i'm OG....
If you notice, a LOT of the respondents on this thread are over 60 years old, myself included. I think a lot of us in this age group prefer the format of a BB, whereas many of those who are younger prefer Reddit, Facebook, etc. I think that's a shame because a lot of collective wisdom is lost with those more transitory type forums. It's so much simpler to access old information on a BB than on social media like Reddit. A BB like White Blaze is a real depository of information and experience...
I'm adding a personal observation about moderation. I used to be very active in some Drum Building forums. These are my personal observations but others did feel the same way. There was a Drum forum that was very moderated by the owner. It was his forum, he paid the bill and so what he did was what he did. He would heavily moderate some "people" and others (his friends, or as some said, the ones who Kissed his a....) hardly ever got moderated. A lot of people did leave and the forum got very quiet and eventually died. At the same time, there was a competing Drum building forum with almost zero moderation (I was one of the moderators and we tried to do moderation behind the scene). That forum quickly formed a group, a clicke really, that could be very nasty to people. that forum also slowly died. People who asked a question or tried to make an observation were sometimes almost attacked by the "in" group. Pretty soon, it was just the "in" group left. That forum also died. They have a FB presence but it seems fairly quiet.
So, over or under moderation on forums, can both lead to a decline in a forum. My observation. It seems the vibe of the members can overcome either moderation.
For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF
I've been moderated a few times on this forum but in retrospect I probably deserved it those times.
Me too. Not an easy job, moderating. Thanks Attroll and crewOriginally Posted by LittleRock
A lot of people left WB during the pandemic when talking about hiking the AT was banned here. And they never came back. Same with the ATC but they got pipeline money to keep them afloat.
But ultimately:
https://external-content.duckduckgo....2a4&ipo=images
Same here, I do not necessarily come across the same in writing as I do in person. I am very much a "tic" commenter. but many have not seen it that way. Guess I need to learn how to better express myself. I truly hope that WB does not die, it has been a great helpful source of info for my hikes, and I am not yet finished.
Wait…what? I was actually hiking the AT during the pandemic so I wasn’t online much. This was actually a thing? I think a lot of us will agree that hiking during the pandemic was actually a great time.
The AT itself was not closed but many Local, State, National Parks and National Forest Service amenities like shelters did close early in the pandemic. With those closures came trail access inaccessibility subject to law enforcement actions. The ATC recommended hikers stay off the trail at the time and conversation regarding breeching local, State, and Federal trespass laws was discouraged on this site, which was appropriate. However general conversation about hiking the AT and other long distance trails were not "banned".
Keep in mind in the early days of the pandemic we did not have a good understanding of the virus as we do today. We did not know the vectors of infection travel, how long it would remain active in the air, on surfaces and in water along with exposure prevention techniques that would help people protect themselves until treatment methods and ultimately vaccines could be developed. Hospitals and clinics filled up surprisingly fast to the point they had to turn people away for lack of space and supplies. Food availability was compromised due to supply chain interruptions and employee absenteeism forcing local business closings. Some small towns and counties actually closed roads going into their jurisdictions that actively turned back all but a few necessary deliveries and services. A very scary time indeed for everyone.
In my view, moderators did a rather good job of incrementally limiting conversation that wandered into potentially illegal activity of members and providing confirmed information as available regarding virus related issues that most would agree were within responsible guidelines.
Agreed. Conversation about hiking certainly wasn't banned, and the moderators handled things reasonably.
And with things being done differently in so many places (like you mention about closings in towns and similarly small areas), it was often hard for someone to know what was, and wasn't allowed in one place that might be completely different a few miles up or down the trail.
Edit - post this was in response to is gone, so this message became meaningless.
Last edited by CalebJ; 05-09-2024 at 11:33.
So this site has a user agreement, and one of the rules is this
Discussing actions that would involve legally closed areas breaks this rule. Now we aren't going to rehash moderation decisions in the forums. We also have this rule here4. Discussions involving how to commit illegal acts, or involving the use, production and/or distribution of illegal drugs are forbidden.
Kindly please adhere to the user agreement when posting. Thanks!3. Topics that have been closed, deleted, or moved by an Administrator or Moderator have been done for a reason. Users will not open new threads on the same subject or continue to make posts about subjects that have had these actions taken. Failing to comply with this policy can result in being placed into moderated status.
"Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
Call for his whisky
He can call for his tea
Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan
Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.
moderators moderating moderately.
it’s a dirty job, and someone’s gotta do it.
I love all things Appalachian Trail, to include pandemic speed records but did not realize the code we agree to when signing includes illegalities. Anyways, let’s go hike!
Since WB started 20+ years ago there has been a tremendous increase in the number of hikers. With that increase came an increase in where you could learn about hiking (hiker written books, trailjournals, vlogs, etc.). Many of these go into detail on gear used, things to expect on a hike, etc. WB isn’t dying, it’s just that there are more information sources available. Reading a few trailjournals will give a potential hiker a good idea of everything to expect on a thru hike, but WB is still a good source especially for specific questions.
Came across this video today. Read the comments made:
Interesting thread. On the one hand, I’m 61 years old and almost never post. On the other hand, I find FB really irritating for reordering the posts every time I look at it, I can never find a thread twice on Dixie’s Homemade Wanderlust FB. So the WB sort of forum appeals to me, even if Dixie’s FB has more recent activity.
I plan to retire and hike the AT next year (2025), probably starting in May for a Harper’s Ferry flip-flop. WB has been awesome for planning and keeping my motivation going. @somers515 kept a thread going for his 2023 hike that was very similar to what I plan to do, which was great motivation as well. Maybe I’ll try the same occasional journal entry to add new content, maybe I’ll have something new to say since I plan to take blue blazes even if it takes me more than one year to complete.
Maybe there are lurkers like myself that are hard to account for when looking at recent posts for activity?
+200 on the FB sux-ie sort. I'm a retired computer geek and I have yet to figure out the FB sort. Swipe down, see different stuff. Swipe, see stuff you saw yesterday, swipe, see stuff from a WEEK ago that you never saw a week ago OR on any other swipe. Search is also a total hit-or-miss.
For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF
+1 on FB complaints...
In addition to the crazy randomness of what FB shows you, I'm sick and tired of FB sending me a Notification that someone has replied to a comment I've made, and I click the link and it just takes me to the conversion, and now I'm supposed to FIND my post in a conversation with 1,000 replies, and you only get to see about 20 at a time (and you don't know if your reply was a top level reply or collapsed in some sub-response.
If you can tell me I have a reply, why can't you just take me to the reply???
Unfortunately, for collaboration and getting questions answered, it seems the ease of creating groups in Facebook means that's where the "action" is currently located.
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