OFF (this Site) is GOING DOWN HILL

Since around mid August 2011 ... this site seems to be on a DOWNWARD SPIRAL.

Almost every other post involves some NEGATIVE COMMENTS.

Specifically: FLOSSING, LINING, MASHMELLOWS, "Only Shore Fishing is Flossing", POACHERS, FLAMMING, CRUDE COMMENTS

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There are certain individuals who "lead the pack" in these matters.
and those who seem to "Feed ON" this kind of behavior.

-Infatuated with accusing every single person of Flossing / Lining - poaching
-Jumping on people about "Secret Spots"
-Ridiculing peoples setups and choice of bait
-Making fun of those who lose equipment

“SALMON” and “FISHING EXPERTS” ? ...."Know it alls"
... yet have posted few reports, no personal info, barely any TOPICS


This MUST come to a stop!

The MODERATOR(s) even confirmed that "Some" of these individuals were BANNED.
Hopefully when OPENFIRE returns from vacation, this can be remedied.

Is this acceptable behaviour?

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OFF was once:

a FREINDLY PLACE
where INFORMATION was shared
REPORTS & POSTS were POSITIVE

You would rarely see ( –minus reputation points) being so randomly handed out.
In fact it was the OPPOSITE ( +1 were given to those who gave good ADVICE & REPORTS ... not CRUDE REMARKS!)

“Thankyou’s” were given to those individuals who took the time and courtesy to receive them from fellow CONTRIBUTORS.


Not anymore! What a shame.


I would hope that the MEMBERS of this SITE will take action(s) and put a stop to this nonsense.
Please write the ADMINSTRATORS/MODERATORS.

I have had enough of this and from what I have been reading & seeing lately, I know most of you have as well.


Why are the Posts/ Reports down?
Why are people getting fed up and leaving (including myself)?
Why are there so many -minus reps?
Why do people get +1 for crude remarks and inappropriate opinions?


Sincerely Yours,
Blair

that's why i stop giving update in credit too much retards here now not like last year. right now when you post something they commenting non sense and sometime not even in the topic :evil: i hope the admin and moderator will do some action like last year who spamming or making non sense reply will be banned. ...

I think the main reason its happening is because the changes of the forum layout. Last year we were running the old forums and there were different rules as who gets to see reports and so on. It was simply no reports - no access to the reports. Originally this new forum was supposed to have this feature with tier 1 and tier 2 sections, but due to openfire's busy work schedule he could not complete it on time. All this will change very soon. Patience.

It is time consuming and it's hard to follow each topic and every post. Mods are not always online so they cannot delete inappropriate posts the second it was posted, but you as users can report any reply that you think was inappropriate by pressing a button on the left side of that reply. Thanks for all your help.

Well said Blair.

Dirk

I read every single post and reply, i'm addicted. Make me a mod and everything will be under control.....based on my rules and regulations lol. Just kidding, I bet there would me members who would leave the forum if I became a Mod lol. I'm not sure why, i'm conservation minded and provide good updates I guess its just too hard to please EVERYONE as there are many different opinions on what is right and wrong.

I don't think you can generalize having a few bad apples to spoil an entire basket. I have learned a heck of a lot (and I still am) during the past year regarding river fishing. The theory side of fishing you can learn here on the forums, but the practical side you must put your time on the rivers.

There are a lot of different people who frequent the forums who ask questions and I have no problems helping them out. The ones that I do steer clear away from, are the ones asking for specific spots or if XXX river/creek/stream has a run yet or etc. Relying on someone else's information is not much more accurate than taking a drive and seeing for yourself. Fish come and go. They are there one day and can be gone the next. Fishheads drove three hours and change to fish the Ganny, without even asking, "Are the fish there yet?".

These forums are a valuable source for information and should be focussed on HOW to fish, not WHERE the fish are.

Hey Blair, This is not the only forum that is on that track ff.net I wont even post. Been torn apart too many times. I think its the internet tough guy syndrome. It's always easy to run your mouth behind the protection of your computer. I also feel it has to do with the sites popularity. The more people that join the more chance of running into an "A" hole. lol
By the way fished a few of the tribs of gbay today and there are a few bows around but they are not thick as thieves yet, but soon enough.

Dont take things to personnely blair. There are quit a few freindly people here. Maybe some folks arent as confident in their fishing thats why they dont want any company when they are fishing. Thats my opinion

What do you expect when you put a bunch of guys together for a long time?

Give it a few more weeks for everyone to get their river fix, I'm sure things will mellow out.

FrankTheRabbit said:

I don't think you can generalize having a few bad apples to spoil an entire basket. I have learned a heck of a lot (and I still am) during the past year regarding river fishing. The theory side of fishing you can learn here on the forums, but the practical side you must put your time on the rivers.

There are a lot of different people who frequent the forums who ask questions and I have no problems helping them out. The ones that I do steer clear away from, are the ones asking for specific spots or if XXX river/creek/stream has a run yet or etc. Relying on someone else's information is not much more accurate than taking a drive and seeing for yourself. Fish come and go. They are there one day and can be gone the next. Fishheads drove three hours and change to fish the Ganny, without even asking, "Are the fish there yet?".

These forums are a valuable source for information and should be focussed on HOW to fish, not WHERE the fish are.

Click to expand...

The last line in your note hit it right on the head.

The worst thing I ever read on this site was a member making obscene comments about another member's girlfriend after the member had taken the patience to post pictures from an outing. As far as I remember, the member making the obscene comments was swiftly banned, and deservedly so. In real life, that kind of behaviour can get you faaaaaaaaaar more than banned from an online community, and I mean faaaaaaaaaaaaaar x 10^infinity.


Alfiegee or whatnot made a blunder with his brook trout posting. Lesson learned, people are not very sympathetic behind a keyboard.


The odd Italo bashing occurs and apparently some members believe I am Italo. For the record, I am not Italo and to keep this post on track I will not go into the reasons why I think it is absurd to make fun of him online (or by any other means).

I would just like add a positive opinion of OFF. As you can clearly see I have not been a member as long as many of you or some others. But in the short time, I have gained so much knowledge and met and gone fishing with some great guys that I and they really appreciate this forum. I look forward to meeting even more people who share my joy of fishing, so I guess I have not come accross the problem ones that you have. I'am truly sorry how you feel about OFF. It's like that anywhere you meet people, some you like, tolerate or totally despise. Because of the internet's anonymity, it's lot easier to find all three.

I can only think of one not so pleasent experience with a post where most people were not happy with the poster's responses, myself included. I choose to ignore him and not respond. Let him shoot his mouth and big head off. I won't take him/them seriously not now not ever. This person has lost all respect from me atleast.

The ones I do respect seem like very decent guys, and those are the ones I want to go fishing with and talk to. The only way I would have ever made contact with any of them is thru this forum. OFF has been a very positive experience for me and the guys that I met so far, and I hope it will continue to be.

Something told me to check in this morning. I'm glad that I saw this thread.

First off, my hat goes off to Efka who has done a marvelous job at keeping some semblance of order around here during my absence.

Secondly, to all the members, thank you for your patience.

The format that is currently in place was intended to exist in conjunction with the reports sections, as they existed in the previous version of OFF, as the older members may recall. The reports sections were removed "temporarily" during the last forum upgrade as we were under-taking a massive re-organization of the both the style and functionality of the board. Unfortunately, I was pulled away from OFF before the forum upgrade was completed and all the new features could be fully implemented, including the new gallery, new reports sections and other new and upgraded features.

I think I'm correct in assuming that much of the conflict here recently is related in part to the absence of the private reports sections, where members may freely discuss detailed reports, including locations, as well as an influx of new and in some cases, rude members. This will be rectified soon, as:

1) When I have some free time, my first order of business will be to read through the last few months of posts and -- to put it bluntly -- I will ban the less "mature" members who Efka has not already banned.
2) I'm planning yet another OFF upgrade at some time in the very near future to include all the upgrades mentioned above and more... once I wrap up the project that I'm currently involved in.

Hopefully the above two measures will assist OFF during these "growing pains". I don't have a precise time-frame yet, but it will be "soon".

In the mean time, I am eliminating the ability to "negative rep". I think this causes hostility and serves no real purpose other than to perpetuate ill will among members.

Thanks for your patience, and I appreciate the feedback.

Cheers,

openfire

Cant wait for the reports section Openfire, and possibly a change in how pictures are uploaded. Great job on the site though, easily the most professional looking forum ive been on.