desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
Posts: 6,291
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Post by desert dweller on Nov 17, 2015 10:43:44 GMT -8
The whole idea (and the original idea) of the Trailhead Register is to have conversations other than hiking related. (And, of course, to have a place for someone to introduce themselves.) If someone wants to post a specific hiking related topic, there are other, more pertinent, hiking related sub-forums.
Imagine sitting around a campfire with hiking friends. Would every topic be about hiking? How many times can you say, "That hill was a killer."? The talking subjects turn to just about anything from politics to health to cars to music to anything a member of the group wants to bring up.
The Two-word thread is far from mindless banter. It is a way, a game so to speak, to convey differing topics, word-play, originality, group participation, grammar practice, thought provocation and much more. If you can't see the intent or if all you want are standard hiking related subjects, then feel free to post only those topics. But, criticizing another's post because you don't like it, is being a bit judgmental.
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 17, 2015 10:51:42 GMT -8
Travis N Wood---I saw that thread and those posts you linked several weeks ago and I didn't feel the need to participate as Cupcakeinboots who started the thread seemed to be a pretty hiking girl and frankly I felt that the men here on the forum would write pages of suggestions and lengthy posts partly because . . . she was a pretty girl.
Sexist on my part probably but I didn't want to participate in "bombarding" her with yet more verbiage.
I've noticed over the years on forums that when a young woman asks a hiking or backpacking question, dozens of men chime in with 600 word essays.
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tarol
Trail Wise!
Redding, CA
Posts: 582
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Post by tarol on Nov 17, 2015 10:59:03 GMT -8
See for me a trip report isn't a novel, I don't expect it to be perfectly crafted. Especially for those people like me who backpack frequently - if I spent months writing it and was hoping to be published, well, sure. But it's a trip report on a forum. For me if you take and post some good photos, tell me about the details of the place so it inspires me to go check it out, and put your human story in it, then that's what I look for. I posted the same trip report on other forums and got good responses from folks. This one? Nada. Two people said they liked it, but no comments. And it's not alone, take a look at that trip report forum. But this isn't new, I started to notice this several years ago. It wasn't just because of software programs that good people left and haven't returned. When I started posting in 2003 there were a lot more backpacking and hiking related topics and stories and trip reports were appreciated. People who took the time to post them were appreciated. It's gone downhill and there are just a few folks that continue to post the old style stuff. And when they do they get criticized. Sigh.
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tarol
Trail Wise!
Redding, CA
Posts: 582
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Post by tarol on Nov 17, 2015 11:06:06 GMT -8
I thought I was the only one that noticed the men swarm a thread that a pretty girl starts lol
I had a coworker like that, would only help out if a pretty woman was at the counter. The other hikers and campers would hardly get any help from him. Thankfully he's now retired.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 11:10:31 GMT -8
I've noticed over the years on forums that when a young woman asks a hiking or backpacking question, dozens of men chime in with 600 word essays. Considering that I'm getting to be an old man and the woman in question lives well over 1000 miles from me, I honestly don't care if she is a pretty young lady or not. And who says that she was either? I'm more than content with the lady friend I have here — often within reach, by the way. Scroll through the threads of new members and you'll see that I am often among the first to welcome them, men or women, and provide responses to the questions they ask. It has nothing to do with their gender.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 11:16:12 GMT -8
I thought I was the only one that noticed the men swarm a thread that a pretty girl starts lol Link please. Having an urge to stereotype "men" today? And what makes you think any of those men found her "pretty" or even young? That is you and TipiWalter's impression. Not mine, by the way.
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Post by ecocentric on Nov 17, 2015 11:22:32 GMT -8
I disagree with too many boards, it is a way to allow people to find what they are looking for without having to sort through too many irrelevant posts.
I also don't have a problem with general discussion outside of backpacking. I enjoy discussing a number of other topics with other members. It is why I return to this forum rather than join several more specialty forums. I like to comment when I can provide relevant information, but I don't comment every time someone posts about an area where I've hiked. It's not a competition.
I think the problem is too few participating members. I'm optimistic that will get better as new members find the forum and old members find their way back, even though some probably won't. It is a circular problem. I don't check my favorite boards as often as I did, because new posts are added less often.
I try to interact with new people, at least initially. I try not to indulge in too many inside jokes, but that is some of the banter that is part of the fun.
There are members that I follow, but the current volume of posts doesn't require that I set the software to do so.
I'm not interested in a score, or even a post count. Quality is more important than quantity. I suppose if that was popular with others I'd be ok with it, so long as I could ignore it.
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Nov 17, 2015 11:29:04 GMT -8
Looks like the formula for more participation is simple - post something crazy, eg., participation points, and a bunch of people jump on to say you are full of crap and argue about how much crap you are full of.
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Post by ecocentric on Nov 17, 2015 11:41:45 GMT -8
Travis pulls his weight around here and then some. Who decides what is mindless banter? Geopolitics, economics, buying a truck, the music thread? I'm ok with blunt as well. It is probably best to be gentle with newcomers, but if one of our problems is too much familiarity between old members, who is surprised by characteristic comments? It saves time and keystrokes.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 17, 2015 12:17:08 GMT -8
I thought I was the only one that noticed the men swarm a thread that a pretty girl starts lol Link please. Having an urge to stereotype "men" today? And what makes you think any of those men found her "pretty" or even young? That is you and TipiWalter's impression. Not mine, by the way. I read the questions but have never bothered to look up anyone's profile, new member OR old. Given avatars can be anything or nothing I hardly glance at them even when they're not tiny on my phone and usernames not much better. How on earth anyone could get "pretty" out of an internet posting is beyond me. This site is hardly Instagram. Oh and FWIW? I am NOT a full coffee cup, despite what my avatar shows. If the question is interesting to me I'll consider posting, otherwise, I'll leave it to others that are interested. ETA: Taking a look back at that one mentioned thread one positive I see is that unlike so many first timers with a question that poster actually came back and participated. The one and done's lose my interest in a NY minute.
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BlueBear
Trail Wise!
@GoBlueHiker
Posts: 3,224
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Post by BlueBear on Nov 17, 2015 12:37:52 GMT -8
How on earth anyone could get "pretty" out of an internet posting is beyond me. This site is hardly Instagram. Oh and FWIW? I am NOT a full coffee cup, despite what my avatar shows. Damn. That destroys my entire mental image of you. I have to agree though, how you get "pretty" from a tiny avatar is beyond me. I have to laugh a bit at that. And the observations by some that there isn't new member participation happening as well. There are several great threads in the first couple pages of the Trailhead Register from new members introducing themselves, as well as others who started posting here again after very-long hiatuses. Most of them were male, and the ones complaining here didn't personally participate in any of those threads that I could see. The ones that have gotten long I chalked up to being more about a new poster offering insightful questions on potential hot-button topics (like campfires) than anything about youth or gender. There's a long history of old curmudgeons 'round here that start never-ending threads about controversial topics, having nothing to do with youth or appearance. Travis, on the other hand, notably gave his hellos early on in every single one of the intro threads I perused through, completely across the board. If I'm looking for advice to increase forum participation from new members, I'll follow his example rather than the "do as I say, not as I do" critiques from some here. ETA: But I guess I don't see the problem. One of the hottest threads over in Gear is from a relatively new member (signed up in August) going on 5+ pages about new gear items. There's nothing about that member that would pin them as the "young attractive woman" type. The threads that get the most attention are almost universally the ones with open-ended provoking questions. And there has been a notable uptick in new member participation. The fact that it isn't quite the "glory days of old" is just an acknowledgement that it takes some time to build a community like that, it doesn't happen overnight. After the near-suffocation of the forums from the last software debacle, I think we're doing pretty well, all said. Keep welcoming new members, one by one, and the place will take a life of its own once again. My $.02 anyway. - Mike ETA: It appears I've spoken too long in this post. It must be because Dave S is a young attractive woman.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 17, 2015 12:45:11 GMT -8
"Damn. That destroys my entire mental image of you.".
lol, though I have to admit it is somewhat revealing: I do love my coffee, have a fondness for souvenir coffee cups like that one and keep that restaurant in mind, The Stove, for when I'm anywhere near Mammoth as I've found over the years it's a reliable omelette place and reliable omellete places are listed somewhere in the back of my mind for all sorts of nooks and crannies here and about. Much like my mental list of small bookstores.
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 17, 2015 13:11:40 GMT -8
Travis N Wood says
"And what makes you think any of those men found her "pretty" or even young? That is you and TipiWalter's impression. Not mine, by the way."
Uh, read thru her posts and you'll find she said she's in her twenties. Her pic is posted as her avatar. Or is she 68 and looks like Dick Cheney?? She fooled us all. Maybe she/he faked being a young woman to elicit long posts from the men?? Hard to know.
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amaruq
Trail Wise!
Call me Little Spoon
Posts: 1,264
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Post by amaruq on Nov 17, 2015 13:39:24 GMT -8
Uh, read thru her posts and you'll find she said she's in her twenties. Uh, read through cupcakeinboots' posts and you'll see they said they were once in their twenties: Hello everyone! My name's Jo and back in my twenties, I was an avid hiker and backpacker. Also, I would like to apologize to cupcakeinboots for getting dragged into something they'd probably have preferred to be left out of. Nobody's age and degree of prettiness should really be a concern here (outside of safety concerns for frailty). As for the OP, I don't think this would have any effect on the regular posters because they'll post and reply enough to maintain a healthy number of points. However I could see it as a likely barrier for new members; an effect completely retrograde to your initial intention.
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 17, 2015 13:52:12 GMT -8
Oops, you're right. She did say "back in her twenties." Anyone under 60 looks young to me.
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