Is this a natural progression?

[jimi]

Recently with some yottie acquaintances we were discussing this fine forum and its recent lack of "spark". We sort of thought that much was down to running out of things to say. ie CR have been done to death as has Ensign ettiquette, anchoring, MAB v AWB, radar postioning, Electronic v paper and everytime some newbie asks a question some smartarse says "Oh this has been discussed before and points out the thread" Do forae have a natural lifecycle and span?

 

[claymore]

There are various dimensions to this issue.
I've scanned one or two posts that have appeared in the Lounge (incidentally - why are there always 11 people looking in there?)

I am a lifelong advocate of If it's not bust don't fix it. The forum has always been - for me - a matter of selective viewing. I'm sure this is the way it is for most of us and if it were possible to run an analysis on the percentage of threads to which we contribute - then I feel reasonably sure that our selectivity would be reflected.
I smiled when the Lounge was first opened at the number of people who hardly ever contribute who seemed to be saying "Oh thank you Kim - thats better now those awfully rough boys have gone we can have a sensible forum where nice safe boaty topics are aired" The evidence would seem to suggest that that is not the case and the forum has lost some of its sparkle.

Jimi and I discussed this at length yesterday on the aft deck of the yacht Claymore in the warmth of a fine Scottish May morning as we motor sailed through Inch Sound on our way to Cuan. Perhaps we have done to death the boaty topics, perhaps there is only so much to say - or perhaps in injecting what we consider to be humour into posts we have brought about our own downfall. I'm certainly hurt by the castigation of the Scots that appears in Kims post on the lounge at present. Our humour is gentle and not malicious and most of the time it is self deprecating and if harm is done it is to ourselves.
We have much to be grateful to the forum for - 11 of us have met and sailed together this weekend and had a truly memorable time together. Whilst some of our behviour may have been immature at times, our relationships are not - for they have matured over time here within this environment.
The people who went were self selecting - we enjoy each others contributions to the forums and so the process of selection was natural and automatic - the forums allow one to self select. I think several people who contribute are complete prats - no doubt they feel the same of me - I think we can all live with that as we never need meet nor exchange posts or opinions.
From here on I will not contribute to the Lounge.

 

[iangrant]

Probably it's just got a bit stale?

I think the scuttlebutt forum has sadly lost its soul, due mostly I think to the introduction of the lounge.

Maybe the lounge was needed to accommodate a couple of new posters who insist on writing offensive and emotive subjects.
.
Scuttlebutt used to bump along quite happily with a fun mix of boat v non boaty posts, but I think Jimi is right maybe for the old hands it's all been done to death.

I'll still pop in and endeavour to help a newbie though - or chuck in the odd insult or even a couple of new dress patterns if that's OK

Ian

 

[KREW2]

Hi
The answer is possibly no, but I think forumites might. I'm sure it must be like reading the same book over again after a while you must tire of it. Old forumites just fade away and new ones come along to take their place.


Dont do it right first time otherwise you will never learn



Regards KW

 

[Magic_Sailor]

I think you've got a point.

Certainly I often scan the posts but can't find anything interesting enough to reply to.

I think the lounge is a complete waste of time. As has been said - the point about the scuttlebutt was that it was a place the sailors went to for a quick drink of water and probably exchange a few words - boatiness is not an issue.

Magic

 

[forestay]

New forumite here. I've been lurking in the shadows for a while.

Anyway, seems like a few of the regulars have got the huff and are no longer active. Pity.

 

[tome]

Well I certainly think it's lost its sparkle and the lounge seems to have degenerated into unmoderated mayhem. I enjoyed the mix of SB boaty and other subjects.

Some subjects were regularly aired and I found myself less inclined to join debates at each successive instance. In this respect only the forae have a lifespan. However some of the off-boaty threads were original and hilarious. I didn't mind the Scotsese either- can't see why some people got so hot under the collar about this.

I've made some good friends through SB but don't see the same opportunities in the lounge as it doesn't have the loose framework of a sailing club, more that of a padded cell as far as I can see.

 

[Ships_Cat]

In my view much merit in what you say.

Am not sure how Scuttlebutt and PBO are going to differentiate themselves from one another. Maybe more cruising/sailing experiences will surface on Scuttlebutt but they are hard to keep interesting (are we in for 1,000 "How I sailed to IOW and Back Today" threads) unless something unique or a banter between the participants adds life (like your current Scottish cruise ones with the hairy legged rabble).

On the Scots thing, I enjoyed some and could not understand others (in which case I ignored them, but never mesmorised into fretting over those ones like some seem to be) - am reminded of Banjo Paterson's

Though their merits indeed are but slight,
I shall not repine
If they give you one moment's delight,
Old comrades of mine

John

 

[longjohnsadler]

Not really. That's like saying we get boring as we get older cos everything's been said. You just get a different perspective.
And there are always new innovations, as well as new views - what the forum does need is a steady trickle of new contributors to interact with the established ones.
That needs something stimulating to attract new and keep the old, which is more or less the way Scuttlebutt was. The whole was more than the sum of its parts - broken down I don't think it will work nearly as well.

 

[Joe_Cole]

I don't think so.

The repetition is, to a certain extent, inevitable. How often though have we accused PBO or YM of simply repeating the same old articles, yet they keep on selling because we keep on buying.....at which stage somebody will come in saying "I haven't bought PBO since 1976 because it's always repeating itself."........but in saying that they are only repeating what has been said before!

 

[tcm]

No!

With increasing age and correspondingly short memories, I am sure that the genteel dufferishness of s'butt will mean that we can have ensign discussions at least every week, annd in a few years i spect it can be every afternoon. Claysie still isn't quite sure when to put up or take down his ensign, and there's a lot of confuision about whether to fly Para's socks from the port or starboard crosstrees. I note that jimi NEVER EVER raises any question even remotely related to boat cleaning, so there's a huge area of discussion (and boat) that simply hasn't been touched upon.

 

[ParaHandy]

[ QUOTE ]
I am a lifelong advocate of If it's got busts don't fix it ....

[/ QUOTE ]
is thus ra KISS principle .... ?!

 

[claymore]

Noo listen youse - I ken weel that yer nice tae ma face whilst yer devooring a' ma oatmeal biscuits an as soon as ye get back doon tae yer hame ye turn back tae ra scaldie ye are.

I don't profess to technical ability in any department - switching on the kettle is an achievement for me - so I don't go fiddling with things that I don't understand - and I certainly wouldn't use that blasted yellow meter thingy - although it is useful for cleaning ones fingernails I've discovered.

 

[Rob_Webb]

Bit of a depressing thort if so.

Bit like saying that going to the local yachtclub bar for a chat has a natural lifespan cos after a while there's nothing left to talk about. Surely not!

Or maybe marriage is a better analogy i.e. after a certain time there's nothing left to say. In fact I like that one - imagine the conversation "Sorry, darling but I think you'll find we've discussed that one before - if you refer back to the 15 June 1997 you'll recall the answer. Was there anything else?"

On second thorts maybe that's where I went wrong. Damn!

 

[oldharry]

I think the forum has suffered from its own success. In the early days there were relatively few of us, and discussions could last days if not weeks. Various 'characters' emerged whose contributions could be relied on to add spice to things. Great fun!

But a few people inevitably exploited the freedom, and Kim had to pull the plug on the whole thing while it simmered down. It never really recovered.

Once it re-opened it took off, but never with quite the same spirit. Lots more people joined and it is now not unusual for there to be 60 or 100 people on line at any one time. Threads are posted, replied to, and are gone within a few hours in some cases. Go off sailing for a week, and there are x hundred posts on each board to plough through.

No - success has had its price - there are just too many of us nowadays for the forums to be enlivened by the sort of debates we had in the early days - and in light of the way that ended up, probably not entirely a bad thing.

Its a bit like the friendly local being taken over and moving into the mass market. The Beer's still good, but its packed out with lots of new people we have no chance to get to know.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Interesting..... I'm a relative newbie in the great scheme of things, but I too, like many have previously mentioned, have already made some good friends through this forum, some via this medium only, and some face to face....

Maybe the real power of this forum is to encourage communication rather than just debate....... I now find myself out on the water looking for boats that I know via this forum....

"but its packed out with lots of new people we have no chance to get to know."

Why? - I think there's loads of opportunity for you to get to know them......

I for one have abandoned the Lounge, and am intent on making an effort, single handed if thats what it takes, to bring the old Scuttlebutt comradery back....Please lets not forget the pleasure (in fact tears of laughter) that threads like "Female crew wanted" and "Virtual Chebourg" brought....

PS... Jimi.... the kids oilies got a good soaking at the weekend under the stewardship of one very happy new 6 year old owner!