Missing member?

fishdish

I thought he brought a good deal of knowledge to the forum. When he was in pissing matches it was usually entertaining. When he started to get annoying I tuned him out just like I would any other ******. "Don't give the ***** the satisfaction......"

My only question was why in the hell was he made a moderator? Smart yes, but too much of an ego to have any control. Hell, his signature admitted that.

surfman

[email protected] Special wrote: »

Gary has unique knowledge of issues especially related to Everglades Restoration.

His absence is another sign of problems with this forum.

Ditto

ericf

Forums are built on dialog, participation, and user generated content. Gary may have prodded a bit, but always seemed to be driving discussion of the issue at hand. Maybe not everyone felt he pushed in the direction they wished to see conversations go, or distracted from the issue, but over the years I feel he helped enable some of the more meaningful conversations on this forum.

It's been a shell of its former self for a decade, and the next generation is just on Instagram and Facebook, so who cares anyway?

Every prolific and interested member leaving is another nail in the coffin. Those rejoicing must like the march to quiet this site has taken.

drgibby

ericf wrote: »

Forums are built on dialog, participation, and user generated content. Gary may have prodded a bit, but always seemed to be driving discussion of the issue at hand. Maybe not everyone felt he pushed in the direction they wished to see conversations go, or distracted from the issue, but over the years I feel he helped enable some of the more meaningful conversations on this forum.

It's been a shell of its former self for a decade, and the next generation is just on Instagram and Facebook, so who cares anyway?

Every prolific and interested member leaving is another nail in the coffin. Those rejoicing must like the march to quiet this site has taken.

Well stated

DPreston

'Unique' is putting it nicely.

Schmidty

Maybe people just don't understand something......this is not the only site that is dying....many are dead already and it all comes down to the way that they are run.....

.....mostly into the ground.

And it is always pizz poor moderation that does it....

ericf

Be that as it may, even the sites that are thriving have lousy moderating.

The issues here have largely been due to loss of archives during data migration, loss of user accounts, unending downtime, and just server related issues that never should be an issue for a site of the size it was here. I bet their monthly traffic is 20% what it used to be, at best, and at a time when the other big players in this market remain strong.

I had dozens and dozens of reports posted here that basically were my fishing log, was generous with my level of sharing, and those are all lost on some hard drive somewhere or else deleted.

I think the user base took too big of a hit by the time FS got the server and forum engine squared away, it's a shame because the rich content will likely never be repopulated to what it was.

However, I will do what limited amount I can to help, and hopefully anyone else who cares will too. Rejoicing at exodus of active well meaning members is cointerintuitive at best.

mplspug

I've noticed a lot of fishing websites going down hill...

...not long after I joined them.


I wonder how much apps and social networking are affecting the decline, because all the websites seem to be slowing down.

Schmidty

ericf

When a fishing site originally starts up....with guys who all fish and are good fishermen...like from 1995 to 2005...chat sites were all new and the new technology was exciting as it was never never done before,

It was exciting and many people found many new friends and would meet up...go fishing together....have annual banquets where people from other states would join in.

Those days are over...they are not coming back either....and no one can blame any one person for it.

Many moderators take their "position"....and themselves way too seriously....many chastising and threatening to ban people who many of which are really just having some fun.

If these threatened people don't have the balz to tell these pompous azzes to blow it out their wazoo's ...hell...I've been banned twice here and I even admitted that once I deserved it....the other time I envisioned some gay pizzle draped in spandex wearing toe dancing shoes giggling like the winner at a cross dresser festival contest as he banned me...

I have been a moderator ...on a very active site at one time that has now been sold to one of those internet conglomerates who buy up sites and run them for profit instead of knowledge...

I did it for years and never banned anyone.....I never mentioned about banning anyone...I never even deleted posts or entire threads as I would just tell people to "slow down and think"........and I moderated something akin to the "Political Section" here as well as "Offshore Fishing" and If I said that I was going to be fishing off a bridge on a Monday night and a rain storm rolled in...then only 50 might show up...we were that tight of a group....

That's all gone now...the same as this place has taken a dump....

[email protected] Special

Truth is the forum started dying when Fishing reports became a minor part of this place.

And why did that happen, FACEBOOK!

All the good fisherman post there!

toomer

Just a short list of all the modern advances I said I'd have no part of only to give in: automatic transmissions, pagers, cell phones, email, chat rooms, iPods and pads, smart phones, etc. Guess one day I will get a Facebook account and make it 100%.

Tarponator

Finfinder wrote: »

I know the guy has fought for my fishing rights. Not sure what happened lately, but in reality its a loss for this site, without confrontation its not a real community.

+1

Maverick1

Make no mistake...he's watching!
Same my name!!!!!

Soda Popinski

toomer wrote: »

Just a short list of all the modern advances I said I'd have no part of only to give in: automatic transmissions, pagers, cell phones, email, chat rooms, iPods and pads, smart phones, etc. Guess one day I will get a Facebook account and make it 100%.

I want to know where all these facebook fishing reports are now! I don't see any. Still wouldn't stop me from coming on here though. How else am I going to know when Polar is finally a Mod?

MGTeacher

Maybe this explains his absence?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-applications-for-new-zealand-citizenship-jump-70-percent/ar-AAokebV?li=BBnbfcL

pottydoc

Gary was here at the beginning of FS. Way more than most on here can say. He, along with others, was responsible for making FS became what it did. None of you running your mouths about him can say that. The reason most of you had a problem with him, is he made you back up what you posted with actual sources, not just coping and pasting something from Bullsugar or some other very biased and slanted source. Like Art, I disagreed with Gary many times over the years, but we remained friends despite of it. Both of us understood that it's just a Internet forum, and posting stuff on it doesn't mean squat when it comes down to it. No doubt Gary could be a **** when he wanted, but most of us here have that gift, right along with him. As for the demise of what FS was, Very few of the people I see posting about it add anything positive to this Forum. If it's so bad, leave. Maybe someone will start a thread about you after you been gone a while like this one. But I doubt it.

mplspug

Gary would be very disappointed you did not break up your reply into proper paragraphs.

pottydoc

No, he wouldn't give a dang, because he knows pointing it out wouldn't get an answer from me, becAuse I don't give a rip. Unlike a bunch of the rest of you.

dragon bait

[email protected] Special wrote: »

Truth is the forum started dying when Fishing reports became a minor part of this place.

And why did that happen, DRobins!

FIFY

Finfinder

[email protected] Special wrote: »

Truth is the forum started dying when Fishing reports became a minor part of this place.

And why did that happen, FACEBOOK!

All the good fisherman post there!

True, the forum was much better when the regions were stronger and the local businesses participated.

cpr

Finfinder wrote: »

I know the guy has fought for my fishing rights. Not sure what happened lately, but in reality its a loss for this site, without confrontation its not a real community.

X2

surfman

pottydoc wrote: »

Gary was here at the beginning of FS. Way more than most on here can say. He, along with others, was responsible for making FS became what it did. None of you running your mouths about him can say that. The reason most of you had a problem with him, is he made you back up what you posted with actual sources, not just coping and pasting something from Bullsugar or some other very biased and slanted source. Like Art, I disagreed with Gary many times over the years, but we remained friends despite of it. Both of us understood that it's just a Internet forum, and posting stuff on it doesn't mean squat when it comes down to it. No doubt Gary could be a **** when he wanted, but most of us here have that gift, right along with him. As for the demise of what FS was, Very few of the people I see posting about it add anything positive to this Forum. If it's so bad, leave. Maybe someone will start a thread about you after you been gone a while like this one. But I doubt it.

:Agree

[email protected] Special

Gary has more knowledge about Everglades Restoration than anyone here. But...everyone beat him up on his opinions!

toomer

The internet gives all of us equal rights to be stupid.

Cagey

About dam time! The guy was insufferable. The forum is much improved already!

Good riddance!

pottydoc

Cagey wrote: »

About dam time! The guy was insufferable. The forum is much improved already!

Good riddance!

Read post 47 and 54. They were written for folks like you.

Cagey

About dam time! The guy was insufferable. The forum is much improved already!

Good riddance!

Finfinder

Cagey wrote: »

About dam time! The guy was insufferable. The forum is much improved already!

Good riddance!

yea 1 post in 30 days since your declaration:rotflmao

Soda Popinski

I'm on another board for another topic and if you disagree with everyone over there you're downvoted and harassed constantly. It's one group of people with the same opinions constantly patting each other on the back for believing the same thing.

That is insufferable. I didn't always agree with him, but it's better to have differing opinions because if you surround yourself with people that are all like minded, you only see things from one point of view.

Cagey

It wasn't any disagreement. It was his personal harassments that were the problem with him. He would send me PM's with more of his forceful opinions he wanted to shove down my throat, and some PM's saying things like "Do you like to play games?" "Do you want to play games?" I just never replied to his stupid PM's and tried to block him but since he was a forum god a regular member like me could not block him.

I knew his days as a moderator were numbered since so many complained about him. I got PM's about that too from other members telling me they had my back and they would go to higher ups about him.

Gary was the reason a number of people either left or just stopped posting all together. So yeah, count me as one who is glad he picked up his toys and ran away. I do not miss him or his way of doing things around here.

If some like him that's fine. And if some don't that is fine too.