JTB_5
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2017
- Messages
- 7,813
People are imperfect creatures, and nothing brings out the worst in people like being given a chance to vote on something they want that matters to them. The people to whom it matters little have less to say or say it at a lower amplitude, but for those to whom it is a Big Deal there's more emotion and rancor at disagreement and offense (perceived, or real). Some folks are always dialed-up, but I think many folks here just get amped up because it means something significant to them, which can be a good thing even if it makes it harder to keep things calm and civil.
The real test of the quality of the community is whether we can have heated debates and still walk away from it having made amends for offenses, being content that the process included everyone's participation in a just way, and having the opportunity to continue to commune about things less stress-inducing. It's like a political election in many ways--can we disagree vehemently and still walk away respecting one another as fellow citizens (porch members) in the community?
The last two years of the Forum knife have been unusual because of COVID-19 and its effects upon makers and suppliers. If we get back to the kind of normalcy that we had prior to the pandemic, I hope that the Forum knife discussion will include more options and the opportunity to vote on choices. I'm not even convinced, perhaps Charlie @waynorth can chime in (or perhaps I've missed it), but we may still have some options to vote on for this year's knife; like cover options and blade stamps, even if we don't get to choose a blade pattern or blade shape.
If we can keep goodwill for our volunteers and for the knife-makers who agree to provide us the service, I think we can have many more years of Forums knives. But if the spirit becomes too contentious, or if we begin offending those who have only sought to facilitate bringing a "club knife" to fruition, we could lose (and have almost lost in the past) the tradition that so many have enjoyed--and some from the very beginning!
Try to keep in mind the bigger picture and the generosity of those who are bearing the load before you hit that "post reply" button.
The real test of the quality of the community is whether we can have heated debates and still walk away from it having made amends for offenses, being content that the process included everyone's participation in a just way, and having the opportunity to continue to commune about things less stress-inducing. It's like a political election in many ways--can we disagree vehemently and still walk away respecting one another as fellow citizens (porch members) in the community?
The last two years of the Forum knife have been unusual because of COVID-19 and its effects upon makers and suppliers. If we get back to the kind of normalcy that we had prior to the pandemic, I hope that the Forum knife discussion will include more options and the opportunity to vote on choices. I'm not even convinced, perhaps Charlie @waynorth can chime in (or perhaps I've missed it), but we may still have some options to vote on for this year's knife; like cover options and blade stamps, even if we don't get to choose a blade pattern or blade shape.
If we can keep goodwill for our volunteers and for the knife-makers who agree to provide us the service, I think we can have many more years of Forums knives. But if the spirit becomes too contentious, or if we begin offending those who have only sought to facilitate bringing a "club knife" to fruition, we could lose (and have almost lost in the past) the tradition that so many have enjoyed--and some from the very beginning!
Try to keep in mind the bigger picture and the generosity of those who are bearing the load before you hit that "post reply" button.
