A Few Thoughts About The Online Forums

[sailorboy1]

You have to keep in mind that forum advise is as much about entertainment as it might be about helpful advise. And if it is "expert" advise, well .................

The only thing you can count on is that it will be worth what you paid to get it, if lucky.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

-----Books, I hate it when people always want to quote something they read in a 30 year old book.

Lol. Remember to tell us how you feel about it in another 30 years.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Lol. Remember to tell us how you feel about it in another 30 years.

I would truly be happy to be able to do so

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I would truly be happy to be able to do so

Right on. I'd be overwhelmed to be able to hear your reply.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

That is perhaps one of the best lessons I have seen on CF in months.
There are still people I see posting as forum experts that were there back in 2006 when we bought our first boat, outfitted her and cast off on a 4yr cruise of Mexico. The exerts at the time said we wouldn't last a season. Then when we returned to the States those same experts said we would never survive living on a mooring ball in Morro Bay, CA. 4 years later the experts have several thousands more posts and here we are. I'll admit it...I enjoying poking them everyone and a while...just for fun....

Thanks! Now I dont feel so foolish. We, knock wood, will be off to Mexico about September to begin preparing our boat. The more I read of others who did "the foolish thing", the more I think we will be just fine.

I dont suppose we will post much after September. But Im glad to have the resource and the bikering etc has become a source of amusement for me. In a way, the squabbling has gotten me out of my social shell and forced me to lighten up. There are some quick wits on cf...I appreciate them all. Oh, and some cumudgeons that have the best of intentions and marshmallow hearts.

Yup, and, yes, knowledge too. I never take opinions for face value truth, but when someone points me in the right direction it is appreciated. Ive learned a lot.

Guns, religeon, economics. ..best ignored "keep your own council".

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

What I find Hilarious is a thread about online forums to complain about them posted where....on an online forum. And that my friends is call Irony, but it's also instructive of something else. If a complaint is said to oneself or on ones own blog was it ever really said if not linked to or posted on Social Media or an online forum?

Does a tree really fall in a forest if no one is there to see it?
Is a Joke funny if only you laugh?

In an all about me world and society, does anyone really "go cruising" without a blog/website/FakeBook or snapchat to publicize it?

I realize the irony, but honestly I can say that I wrote the blog post first and thought of the audience only later. My life-long profession has been journalism, so not writing about my experiences would have seemed odd.

Slocum, Dumas, Tristan Jones, the Smeetons, the Pardys, and the list goes on. They all wrote about their voyages. Is it more legitimate only because it appeared on dead trees?

[zeehag]

ok so if it werent for the comaraderie of some forums, assistance would not be rendered to many of those in need. that includes physical assistance as well as verbal online word experience.
i would not have been able to meet so many of the folks i have in person met, as i recognized their boat name from some forum--gom, pacific, both. wow imagine seeing the owner of his boat --in person. mebbe some of the stuff online might be truth, or some part thereof...gods forbid. and third day --your boat is awesome. i still have pix of it from mazatlan 2011. i am sure you have washed away all the drool by now... ha ha ha ha ha or the fog has.....ye miss it here yet???
hell i' d-a not been able to sail gom and caribbean had it not been for online communication via forums.
some of the internet word battles are aids in vetting future crew. if ye watch and read long enough some of th e allegedly real attitude and personality appear in random postings around the webzzz.
in my case, it helps vet the requesters of time on board before i need to encounter them in the flesh. prevents many of those meetings from occurring.
has encouraged some delightful friendships.
i wrote my web site for my dead brother to follow my misadventures. he disliked fb and refused to follow me there, despite having 2 pages. ok. so i made my site.
momma still around but forgot how to access it, trips over it occasionally , when i post something,. as long as she has interwebzzz... but my website is now more for friends who can only remember my boats name and want to see what i write..ha ha ha ha. i still have some close family.

we are occupying space in a small world brought closer together by the webzz of internet

[nautical62]

Every forum I've participated in has inexperienced people who give advice about topics they know nothing about and every forum I've participated in has members who simply wish to debate and argue.

Personally, I don't define a forum by all the posts which are bad or don't apply to me, I define it's usefulness by the posts that may be helpful.

When I asked about wind generators here, I got all sorts of responses having to the with solar, or comments from people who knew nothing about wind power. That doesn't matter however. What matters is that in the end I got some very good information that allowed me to make a good, informed purchase.

[skipmac]

I had been avoiding this thread under the assumption it would immediately disintegrate into bickering and worse. Seeing it was still here finally gave in and found it interesting. I agree with most of what has been posted here.

Like Rognovald I have a few miles and years of cruising (with a long break for family and career) but still learn from this forum all the time.

My list of hot topics to avoid includes those previously mentioned: guns, anchors, climate change, politics, religion, BWB?? (boating while boozing??). I would add mono vs multi and electric boats. All topics where there seem to be a few members with very strong opinions that voice them aggressively.

Another topic that is sometimes controversial and sometimes just answering the same question for another dreamer that didn't search previous threads and will never leave the living room; any question that includes the word "bluewater".

Speaking of living room, yes there are a few armchair quarterbacks that may or may not own a boat and may or may not actually cruise but are very free with advise and opinions. However, spend just a little time on the forum and it becomes obvious who is and who isn't .

Regarding the right to express one's opinion, as has been pointed out before, this is a private forum with rules made by the owners. Having been on other forums without the rules and moderation on CF I think without the rules it would quickly disintegrate into a free for all, internet flame fest. That being said, I think the moderation is occasionally unbalanced, arbitrary or misdirected but overall reasonable.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by nautical62

When I asked about wind generators here, I got all sorts of responses having to the with solar, or comments from people who knew nothing about wind power. That doesn't matter however. What matters is that in the end I got some very good information that allowed me to make a good, informed purchase.

Had a similar experience when I posted a question about dinghies. I stated right off the bat that I know RIBs have many advantages and are the better choice if one can carry a RIB. Then explained why I wanted information about other designs and options like hard floor, air floor, roll-ups, etc for comparison. If I recall 3 out of 4 response said nothing more than buy a RIB, RIBs are better or some variation.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by sneuman

I realize the irony, but honestly I can say that I wrote the blog post first and thought of the audience only later. My life-long profession has been journalism, so not writing about my experiences would have seemed odd.

Slocum, Dumas, Tristan Jones, the Smeetons, the Pardys, and the list goes on. They all wrote about their voyages. Is it more legitimate only because it appeared on dead trees?

This is where it becomes interesting.

When I was taught writing (not journalistic writing, just the plain vanilla stuff) my professors seemed quite bent on trying to instill in us the prime importance of the audience. They would say "put the reader first" or "always think about for whom you are writing this", or something in this vein.

Written stuff does become legitimate in more than one way, like by being honest and original, and by using the right words for the right thoughts. Understood this way, written words become legitimate when they resound in the right way with the right audience.

When they resound in an unexpected or unplanned way, they become the antithesis.

I never pursued the writing path though. Boats got in the way.

Cheers,
b.

[robert sailor]

Yes many of the old timers did write some great stuff but most of them "did" great stuff. These days everyone has a blog, well almost everyone and it usually starts out with how they are going to sail around the world BUT most never get out of the Med/Caribbean or Mexico. Now there is nothing wrong with that and maybe today that is seen as high adventure, what do I know, things change. That said I thought your article did a pretty good job of covering this forum but as others have said, its kinda normal for forums of any kind.
You guys have a great time out there, its lots of work, this cruising thing but there are some absolutely glorious experiences to be had.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

This is where it becomes interesting.

When I was taught writing (not journalistic writing, just the plain vanilla stuff) my professors seemed quite bent on trying to instill in us the prime importance of the audience. They would say "put the reader first" or "always think about for whom you are writing this", or something in this vein.
b.

No idea how others view CF, but as a long time member...I look at it something like a "Two-Way Buffet"...

I read or contribute to threads that I am familiar with... even though some of my favorites are bad for me.
Overindulge, when I am in standby mode, waiting for inspiration..
Research and reconsider new tastes, that I had originally discounted as unappetising.
Genuinely encourage strangers to try something, i like.

While a` la carte conversations may be more satisfying and qualitative at times, .....our Forums' buffet is more entertaining.