What Is with the Rudeness at CF ?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by speakeasy

CF is a/the top of the line cruiser's forum but you must unnerstan, see, that most of us are still tethered to dirt and working on it and live in cities, half a world or more away from your waterworld. You're an outlier and won't, I suspect, be immediately grasped by everyone.
Say, think you could teach an old duffer how to stand up on a wave?

Thanks, I always have a longboard sitting around for surf lessons!

I have to admit I am currently having a bit of a crisis where I might be forced to sever those ties with the land. Nevertheless, this might not at all be a bad thing. After 20 years plus of living in the same terraces adjacent the ocean I have hardly met anyone on the same wavelength and honestly feel lonely. Most of the kids and even adults who surf nowadays are either immersed in the drug culture (nothing new) or cloned by marketing. I really look at sailing as a step forward and new frontier.
(Thanks Erica for starting a Dating/networking group for cruiser’s in the same predicament).

Last year my Grandmother passed away and on her death bed told me I should use the merge inheritance to go out and see the world. She had lived most of her life in the one little inland town and was finally admitting she did not want to see me suffer the same fate and frustrations. Still, as a kid after my father passed away and I was landlocked she was the one who made sure I had season’s passes to the pool and gave me bus fares to the beach. So I went and bought my little ketch and have not looked back. Now all there is left for me to do is move out of this house permanently onto the boat so I can do those surf trips to some Islands in SE Asia I have been surveying.

Sorry about the sad story, but as above I really do think I am going through a bit of a crisis and should look on the bright side and make it an opportunity to join the wonderful cruising community. Likewise, you should be able to see that I understand the frustration of having a love of the sea, but being “land-locked”. I suppose too this is why I am so eager for the hardcore advice some contribute and get a bit frustrated with spam or non-related posts on the more serious threads.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

I suppose too this is why I am so eager for the hardcore advice some contribute and get a bit frustrated with spam or non-related posts on the more serious threads.

I understand your point but humour and human interest is to some degree a part of what keeps a forum ticking. In the distant past I was involved in many computer forums, some which were militant about staying on their narrow, dry topic except, they all believed humour was always on topic. I think if you don't allow for that you find the base that provides the knowledge drifts away. It's the human element, the disagreements and insights that bring the knowledge to life.

[speakeasy]

Shane, a toast to your grandmother! She seems to have granted you your freedom. Bless her. Cheers! I had a loss on the other end of the spectrum recently, a daughter. Either which way, it does make one appreciate the fact of daily life doing what satisfies and goads you to do it. It teaches me that there is only now. Yesterday's a memory and tomorrow's a fantasy. I don't know what issues you have with people, but people are really the only thing that are a real threat to other humanoids, so don't sweat it. Most people don't know what they're doing any better than you. Or perhaps not as much. See ExCalif's boat name.

[Ex-Calif]

SurferShane - If you get that ketch anywhere near Singapore, stop in and we'll share a brew or two...

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Sorry about the sad story, but as above I really do think I am going through a bit of a crisis and should look on the bright side and make it an opportunity to join the wonderful cruising community.

Shane, first I think you should watch this documentary: Amazon.com: 180 South: Chris Malloy: Video On Demand . Next, I think you should actually seek out and hang with these guys, as they surf for the right reasons. Lastly, consider that there are a lot worse situations in the world then having to decide whether to live near the beach or use an inheritance to sail the Oceans...

[Stillraining]

Nah!...no way is this place cliquish.

Here is the deal...Treat everyone as a valued participants and you are welcomed by the likes of me...treat people with sharp disrespect and I ignore you for the most part, no different then in face to face contact....Except face to face I would probably call you out....here the Mods don't allow that.

My signature line pretty much sums up my belief system...but I don't waste time on lost causes either...life is too short.

Thats not a click...thats just someone wise enough to know better...

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Sorry about the sad story, but as above I really do think I am going through a bit of a crisis and should look on the bright side and make it an opportunity to join the wonderful cruising community.

I don't think that is a sad story at all. That's a love story ; -) Because your grandma must have loved you and understood you really well...

And I think that it's kinda wonderful that you are looking for ways to live your life that will be more meaningful to you.

So many people stay stuck where they are , lacking the will to make a change that will make them happier.

But you are making that change. Good on you.

[flysci]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Maybe an answer to my original dilemma might be if CF introduced a few more dedicated social networking threads for people to have “fun”?

Here at CF we try to have "fun" in all our threads. We all deal with enough serious situations and like a little light heartedness with our discussions of solutions. Hope you can join the fun!

Margo

[David M]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

Interesting.... So you're telling the forum that when a member discovers a post of theirs edited by a moderator, that this editing decision was the consensus of many moderators?

Not always, but more often than not it is by consensus. Changing someones post is not something we take lightly. There is a balance between what a poster might consider censorship and editing or eliminating a post which is contrary to the rules of the forum or very disruptive in some manner.

We do read all the reported posts although we do not take action on all of them. We take action only when it is warranted and that decision is very frequently done by consensus.

If it is pretty blatant that a post needs to be altered such as if it is spam, a commercial link, there is swearing or something else that is a clear rule violation then a moderator will jump right in and fix it.

If its a gray area or a sensitive area relating to peoples privacy or feelings or other similar things then we almost always have a discussion

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Sorry about the sad story, .

But you see how an off-topic story can help us get to know you?

It then makes it easier to give advice when you have a question... or to take your avcie when you are answering someons question.



Mark

[Stillraining]

Good LORD! Mark ( pun intended) ...that Avatar will not due at all!

How about this one..

And Mods...is there any way to upsize the Avatars any?...Some of the members like SurferShane are so small its hard to make the picture out...Ex Calif's is about right.

[hummingway]

Betcha those are all empties now ...

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by hummingway

Betcha those are all empties now ...

Several times over


Is that better Stillraining? Is my avitar approved?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by flysci

Here at CF we try to have "fun" in all our threads. We all deal with enough serious situations and like a little light heartedness with our discussions of solutions. Hope you can join the fun!

Margo

I can see what you and others are saying about the need to have fun. However, when I went back and read the original question on the survival food thread I mentioned above, I do think I might have gone a bit overboard with my “left of field” posts about the “Law of the Sea” and cannibalism.

Still, it shows what happens when people start having too much fun and forget about the original question. Unfortunately, the whole thing can end up like a sad game of Chinese whispers. I also realise that a lot of people probably don’t quite get my clinical and somewhat macabre sense of humour. As such, I went back and posted a much more constructive answer. Maybe the moral to the story is that some people really don’t mean to offend?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by sarafina

I don't think that is a sad story at all. That's a love story ; -) Because your grandma must have loved you and understood you really well...,,,.

Sara,

Given all these emotions and circumstances I suppose we have to forgive some people for the odd irrational post that might have otherwise been considered rude or disruptive? One of the problems I find with the computer is that you are relying merely on the text and miss all those messages you would have caught in the body language or an extended conversation.

Thanks too for your time and compassion!