Donald Trump in the Virtual Campfire board just because you don't want to opt into the OT. If you want Trump talk, it's in the OT.
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If your gonna delete topics for being off topic , that rule would have to apply for everybody ,not just a few people from the off topics section.
Some people tend to be more outspoken and confrontational than others. It's not the mods as much as it's the poster.
So should there be more rules for people that are more outspoken and confrontational, or what do you mean by this comment.
Same rules apply to everyone. The ones that are more outspoken, tend to push the boundaries, test us, stir the pot, etc will see the rules inflicted upon them more often. Probably goes without saying.
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If your gonna delete topics for being off topic , that rule would have to apply for everybody ,not just a few people from the off topics section.
Some people tend to be more outspoken and confrontational than others. It's not the mods as much as it's the poster.
So should there be more rules for people that are more outspoken and confrontational, or what do you mean by this comment.
Same rules apply to everyone. The ones that are more outspoken, tend to push the boundaries, test us, stir the pot, etc will see the rules inflicted upon them more often. Probably goes without saying.
Well said,and very true.
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The problem I see is that someone starts a subject not in the OT section then someone else post/trolls and it ends up in the OT. When this happens then it seems that the OP was punished and the subject was moved to appease the trolls. If the OP is not opted in OT then their thread just got hijacked from them.
I touched on this earlier where the thread should be moderated and cleaned up, not moved. :tup:
If it not a hunting/outdoors/general theme of the huntwa forum related thread, it gets moved to the OT.
For example, don't start a thread about Donald Trump in the Virtual Campfire board just because you don't want to opt into the OT. If you want Trump talk, it's in the OT.
So why don't the mods move the other ten topics in virtual camp that are off topic right now?
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leave it alone, I am not forced to look at it. neither is anyone else.
Carl
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The problem I see is that someone starts a subject not in the OT section then someone else post/trolls and it ends up in the OT. When this happens then it seems that the OP was punished and the subject was moved to appease the trolls. If the OP is not opted in OT then their thread just got hijacked from them.
I touched on this earlier where the thread should be moderated and cleaned up, not moved. :tup:
If it not a hunting/outdoors/general theme of the huntwa forum related thread, it gets moved to the OT.
For example, don't start a thread about Donald Trump in the Virtual Campfire board just because you don't want to opt into the OT. If you want Trump talk, it's in the OT.
So why don't the mods move the other ten topics in virtual camp that are off topic right now?
Here's the description of what belongs in the OT board. It's posted right at the top of the board.
Politics, News, Rants, etc. Open discussion, minimal moderation, parental discretion advised!
If there's a thread fits those parameters, it goes. If it doesn't, it can stay. If you see something that you feel fits those parameters, let us know and we'll move it. We don't see everything.
Not sure what exactly you're talking about, but if you mean maybe the sports topics or something like that, they can stay as long as they stay on track. The threads that tend to cause drama, friction, etc. are the ones that end up getting moved.
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Ok got it.
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The problem I see is that someone starts a subject not in the OT section then someone else post/trolls and it ends up in the OT. When this happens then it seems that the OP was punished and the subject was moved to appease the trolls. If the OP is not opted in OT then their thread just got hijacked from them.
I touched on this earlier where the thread should be moderated and cleaned up, not moved. :tup:
If it not a hunting/outdoors/general theme of the huntwa forum related thread, it gets moved to the OT.
For example, don't start a thread about Donald Trump in the Virtual Campfire board just because you don't want to opt into the OT. If you want Trump talk, it's in the OT.
So why don't the mods move the other ten topics in virtual camp that are off topic right now?
Here's the description of what belongs in the OT board. It's posted right at the top of the board.
Politics, News, Rants, etc. Open discussion, minimal moderation, parental discretion advised!
If there's a thread fits those parameters, it goes. If it doesn't, it can stay. If you see something that you feel fits those parameters, let us know and we'll move it. We don't see everything.
Not sure what exactly you're talking about, but if you mean maybe the sports topics or something like that, they can stay as long as they stay on track. The threads that tend to cause drama, friction, etc. are the ones that end up getting moved.
Well it looks like virtual camp is for outdoor related topics,so I guess I was a little confused.sorry. :tup:
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Sometimes I think walking in Dale's shoes would be a hoot.
Then I think that he has to take part of his day to address crap like this and I don't want his shoes near me :chuckle:
I voted I didn't care. I say opt in or opt out but quit yer belly achin. :tup:
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If your gonna delete topics for being off topic , that rule would have to apply for everybody ,not just a few people from the off topics section.
Some people tend to be more outspoken and confrontational than others. It's not the mods as much as it's the poster.
So should there be more rules for people that are more outspoken and confrontational, or what do you mean by this comment.
What I mean is that some people get more attention from the mods because they attract it. The rules apply to everyone and for the most part, they are applied equally. But those who attract fire often feel like they're being picked on.
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I voted to keep it the way it is.
I will leave it at that.
Goodday :tup:
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All are valid points but I pose one question; What is the name of this forum? Yes "Hunt" not Snopes, CNN, or Fox. Start or go to another forum for that stuff. What made this a great site isn't off topics. I enjoy off topics often and good can be had there but why should it? Its a cancer and just causes division, angst and sore ego's imop. It needs chemo and eradicated. This would be a better brotherhood of like minded outdoorsman not being divided over petty opinions. We all have more in common than not and should remain focused on the positives of this great forum. There is other places for politics and arguments people can visit. I know it was created to help mods not babysit and let people vent but it at least needs more separation, like no connection to main site. Back to virtual campfire and if it goes south just delete entire thread, that's my solution.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. :chuckle: 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.
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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
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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.
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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. :dunno:
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question for those opted out....does it show up on the right in recent topics
No
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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. :dunno:
:yeah:
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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 :twocents:
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:yeah:
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.
:twocents:
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The "TROLLS" are on site because of your OT... Just saying.. :dunno: No offense meant.
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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.
:yeah: 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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Why do all tribal threads go straight to off topics?
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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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My opinion....just an opinion is that folks on both sides simply get to heated. I've seen taunting from both sides and it devolves into anything but a productive conversation.
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
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Green....I like to keep my conversations with those a tad more "local" than me face to face, around a fire, maybe a beverage in hand. I think you add in the sad state of wdfw, tribal vs. non tribal affairs, commercial vs recreational interests and the general bunny hugging of Wa you have a volatile mix. I did not move to Wa until 1998 so I have a different perspective than those born and raised....both tribal and non tribal.
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
We get out what we put in. If I were an Indian on this site I would either keep that to myself and enjoy what I could... or make it my mission to educate and elevate the conversation.
I can think of a couple of natives that tried to do just that. I'm not surprised they have become jaded, post less, have left or otherwise abandoned that cause.
Im reminded of this story.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-man-daryl-davis-befriends-kkk-documentary-accidental-courtesy_us_585c250de4b0de3a08f495fc
Though this guys love of jazz he was able to change the hearts of some of the very people that hated him. How? He used the shared interest as a bridge. He is a special kind of guy. I wish there were more like him.
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The only thing i will say about OT is that WHATS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER.It depends on who you are in OT as to what you can or can't say.Example if you have been in the forum for 10 years its ribbing,If you have only been here 10 months its attacking,Or harassing a member out and the ban hammer comes down.Sorry but its true and if the members don't want to say it i will.It's true.
Same rules as the rest of the forum for everyone.
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
Sorry you feel that way, truly. I think there are a lot more good , understanding members here than what gets portrayed. It's just the individuals that can't even bring themselves to utter the word "native" or "wolf"for that matter, are the ones that shout the loudest, and surprise, are usually the ones involved in the train wrecks and drama topics because they can't contain themselves for longer than a school recess.
Again, sorry you feel that way, they do not represent my views or opinions, period.
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
We get out what we put in. If I were an Indian on this site I would either keep that to myself and enjoy what I could... or make it my mission to educate and elevate the conversation.
I can think of a couple of natives that tried to do just that. I'm not surprised they have become jaded, post less, have left or otherwise abandoned that cause.
Im reminded of this story.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-man-daryl-davis-befriends-kkk-documentary-accidental-courtesy_us_585c250de4b0de3a08f495fc
Though this guys love of jazz he was able to change the hearts of some of the very people that hated him. How? He used the shared interest as a bridge. He is a special kind of guy. I wish there were more like him.
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I respectfully disagree. Very few natives, even ones who have given, get reciprocation in any way shape or form. Especially if you approach with the thought of common ground and a passion for hunting.
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
We get out what we put in. If I were an Indian on this site I would either keep that to myself and enjoy what I could... or make it my mission to educate and elevate the conversation.
I can think of a couple of natives that tried to do just that. I'm not surprised they have become jaded, post less, have left or otherwise abandoned that cause.
Im reminded of this story.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-man-daryl-davis-befriends-kkk-documentary-accidental-courtesy_us_585c250de4b0de3a08f495fc
Though this guys love of jazz he was able to change the hearts of some of the very people that hated him. How? He used the shared interest as a bridge. He is a special kind of guy. I wish there were more like him.
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I respectfully disagree. Very few natives, even ones who have given, get reciprocation in any way shape or form. Especially if you approach with the thought of common ground and a passion for hunting.
Didn't say you would. I also think that if you do some reading on the fellow I linked you could not look at success in the way you describe. It could be said you may need to be a little spun in the head.
Pardon me if this example is mis understood.
A good salesman has to be kind of twisted. He knows he will only make one in 10 sales. Most people when they get to customer 6-9whom say no Will be broken, give up, cry for mercy. The salesman is excited because he know the next one will say yes!
Don't think that Daryl comes away unscathed without being called a list of derogatory names. I also don't fault people for not wanting to be a bunch of peoples punching bag. Surely there arnt that many Black men whom have made it their mission to reform and collect Klansmens hoods as trophies.
There is a mental switch most people don't have. It's where all the negativity is surpassed by the one convert. Be it the clansmen, the new follower of Jesus, or... You could call it a mission, crusade, calling or just a mental affliction, but I wish there were a few more with it... especially on an anynomious forum where no one knows your real name... you don't have to respond to haters, and if you choose you only present the best side of you. 2c
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
I agree there are those who are hard core anti-native. But you are sadly mistaken if you think everyone on the forum is that way. By thinking that way you are no better than the ones you are complaining about! I hope you will just give that a little thought? :twocents:
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Wahhhh... off topics is great!! If you can't control yourself and what you read then you'll never be happy anyways! People who are interested in off topic subjects but love hunting get to share their point of views with like minded people. Or people who love hunting and think differently... what's not to love?
:yeah:
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Bearpaw
I think one other option would be a hard reset? Literally dump it all and make it a fresh start. Members can understand what that should mean when they sign opt-in again as part of option 2
Maybe do it every couple of years. Nothing wrong with a fresh start? :twocents: just a thought
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Just reading the goodbye hunt thread proves my point of eliminating OT. Too personal and a negative shadow on the whole site. :sry:
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It's almost as if HW is two sites, one for hunting/outdoors, the other OT. I voted to eliminate OT because it my perfect world I would come here for information directly to the part of the world I recreate in. There are 10-12 posters here that I read, and I'm mostly here to read, practically every word they write. But, of course, it's not a perfect world arranged for only me, but there's good info here making it a valuable resource to me.
I rarely read any OT, but I haven't gotten from it over time a sense how those of us who are out of the NYTimes, WAPO, MSM loop feel about things in this country and was able to see how Trump could become president-I predicted he could win back in Jan. 2016 which at the time seemed laughable but I gauged that from the sense I gained from folks here on the political threads and extrapolated that across the country. For that reason alone I get something valuable from the OT.
I'm a big boy and can choose what to read and not read. I DO find the anti native negativity disturbing-I'm concerned that sooner or later someone(s) or going to get shot over that issue which is beyond stupidity.
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Bearpaw
I think one other option would be a hard reset? Literally dump it all and make it a fresh start. Members can understand what that should mean when they sign opt-in again as part of option 2
Maybe do it every couple of years. Nothing wrong with a fresh start? :twocents: just a thought
I would never, ever, never, ever in my wildest paoti-halucination induced dreams ever suggest or support the idea of dumping the whole thing.
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:yeah: :chuckle: :chuckle:
Bearpaw
I think one other option would be a hard reset? Literally dump it all and make it a fresh start. Members can understand what that should mean when they sign opt-in again as part of option 2
Maybe do it every couple of years. Nothing wrong with a fresh start? :twocents: just a thought
I do like the idea of purging the off topics membership and making everyone join off-topics again so that they consciously know they made the choice to be there. But it's amazing how many members look at old topics on this forum and reference them often. Unless we were to dump off-topics for good, we would never remove any old topics. Jackelope said it pretty well! :chuckle:
I appreciate your input though and I am considering resetting the membership! :tup:
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We try to be pretty heavy handed about OT crap flowing out into the main forum. One of the big concerns we had/have is that all the crap talk in there doesn't spill over onto the main forum. Some of you have mentioned seeing the spill over. Please point it out if it's happening. We will address it directly.
This is an issue we take seriously, if anyone has an example of this happening or sees this happening, please use the "Report to moderator" button located in the bottom right of every post, or send one of the moderators a pm with a link to the post. THANKS!
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The poll indicates most members want the off-topics to stay but there are many good comments indicating we need to make some changes to lessen the impact OT has had on some members. I'd like to hear more input and ideas, especially from members who haven't spoken up yet, and soon we will make some changes that will hopefully make the whole forum a more inviting and friendly place! :tup:
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No matter what you do some folks will never be happy. :) I appreciate the job you guys do, Dale and all the mods!
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No matter what you do some folks will never be happy. :) I appreciate the job you guys do, Dale and all the mods!
Thanks Fred, all the mods will appreciate that, we all understand some people just like to complain but I was getting too many negative comments from members who aren't always negative about the tone of things lately and it was time to deal with it. We want the forum to be friendly and accommodating for as many members as possible, there have been some good comments and ideas that we will use.
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Personally I voted to remove it completely. As I've occasionally read some of the OT posts I see an anger in them that I think spills over into the non OT posts. I have friends and relatives on both sides of the political aisle and while, for the most part, we agree to disagree on most things there are still times I feel a lingering animosity after a semi heated debate. Seeing the venom that comes out in some of the OT posts, it's hard for me to think many don't jump out of the OT and into the regular forum without a lingering anger that carries over. There are many, many political forums out there, and very few good hunting and fishing forums. I realize there are decisions and legislative actions that impact our sport and the forum is a good place to make sure we are all aware of them. Probably tough to do, but I would like to see a screening where only those things that impact our sport show up in the forum. As far as I'm concerned a whole new forum dealing with political actions effecting our sport would be fine. Sometimes it seems even the most innocent of posts turns into a name calling debate and I sometimes wonder how much of this is a carry over from past posts where it's obvious the two (or three or four) posters have made it clear they are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. No easy answer here to keep everyone happy, and I'm sure I won't stop checking the forum whatever decision is made.
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I just recently joined OT a couple weeks ago for one reason only. Because I got tired of a thread I was interested in getting moved to OT because Somebody posted something that was deserving of the thread getting moved to OT.
Will, that didn't work because it seems when a thread gets moved to OT it's a green light to continue the down hill spiral of the thread. I would rather if a thread is going good, the post (s) that are crossing the the line get deleted so the thread can continue
Out of OT. :twocents:
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I just recently joined OT a couple weeks ago for one reason only. Because I got tired of a thread I was interested in getting moved to OT because Somebody posted something that was deserving of the thread getting moved to OT.
Will, that didn't work because it seems when a thread gets moved to OT it's a green light to continue the down hill spiral of the thread. I would rather if a thread is going good, the post (s) that are crossing the the line get deleted so the thread can continue
Out of OT. :twocents:
I concur!
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I just recently joined OT a couple weeks ago for one reason only. Because I got tired of a thread I was interested in getting moved to OT because Somebody posted something that was deserving of the thread getting moved to OT.
Will, that didn't work because it seems when a thread gets moved to OT it's a green light to continue the down hill spiral of the thread. I would rather if a thread is going good, the post (s) that are crossing the the line get deleted so the thread can continue
Out of OT. :twocents:
I agree that threads which are OK outside of OTs to start with should not be moved there. Posts should be deleted that would have otherwise been grounds for moving the thread into OT.
If someone wants to discuss the same topic in the OT then they can start a thread there.
By moving an entire thread into OT because of the posts of a few members, others who are following the discussion but do not want to opt in to OTs are left out. There are also kids that cannot gain entry into OT that may be following a thread that are then also left out.
The mods need our help as members by going ahead and hitting the "report to moderator" icon so that they can find the posts that need to be reviewed.
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I just recently joined OT a couple weeks ago for one reason only. Because I got tired of a thread I was interested in getting moved to OT because Somebody posted something that was deserving of the thread getting moved to OT.
Will, that didn't work because it seems when a thread gets moved to OT it's a green light to continue the down hill spiral of the thread. I would rather if a thread is going good, the post (s) that are crossing the the line get deleted so the thread can continue
Out of OT. :twocents:
Others have said that too, thanks for your comment, I'm taking that issue into consideration. :tup:
Personally I voted to remove it completely. As I've occasionally read some of the OT posts I see an anger in them that I think spills over into the non OT posts. I have friends and relatives on both sides of the political aisle and while, for the most part, we agree to disagree on most things there are still times I feel a lingering animosity after a semi heated debate. Seeing the venom that comes out in some of the OT posts, it's hard for me to think many don't jump out of the OT and into the regular forum without a lingering anger that carries over. There are many, many political forums out there, and very few good hunting and fishing forums. I realize there are decisions and legislative actions that impact our sport and the forum is a good place to make sure we are all aware of them. Probably tough to do, but I would like to see a screening where only those things that impact our sport show up in the forum. As far as I'm concerned a whole new forum dealing with political actions effecting our sport would be fine. Sometimes it seems even the most innocent of posts turns into a name calling debate and I sometimes wonder how much of this is a carry over from past posts where it's obvious the two (or three or four) posters have made it clear they are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. No easy answer here to keep everyone happy, and I'm sure I won't stop checking the forum whatever decision is made.
That might be tough, potentially whomever is elected can make a difference in the future of the 2nd Amendment and hunting? I don't want to turn this topic into a political debate but one of the first issues Hillary proposed in her presidential run was limiting firearms? That in itself made this last election the most important ever for me! Here in this state the current AG has expressed his disliking of guns and legislators are trying to deal with the wolf issue and other issues that directly impact hunters and hunting. I'll just stop at that but hopefully you can see the relevancy. Getting back to the core issue, we must encourage civility or I'm afraid attitudes will continue downhill. :tup:
Let me add...
FWIW: I know that I have gotten carried away at times too in certain topics, but for the good of the forum many of us need to be more civil at times.
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Lots of comments on not moving threads to off topics, and instead "cleaning" them up and leaving them where they are. Well, that's already what we do 99.9% of the time. This is a dilemma we've discussed many, many times in the moderator board. One instance where a thread had to be moved there, instead of being entirely deleted, was due to the threat of a lawsuit. Other than that we try to keep threads in the forum in which they were started.
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I just recently joined OT a couple weeks ago for one reason only. Because I got tired of a thread I was interested in getting moved to OT because Somebody posted something that was deserving of the thread getting moved to OT.
Will, that didn't work because it seems when a thread gets moved to OT it's a green light to continue the down hill spiral of the thread. I would rather if a thread is going good, the post (s) that are crossing the the line get deleted so the thread can continue
Out of OT. :twocents:
A recurring comment. I'll point out that family/peer policing is generally more effective for behavior than having outside sources. A few non moderators can call out posts and have it go over better than resorting to having a mod come in for some notches on the shillelagh.
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A recurring comment. I'll point out that family/peer policing is generally more effective for behavior than having outside sources. A few non moderators can call out posts and have it go over better than resorting to having a mod come in for some notches on the shillelagh.
I resent the "us vs them" thinking of your last post and further I'm offended that someone would think that mods are after "notches on the shillelagh".
I am one of you, I was here for years before I volunteered to be a mod and 99% of the time I'm on HW as a regular Joe without my mod hat on.
Other than that I agree, self policing is a good thing.
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A recurring comment. I'll point out that family/peer policing is generally more effective for behavior than having outside sources. A few non moderators can call out posts and have it go over better than resorting to having a mod come in for some notches on the shillelagh.
I resent the "us vs them" thinking of your last post and further I'm offended that someone would think that mods are after "notches on the shillelagh".
I am one of you, I was here for years before I volunteered to be a mod and 99% of the time I'm on HW as a regular Joe without my mod hat on.
Other than that I agree, self policing is a good thing.
It is also often overlooked that I held a poll the last time we added moderators, we chose moderators that the membership themselves voted to be moderators.
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BearPaw-I do understand your position. Wish the divides in our country weren't so great, but, as they say, it is what it is. I think the mods do a good job of screening and easiest thing is to simply stay out of the OT. I know the mods have other full time jobs as do you and it's unrealistic to think they can catch everything that gets posted before anyone has a chance to read it. As I said earlier, it won't effect my jumping on the forum because, overall, it's still a great forum with a lot of well meaning good members.
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I would rather if a thread is going good, the post (s) that are crossing the the line get deleted so the thread can continue Out of OT. :twocents:
I agree with this!
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No matter what you do some folks will never be happy. :) I appreciate the job you guys do, Dale and all the mods!
What a butt kisser!!!! :chuckle:
I appreciate it, too.
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I would say keep off-topics as is. With the only change being less moderation. People that get butt hurt because of different opinions can go else where. Let the folks of off-topics say what they please and battle their own differences of opinions themselves with out mom and dad interfering :)
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No matter what you do some folks will never be happy. :) I appreciate the job you guys do, Dale and all the mods!
What a butt kisser!!!! :chuckle:
I appreciate it, too.
:yeah:Exactly part of the prob. too many butt kissers on here..true fact :chuckle:
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No matter what you do some folks will never be happy. :) I appreciate the job you guys do, Dale and all the mods!
What a butt kisser!!!! :chuckle:
I appreciate it, too.
:yeah:Exactly part of the prob. too many butt kissers on here..true fact :chuckle:
Most of the time the mods participate in topics as regular members expressing their personal opinions which by the way are as different as the rest of the membership. I'm no different than you sometimes I probably go too far and I apologize for that. Since I've got my admin hat on in this topic I am going to speak in that capacity and forewarn you that the negativity is going to stop. We are still listening to ideas and have not changed the rules yet, but please be aware this forum is going to be more proactive against negativity.
I think piano was joking, maybe singleshot was too, if i misunderstood singleshot I apologize!
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No matter what you do some folks will never be happy. :) I appreciate the job you guys do, Dale and all the mods!
What a butt kisser!!!! :chuckle:
I appreciate it, too.
:chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: Hey this is from a former Mod, and trust me, I made a few bad mistakes as a Mod!!
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I would say keep off-topics as is. With the only change being less moderation. People that get butt hurt because of different opinions can go else where. Let the folks of off-topics say what they please and battle their own differences of opinions themselves with out mom and dad interfering :)
OT was less moderation. The problem was that people pushed beyond what should be acceptable and people started asking mods to do something about it. When you go down the path of personal attacks and name calling. That is what needs to stop. That is when the negativity bleeds over on to the main forum.
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:yeah: my :twocents:
If you don't like what goes on in OT, be an adult and opt out. I did. I never have a problem now with what's posted in there. :twocents:
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I would say keep off-topics as is. With the only change being less moderation. People that get butt hurt because of different opinions can go else where. Let the folks of off-topics say what they please and battle their own differences of opinions themselves with out mom and dad interfering :)
OT was less moderation. The problem was that people pushed beyond what should be acceptable and people started asking mods to do something about it. When you go down the path of personal attacks and name calling. That is what needs to stop. That is when the negativity bleeds over on to the main forum.
Russ is right, we've tried twice to let it be unmoderated and every time it leads to problems, when all is said and done I'm thinking we'll most likely moderate OT like the rest of the forum.
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So if your changing it why even post a poll?
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So if your changing it why even post a poll?
To develop a feel for where HW needs to go... so far there are some pretty clear trends. 2c
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So if your changing it why even post a poll?
To develop a feel for where HW needs to go... so far there are some pretty clear trends. 2c
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Exactly, what I see is 60% want off topics to stay opt in and opt out, but there are plenty of members discouraged about the negativeness on the forum, including members who have messaged me that they will not post on the forum since it has gotten so negative.
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We're going to take a poll and determine what happens with the off-topics. I'm sick and tired of members complaining and blaming the site for their own lack of ability to simply opt out of the off-topics if they don't like it.
Let's all vote and the member's votes will decide what happens with off-topics. You vote, you decide, this decision is on you, the whole H-W membership!
If there's another option you want added to the poll please post it and I or one of the other mods will add it. I set the poll so anyone can change their vote at any time. Feel free to discuss this or ask question in this topic!
THANKS! :tup:
UPDATE:
I've had some pm's from members with good input, if you have some constructive thoughts but don't want to post them openly in this topic, please send them to me via pm. THANKS
Not trying to be negative, but your first post to this topic said let's all vote and let members decide.
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:chuckle:
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:yeah: x2
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The problem is NOT OT. I like it sometimes but have decided to try an stay off mostly. The problem isn't Hunt wa in general either. The problem is the marriage of the two and unintended spill over. If ya have a relationship with an EX due to kids for example, that's fine but do you haver over for dinner with your wife/SO? :yike: A separate and new board with members signing on separate of general forum with diferent sign names to keep seperations? Anonominty would help stop spilover maybe? So basically a new forum? :chuckle: We were fine before OT and it WAS a better site. Unless growth and traffic is the issue cause of more advertising revenue I don't see the good in OT and how it makes us all a better hunting community. :twocents:
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I don't know how you can say it was better before OT? The site has always allowed discussion of topics such as politics. I think OT was created because of some people complaining about politics being discussed. Seems like OT helped so that people that don't wish to see it don't have to....... :dunno:
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It used to be called Speak your Mind or SYM board. People were a little too literal though. :chuckle:
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I don't know how you can say it was better before OT? The site has always allowed discussion of topics such as politics. I think OT was created because of some people complaining about politics being discussed. Seems like OT helped so that people that don't wish to see it don't have to....... :dunno:
:yeah: Also, I know a lot of members, that don't like the OT, probably won't agree with me on this but believe it or not there is some educational topics regarding trends that may effect all of our future. I think that's pretty important to know to protect our outdoor way of life.
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Six pages and going strong for this................. :twocents:
The poll indicates most members want the off-topics to stay but there are many good comments indicating we need to make some changes to lessen the impact OT has had on some members
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Is this a good thread to talk about Pitbulls? :)
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Is this a good thread to talk about Pitbulls? :)
Only if they're OFA certified.
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I'll say again that if the OT bothers you that much that it dims your opinion of the rest of the forum, put it on ignore.
You quite literally won't even know it's there.
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:tup:
Is this a good thread to talk about Pitbulls? :)
Only if they're OFA certified.
:tup: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:
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I'll say again that if the OT bothers you that much that it dims your opinion of the rest of the forum, put it on ignore.
You quite literally won't even know it's there.
Works well for me. I don't feel that drama or pressure. I still feel this is a great hunting site.
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As far negatively you will find it everywhere not just in the O T. So why Target OT. If you don't like OT don't go there plain and simple. Don't remove it because some body doesn't like it.
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I don't know how you can say it was better before OT? The site has always allowed discussion of topics such as politics. I think OT was created because of some people complaining about politics being discussed. Seems like OT helped so that people that don't wish to see it don't have to....... :dunno:
:yeah: Also, I know a lot of members, that don't like the OT, probably won't agree with me on this but believe it or not there is some educational topics regarding trends that may effect all of our future. I think that's pretty important to know to protect our outdoor way of life.
There is already a board Outdoor Advocacy & Agencies
Gun Rights, Hunting Issues, WDFW, Licenses, Draws, Hunter Ed, News, DNR, Fire Map, Join NRA http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/board,79.0.html (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/board,79.0.html) I think some people forget it is there and it is regular forum rules not OT rules. It really comes down to just abide by the rules.
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Truthfully I don't care if its around or not. I simply state it was a better place before OT and that this is a HUNTING forum not political facebook banter. And yes it was better, members were much more respectful. Bans were frequent, rules were followed mostly. I can go on Wapititalk and its respectful. Like it used to be on Huntwa. Good job Rory. :tup: Yes its a choice, ignore, log off etc blah blah. I simply state its a hunt forum and was better before people had freedom to bash others so freely. I don't care if it stays or goes, wont change my behaviors.
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I don't know how you can say it was better before OT? The site has always allowed discussion of topics such as politics. I think OT was created because of some people complaining about politics being discussed. Seems like OT helped so that people that don't wish to see it don't have to....... :dunno:
:yeah: Also, I know a lot of members, that don't like the OT, probably won't agree with me on this but believe it or not there is some educational topics regarding trends that may effect all of our future. I think that's pretty important to know to protect our outdoor way of life.
There is already a board Outdoor Advocacy & Agencies
Gun Rights, Hunting Issues, WDFW, Licenses, Draws, Hunter Ed, News, DNR, Fire Map, Join NRA http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/board,79.0.html (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/board,79.0.html) I think some people forget it is there and it is regular forum rules not OT rules. It really comes down to just abide by the rules.
I was just talking about social trends, i.e. what kids are being taught in schools.
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Truthfully I don't care if its around or not. I simply state it was a better place before OT and that this is a HUNTING forum not political facebook banter. And yes it was better, members were much more respectful. Bans were frequent, rules were followed mostly. I can go on Wapititalk and its respectful. Like it used to be on Huntwa. Good job Rory. :tup: Yes its a choice, ignore, log off etc blah blah. I simply state its a hunt forum and was better before people had freedom to bash others so freely. I don't care if it stays or goes, wont change my behaviors.
But why was it better before OT? It wasn't because there was no politics being discussed because there was. Like Bone said, before OT there was SYM. Same thing but different name.
I really think the difference is there are just more members now and more members mean more opinions and more chances for someone to get upset over something. :twocents: :dunno: That would happen with or without OT. The larger the forum gets the more conflict there is going to be.
I wonder what the main complaint is about OT? Because if someone doesn't like it they can ignore the board. If it is hurt feelings from OT bleeding over, I haven't witnessed it. :dunno:
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The venom wasn't so strong then. It seems huntwa is dominated by politics now. All the people who click ignore you can consider votes to eliminate OT. Right? I wonder if Admins counted # of posts in OT over the last year how it compares to ALL other posts combined? Is it about web traffic and advertising?? I have no idea but am interested how it compares? It isn't going anywhere, we all know it has too much use to be removed. Result will be more rules or sumthing and Huntwa will continue to be more than outdoor forum. I'm fine with that but if the vision is HuntWa it seems most politics could be expressed in another place/way. Its all good, I am too old fashioned. It can be more than hunt/outdoor. I would like to see some of the person attacks be stopped. It is progressing to a childish level for some and victims of insults probably just log out. Example, how many Natives are on site? Very few and for good reason. Yet we could learn from them to advantage other agendas or ideas or work together maybe??
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The venom wasn't so strong then. It seems huntwa is dominated by politics now. All the people who click ignore you can consider votes to eliminate OT. Right? I wonder if Admins counted # of posts in OT over the last year how it compares to ALL other posts combined? Is it about web traffic and advertising?? I have no idea but am interested how it compares? It isn't going anywhere, we all know it has too much use to be removed. Result will be more rules or sumthing and Huntwa will continue to be more than outdoor forum. I'm fine with that but if the vision is HuntWa it seems most politics could be expressed in another place/way. Its all good, I am too old fashioned. It can be more than hunt/outdoor. I would like to see some of the person attacks be stopped. It is progressing to a childish level for some and victims of insults probably just log out. Example, how many Natives are on site? Very few and for good reason. Yet we could learn from them to advantage other agendas or ideas or work together maybe??
They have, it comes in 4th, behind the Virtual Campfire, Deer and Elk hunting.
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Virtual Campfire is carried by Bigfoot.....maybe there should be a no holds barred version of Bigfoot that dwells in OT?
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Truthfully I don't care if its around or not. I simply state it was a better place before OT and that this is a HUNTING forum not political facebook banter. And yes it was better, members were much more respectful. Bans were frequent, rules were followed mostly. I can go on Wapititalk and its respectful. Like it used to be on Huntwa. Good job Rory. :tup: Yes its a choice, ignore, log off etc blah blah. I simply state its a hunt forum and was better before people had freedom to bash others so freely. I don't care if it stays or goes, wont change my behaviors.
But why was it better before OT? It wasn't because there was no politics being discussed because there was. Like Bone said, before OT there was SYM. Same thing but different name.
I really think the difference is there are just more members now and more members mean more opinions and more chances for someone to get upset over something. :twocents: :dunno: That would happen with or without OT. The larger the forum gets the more conflict there is going to be.
I wonder what the main complaint is about OT? Because if someone doesn't like it they can ignore the board. If it is hurt feelings from OT bleeding over, I haven't witnessed it. :dunno:
100% agree serious 2 thumbs up
I belong to OT and put it on ignore, for what it's worth I was once a mod of sum of course son was miles so there ya go, huntwa's sketchy past now seems idyllic and "back in the day"
:chuckle:
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We have all lived through the most prosperous time in the U.S. and it breeds complacency. Isn't it possible that the lack of discourse of how we are affected by government has come to an end? History is a valuable teacher. Anyone whom has read or seen the video series by HBO John Adams can attest to the fact that political discourse has made our country stronger. If you choose to hurry your head in the sand that is your right. You will suffer it's consequences.
Here is discussion of why fission that you don't like is still important.
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Duh. Who doesn't like fission. My favorite may be crick fission but I like river fission for trout also. Ahh, but top water fission for bass is a blast also ;). Ice fission can be good also!
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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 :twocents:
Although I did vote to remove it completely....... I 100% agree with this statement :yeah:
This is a hunting forum, not a political BS forum.
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This is a hunting forum, not a political BS forum.
It's both.
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Those who are opposed to Off Topics to the point of wanting it removed but, they do not have the self fortitude to opt out should be banned from Off Topics.
Problem Solved.
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Those who are opposed to Off Topics to the point of wanting it removed but, they do not have the self fortitude to opt out should be banned from Off Topics.
Problem Solved.
That's actually a pretty good idea, I think. It's similar to the number 3 option in the poll:
"Make off topics by request and approval only, you would have to request membership"
I voted for number 2, to make everyone opt in again, and I think somewhere I mentioned another idea- make everyone opt in monthly. Say on the 1st of every month everyone is automatically unsubscribed to the off topic board. Then everyone who chooses to be a part of has to go in and opt in again. Every month. If it was like that I don't see how anyone could legitimately complain. It's your choice if you're in there reading the political and other non-hunting related topics. If you don't like it, why'd you join, right?
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This is a hunting forum, not a political BS forum.
It's both.
Oh, I get that.
Do you suppose folks go to a political forum to talk hunting? :dunno: maybe they do.......I don't.
Point being should be obvious, after all this is "Hunting Washington Forum"....not "Hunting and Political Washington Forum"
Dale asked for input, I gave mine. Have a nice night. :hello:
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This is a hunting forum, not a political BS forum.
It's both.
Oh, I get that.
Do you suppose folks go to a political forum to talk hunting? :dunno: maybe they do.......I don't.
Point being should be obvious, after all this is "Hunting Washington Forum"....not "Hunting and Political Washington Forum"
Dale asked for input, I gave mine. Have a nice night. :hello:
I understand. I like the fact that it's both. I actually don't know of any political forums. Really, is there such a thing? If so, it wouldn't be my thing. But I sure do enjoy reading the political viewpoints of other hunters. 10 years ago I couldn't have cared less. Maybe even 5 years ago. I only recently became interested in politics, after seeing the downward spiral of our country, and hoping that things will improve for my kids. I like staying informed and I've learned a lot from some of the political junkies who post here on hunt-wa.
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Bobcat,
I agree with your points. What changed a few years ago on H-W is the need for some to control. The culture in this State has changed. I don't think it will ever be as it once was. (Not much is.)
I have done a few posts about how hunters "eat their own." We are worst to younger and beginner hunters. LE does it, Nurses do it. It is a very bad thing. Conservatives also crucify those on our side who make mistakes. Hunters have no mercy for that. If you don't like the recoil on OT it's OK. Heck, I went to a gun and hunting forum that didn't have a filter. That was an eye opener. Actually, it was refreshing. Topics are pretty calm here, even in OT.
It is totally understandable to come to H-W and want to focus on hunting. The great thing is YOU CAN! You can right now as things are.
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This is a hunting forum, not a political BS forum.
It's both.
Oh, I get that.
Do you suppose folks go to a political forum to talk hunting? :dunno: maybe they do.......I don't.
Point being should be obvious, after all this is "Hunting Washington Forum"....not "Hunting and Political Washington Forum"
Dale asked for input, I gave mine. Have a nice night. :hello:
I understand. I like the fact that it's both. I actually don't know of any political forums. Really, is there such a thing? If so, it wouldn't be my thing. But I sure do enjoy reading the political viewpoints of other hunters. 10 years ago I couldn't have cared less. Maybe even 5 years ago. I only recently became interested in politics, after seeing the downward spiral of our country, and hoping that things will improve for my kids. I like staying informed and I've learned a lot from some of the political junkies who post here on hunt-wa.
:yeah:
I probably read more of the political themed threads than hunting threads now. Partially because its the off season Im sure, but also because I too have never been so intersted in politics as I am today. People should just opt out if they dont like it. If it bleeds over into other portions of the forum, take appropriate measures.
I dont know that I've actually shared one of mine or my familys hunts on here in several years. With the amount of members on here, the hunting stories could outweigh OT topics 100 fold if everyone shared, but they don't... Thats a bigger problem if you ask me. :dunno:
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This is a hunting forum, not a political BS forum.
It's both.
Oh, I get that.
Do you suppose folks go to a political forum to talk hunting? :dunno: maybe they do.......I don't.
Point being should be obvious, after all this is "Hunting Washington Forum"....not "Hunting and Political Washington Forum"
Dale asked for input, I gave mine. Have a nice night. :hello:
I understand. I like the fact that it's both. I actually don't know of any political forums. Really, is there such a thing? If so, it wouldn't be my thing. But I sure do enjoy reading the political viewpoints of other hunters. 10 years ago I couldn't have cared less. Maybe even 5 years ago. I only recently became interested in politics, after seeing the downward spiral of our country, and hoping that things will improve for my kids. I like staying informed and I've learned a lot from some of the political junkies who post here on hunt-wa.
:yeah:
I probably read more of the political themed threads than hunting threads now. Partially because its the off season Im sure, but also because I too have never been so intersted in politics as I am today. People should just opt out if they dont like it. If it bleeds over into other portions of the forum, take appropriate measures.
I dont know that I've actually shared one of mine or my familys hunts on here in several years. With the amount of members on here, the hunting stories could outweigh OT topics 100 fold if everyone shared, but they don't... Thats a bigger problem if you ask me. :dunno:
I/a lot of us agree with that.
FEEL FREE TO SHARE!!
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[/quote]
I understand. I like the fact that it's both. I actually don't know of any political forums. Really, is there such a thing? If so, it wouldn't be my thing. But I sure do enjoy reading the political viewpoints of other hunters. 10 years ago I couldn't have cared less. Maybe even 5 years ago. I only recently became interested in politics, after seeing the downward spiral of our country, and hoping that things will improve for my kids. I like staying informed and I've learned a lot from some of the political junkies who post here on hunt-wa.
[/quote]
IMO, "the downward spiral of our country" is caused by politics. ;)
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And social media
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Okay... well you're not going to get rid of politics, as long as we have government and a country, we'll have politics. Pretending politics doesn't exist won't make it go away, or solve any problems. And, social media isn't going away anytime soon, either.
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The downward spiral of our country started with the breakdown of families, not politics.
We need OT so I can straighten some of you out. :chuckle:
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The vast majority of folks want the OT left alone.
I'm curious though, of the 33(at this time) that want it removed...do you want it removed thereby removing all political/controversial/OT related topics from the forum? Or do you want them put into the regular forum board unfiltered?
Just curious....
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The vast majority has surely spoken with silence
22127 members total and only 246 votes total in this poll
So 21881 members either don't care, can handle it or???
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
Maybe if no log-in activity for a year, remove?
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
Maybe if no log-in activity for a year, remove?
I have a feeling that might affect how potential sponsors might consider their level of participation in the forum. :dunno:
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
Maybe if no log-in activity for a year, remove?
I have a feeling that might affect how potential sponsors might consider their level of participation in the forum. :dunno:
True. :yeah: But it would be honest ?
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The vast majority of folks want the OT left alone.
I'm curious though, of the 33(at this time) that want it removed...do you want it removed thereby removing all political/controversial/OT related topics from the forum? Or do you want them put into the regular forum board unfiltered?
Just curious....
I definitely don't want them in the regular forum. The way it's set up now I can actually treat it like a different forum. I think like others on here we're bombarded enough in our daily lives with the controversial goings on around us, we don't want or need it on sight where hopefully we can go and escape it for a bit.
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It would be nice if members that were banned under a different user name could be banned again even if they've changed their user name. :twocents:
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I thought it already was like that :yeah:
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It would be nice if members that were banned under a different user name could be banned again even if they've changed their user name. :twocents:
Moderators look for that. Of course anyone can visit as a guest.
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
Maybe if no log-in activity for a year, remove?
I have a feeling that might affect how potential sponsors might consider their level of participation in the forum. :dunno:
True. :yeah: But it would be honest ?
I think Dale mentioned doing something like starting the membership count over/re-starting it or something. The biggest reason I don't want to eliminate everyone who hasn't posted in a year is the amount of time it would take to do. I don't have that kind of time. Also you can't find them anymore once they're deleted. Can't search their posts, etc. Also any banned members who were deleted would then be able to come back free and clear. There are multiple reasons that would support or not support doing this. It's a toss up. I don't have the time to volunteer to do this, and I suspect the same could be said for lots of the mods. Maybe there's a feature that would sort them out in the software. Who knows....
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I thought it already was like that :yeah:
Why would you think that. You're here.
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:chuckle:
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I thought it already was like that :yeah:
Why would you think that. You're here.
;)
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
Maybe if no log-in activity for a year, remove?
I have a feeling that might affect how potential sponsors might consider their level of participation in the forum. :dunno:
True. :yeah: But it would be honest ?
I think Dale mentioned doing something like starting the membership count over/re-starting it or something. The biggest reason I don't want to eliminate everyone who hasn't posted in a year is the amount of time it would take to do. I don't have that kind of time. Also you can't find them anymore once they're deleted. Can't search their posts, etc. Also any banned members who were deleted would then be able to come back free and clear. There are multiple reasons that would support or not support doing this. It's a toss up. I don't have the time to volunteer to do this, and I suspect the same could be said for lots of the mods. Maybe there's a feature that would sort them out in the software. Who knows....
My suggestion was based on thinking that something could be put in the system that would monitor and automatically remove them at a set time with no activity, much like the censor function for certain words.
As for the banned members, what prevents them from coming back under a different username now?
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Out of the 22127 members how many are still active?Some left never to come back????With this i think a reset on membership might also be warranted :twocents: lets see how many members we actually have these days. :dunno:
Maybe if no log-in activity for a year, remove?
I have a feeling that might affect how potential sponsors might consider their level of participation in the forum. :dunno:
True. :yeah: But it would be honest ?
I think Dale mentioned doing something like starting the membership count over/re-starting it or something. The biggest reason I don't want to eliminate everyone who hasn't posted in a year is the amount of time it would take to do. I don't have that kind of time. Also you can't find them anymore once they're deleted. Can't search their posts, etc. Also any banned members who were deleted would then be able to come back free and clear. There are multiple reasons that would support or not support doing this. It's a toss up. I don't have the time to volunteer to do this, and I suspect the same could be said for lots of the mods. Maybe there's a feature that would sort them out in the software. Who knows....
I can bulk delete members based on post count or last date active. It's fairly easy but still somewhat time consuming. I started to delete old members who have never posted, but decided first I better send an email asking if they still view the forum. I found out two things:
1. Some members who don't post do view the forum, they just want to read, they do not want to post. I'm ok with that.
2. Some email addresses were obsolete and some of those members have never posted nor have they been on the site in recent years, so my decision was to delete members who have an obsolete email address, who have never posted, and have not been on the forum within the last few years.
I deleted a few hundred but it's a slow process with those parameters. When I get time I will do more.
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My question for bearpaw is are you gonna still let members decide what happens to off topics based on the poll?
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Back before Dale took over we kind of did a purge. We asked all the members to post in a thread, even if it was a period. We let it run a bit then we deleted a bunch of members that did not have any posts or activity.
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My question for bearpaw is are you gonna still let members decide what happens to off topics based on the poll?
Yes, and we are going to do more, if you don't like what we decide you are free to go to another forum.
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I thought it already was like that :yeah:
Why would you think that. You're here.
Whats that supposed to mean?I got a ban a month or so ago and came back on. This seems very close to a personal attack to me.
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Curly, that is a rule. Oh Mah, it's widely "known" you are someone else. Don't take it personal. Dale is extremely generous with second and third chances. Probably why we haven't pursued this. I'm guessing with the way things are going to evolve around here, there will be less tolerances. Follow the rules and the "mission" of the forum, and there shouldn't be any issues.
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I thought it already was like that :yeah:
Why would you think that. You're here.
Whats that supposed to mean?I got a ban a month or so ago and came back on. This seems very close to a personal attack to me.
There are actually quite a few members who think you are a member who was banned for bad behavior, that's why it keeps coming up from time to time. It is against the rules to come back with a new username, a member must wait out his ban, so I'm sure that's one reason for concern.
Thanks for notifying us, we do take personal attacks seriously, but I really don't think Curly's comment was a personal attack.
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I thought it already was like that :yeah:
Why would you think that. You're here.
Whats that supposed to mean?I got a ban a month or so ago and came back on. This seems very close to a personal attack to me.
There are actually quite a few members who think you are a member who was banned for bad behavior, that's why it keeps coming up from time to time. It is against the rules to come back with a new username, a member must wait out his ban, so I'm sure that's one reason for concern.
Thanks for notifying us, we do take personal attacks seriously, but I really don't think Curly's comment was a personal attack.
it is if untrue,i just sent a pm to bone
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We're going to take a poll and determine what happens with the off-topics. I'm sick and tired of members complaining and blaming the site for their own lack of ability to simply opt out of the off-topics if they don't like it.
Let's all vote and the member's votes will decide what happens with off-topics. You vote, you decide, this decision is on you, the whole H-W membership!
If there's another option you want added to the poll please post it and I or one of the other mods will add it. I set the poll so anyone can change their vote at any time. Feel free to discuss this or ask question in this topic!
THANKS! :tup:
UPDATE:
I've had some pm's from members with good input, if you have some constructive thoughts but don't want to post them openly in this topic, please send them to me via pm. THANKS
I guess since the poll is not going the way you want.As a mod I thought you might keep your word.And let members decide.
On a positive note ,I do think you are one of the best mods,your view points I respect,most of them.And whatever your changes to off topics is fine with me.Bearpaw.
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My choice is the first choice. :dunno:
But along the way with this discussion and others we are learning that there are reasons the OT is a problem. We are also going to deal with these problems as I think they are worse than I had realized.
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We're going to take a poll and determine what happens with the off-topics. I'm sick and tired of members complaining and blaming the site for their own lack of ability to simply opt out of the off-topics if they don't like it.
Let's all vote and the member's votes will decide what happens with off-topics. You vote, you decide, this decision is on you, the whole H-W membership!
If there's another option you want added to the poll please post it and I or one of the other mods will add it. I set the poll so anyone can change their vote at any time. Feel free to discuss this or ask question in this topic!
THANKS! :tup:
UPDATE:
I've had some pm's from members with good input, if you have some constructive thoughts but don't want to post them openly in this topic, please send them to me via pm. THANKS
I guess since the poll is not going the way you want.As a mod I thought you might keep your word.And let members decide.
On a positive note ,I do think you are one of the best mods,your view points I respect,most of them.And whatever your changes to off topics is fine with me.Bearpaw.
I don't know if you know this but there are people that Bearpaw is saying that some members aren't voting and don't really want to talk about it on the open forum so they have messaged him. :chuckle: Bearpaw isn't just a mod here he is the owner of the forum. So he actually does have the finally decision. For the most part OT is going to stay but it needs some work. What is going to be done I am sure TBD.
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I voted to keep it the way it is.If you don't like it just ignore it
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The problem in all seriousness is that this site will never please the Democrat majority in Western Wa. It will not please RINO, Libertarian, or Republicans. It will never please the Hunting Purists, the Grammar Nazi's, the Ethical Thought police, LE, Anti-LE, Anti-Natives, or, the majority in the middle. It should not try to.
The reason is that this site is only what we add to it. We all add our perception and experience. It does not exist to please any factions or group. It exists to expand Hunting/Outdoor/Firearms and Weapons/and Politics related topics and interests in Washington and beyond.
There isn't just OT, there is another whole section for politics, and outdoor advocacy. Think General Politics don't relate to these topics as a whole? Come on, it does. I am serious about people being banned from OFF TOPIC for wanting it desolved. If it is so despised that a person wants it banned what could they offer that isn't toxic? Are they are so toxic they can't not log in. Knowing they can't handle it, how unstable is That?
I spent a long time in the past saying we shouldn't eat our own. I was and am probably in the minority if not a lone voice. I accept that. But, I will say again, you are free to self ban. You are free to only sit at the campfires you like here. You don't need a daddy or a babysitter.
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The problem in all seriousness is that this site will never please the Democrat majority in Western Wa. It will not please RINO, Libertarian, or Republicans. It will never please the Hunting Purists, the Grammar Nazi's, the Ethical Thought police, LE, Anti-LE, Anti-Natives, or, the majority in the middle. It should not try to.
The reason is that this site is only what we add to it. We all add our perception and experience. It does not exist to please any factions or group. It exists to expand Hunting/Outdoor/Firearms and Weapons/and Politics related topics and interests in Washington and beyond.
There isn't just OT, there is another whole section for politics, and outdoor advocacy. Think General Politics don't relate to these topics as a whole? Come on, it does. I am serious about people being banned from OFF TOPIC for wanting it desolved. If it is so despised that a person wants it banned what could they offer that isn't toxic? Are they are so toxic they can't not log in. Knowing they can't handle it, how unstable is That?
I spent a long time in the past saying we shouldn't eat our own. I was and am probably in the minority if not a lone voice. I accept that. But, I will say again, you are free to self ban. You are free to only sit at the campfires you like here. You don't need a daddy or a babysitter.
It comes back to what the left wants. More regulation, more rules, nanny state. They want the same for the site.
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The vast majority has surely spoken with silence
22127 members total and only 246 votes total in this poll
So 21881 members either don't care, can handle it or???
Complacent is my guess 8)
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I voted to keep it the way it is.If you don't like it just ignore it
:yeah:
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
That is a interesting thought since I use Tapatalk too. I saw the poll and got on a computer for it.
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I originally joined because I love hunting in Washington. This site changed and jaded me pretty quickly. There is a lot of ill will and down right hatred on this site. Eye opening and troubling, especially if you factor in the sad state of affairs the wdfw is in. The reality is huntwa is a good ol boys club and not a place for Indians. That said I willingly signed on but have given up on any thought of a symbiotic coexistence.
I agree there are those who are hard core anti-native. But you are sadly mistaken if you think everyone on the forum is that way. By thinking that way you are no better than the ones you are complaining about! I hope you will just give that a little thought? :twocents:
I stated my perception and perception is my reality. Not really "complaining". I'm not better than any of the good ol' boys, just not one of them. The hatred stings even if it is a minority of the membership, it's a very vocal minority. This includes some of the mods, bobcat and jackelope are real quick to attack native issues with a prejudice that runs deep. I guess at the end of the day it falls more into the square peg round hole category and I'm nobody to wage a valid opinion when it's your game and rules. There is very little common ground here. It is not just with natives though, hunters will be there own worst enemy and cannibalize worse than any other interest group that i can think of, with so much at stake.
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
Tapatalk is the reason I almost never vote in polls.
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
Tapatalk is the reason I almost never vote in polls.
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
You can just hit the "web view" tab in the drop down at the top right of your screen and vote from there.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170813/ec55f169ffc2a59be2ce194902fdf33a.png)
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I agree with some the frustration of a good topic getting moved to OT due to the rants of some. Why can't they be moderated and the same topic be opened again in OT for the rants, while keeping the good discussion on hunting open elsewhere. I like to read the points of view folks have on certain items, however when a few folks take over the thread to air their thoughts for pages and pages, I quickly loose interest, or worst yet, the whole thread is moved to OT so everyone can get their licks in. I'd like to see the original thread kept open in it's original locations and the rants get pushed.
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OT is basically the section where two people in particular focus solely on posting as many links as possible to the most obscure political websites not yet known to man. Other than that I'm not sure what else happens :chuckle:
Oh wait, bets for .22 bricks are made there as well.
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
Tapatalk is the reason I almost never vote in polls.
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
You can just hit the "web view" tab in the drop down at the top right of your screen and vote from there.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170813/ec55f169ffc2a59be2ce194902fdf33a.png)
I never knew that. Just tried it and it only takes me to page 1 of the thread, in tapatalk, with no poll.
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
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OT is basically the section where two people in particular focus solely on posting as many links as possible to the most obscure political websites not yet known to man. Other than that I'm not sure what else happens :chuckle:
Oh wait, bets for .22 bricks are made there as well.
:yeah:
Boy howdy, ain't that the truth!!!
So, I tried to find it, but couldn't..... how do you opt out of random, I mean off topics?
Honestly, can't figure it out on my phone...
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So, I tried to find it, but couldn't..... how do you opt out of random, I mean off topics?
Honestly, can't figure it out on my phone...
On the right side, click on "Group Memberships."
Probably can't do it if you're using the Tapatalk app.
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
Tapatalk is the reason I almost never vote in polls.
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
You can just hit the "web view" tab in the drop down at the top right of your screen and vote from there.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170813/ec55f169ffc2a59be2ce194902fdf33a.png)
I never knew that. Just tried it and it only takes me to page 1 of the thread, in tapatalk, with no poll.
Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
I tried it to and same thing. No poll. Did you have an Android phone? Maybe a difference between the iPhone app and Android app.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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OT is basically the section where two people in particular focus solely on posting as many links as possible to the most obscure political websites not yet known to man. Other than that I'm not sure what else happens :chuckle:
Oh wait, bets for .22 bricks are made there as well.
:yeah:
Boy howdy, ain't that the truth!!!
So, I tried to find it, but couldn't..... how do you opt out of random, I mean off topics?
Honestly, can't figure it out on my phone...
I removed you from it. You can also opt in and out at random in your profile. :tup:
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I've opt in for this topic when I signed up. I might go in and look around. But for the most part I don't. Nothing wrong with it. But I don't talk politics or any of that in my normal everyday life. So I'm sure as heck ain't gonna type about it. I'd say leave it as is. Unless someone boils it over to the hunting side of the forum. Then smash it before it gets out of hand.
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
Yes. When the kids are typing up home work, or I have just a few min I just use the phone.
Tap talk is not a great format for the H-W forum since it doesn't cross over well with this forums software.
When people ask for help I don't respond unless there is a location in the help request.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
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I'm always amazed how only a small amount of people vote in polls on here. Is it because a lot of people access it thru Tapatalk where for some reason polls don't show up?
My guess is because many people are looking in the boards they care about. If they are only interested in trapping or fishing would they see a poll posted in virtual campfire? While I really like the recent topics panel I bet lots of people ignore it.
If it is an all user poll that you want large participation in can you send a PM or email to users to vote? This may be the only way many would be aware the poll even exists. I would say I am a fairly active in viewing content and I almost missed it.
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Finally figured out how to vote via my phone!