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Crash and Burn

swampsnyper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2015
Messages
4,463
Location
Warrior, Al
I posted this on another thread but didn’t want to derail that thread so started a new one. It pertains to forum growing pains. As we are growing, having get-togethers and dabbling with sponsors, it just seems all to familiar. I’m not posting this to be negative. I’m posting because I care and don’t want to see history repeat itself. Just something to think about as we continue to grow and try to come up with a solution before we get trapped on the downward point of no return.

I’ve been down this road on another forum with mud motors. There was the original and biggest get-together in La. But we craved more, so I hosted one in another part of La, then the Texas guys hosted one on their lake. It was good times, meeting the members and seeing their part of the woods. Seeing all the mods on their boats and motors. It was the building age of the surface drive mud motors and was exciting. It got sooo big that eventually you get a bad apple in the group that does something wrong and ruins it for everyone. The Big ride was the 1st to shut down. Then the other mud rides started to do private invite rides because they didn’t want to be held reliable if someone got hurt. Clicks formed, website got a taste of money coming in from sponsors, atmosphere of the forum changed because of rules needing to be strictly enforced and true opinions couldn’t be posted in fear of upsetting a sponsor. Huge waves of the original group of guys that got the site going left in discust. Site never was the same.
Next forum I got in at the beginning again. Great core group just like this site. Didn’t need strict rules. We set example of how we wanted people treated and everyone just understood and respected each other. Started small public land group hunts. Had great times. Popularity grew, small group hunts became huge and out of control, site became huge, hunting contest formed, some bad apples loved the glory so much cheating occurred on a contest just for fun, sponsor money came in, lots of members, bad apples needed rules and enforcement, had to keep sponsors happy, original group slowly left the forum because it wasn’t what it started out as.
I see the same stages taking place here, but we haven’t got to the downward slope yet. Just hope it ends differently.
I warned the other forums. They said it will never happen, we are a close family, etc etc etc. History repeated itself. Those forums are still huge but it’s not the same close knit family like when it was starting out. Nature of the beast I guess.

I’ve made lifetime friends on all of those forums and it wouldn’t have been possible if we didn’t go through those stages. We just need to be conscience of where growth can lead and make the best decisions to honor what this forum was started on and where we came from. It’s easy to get caught up in the fast pace of progress.
 
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Yeah, it's just the part of growth. Things change with time. G2 puts all this together very well but as life moves along, his time, family and career will become even more scarce and variable. At that time, who will step up?

I'll admit it will not be me. Life continues to throw curve balls and I still think it'll be 10+yrs before I can take a deep sigh and slow down. If someone would have told me that I would only hunt one day this year within my home state or skip multiple years all together, I'd flat out called them a liar. Family is getting a little older so I find myself starting to get back into the groove of hunting but it still is hard to devote the time I used to have during my younger years. I also find that my body doesn't agree with what my mind tells it to do as easily as in the past.

So point is, enjoy while it last. Make life long friends in the process. One day we'll be the old geezers talking about what and how we used to do it. LoL

Not necessarily Crash & Burn. How about more like Fought & Won.

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With growth comes all of the problems you mention. I think a forum functions the same as a church, a business, a bowling league, or a child. When it's small, it's easy to manage and keep it exactly how you want it. As it grows and begins to be influenced by a lot of circumstances, it becomes harder and harder to control and keep within those strict guidelines.

This is a good conversation to have for sure. Hopefully @redsquirrel will chime in with his thoughts. We're lucky to have such a great moderator like Scott. He'll work his @ss off to keep this forum working smoothly.
 
Good post. I hate seeing it happen as well.

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This is all stuff that I have thought and worry about. All I can say is that I am going to do everything in my power to keep things as they are. Why do you think I haven't added any moderators yet? They are some guys on here who I would feel comfortable adding, but I haven't done it yet because then I am delegating authority. At some point I'm sure I will need to, but I'm holding out as long as I can. I am paying to run this site on my own dime. I have no interest in putting sponsors on the forum for the reason you stated. I want to feel free to express my honest feelings on here. I love our community and I am proud to host it and support it. @g2outdoors and I have created the store so we can all have cool gear to wear around around. Any profits we make are being used to support the community or improve the site. Aerohunter recently added me to their pro staff. If you have read my posts since the first year of the site you will know how much I support them. Not because they pay me, but because they put out a top notch product and are continuing to improve it. I am looking forward to helping them out and continuing to improve our community as a whole.

Long story short, I hope that my motivations for running this site are different than most other sites. saddlehunter.com is fun to me and I am so proud of it. I have a full time job that pays my bills and I want to keep saddlehunter fun. We have whad so many innovations with saddle hunting in the 4 years since I started the site and I hope we can continue to do that. When I started the site I was hoping to find a small group of guys who liked hunting like me. What we have become has already blown away my expectations. I can now say I have close friends across this great country and I look forward to meeting them in person some day.
 
Great post. If this site ever turns into archerytalk, all the good guys will leave.

And we can't rely on Scott to do everything. We must police ourselves and help new members understand the way things work.

I can't even count the number of posts I've deleted because they could have been construed as argumentative or inflammatory. There's just no room for that nonsense. It ruins open lines of communication.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.
 
Our fate lies in the hands of the one they call pink squirrel. Comforting..... lol

On a serious note, I couldn’t be happier with the way you handle the site. Wish I had an answer to prevent what I’ve seen happen to other sites.

It's easy, don't let nonsense and arguments carry on in open form. Also keep the male appendages measuring companion to a minimum and most everything else will work itself out.



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If you are offended easily they have deeply discounted basket weaving classes at a local community center near you. While respect is paramount anywhere and anytime people gather, I see grown men on forums too often explaining or justifying why they had an original thought or an opinion that may not be popular. If we are too careful then things that may be useful or helpful may never be discussed. You're doing a good job pinksquirrel. Oh by the way guys..... this is JUST MY OPINION. I hope everyone on all 7 continents agrees with it.
 
I say a lot and pick on people a lot. But not trying to be nasty. All in a sense of brotherhood. That being said I will also call some one out and say what’s on my mind. I hope sponsors never get in the way of that.
I’m sure my thoughts on the Kestrel aren’t popular but they are mine. And I hope my honest opinion isn’t censored to keep the masses happy. I have that done on one sight that I pretty much gave up on.



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This forum is great and I am very thankful I found it I think it's a real great group of hunters...I read probably 10 times as much as I post on here... watching it turn into something like archery talk would be terrible I view forums like that as weight lifting contests for egos... while I may look at other forums from time to time to research specifics this is the only forum I read daily!


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This forum is great and I am very thankful I found it I think it's a real great group of hunters...I read probably 10 times as much as I post on here... watching it turn into something like archery talk would be terrible I view forums like that as weight lifting contests for egos... while I may look at other forums from time to time to research specifics this is the only forum I read daily!


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X2!

Sent from my Galaxy S8.
 
Just wanted to say you guys have a very well run forum here and I’m glad I became part of it. I read way more than I post but early on I could easily tell how well everyone gets along and how everyone keeps the discussions respectful.

I have been over on the Hunting Beast since inception and seen the incredible growth. It gets challenging at times and as a moderator I know how much more work it gets to be as the forum grows. Great job keeping that balance so far. It’s not an easy job.


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Just wanted to say you guys have a very well run forum here and I’m glad I became part of it. I read way more than I post but early on I could easily tell how well everyone gets along and how everyone keeps the discussions respectful.

I have been over on the Hunting Beast since inception and seen the incredible growth. It gets challenging at times and as a moderator I know how much more work it gets to be as the forum grows. Great job keeping that balance so far. It’s not an easy job.


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I think the key point that Dewey made here is being respectful of others. If we can maintain that, then we should be ok. If you don't have something nice to say (or can't say something in a nice, respectful way), then don't say anything at all. I know that I have held my tongue more than once and I'm always glad later that I said nothing instead of saying something that could cause conflict. In this type of setting, it is rarely worth it to "call someone out".

i think Red does a great job on here and I appreciate it. It's a great place to share and evolve ideas and hopefully that aspect will remain.
 
Just wanted to say you guys have a very well run forum here and I’m glad I became part of it. I read way more than I post but early on I could easily tell how well everyone gets along and how everyone keeps the discussions respectful.

I have been over on the Hunting Beast since inception and seen the incredible growth. It gets challenging at times and as a moderator I know how much more work it gets to be as the forum grows. Great job keeping that balance so far. It’s not an easy job.


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We're glad to have you here Dewey. I've read a lot of your stuff on the beast so I know that you are the type of guy who would fit in great on here :D
 
If you are offended easily they have deeply discounted basket weaving classes at a local community center near you. While respect is paramount anywhere and anytime people gather, I see grown men on forums too often explaining or justifying why they had an original thought or an opinion that may not be popular. If we are too careful then things that may be useful or helpful may never be discussed. You're doing a good job pinksquirrel. Oh by the way guys..... this is JUST MY OPINION. I hope everyone on all 7 continents agrees with it.
Your great country was built upon freedom of expression which is being suppressed in Canada and the USA today. So I agree with you Huck. Another thing that is lacking in discussions in both countries is a lack of gentlemanly conduct. Or respect. My father in law used to say... everyone is entitled to their own ridiculous opinion.
So far we have disagreed sometimes and acted like gentlemen always. That is the difference on this site.

Oh and Huck you are correct that eternity is too long to be wrong. IMO
 
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