The boating forum , today compared to 2014

Bouba said:
I have heard that is really good....I might put that on my to watch list
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Watched the latest season final episode last night - it is very good. Trouble is you have to have an AppleTV subscription and it isn’t one we usually have but have managed keep up with it via several 3 month free trials that came with various products! 😁
 
Greg2 said:
Watched the latest season final episode last night - it is very good. Trouble is you have to have an AppleTV subscription and it isn’t one we usually have but have managed keep up with it via several 3 month free trials that came with various products! 😁
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You are right....I was hoping it was on Prime 😩
 
I'll take a punt on changing demographics. People using the ybw forums back in 2004/2014 are mostly the same people using them today, only older. Younger generations are on other platforms and I wonder if there are that many young boaters coming through the ranks who are interested in this kind of boaty forum.
With my tin-hat on, as us folk get older there seems to be a bit of 'grumpy old men' creeping in and with contentious issues (Brexit, Scottish ind. , Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Immigration, etc etc) all banding around, there's lots of opportunities to be grumpy..

I'll also say that studies say people are less happy, more stressed, and more easily angered than previous decades, and that does show in the forums. A thread starts with a practical issue / comment / question but almost guaranteed, within a page or two, people are sniping at each other. It's very unattractive to those outside the 'grumpy boys club'.
 
Fire99 said:
I'll take a punt on changing demographics. People using the ybw forums back in 2004/2014 are mostly the same people using them today, only older. Younger generations are on other platforms and I wonder if there are that many young boaters coming through the ranks who are interested in this kind of boaty forum.
With my tin-hat on, as us folk get older there seems to be a bit of 'grumpy old men' creeping in and with contentious issues (Brexit, Scottish ind. , Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Immigration, etc etc) all banding around, there's lots of opportunities to be grumpy..

I'll also say that studies say people are less happy, more stressed, and more easily angered than previous decades, and that does show in the forums. A thread starts with a practical issue / comment / question but almost guaranteed, within a page or two, people are sniping at each other. It's very unattractive to those outside the 'grumpy boys club'.
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I think there’s a lot in that. In addition, there are a limited number of boat-based issues that tend to be covered and the class of 04 has seen most of them come around more than a few times.

And new boats are often the same as existing ones but with the cupboards in a different place. And a new and exciting price tag, which sets off the grumpy old demographic on another familiar topic. 🤷‍♂️
 
benjenbav said:
I think there’s a lot in that. In addition, there are a limited number of boat-based issues that tend to be covered and the class of 04 has seen most of them come around more than a few times.

And new boats are often the same as existing ones but with the cupboards in a different place. And a new and exciting price tag, which sets off the grumpy old demographic on another familiar topic. 🤷‍♂️
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Not quite.....anybody with a modern set up that would include pods....gets a rough ride from the old timers. Actual useful information would have to come from somewhere else
 
Bouba said:
Not quite.....anybody with a modern set up that would include pods....gets a rough ride from the old timers. Actual useful information would have to come from somewhere else
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I have met many friends from the forum But Bouba is NOT one of them.
 
I have been active in the forum since 2007. I think it is more quiet today, then it was back then.

New boats are also less a subject today, then they were up until about 2012, it used to be very interesting to have people's opinion from the boat shows with pictures and so on.
Southampton, Cannes, Dusseldorf, and Genoa and (the since some years non existent London boat show used to be something of big debate).
 
Having joined in 2003 while researching for our second boat, leaving in 2006 after selling that, and rejoining in 2023 while getting our third, I would say the forum is more diluted now. It was more concentrated then. Probably fewer members overall before, but a higher proportion engaged… I think everyone has far more distractions of the social media type now.. It’s good to see there are still a good few regulars who continue to support with advice and info though - that hasn’t changed from my perspective. Of course, there is still the occasional testosterone induced, have-the-last-word stuff, but that’s just the internet..

I have benefited greatly from the advice shared. I have no idea what “The Lounge” is..
 
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Refueler said:
Going back to the first days of the forums ... the date under my ID is of the later 'rejoin' .... there were far more comical and interesting banters .... usually better mannered and without the caustic atmosphere that can surface now.

When things were getting a bit dull ... someone would prompt with a post about Blue Ensigns .. Anchors ..... Racing Rules .... Power gives way to Sail etc. - there were 'Pet' subjects guaranteed to get things going again.
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Very true, one of the most comical was the "exploding bog" post many years ago by the late Haydn, people like him made this forum knowledgeable and fun to read.
 
I just remembered another important difference, at least for me: back then I had a boat.

Now I don’t.

Or should that be, currently I don’t have a boat.

Never say never.
 
Refueler said:
I laugh when I hear the words "Free Speech" .... as I see it - today we are censored - even prosecuted now for what was acceptable not so long ago ...
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What is not free to say has been defined (and now codified in case law) by activists....but those speaking against those proscribed people or subjects are free to say what they like
 
Bouba said:
What is not free to say has been defined (and now codified in case law) by activists....but those speaking against those proscribed people or subjects are free to say what they like
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I agree what you , but don’t understand what you mean. Some say I will get my coat!! Me the mods fetch mine.
 
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