Forum Content

[rourkeh]

I have been a member on here for about 7 years and have noticed a distinct change over the last year in the quality of the content in the posts. It seems it is veering away from the helpful type of posts about outfitting, repairing, and preparing cruising sailboats and has become more orientated towards new-bee's, cubicle dwelling daydreamers, and the geographically challenged. It may just be me, but I was wondering why the overall change in content.

[boatman61]

Boredom with Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.. also YouTubers like Le Vagabondes etc will be attracting the fantatists..
It is getting boring constantly regurgitating the same old stuff tho'..

[keepondancin]

I was thinking about this yesterday, walking around a marina in Palmetto, Florida, as I am in the quandary of keeping my boat, selling my boat, moving back aboard again. There is a beautiful marina that allows live aboards, a little pricey, but very nice. Waiting list, but it is obvious why. Three docks, both sides, appear to be dedicated to yacht brokerages. Rows of boats, most seem to be in the 40'+ range. island Packets, Bene/Jenneau euro style, and some more traditional boats. Most seem to be reasonably aged. Almost like a boat show, or going to CarMax. Most builder's are catering to $600k and higher customers, maybe because there is no profit in 30 footers. Reading so many of the new posts here are people who want to just jump in, buy a boat and live the dream, big budgets, and the need to have every new technology available, while being educated by glossy magazines, or by spending hours online, doing 10,000 posts in a couple years, expounding knowledge while still sitting at a desk. There are very few youth sailing programs any more. Maybe because todays youth lives by instant media, and have no desire to just learn an art form. Sailing is an art! Driving past anchorage areas, the water here is littered with derelict boats, sailboats with no masts, power boats that sit stern high, guessing there is no engine. I wonder where the cruisers are. On the east coast, in Stuart, where I have a small condo, which I just sold, the number of cruising boats heading south has decreased substantially. Sunset Anchorage, that used to have a waiting list for moorings, was about a third empty. That could be because of the situation of polluted water coming out of Lake Okeechobee, but regardless, the numbers where way down. Maybe this is just the 69 year old "it ain't what it used to be", but I miss the type of cruising folk I met years ago. In Trinidad, I watched how it all changed when Peake's opened at it was top of the line, then Crews Inn opened, with internet and cable. It was amazing to see the transition from being ashore and the docks alive with people, to all the boats in their slips, AC running,no one on the docks, then at happy hour, emerging to discuss what they read online. Yeah, I guess I miss the good old days, wouldn't trade it for anything, but still remember, back then, the experienced cruisers telling how it used to be.

[blackswan]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Boredom with Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.. also YouTubers like Le Vagabondes etc will be attracting the fantatists..
It is getting boring constantly regurgitating the same old stuff tho'..

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Boredom with Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.. also YouTubers like Le Vagabondes etc will be attracting the fantatists..
It is getting boring constantly regurgitating the same old stuff tho'..

x2

Many of the newer posters don't care that there are 20 years of threads that relate to their question, they just want to start a new one like it's (their) an original. Try a thread search and think about your question before posting it.

[Island Time O25]

Most (all?) of the previous generations were brought up on non-technology mentality from early age. In their (our) pre-teens and teens they (we) were playing ball outside until dark, dinking in the local swimming holes from May to October, riding down on an old rubber tube or just a piece of plywood from a snow topped hill, etc. So for them it would be relatively easy in their adult years to ease into a cruising/sailing lifestyle. Today's generations, say people in their early 30s and younger, were mostly kept indoors or if outdoors under somewhat strict supervision. They mostly occupied themselves with playing nintendo and computer games, had pre-arranged and supervised "play dates", seldom doing anything on a whim for which they were not punished ("Oh, my g-d, Johnny went outside all by himself, we need to call 911 to look for him", never mind that "Johnny" is a 10-12 year old and a few generations prior would be old enough to drive a family tractor on a farm or go hunting with his 15 year old cousin), etc, etc. So we can't expect this home/tech bound generation of city dwellers (most places today would qualify as "cities" as far as their remoteness from nature is concerned) to even orient themselves in the woods without the use of 3-4 latest gadgets, let alone to sail into the sunset until they can afford a self-sailing fully equipped and every creature comforted latest cat of at least 50 feet.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by Palarran

x2

Many of the newer posters don't care that there are 20 years of threads that relate to their question, they just want to start a new one like it's (their) an original. Try a thread search and think about your question before posting it.

You're asking too much of a generation whose attention span has been reduced to about 5-10 seconds before they press the clicker.

[skinfear]

I've switched to being a live on board from motorcycles but it was the same on those forums people who've never been on a bike dreaming online about the latest most expensive gear and commenting on your cornering skills in a YouTube video etc. etc. So I'm just a lurker working away on my boat one problem at a time and reading whatever I can like you said someone's already done it before you

[LakeSuperior]

There is an ebb and flow like the ocean tides in the posting content as new folks join and the long timers lose interest. I look back with amusement at the ups and downs and interests of my participation in CF over the last 9 years. It's also interesting to observe the turnover in the CF "regulars" over time. There is about a 4 year half-life perhaps. It's the rhythms of life I guess.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by Palarran

x2

Many of the newer posters don't care that there are 20 years of threads that relate to their question, they just want to start a new one like it's (their) an original. Try a thread search and think about your question before posting it.

I have spent hours trying to glean the search results. Searching can be a real waste of time. I still do it but I might also post a question asked / answered before. If you are bored with the question pass on it.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

There is an ebb and flow like the ocean tides in the posting content as new folks join and the long timers lose interest. I look back with amusement at the ups and downs and interests of my participation in CF over the last 9 years. It's also interesting to observe the turnover in the CF "regulars" over time. There is about a 4 year half-life perhaps. It's the rhythms of life I guess.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

There is an ebb and flow like the ocean tides in the posting content as new folks join and the long timers lose interest. I look back with amusement at the ups and downs and interests of my participation in CF over the last 9 years. It's also interesting to observe the turnover in the CF "regulars" over time. There is about a 4 year half-life perhaps. It's the rhythms of life I guess.

Quite a few of the regulars from when I started have died.. sad to say.

[Suijin]

Seven years...that's just about back to the Great Recession. Probably more money, more time, more retirees since then.

To truly understand what's going on, you'd need to have historical data on the growth of the CF community since then, the relative experience of new members, and the posting frequency across the demographics of the community. Is it people who know less are doing more posting, or is it people who know more doing less posting? Probably more trouble than it's worth to figure that out.

Personally, I have not witnessed all that dramatic a change, but maybe that's because I joined in @2012.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

Most (all?) of the previous generations were brought up on non-technology mentality from early age. In their (our) pre-teens and teens they (we) were playing ball outside until dark, dinking in the local swimming holes from May to October, riding down on an old rubber tube or just a piece of plywood from a snow topped hill, etc. So for them it would be relatively easy in their adult years to ease into a cruising/sailing lifestyle. Today's generations, say people in their early 30s and younger, were mostly kept indoors or if outdoors under somewhat strict supervision. They mostly occupied themselves with playing nintendo and computer games, had pre-arranged and supervised "play dates", seldom doing anything on a whim for which they were not punished ("Oh, my g-d, Johnny went outside all by himself, we need to call 911 to look for him", never mind that "Johnny" is a 10-12 year old and a few generations prior would be old enough to drive a family tractor on a farm or go hunting with his 15 year old cousin), etc, etc. So we can't expect this home/tech bound generation of city dwellers (most places today would qualify as "cities" as far as their remoteness from nature is concerned) to even orient themselves in the woods without the use of 3-4 latest gadgets, let alone to sail into the sunset until they can afford a self-sailing fully equipped and every creature comforted latest cat of at least 50 feet.

This is somewhat true but we also got away with a lot back in the day that a kid/teen would most likely go to jail for today

We "played" with guns from age 10-11 on (22's and shotguns) in the wood for example. Borrowed (stole) cars/motorcycles/go carts at night but returned them before the owner woke up or returned, and so on

[Mike OReilly]

I like LS’s ebb and flow view here. I’ve been around here for about six years now, and I don’t see any obvious change in the character of the questions or posts. If you really want to make this claim rourkeh, then it is possible to do some data analysis using the much-touted (and nearly useless) search tool here. Actual evidence of your claim would be interesting.

I’m always amused at this curmudgeony grumble coming from some old farts about using the search tool, and not asking the same old questions. You realize this is a discussion forum, not a database. People come here to discuss cruising-related topics. I’m not saying reading old threads is a bad thing, but if we insisted that only completely new topics be allowed to enter the pantheon of new threads, well, it would be a pretty quiet discussion area. There’s very little that is completely new under the sun … in any topic.

No one forces anyone to read or respond to a thread here. If it annoys you to read the same old posts, then move on. You can even put the thread on ignore if it really bugs you. Take a chill pill daddyoh.

As for this bashing of the 'damn kids who never get outside,' I just have two observations:

#1. Who are the parents? Mostly Babyboomers and Genxers … you know, most of the people who post here. So who’s to blame for these kids?

#2. It was ever the case that the older generations complained about “the damn kids today…”. I’m not saying things aren’t different today than in the past, but every older generation complains about the younger ones, and warns that some new technology is going to rot their brains. It was said about radio, TV, movies, it was said about Rock & Roll, Disco, Wrap, Hip Hop…

So I say, chill dudes and dudettes. Help the newbies if you want to, and have something useful to say. If not, then just have another beer and mutter quietly about the damn kids today.