That helps a LOT, @shaneadams90. Well written. Muchas gracias. I understand, and support the intention. I'm eating a late dinner after a physically demanding day. Gonna watch a movie next. I'll be back in the next few days to offer some follow up remarks and suggestions. And again I say, this continues to be the best forum on the Intrawebs, IMO.
On one hand the silliness is what makes this place speacial. I know that I am probably asking too much here, but can we get a serious section, where we know to stay on topic? In the past this place has always been a free for all, and I love that atmosphere. I am death to whiners everyday. Just ask my coworkers. It kind of seems that y'all are trying to turn this place into the encyclopedia how the hell do you spell that word? Textbook stuffiness kills the fun of this community. Just some thoughts. I could keep going, but I am sitting here sipping some yager to kill a cold.
Our marching orders are pretty clear....Silliness stays in General Discussion...no exceptions. and yes, we want to create a place where people can reference skills, knowledge, and experiences. I don't see that as a bad thing.....
Please excuse any errors in that last post. I blame cellphones for the downfall of the internet. This place was much better when everyone had a real keyboard.
It sounds like yall want to take this community and turn it into a textbook. I think that you will lose more than you will gain.
You are entitled to your opinion and are welcome to stay around and find out.....as long as you play by the rules that have been set forth.
Ah hell I don't plan to leave because of this, I am just trying to figure it out. It just sounds like things will get boring around here. I am just looking at it from the perspective of keeping things entertaining so this place doesn't die a boring death. Having a reference type site to look up skills, techniques, etc. would be awesome. The problem is, who wants to contribute to that? It just seems like the place will loose some value because people will be less likely to share their stories. Some of the stories may sound silly, but many times they carry a good lesson .
ASH, let it go. If you're looking for a better entertaining place this may not be the place for you. Let it go.
There are plenty of other options for entertainment......Entertainment is not what RAT is interested in...we are a teaching school and it's our desire for this Forum to reflect that. plenty have/are/ and will contribute to this forum....it may lose value for you but I think many will value it MORE... if your story is silly, or could be considered silly...keep it in General Discussion....comment on topic outside of GD....I don't see any gray area left to cover.
There's a time and place for everything...Outside of General, I try to stay on the serious side and contribute with useful info. But I'm a fun guy (or so I'd like to think) and often will insert a bit of lightheartedness while remaining on topic...for example ....There's a thread in the Survival and Wilderness Skills SubForum titled SHTF Currency and Bartering items..I posted in that thread that I was surrounding myself with people of useful skills (because I feel that is equally or more important than what items I have stockpiled)...The last person I listed was a joking (sort of) comment about my brother-in-law...It was on topic but definelty said as a joke... So here's my question: Is that discouraged because it did cause the following comment to be off topic? (the rest of the thread actually went off topic but regarding a different subject matter)...If it is discouraged I can edit that part out and the mods can remove all comments following that post so it stays on topic...I have said from the beginning I like where this place is going and hope to be a contributing part of it, but I also would like to remain true to who I am so I'm trying to see where the boundaries are....
Your post was in line and appreciated....you contributed to the post in kind and stayed on topic....YOU STAYED ON TOPIC....I like to have skilled people around me as well....sadly we are all saddled with duds from time to time....Sometimes their only contribution is to be counted as the first casualty. Others have to strive to do the same....stay on topic.....I appreciate your comments and cooperation.
Shane thanks for the clarification! A ton of us have always been guilty of joking around and it's been part of the charm of this forum and the active personalities here so knowing we're still going to have an outlet for that is awesome. I totally understand the not wanting to derail the serious threads, that had been a frustration of mine and some others numerous times.