I thought sailing was supposed to be fun

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Indeed, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, Spring has just arrived so time to go to sea and blow away the cobwebs

Rebed the thruhull
Service winches
Wax the hull that doesn't like cold wax
Repair the rudder
Paint the bottom
Replace Lewmar port gaskets (24 screws each)
Replace Schaefer jam cleat (out of stock)
Rebed traveller
Rebed mast base
Fill multiple chunks where PO hit dock
Rewire all instruments properly
Replace bolt in spreader with proper clevis pin
Install lazy jacks
Wash all interior cushion covers
Figure out how to mount grill
Re-route all halyards properly
Fit snubbers to dock lines
Get back the dock line marina used on another boat
Fill cracks in transom gelcoat
Replace cutlass bearing
Replace engine mounts
Replace bowline on anchor with proper hardware
Replace flourescent lights with LED
Figure out why deck light doesn't work
Replace autopilot belt

Sailing? What's that?

[Rumrace]

PS I agree with Bent. I’ve learned lots

[MikeHoncho]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

They're everywhere, on every forum. But truth is, there are definitely more of "them" here than anywhere I know. I have more people on Ignore here than on every other forum combined.

.

Sir, you live a sheltered sailing forum life…..

[Rumrace]

Whaaa

[dannc]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

...
One thing to keep in mind is tone is often lost in written responses. This isn't to say some don't go too far but a lot of times, it's easy to read a tone in that isn't really there.

As mentioned by others, there are certain hot button topics more likely to draw debate and conflicting opinions.

Tone is certainly lost, as is humor, or attempts at humor.

There are hot button issues and then there are hot button issues. On another forum, someone implied that LiFePo batteries have the same issues as a "Lithium" battery. Some people politely responded with the differences. Other people were rude as far as I was concerned.

I think one of the triggers to rudeness is when a poster strongly states something as fact and the statement is just wrong. The more incorrect the statement, the stronger the response, especially if the poster is strident in their opinion. Now, sometimes, the poster of the incorrect statement might be trolling but sometimes the poster is simply ignorant and a proper response is to educate and not flame.

It is hard to educate and not flame, when someone is blatantly wrong and is vehement in their righteousness.

Then there are simple misunderstandings of a post. A person has unknowingly stepped into a hot button topic, and says something relevant, but people will misunderstand the post, and jump to an incorrect conclusion about the intent/point of the post. Written communication can be easily miscommunicated.

Later,
Dan

[Shrew]

Everything is always smooth and harmonious as long as everyone agrees that everyone else is right.

It's not this site. IMHO it's the size of the site. The higher the number of active members the more contentious people get.

There's also the razor's edge of a balancing act for moderators. One faction is screaming to "Kill the Trolls" while the other faction is screaming "Free Speech...Oppression.....Thought Police!!". The majority sit silently in the middle of the carnage.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Everything is always smooth and harmonious as long as everyone agrees that everyone else is right.

It's not this site. IMHO it's the size of the site. The higher the number of active members the more contentious people get.

There's also the razor's edge of a balancing act for moderators. One faction is screaming to "Kill the Trolls" while the other faction is screaming "Free Speech...Oppression.....Thought Police!!". The majority sit silently in the middle of the carnage.

Agreed about membership size. We have also observed that during some crises, most notably COVID, egregious trolls and conspiracy nuts descended on CF like flies coming indoors in the fall... I bet many other forums experienced the same contagion. The mods seemed to have sprayed enough RAID around to manage that problem.

"Kill the trolls"/"freedumb!" battles mainly break out in politically charged threads with little or no connection to sailing/cruising. You don't see that much trolling in a "best sealant" thread. Arguments there, if any, are usually based on differing experience, not ideology or tribalism. At least observers learn something boat-related.

Hence my preference that CF continues to smother the hot-button non-sailing topics in the crib . It's not oppression; this is a cruising forum. There are thousands of other places where one can get their political/conspiracy fix.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by patagoniadave

In my attempt to get up to speed on sailing and cruising, I have read hundreds of threads on this site, and thousands of posts, all in less than a month. Very condensed.

I cannot remember which thread it was, but a regular was lamenting how few people post here. Why are there so many lurkers who do not contribute? I have a theory.

This site is a cesspool of toxic communication between members. I have never seen so many negative, sarcastic, angry, cynical. condescending trolls and cyber bullies in one place. It makes it hard to read through old posts, and I can understand why people do not want to contribute.

I don't understand where it comes from? I find great peace and mental health in this lifestyle, even when things go wrong. If sailing makes you so upset, I do not understand why you continue to do it?

It IS one of the worst forums for nonsensical arguments, I'll give you that. There are good things here too, so I guess the rest of us stay regardless. I am a member of other forums (not having anything to do with sailing) but those forums are more plentiful and many people tend to just leave the argumentative ones.

Most of the BS is dominated by maybe a dozen people.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by patagoniadave

I cannot remember which thread it was, but a regular was lamenting how few people post here. Why are there so many lurkers who do not contribute? I have a theory.

This site is a cesspool of toxic communication between members. I have never seen so many negative, sarcastic, angry, cynical. condescending trolls and cyber bullies in one place. It makes it hard to read through old posts, and I can understand why people do not want to contribute.

Well I know somewhere in the past I started a thread about luckers.

But all I can say about your reason is WOW

Now I need to decide if it is going to be entertaining enough to read the post between post 1 and this one

It wasn't really

[Sea Wolf]

Sailing IS fun. While we are now dirt dwellers, we had the pleasure of cruising in our sailboats for the better part of 35 years.

There are negative people in every activity and every walk of life. Ignore the nay sayers and focus on those in the group that provide worthwhile information. Months from now you won’t remember what the naysayers had to offer… or not, as the case may be… but you WILL remember the positive and constructive advice/information provided to you by those in the know.

Happy Sailing!

[davil]

Originally Posted by Sea Wolf

Sailing IS fun. While we are now dirt dwellers, we had the pleasure of cruising in our sailboats for the better part of 35 years.

There are negative people in every activity and every walk of life. Ignore the nay sayers and focus on those in the group that provide worthwhile information. Months from now you won’t remember what the naysayers had to offer… or not, as the case may be… but you WILL remember the positive and constructive advice/information provided to you by those in the know.

Happy Sailing!

=============================

[vwmarshall]

I discovered last summer that my sailing partner of the last five years was a different political party than me. We agree on most things and that subject had just never come up.

We were discussing our differences and I asked why couldn't all people do so respectfully then listen to what different opinions were. He replied, "Its hard for some folks to disagree without being disagreeable."
I have taken that phrase to use as my own. If you disagree, try not to be disagreeable. Works pretty well.
Thanks

[AcroPilot]

I’m not sure I agree. I have found an enormous amount of very informative information on the forum. Many knowledgeable people go out of there way to pass on valuables information, I have found. Sure, there’s the odd post that’s not informative, but on the whole I think we have a great forum. Just my thoughts.

[Happ]

I have noticed this forum seems to break down into several groups.

Those that are liveaboards that are really moving around

Those that are just living on their boat at a dock and calling themselves cruisers

Those that are dreaming and are asking very basic questions trying to figure this all out.

Let’s not forget the weekend cruiser who day sails his small boat with big plans for the future.

For me i raced for nearly 50 years as well as did some cruising. I’m transitioning to cruising and in making an extensive list of needs and wants have discovered many things. The forum has allowed me to share what I have learned on the water over 50 years and what I have learned from studying boat design, to systems on board.

I put an offer in on a boat a few days ago. I think the offer is fair for the condition but the seller may still think he has that one in a million boats.

I have found YouTube video to a great resource once you cut through the want a be’s from the really knowledgeable people.

[TPG]

Lots of agreement on my end for this discussion. While it's an effort to filter out all the crap, I do get some great advice from my sailing brethren here.