Most users ever online was 6,588, 27-12-2019 at 09:52.

[Steadman Uhlich]

As for the topic of this thread....
I think a "Thanks" button is good. I use it frequently.

I also think a "LIKE" type button is very good for a forum like this, because there are some posts that have great value, and I wish I could click a LIKE button to show the writer that their comment or link or whatever was valuable or especially liked. I have mentioned this before (a few years ago) and I have read the reasons for and against. I still lean "for" a like button, as I think it would help the general readers here and would give more positive feedback to those old salts who are sharing their wisdom, insights, humor, and experience.

I have spent a lot of time on different forums and social media. I think the CF Moderator Team does an admirable job, though I have had a misunderstanding with them (or one) that caused some unfortunate friction. I know they devote time to it, and it is a mostly thankless task. I appreciate what they do for everyone, behind the scenes. They deserve our support and thanks.

I encourage everyone to help them (the moderators), by reporting bad behavior (as was mentioned up above) by using the "REPORT" button/icon. That can help a group like this remain a friendly place by eliminating trolling behavior.

While I am in several sailing groups on Facebook, I think CF and this forum content is much much better, because it is easily searchable (use Google Search) and so much has already been written and shared by many others who have great experience. So, while the membership of a group like this may shrink (due to competing platforms), I do think the value of the forum remains. I also like the more "long form" posts in text form that are possible here, and prefer that to what I see in the typical sailing groups on Facebook.

As for the age of the software used and stuff like that? I don't care so much. I am used to this old forum interface, and it works for the most part. It can seem cumbersome at times (sharing videos for example), but if one likes to read, there are countless hours of available content here. And, with the community of helpful cruisers, one can generally get answers quickly on countless topics.

I truly hope that CF continues, as I consider it a valuable resource to the sailing community.

That's all I have today folks, other than saying I hope everyone has a healthy new year and enjoys sailing.

Sincerely,
Steadman

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

My ears were burning....(as I was mentioned above in this thread). I just want to assure my friends here in CF that I am alive and well, and that any rumors of my demise have been exaggerated (to paraphrase Mark Twain).

My thanks go to the kind folks who remember me well, including DonL, grantmc, and Jammer who mentioned me in this thread. I appreciate your good wishes.

But, while I am not on CF as much as in the past, I am still with you all in spirit.

As for sailing, the Covid Pandemic smashed my own travel/sailing/crewing plans, or took the wind out of my sails for now. I have not gotten Covid yet, and practice the CDC protocols and am so far healthy. I am double vaccinated and boosted, but still cautious, for good reasons (as most should be), and have turned down some nice offers to crew with others, because it would mean being on a boat with strangers (not family) for long periods, possibly far offshore, and possibly ending up in a remote location during a Covid restricted time there. So, for the time being, I am focused on other things. If I owned my own boat, I would be out sailing each week.

In any case, i appreciate the good thoughts from CF, and will try to add more good input (content) in the future. For now, I am swamped while working on my personal projects (artwork, graphic designs, writing, etc.) and of course still learning something new each day.
________
Again, thanks to everyone for their friendly concern, or messages or thoughts. I return the same to you. I hope everyone has a healthy, happy, good year ahead.

Sincerely,
Steadman

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by ThereAndBack

I will tell you why, as someone in the software industry. One day this software, which hasn't been patched in years, will be exploited. A security breach will shut this place down and expose owners to liability.

Running a serious website without paying attention to security practices is bad.

A couple years later… …lol!

How many most users ever online now? 31,862? What a joke. There is a thread right now about ChatGPT harvesting data from this site. And what have the owners of the site done about it?

Nothing?

This site is dead, people who contributed to it are being exploited and the owners don’t care.

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by Delancey

A couple years later… …lol!

How many most users ever online now? 31,862? What a joke. There is a thread right now about ChatGPT harvesting data from this site. And what have the owners of the site done about it?

Nothing?

This site is dead, people who contributed to it are being exploited and the owners don’t care.

Yeah, I disagree with the premise of the post (AI Harvesting) you're referring to. It makes zero logical sense. A simple question in response is, "How would CF threads be monetarily beneficial to someone developing ANY AI learning?"... It isn't

Another point I would make is, "When has a CF thread agreed on anything?" It hasn't.
How would AI learn from that? it wouldn't

In my opinion, the lack of structure, bias, context, opinions, and general forum noise would make it nearly impossible to create reliable AI.

As far as users online, yeah, that number is a joke.
I don't know about everything else, but one thing is for sure: nobody is being forced to be here.

[Delancey]

Should learn a little bit about Large Language Models
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.p...&diffonly=true

There aren’t 31,000 people on this site. You’re lucky if there are a hundred real live people on a good day. This is a tiny number for a social media outlet. Reddit has millions and millions at any given time.

The rest of the “online users” are bots. They are harvesting data for LLMs. Large data sets are the lifeblood of AI. Reddit at least tries to protect user data in this respect. It costs them money but they spend it because the privacy of their users is important to them.

You, your thoughts, your beliefs as you have expressed them on this site are just another data source.

This is the way. Don’t let the future pass you old man.

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by Delancey

Should learn a little bit about Large Language Models
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.p...&diffonly=true

There aren’t 31,000 people on this site. You’re lucky if there are a hundred real live people on a good day. This is a tiny number for a social media outlet. Reddit has millions and millions at any given time.

The rest of the “online users” are bots. They are harvesting data for LLMs. Large data sets are the lifeblood of AI.

You, your thoughts, your beliefs as you have expressed them on this site are just another data source.

This is the way. Don’t let the future pass you old man.

LOL, yeah thanks, kid.

[Delancey]

Something tells me you think Elon Musk bought Twitter because he likes free speech.

Pro Tip: he bought it for the data. Just ask Gork or whatever the Tesla AI is called.