12-17-2014, 03:48 PM
[#0000FF]Okay...bad form to reply to yourself. Just don't want to risk offending anybody else. I'm already offensive enough.
When asked for my input on the "secret" forum, I simply stated that I was not in favor. I do like the idea of having a "filter" to reduce the number of "lurkers" who take without giving back. But that same filter also shuts out a whole lot of others who simply enjoy reading our posts and do not mass up and go ruin our fishing holes. Many of them have the potential to join up and become valuable contributing members.
I get in a fair amount of fishing each year. And because of my avatar pic and my numerous posts with pictures of my tricked out float tube I am quite recognizable on the water. This has resulted in a lot of introductions...from folks who recognize me even though I don't know them. A high percentage of these folks admit that they are either not registered members of BFT or that even though they are registered they do not post much...if at all. Almost universally they say how much they enjoy our forum and how it has helped them to become better anglers. What's wrong with that?
As I have said before, there are a lot of our members who "hung out" on BFT for a while before registering. Unless they had the opportunity to see how "friendly" we are and how much we shared they would have never jumped in.
It would be silly to suggest that our reports have never resulted in increased pressure on specific spots. But it is equally vain and silly to take full responsibility for ALL the pressure on the hot spots. Our local outdoors TV programs, Info boards at tackle outlets and many other fishing report sources are equally to blame...if not more.
And don't overlook the "networks". There are groups and organizations of anglers who quickly pass along hot tips to others in their groups via cellphone and the social media. I have witnessed what can happen overnight to a spot that suddenly started producing...without any BFT reports or publication on other sources. One day you are fishing "almost alone"...and catching fish. You come back the next day and you can't find a spot to fish...and everybody crowding you out seems to know each other.
I am one of the early members on BFT. I have seen it evolve from a few chest-thumping guys who almost exclusively fished Bear Lake or Willard Bay. As others came aboard and the species, tackle and techniques discussions expanded into wider and wider areas, more and more anglers found BFT to be a good place to hang out. And whether by accident or design it has mostly been a good place for newbies to ask questions that have been asked many times before...without being blasted off the boards. And these newbies have often morphed into more knowledgeable and experienced anglers who paid it forward by helping newer newbies.
So...getting back to the point...my initial gut feeling is that once we start dividing up the membership and keeping the kids and the "riff-raff" away from the big folks table we are going to ruin the overall ambiance it took us years to build.
This was not my feeling alone. I have been in some face to face discussions and have had a lot of PMs from other long-term BFTers. It has not been my goal or personal agenda to discredit the new board or to in any way contribute to its failure. But there are a whole lot of "foundation folks" on this board who are either not in favor or who are reserving judgement until it proves itself. Some have chimed in. Many have not.
Many on this board were here when a BFT member jumped ship and started a competitive forum. It was hailed as a place where you could use profanity and pretty much do whatever you wanted. An obvious poke at the moralistic rules established by BFT. You wouldn't believe how many PMs I got from BFT members telling me that BFT was doomed and that "everybody" was leaving to go to the new board. The only problem was that all the posts on that board were BFT bashing and telling each other how great the new board was. Nobody was posting any good fishing info. So everybody quietly sneaked back into BFT and that board died an inglorious death.
Ever hear of the "divide and conquer" philosophy of war? Could happen.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
When asked for my input on the "secret" forum, I simply stated that I was not in favor. I do like the idea of having a "filter" to reduce the number of "lurkers" who take without giving back. But that same filter also shuts out a whole lot of others who simply enjoy reading our posts and do not mass up and go ruin our fishing holes. Many of them have the potential to join up and become valuable contributing members.
I get in a fair amount of fishing each year. And because of my avatar pic and my numerous posts with pictures of my tricked out float tube I am quite recognizable on the water. This has resulted in a lot of introductions...from folks who recognize me even though I don't know them. A high percentage of these folks admit that they are either not registered members of BFT or that even though they are registered they do not post much...if at all. Almost universally they say how much they enjoy our forum and how it has helped them to become better anglers. What's wrong with that?
As I have said before, there are a lot of our members who "hung out" on BFT for a while before registering. Unless they had the opportunity to see how "friendly" we are and how much we shared they would have never jumped in.
It would be silly to suggest that our reports have never resulted in increased pressure on specific spots. But it is equally vain and silly to take full responsibility for ALL the pressure on the hot spots. Our local outdoors TV programs, Info boards at tackle outlets and many other fishing report sources are equally to blame...if not more.
And don't overlook the "networks". There are groups and organizations of anglers who quickly pass along hot tips to others in their groups via cellphone and the social media. I have witnessed what can happen overnight to a spot that suddenly started producing...without any BFT reports or publication on other sources. One day you are fishing "almost alone"...and catching fish. You come back the next day and you can't find a spot to fish...and everybody crowding you out seems to know each other.
I am one of the early members on BFT. I have seen it evolve from a few chest-thumping guys who almost exclusively fished Bear Lake or Willard Bay. As others came aboard and the species, tackle and techniques discussions expanded into wider and wider areas, more and more anglers found BFT to be a good place to hang out. And whether by accident or design it has mostly been a good place for newbies to ask questions that have been asked many times before...without being blasted off the boards. And these newbies have often morphed into more knowledgeable and experienced anglers who paid it forward by helping newer newbies.
So...getting back to the point...my initial gut feeling is that once we start dividing up the membership and keeping the kids and the "riff-raff" away from the big folks table we are going to ruin the overall ambiance it took us years to build.
This was not my feeling alone. I have been in some face to face discussions and have had a lot of PMs from other long-term BFTers. It has not been my goal or personal agenda to discredit the new board or to in any way contribute to its failure. But there are a whole lot of "foundation folks" on this board who are either not in favor or who are reserving judgement until it proves itself. Some have chimed in. Many have not.
Many on this board were here when a BFT member jumped ship and started a competitive forum. It was hailed as a place where you could use profanity and pretty much do whatever you wanted. An obvious poke at the moralistic rules established by BFT. You wouldn't believe how many PMs I got from BFT members telling me that BFT was doomed and that "everybody" was leaving to go to the new board. The only problem was that all the posts on that board were BFT bashing and telling each other how great the new board was. Nobody was posting any good fishing info. So everybody quietly sneaked back into BFT and that board died an inglorious death.
Ever hear of the "divide and conquer" philosophy of war? Could happen.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]