Less heat, more light.

[Kiah]

It's a non issue, I am wondering in what reality anyone considered his posts in any way not welcome in the forum. In fact, they basically epitomize what W&SS is all about, especially when he does some firemaking or shows us some wild edibles .

+1 (or 50 or whatever) :thumbup:

I think if we can all agree on one thing that should be on-topic it's hiking/camping/nature pics.

 

[Mentor]

We need a bit more joy of the outdoors this season, a bit more concrete how to get outdoors when you can't pay the rent discussion, a bit more dog pics. A bit less arguing about whether or not someone is dumb carrying a .22 in the field versus a .454.

:thumbup: !!

 

[koyote]

Don't get me wrong! I've got 3 guns on my must have list due to WSS!!! I love some aspects of the discussions. But in part I see in WSS a theory of doing more with less- or doing with what you have. (part of that is planning to have what you need) and It's hard to focus when the discussions go from survival poaching with a .22 to why you will die in 10 minutes if you don't carry a .454 as backup to your .375

I actually enjoy the occasional "what is your survival gun" thread and the comparisons between actual hunting performance in various designs- I admit I generally tune out when someone mentions glock- my goal is the WHOLE RANGE of survival, not shooting boogeymen on hiking trails. (I know it happens, but I'm not worried about a .32acp versus bad guy nearly as much as a .32 versus bear- or trying to HIT something with a .32 at 30 yards)

 

[baldtaco-II]

As much as some rules are inevitable I prefer them kept to a minimum. When I run things elsewhere I prefer to have moderators that are Machiavelian yet trusted because they display sound judgment. That is how I prefer to see things here. When I don't trust a mod / admin I simply vote with my feet. No set of rules can change that for me.

“I believe the rules should be the same across the board. If Stomper(for example) posts one of his sweet blades and its kosher, then every knifemaker that has a "camp" related design should be alowed to do so. Just the same if a member has a design that is being manufactured by a company, or has a hand in a new line of gear. If one man can do it, all should. Its not right to call one guy a spammer, while 2 threads down someone is getting away with it.”

I agree with the spirit of that. However, I would prefer to see that governed with the sound wisdom I mentioned above, not by rigid rules. For example; Ray Laconico gets a good deal of exposure here. I think that is great. It comes in context, he refuses to talk sales here, and he makes a good bunch of contributions to the forum in other areas. I'd give him a lot of slack just because of that. Others who only contribute in the manner of self publicity I'd remove. Then there's a between the two. Some British bloke showed up here recently displaying knives he sells, and his site wasn't exactly hidden. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he may just be using his knives as credentials, as a newbie. Lot's of people use whatever props as credentials. Now if it were to keep on doing that without making any other contribution I'd probably remind him that he was coming across as a spammer [I did that to someone earlier this year]. Hard rules could well have been off putting to the newbie that may well have gone on to be a prolific and intelligent contributor. The mod with wisdom should be allowed the latitude to determine wheat from chaff. But WTF, isn't that pretty much the way the forum is now. Cool. I can appreciate a bit of tightening up on those that just seem to want to rattle their own cage, but go too formal on the rules and you're heading toward a blind and solemn judgment engine.

“As long as people are civil and don't just put things out for advertisement, I think pretty much anything wilderness and survival related should be allowed. This includes:

Pictures - I love to see wilderness pictures of places I will probably never get a chance to visit.

Gear - All gear included. Knives, packs, tents, boots, stoves, etc, etc. Any reviews of gear, any gear items made by or bought by forum contributors.

Tactics - It's always good to learn about new approaches to fire, shelter, food, etc. No one has all the right answers, and some ideas may not work in the specific areas where you live and play, but it's good to see the possibilities. I get a lot of good ideas on this forum.”

Sounds good to me.

“Wilderness stories - spooky, weird, or fun.”

Not so sure about that. I don't read many fiction books either.

And while I think of it; I really don't give a hoot about your favorite zombie movie or how many Action Man zombie figures you collected from the cereal packet when you were smaller. Blatantly off-topic fabricated crap like that with no bearing on anything bewilders me. I thought someone set up a courtesy chat room for that stuff. I'd so have the antibacterial assault down on that here.

Other than that, happy bunny.

 

[koyote]

Interesting take- I'm responsible for the zombie thread- though I told joezilla I was gonna do it. Thing is, there WAS a point to it- and in between the ZEDU comments, there was some decent discussion of pandemic and plague defenses. Not liking it is fine- saying you'd kill it with prejudice? ouch.

Not sure about the knife stuff. I don't notice a lot of really blatant "for sale" type stuff on here I know I'm fairly cautious with trying to keep pricing discussions - here or on the chat- to email or PM.

 

[baldtaco-II]

“Not sure about the knife stuff. I don't notice a lot of really blatant "for sale" type stuff on here I know I'm fairly cautious with trying to keep pricing discussions - here or on the chat- to email or PM.”

I figure you're on safe ground as far as I'm concerned and so are any of the others that offer up other contributions too. Understandably I don't want to get into finger pointing, but I think there are quite a few here that offer up stuff other than their knives. On that, their knifemaking thing fits in as part of a larger package. Great, but I get a totally different flavor from other quarters. One maker in particular that produces work I've long admired eventually raised my eyebrow. I got to thinking “surely you can't keep doing that and only that here”. Accordingly I no longer post any comment in his threads. I used to, often very favorably. Things could have been so much different if said member had contributed more widely. A bad pattern can be hard to pin down but I know when there isn't one.

All good.

 

[JCavSD]

I really enjoyed the zombie thread. I assume that enjoyment is an element in this experience.

 

[myright]

Cool thread, ESAV! Thanks for posting this :thumbup:

I would really like to see consitent moderating. I enjoy all types of wilderness threads and take a little bit away from each and every one of them. Even the ones that are just pictures of a hike. It helps me understand different terrains and the gear people are using to tackle different terrains. The threads that we think are just pictures of dogs and knives are really much more than that. Aside from boosting morale and stirring discussion, there is always some type of underlying learning experience in the threads.

I know there is no quick fix and the forum is still a great place - I just think consistency will go a long way.

I'm very glad to see some good, postive discussion here. This is what I stick around here for!

I absolutely love the makers posting there blades in here. I don't frequent their individual forums and really like to see what they are producing for us woods guys!

 

[Mentor]

I'd like to see, as much as I don't love stickies- a 'dumbass in the woods' sticky rather than a photos sticky (I like photo threads, 80% of the dumbass almost died threads need to be in W&C by post 4)

Just wanted to jump back in to say that this is a great idea. I would LOVE to see a sticky for this sort of thing. When there are two or three of these threads floating around the front page at the same time, it can be a bit off-putting.

 

[Aquacopter]

I found this forum through a search on a knife and it has become more than a forum its a community and anything to change that I object to.

 

[storl]

I always thought a threads of interest thread would be awesome. There have been some fantastic, very informative posts and threads that I have read and then tried to find later with no success. I would love to see a list with the thread title, a link to the thread, and a short 1-2 sentence description of the thread. I know this is probably too much for one person to handle, so I'd be more than happy to offer up a page on my wiki for such a purpose. I'm pretty terrible about updating it these days, so someone might as well get some use out of it. A wiki would mean that anyone can update it instead of relying on one person or the mods to maintain the list.

Regarding knifemakers and their knife threads, I think, like everyone else, that they are integral to BF and W&SS. However, I would really like to see the maker give more of a description of what went into the knife, what they made the design to do, thought processes, etc. The posts that are "Look at what I made!" and then a bunch of pics need some accompanying text, IMHO.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Storl, just as I bookmark favorite websites, I also bookmark the occasional favorite thread, and from here, I put it in my KNIVES folder.

You can also make a Word file and copy thread title and URL, with a brief note if you like, and even make folders for those. Using a wiki isn't a bad idea, either.

 

[Ramm9]

Here is a thread from a year ago...it is worth it to read the whole thing.
Member input wanted! New WS&S Rules Thread

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=590811

Pay particular attention to comments about and by knifemakers, also the following quote from Brian Jones...in terms of what we have seen in the last few weeks.

As you also know, I personally am NOT laid back at all when members become rude to each other.
That's my biggest rule (not a guideline): "Jump on in, but play nice."
As a moderator here, I feel very protective of our members, and feel that this forum belongs to all of us.

By the way, since it is now topical, I think Andy Taketch got screwed, unfairly and without even a kiss, when his knife post was moved without comment yesterday.

I can understand what may have been the reasoning behind moving the thread yet considering Andy has been a Blade Forums maker for some time it just didn’t seem right. This is BLADE FORUMS after all and knives are the basis for the whole thing.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

By the way, since it is now topical, I think Andy Taketch got screwed, unfairly and without even a kiss, when his knife post was moved without comment yesterday.

Link?

 

[Ramm9]

Link?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=678477

 

[Jason B.]

What about making stickys for fire making, trap making and other skills?

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Then we'd have a first page full of stickies. And most people don't read stickies. A wiki or search instructions would work better, and we've got a sticky for that.

 

[HikingMano]

I can't add much to what has been said already in this thread and myright's thread. :thumbup:

I, too, think hiking, dogs, whatever outdoor picture type threads should remain here. They often do stimulate discussion (what knife did you bring, what pack is that, how much water did you bring, looks like a challenging place to start a fire in, etc.), and even if they don't garner more than the normal "nice pics!" comments, they're fine because they function as wilderness pick-me-ups for other W&SS members who haven't had time in a while to get out. Or they provide people intimate views on places they want to visit or might never visit at all...something more than the google image results. I also believe, for newer W&SS dudes, it's a way to contribute something to W&SS as a whole; not all of us start off as uber experienced woodsmen....the pic threads and associated content is one way for us to share who we are and ease into the community.

I think gear discussions should stay as well, because for the most part, the gear that is posted and discussed is pertinent to W&SS. I don't like constantly checking the Gadgets and Gear sub because I have to sift through computer and other non-W&SS gear threads, and any outdoor gear thread posted there often fails to net robust responses. If I'm looking to get a product to use outdoors, I want to be able to ask the outdoor people I've come to trust about it.

The maker threads are generally fine by me as long as they aren't there solely for the purpose of advertisement. To be honest, I would have never ventured into the custom world of knives if it hadn't been for maker or buyer threads here on W&SS. Often times, I'll see a design that I have never used before or a discussion on specs and design of the posted knife that'll spur me to research that knife or maker further. Or maybe even look up old threads on steel, blade thickness and performance, choil or no choil, grinds, etc. So for me, the maker threads provide exposure to what else is out there. I do agree however, that such threads need substance...I appreciate it when a maker actually posts why he designed the knife the way he did and what types of tasks he anticipates his knife will handle. Or if he's coming for input, start us off with what areas in particular he'd like feedback on. Just a little something to stimulate further discussion by posters.

As for the arguing thing...I do seem to notice more tension and hostility here, at least more than when I first joined about a year ago. I've gotten sucked into debates here before, so my house has enough glass, but in general, I make efforts to respect others and disagree with logic and tact. Really, I think it's only a few that set the place out of wack, and for the most part we do pretty well with self-moderation. Often times it's not the content of the post that upsets people, but the way in which the post is written. The little snide last-word or my woods-fu is better than your woods-fu comments often make obnoxious what otherwise would have been received as a valid counter. The world of silent pixels on a screen leaves much room for bluster and/or misinterpretation (and damn the jerkit and rolled eyes smilies as well, I hate them and never use em)...sometimes things just blow up because a few fail to restrain themselves.

I don't think a teeny bit more moderation would destroy W&SS. A prick will be a prick and more moderation won't change that. But a little light hammer drop when self-moderation fails might help prevent other W&SS posters from getting caught up and feeding into it. Sometimes, all that is needed is a mods acknowledgement of obnoxious behavior to keep a thread from going further downhill. It gets the other posters to step back and re-evaluate. But like I said, I think for the most part we do pretty well on our own here with self-moderation. :thumbup:

 

[TATTOOMAN]

I think the threads that wind up in a pissing match between folks should be handled quick and without the "hey guys you need to stop" multiple warnings that just alows it to continue. I found this forum when I had the idea to start making knives and registered 12/2/05. Since then I think this will be my 82nd post, so I'm still a newbie so to speak. I like the W&SS forum. I have learned some things and the pictures help get you outdoors in mind if you're not able to get out yourself. Helps me to push to be able to do it more. The only other thing I have as far as do or don't, and it may not address an actual rule, take it easy on the new guys. I've already been put off in parts of this forum asking questions when I first joined and getting told to use the search function. Most new guys are looking to enteract with other people and the only way to start that is by asking the questions you don't have an answer to, even if it's been asked a 1000 times. We can all google and get a list of answers that don't always involve this forum or interaction with its members and if that happens then the forum stops growing. I say be strict on the pissing matches and the spammers, other than that, I think this forum runs itself ok. Randy

 

[Stormstaff]

I miss Pitdogs threads.

One of the reasons I really like the W&SS community is the sense of family. It bothered me when some of the family aspect seemed like it disappeared and it became more "bussinesslike".

I don't want tons of random, crazy off the wall threads but I honestly miss the way it was. It always seemed like a family that would rally together no matter what, be it on topic or something off topic like sickness, births, someone passing or someones stuff getting stolen.