Gould wrote:
Good work, Psuedo. Right away with the personal remarks. That should go
a long way toward resolving your expressed concern that the group is so
far OT.
Lloyd; You may as well decide to start a buggy whip factory. The era of
the internet forum has come and gone, killed off IMO by the search
engine.
If a guy wants to know why his outboard won't start, how to splice
3-strand,or when the salmon season is open in the Srait of Georgia,
he'll run a search engine. Going to a discussion group provides a ton of
conflicting advice- offered by people of varying crediblity and
experience, and no real way to vet who is talking through his/her arse.
The forum format brings in a bunch of non-boaters who turn it into a
chat room for the exchange of bitchy personal remarks, and extra-bitchy
personal remarks reserved for folks of either more liberal or
conservative political stripe. Look at the mess here in rec.boats. When
a boating related post gets 2-3 responses but a thread titled, "George
Bush is a _________" or "NG participant X is a _________" generates
150-200 name-calling exchnges *that* defines the character and tone of
the NG as it exists.
For gosh sakes, if you start one of these things maintain the ability to
moderate the worst trolls and most destructive posters. Rec.boats is a
prime example of people shelfishly hijacking a forum and filling it with
bull guano.
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Very well put, Chuck. I still visit hoping that the NG will get back to
rec. boating. Like a wise man said, "Hope springs eternal."

Norm