The THINK button - A MUST READ (please)

[Blue Jay]

WB minus entertainment equals nothing. Yep, a wanker thread for sure.

Add me to this the list of being opposed to violin playing, sickly sweet, wanker threads

[Lone Wolf]

Thanks Tin Man...
I am always the sappy one so maybe we can be partners?


Wanker enough idea??

looking forward to checking out y'alls new boring AT site.

[Tin Man]

looking forward to checking out y'alls new boring AT site.

I don't want no boring website. Just hoping to reduce the rancor is all. After all, we all be friends here...well some...well a few...maybe.

Or is that your point, rancor is required to have fun?

[Lone Wolf]

I don't want no boring website. Just hoping to reduce the rancor is all. After all, we all be friends here...well some...well a few...maybe.

Or is that your point, rancor is required to have fun?

where is all this rancor you're crying about? i see it in the political forums. name some names and some threads. SOO many of you are SOO sensitive. put the people that bother you on IGNORE. it's very simple

[Tin Man]

Thanks Tin Man...
I am always the sappy one so maybe we can be partners?

The thing to remember is that LOTS of people are finding this website as they starting learning about the AT, hiking, etc. Lots of these people are totally turned off by the negative banter that is often funny only to a few... you know who you are! It would be better if we had "chat rooms" that were separate from the website... Then we could nip and yap at each other all we wanted but it wouldn't be front page of the website. You would actually have to enter the chat rooms and there could be a warning for children.

Wanker enough idea??

Thank you Miss Janet. I think it is a great idea and it sounds like the subscription forums for the thick-skinned are already established with this in mind. People could easily take it outside over there...

[Tin Man]

where is all this rancor you're crying about? i see it in the political forums. name some names and some threads. SOO many of you are SOO sensitive. put the people that bother you on IGNORE. it's very simple

You know LW, some acknowledged the issue and they agreed to help make it better. The moderators acknowledged the issue and would like to see discussions presented with a little more civility. And, yes, some are perhaps a little sensitive and naive from time to time. That's just the way they are. Look at the "move the AT" thread. Perhaps it started a little naively and went in different and interesting directions, right before it broke down and then people started apologizing for their behavior. That is what I am talking about. Why shouldn't everyone have a chance to be heard and discuss things without fear of personal attack? I imagine it is easy being a Wolf. But that doesn't automatically mean others should also be a Wolf or become prey. (Not saying that you prey on anyone. Just saying not everyone has as strong a personality.)

And the ignore button does not resolve anything. It is far better to ignore a post than a person, as that same person often does share interesting information.

[Lone Wolf]

this whole thread is a non-issue really. it's no where near as bad as you're making it out to be. it's just the internet. if Whiteblaze went away today, folks are still gonna hike

[Jack Tarlin]

Tin Man:

While I generally agree with what you're saying, I can't help but notice that some of the folks who are presently up in arms about the strong language and tome of some of the posts here are the very same people who are guilty of making these sorts of posts here themselves, oftenon a daily basis.

In other words, the people doing most of the complaining are, in fact, some of the worst culprits.

It's all well and good for people to want to see more civility here, but one can't be a hypocrite about it......if one doesn't wish to be on the receiving end of strong comments, then one should refrain from making them to others.

And in truth, the strongest comments seem to be on the subscription threads, especially the ones dealing with non-Trail subjects, like the Political section. People are at those threads by their own choice, and they know that things can get heated over there. Nobody is compelled to take part in these discussions, and the best thing for the overly sensitive to do is to probably avoid these discussions altogether. But to intentionally seek out and join a dialogue that one knows might get heated or turbulent......and to then complain about the heat and turbulence one finds there.......well, this seems a bit silly to me.

The best way to miss a heated conversation is to avoid taking part in it, and the best way to avoid being the subject of strong words or personal invective is to refran from doing this yourself when talking to others. But truly, some of the people whining about this have nobody but themselves to blame.

[4eyedbuzzard]

this whole thread is a non-issue really. it's no where near as bad as you're making it out to be. it's just the internet.

WB is very mild compared to many DB's.

if Whiteblaze went away today, folks are still gonna hike

if Whiteblaze went away today, more folks might actually hike rather than type about hiking

[Tin Man]

LW, LOL. I was just thinking the same thing. While, my intent was not to blow things out of proportion, some discussions just go that way because people are intent on making their point heard and not trivialized out of existence. That said, I do think that the moderators would like to see some people change their ways.

[Lone Wolf]

LW, LOL. I was just thinking the same thing. While, my intent was not to blow things out of proportion, some discussions just go that way because people are intent on making their point heard and not trivialized out of existence. That said, I do think that the moderators would like to see some people change their ways.

start your own website and quit snivelin'

[Tin Man]

Jack,

I was hopeful that those guilty whiners you were referring to and who acknowledged the issue in this thread seriously intend to change their ways. Isn't that possible based on what they said?

I agree with you the non-AT forums are a good place to go and have aggressive conversations.

[Tin Man]

start your own website and quit snivelin'

OK. I said my peace. Now cocktail hour has arrived. Can I buy you a Busch Light?

[Sly]

Just start calling the Think button, the Dumb button, and everyone will be happy!

[Sly]

People are always complaining about the non-AT forums being heated, well yeah, we mostly talk about politics. The best part is, you can unsubscribe if you can't take the heat. That said, I've seen heated discussions in the hiking forums and this is where people need to clean up their acts. I suppose a reminder thread is OK from time to time, but they're generally useless by the end of the day.

Over and out...

[camojack]

where is all this rancor you're crying about? i see it in the political forums. name some names and some threads. SOO many of you are SOO sensitive. put the people that bother you on IGNORE. it's very simple

Now THAT is what wankers do...IMO.

[dixicritter]

Heaven forbid people be nice to each other. Lord knows I sure won't stick my neck out again.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

.... the strongest comments seem to be on the subscription threads, especially the ones dealing with non-Trail subjects, like the Political section. People are at those threads by their own choice, and they know that things can get heated over there. Nobody is compelled to take part in these discussions, and the best thing for the overly sensitive to do is to probably avoid these discussions altogether. But to intentionally seek out and join a dialogue that one knows might get heated or turbulent......and to then complain about the heat and turbulence one finds there.......well, this seems a bit silly to me.

The best way to miss a heated conversation is to avoid taking part in it, and the best way to avoid being the subject of strong words or personal invective is to refran from doing this yourself when talking to others. But truly, some of the people whining about this have nobody but themselves to blame.

The thing to remember is that LOTS of people are finding this website as they starting learning about the AT, hiking, etc. Lots of these people are totally turned off by the negative banter that is often funny only to a few... you know who you are!

Heaven forbid people be nice to each other. Lord knows I sure won't stick my neck out again.

Dixie has taken the word out of my mouth.

Most of you never see the messages from newcomers who leave because of all the rancor - and they aren't subscribed to the non-AT, sensitive trail topic or political forums. I couldn't care less what goes on the political forum or the Sensitive trail topics as long as it doesn't violate the TOS of the site - both contain language warning that your are entering a volatile area. Non-AT forum and its humor forum is frequented by people who are discussing non-hiking related topics. It was never meant to be a bashfest.

It is entirely possible to disagree without being disagreeable. You simply discuss ideas instead of impugning others' character. I personally am leery of people who slam a variety of others on a regular and continuing basis because I know from experience that what offends people the most is seeing their own defects of character in others.

[Manach]

We could adopt a 'live and let live' attitude toward others and save the 'you must.....' for things that really matter

Very wise. Unfortunately, too many folks don't understand the difference between things that really matter and things that don't.

Hospitality, intelligent discourse, and critical thinking matter. The rest should then come naturally.

[mudhead]

Dixie has taken the word out of my mouth.

Most of you never see the messages from newcomers who leave because of all the rancor - and they aren't subscribed to the non-AT, sensitive trail topic or political forums. I couldn't care less what goes on the political forum or the Sensitive trail topics as long as it doesn't violate the TOS of the site - both contain language warning that your are entering a volatile area. Non-AT forum and its humor forum is frequented by people who are discussing non-hiking related topics. It was never meant to be a bashfest.

It is entirely possible to disagree without being disagreeable. You simply discuss ideas instead of impugning others' character. I personally am leery of people who slam a variety of others on a regular and continuing basis because I know from experience that what offends people the most is seeing their own defects of character in others.

Post a couple messages from newcomers. "Change the names and places

to protect the innocent." Might dewank the rancor if people saw how it looked through fresh eyes.