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

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

The policy of CF (one not made by the team) is to maintain a tight reign on certain areas of discussion. My assessment is that this actually leads to greater conflict, not less. And I've told members of the team this many times. But I know this is only my opinion. And I recognize that the mod team answers to a higher power. They do not make the policy, they simply agree to enforce it. This, btw, is one of the reasons I declined the offer to join the mod team. I knew my approach was not aligned.

I know Social Knowledge has been bought out and I assume there have been some changes.


However, I was once very active on another of their forums until I had a post deleted by the mods that was (objectively, I thought) critical of the safety of a product sold by a major advertiser who was also a regular forum participant. It was a product that I had purchased and had firsthand experience with. There was no willingness to engage in a discussion of reasons and limits either publicly or privately.



I found that to be sufficiently at odds with my reasons for participating that I scaled back my posting considerably.


So far I haven't seen that sort of conflict of interest at work here.


I do wish that the mod strategy would involve a greater amount of willingness to keep threads on topic, a greater willingness to move threads to the proper board, and a reduced willingness to shut down discussions completely because they veer into unwanted topic areas.

[Tayana42]

Most users ever online

To the attention of the moderators:
First of all, thank you to the moderators. I’ve been a member and daily participant of Cruisers Forum since November of 2012. I’ve have learned a lot from the many more experienced cruisers who share their knowledge and wisdom. Most contributors are thoughtful and kind. Some are a little rough around the edges. But mostly the cruising community tries to be helpful.

During the past two years the number of posts that are mean spirited and political seems to have increased. The presence of a growing group of pushy political voices is going to cause me to leave the forum and I believe it has driven others away. Those people who endlessly echo the anti-media, anti-science, anti-climate change, anti-vaccination, anti-government, anti-community responsibility crap are destroying the CF experience. I try to ignore the threads which are about topics that attract them but they are spreading out into more threads misusing and abusing this forum. I had never used the ignore button until this year but now I find that I’m using it more and more.

Of course there is a difficult line for volunteer moderators to draw. It requires that they distinguish between respecting all voices and allowing the spread of disinformation from the people who disclaim science and despise genuine experts. It isn’t a matter of differing opinions. Those who espouse the untruths that the American Civil War was not about slavery and Jim Crow laws in the USA aren’t about white power, and those who claim climate change isn’t caused by human activity are being allowed to make CF into another right-wing political platform.

If Twitter can ban disinformation about COVID-19, vaccinations and lies about election results can Cruisers Forum not stop allowing itself to be used in this same destructive manner?

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Even though we have over two hundred thousand members [ 208,017], I’m always surprised that the number of guests always outnumbers [± 20:1] the number of members [90 members and 2053 guests], currently active on CF.

It is the nature of things; Way more tire-kickers than car buyers.

Given the increased interest in buying a boat, could add more visitors but maybe not necessarily in real sailing/cruising over the last two years, may explain the ratio. We also had few lively threads about the declining(?) of sailing and offshore cruising interest by younger generations.

As one making a living from (big, clinical) data, I really want to find out the real data about the sailing/cruising scene trends over the last few years.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Most users ever online

To the attention of the moderators:
First of all, thank you to the moderators. I’ve been a member and daily participant of Cruisers Forum since November of 2012. I’ve have learned a lot from the many more experienced cruisers who share their knowledge and wisdom. Most contributors are thoughtful and kind. Some are a little rough around the edges. But mostly the cruising community tries to be helpful.

During the past two years the number of posts that are mean spirited and political seems to have increased. The presence of a growing group of pushy political voices is going to cause me to leave the forum and I believe it has driven others away. Those people who endlessly echo the anti-media, anti-science, anti-climate change, anti-vaccination, anti-government, anti-community responsibility crap are destroying the CF experience. I try to ignore the threads which are about topics that attract them but they are spreading out into more threads misusing and abusing this forum. I had never used the ignore button until this year but now I find that I’m using it more and more.

Of course there is a difficult line for volunteer moderators to draw. It requires that they distinguish between respecting all voices and allowing the spread of disinformation from the people who disclaim science and despise genuine experts. It isn’t a matter of differing opinions. Those who espouse the untruths that the American Civil War was not about slavery and Jim Crow laws in the USA aren’t about white power, and those who claim climate change isn’t caused by human activity are being allowed to make CF into another right-wing political platform.

If Twitter can ban disinformation about COVID-19, vaccinations and lies about election results can Cruisers Forum not stop allowing itself to be used in this same destructive manner?

Ahh.. the Cancel Culture.. if its not on CNN its a lie..
Go Cuomo...

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Narfi

As cliché as it may sound in today's culture, buttons for 'agree', 'like', 'winner', 'funny', etc.... without any of the negative options has been a more successful approach in other forums I have used.

I am also hesitant to use the 'thanks' button here, as it is basically just a private message and way overkill for a majority of posts.

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

The use of "likes" and reputation rankings are interesting. I like the "like" on SN, mainly because it allows people to "+1" a comment without wasting screen space.

Thanks Narfi and Mike, you said it better than I could.

I think simple, one-click "Likes," which don't send an e-mail or PM, are a valuable tool. When a more elaborate response is required, the existing "Thanks" message capability is nice, but it really isn't the same thing.

[Delancey]

Lol, classic CF!

“I think CF is doing fine. And to those who couldn't stand the heat and left, good riddance.” - wingssail

“During the past two years the number of posts that are mean spirited and political seems to have increased. The presence of a growing group of pushy political voices is going to cause me to leave the forum and I believe it has driven others away.” - Tayanna42

Good thing the purge got rid of the wrongthink people to make room for the rightthink people.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I know Social Knowledge has been bought out and I assume there have been some changes ...

CruisersForum was founded, by Gisle, in late 2002, and went on online in early 2003.
Andy R purchased the CruisersForum late in 2005. [1]
Social Knowledge LLC was started in 2009.[2]
I’m unaware that Andy has has sold either. Have you a source, for your knowledge?
1. ➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...html#post18615
2. ➥ https://www.dnb.com/business-directo...ffa39e0c0.html

[ThereAndBack]

Originally Posted by GordMay

CruisersForum was founded, by Gisle, in late 2002, and went on online in early 2003.
Andy R purchased the CruisersForum late in 2005. [1]
Social Knowledge LLC was started in 2009.[2]
I’m unaware that Andy has has sold either. Have you a source, for your knowledge?
1. ➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...html#post18615
2. ➥ https://www.dnb.com/business-directo...ffa39e0c0.html

Social Knowledge is mentioned repeatedly in the Terms of Service.

[ThereAndBack]

Originally Posted by Jammer

So far I haven't seen that sort of conflict of interest at work here.

Wouldn't that be the point...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by ThereAndBack

Social Knowledge is mentioned repeatedly in the Terms of Service.

And has been, only since 2009.

[ThereAndBack]

Originally Posted by GordMay

And has been, only since 2009.

I'm just pointing out where the idea may have come from. I don't know who owns this site.

[Stu Jackson]

[QUOTE=Narfi;3544888]

Originally Posted by davil

'Old people*' are more argumentative, and more prone to having their feelings hurt, and much more likely to hold a grudge. They are less likely to give the benefit of the doubt when typed 'tone' can be ambiguous.
This leads to strife, which leads to sides, which leads to moderators either over or under moderating, which leads to people leaving. (if in fact they are)



*obviously a generality

I'm an old geezer, just having suffered my 76th birthday. I have been here for a long time; someone can check.
I also frequent other boating forums. I never "did" SA, SN bored me to tears, as I saw a few of the "quality guys" here having to repeat the same answers to the same questions over there. I "do" sbo because I have made a few friends there who morphed from online to real in-person folks and friends.
Like any forum, as well as any yacht club watering hole, people move around, come & go. Just because frequent barflies leave doesn't mean that any watering hole is disintegrating.
And we've also seen and read threads here about "where are all the newbies?" tempered or balanced by all the "dreamers" who keep asking the same old questions about "what boat should I buy with my million dollars?"
It comes & goes.
On another forum, I am the secretary of an international association. Because of the repetitive nature of many questions, specifically about, say, boat electrical systems, I took another tack, primarily because I saw how often Rod Collins, aka Maine Sail, repeated the same answers and must have worn his fingers out re-typing the same answers over & over again. He finally did a few "stickies" on sbo, but no nearly enough. Here's how I started those threads which use LINKS, which I refer to often, here and elsewhere:
Over the past decade or more, "regular" topics come up repeatedly. In developing responses to questions, many of us use the handy links to earlier discussions. I've developed these "101" topics, which are groups of links to popular subjects and those discussions. I'll leave this topic as a sticky, and add any new "101"s that may develop. Many of them include links to other websites and message boards, since boat systems are not always boat-specific.
I found them very useful.
I also think that by sheer repetition of those links eventually folks "get it" and can and do find answers. I not only linked to their questions, but gave them the link to the whole page of, say, Electrical Systems 101, many of which linked to Maine Sail's excellent material, both on his website and on sbo.

'Old people*' are more argumentative*

I "got" the *! In all honesty, I used to be that way, but "mellowed" over the years, really. Why? Probably because I used the links and didn't get tired answering the same things all the time. I made the reference material easier to find, and other folks picked up the idea and the slack.
Instead of "railing" against repetitive basic 101 questions, it became easier to answer them with the material without having to retype it.


Finally, this particular forum, as most are, is NOT an encyclopedia of knowledge, it is a place to discuss boating related issues and is quite good at that. On our C34 forum and website, those of us who run it and the organization made a deliberate effort to go further, to make it a repository of both boat systems as well as boat specific information that was searchable with easily found answers to the basic systems as well as the boat-specifics. That is NOT what most forums do, I understand that.


I found and still find new material here every single day. It's worthwhile. I'm an old geezer, proud of it, and willing to continue to learn. That particular position is one I'm prone to stick with, no grudges involved.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by GordMay

CruisersForum was founded, by Gisle, in late 2002, and went on online in early 2003.
Andy R purchased the CruisersForum late in 2005. [1]
Social Knowledge LLC was started in 2009.[2]
I’m unaware that Andy has has sold either. Have you a source, for your knowledge?
1. ➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...html#post18615
2. ➥ https://www.dnb.com/business-directo...ffa39e0c0.html

The site banner changed to "An Elite Cafe Media Lifestyle Publisher" a couple of years ago. I assumed they were a purchaser or other equity partner. Perhaps not. ::shrug::

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Jammer

The site banner changed to "An Elite Cafe Media Lifestyle Publisher" a couple of years ago. I assumed they were a purchaser or other equity partner. Perhaps not. ::shrug::

Hardly the CF's "banner" - and definitely not indicating ownership.

Why does it say 'Elite CafeMedia Publisher' at the bottom of my site?
➥ https://help.adthrive.com/hc/en-us/a...om-of-my-site-

[goboatingnow]

As a member since 2009! , I view CF as just fine , the same old debates reignite repeatedly including the political ones, I tend to lurk in SN and SA neither of which I would say are exactly “ vibrant “ either