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Dying on it's backside.

A

Adrian Williams

No Longer a Member
This forum that is.:(:(

I got back from a mid week break on Friday and expected at least two pages of new threads and unread posts to catch up with. The sad fact was there were about 6 threads with unread posts and that was it......

So where has it all gone wrong? Back in the day this was a lively place where you could be entertained with witty banter, astounded by the depth of knowledge some contributors had on aspects of the sport, marvel at catch reports, keep abreast of the latest gossip, join in with a spat or two or even compare landing net handles.

By comparison the forum today seems dull and uninteresting, over-sanitised and over-moderated with some of the the posters who are left so far up their own backsides they can see daylight and others with such fragile ego's they take anything which is counter to their own view as a personal attack.

I think it's a real shame and would love to see a return to the old days but I honestly think what we are witnessing now are the last gasps of a once lively and vibrant place.

bfw RIP:(:(:(
 
I recall a few occasions where I have been sat watching a film at the cinema and after 20 minutes thinking, this is utter shi*te so I got up and walked out. Then, there was that time in Barcelona when with a few friends, we went to a highly recommended club and after having my arm twisted to near breaking point, I reluctantly agreed to be entertained by a "lady" who was training to be a dancer. Unfortunately, during one particular dance move the bottom half of her dancing costume accidentally came undone and that's when I was confronted by the realisation that the lady was not wholly a lady. So I got up and left. It has been the same story with a few restaurants where the service has been a bit rubbish-just got up and left. That's the beauty of being empowered to make and then act on choices.

Adrian, I used to love reading your posts and looked forward to your replies within threads. You always had something to add, a different perspective, and you are clearly someone with great experience, knowledge and a great writing style. But to be honest, over the last few months and perhaps reflecting your frustration with BFW, your posts have sometimes been a little bitter and toxic. If you hanker for the good old days where posters would go out of their way to be as provocative and disruptive as possible, including people who have been banned and then somehow rejoined pretending to be someone else, then I think that's a shame.

I have generally found that people who feel the need to resort to abuse or aggression on a forum to be sadly lacking in imagination and wit and at the end of the day, don't really add a great deal- well only for those of a similar mentality.

Looks to me like you can either just exit the forum and find a new playground, or you can positively try and lift the forum if that is actually what it needs. I have no doubt you have a number of articles in you- you clearly have the wardrobe of experiences and writing ability and I have no doubt many on here would enjoy your prose.

All the best.
 
Adrian, dont forget its heavyweight barbel time of year mate, all the lads are chasing after the big girls:D, hope yer holiday was a goodun
 
This is the first time for at least 4 years that there hasnt been a decent frost, most decent barbel anglers have been out baiting and fishing over what could be an excellent fishing period for Barbel and specimen fish and with the weather not deteriorating insight long may it last.
So Adrian I will disregard your negative(that is a bit harsh) post as a blip as you have been away and the posts will come flying in very soon. I must say when I was away last week of sept, first of October i couldnt wait to get back.....
The last two weeks it has been fantastic......... positivity? is the way forward.
 
facebook :rolleyes:

i have just stepped down from helping to run the biggest forum in yorkshire, that too is suffering,

saw something on another site that then went up on facebook and also on said site above, that was that the biggest carp fishing forum in the north of england is also quiet.

meanwhile groups on facebook are flourishing

im a member of 3 different barbel fishing groups, dedicated groups for tench, chub, perch and crucian carp plus a private one for me and my mates that fish our local areas.

sad to say but its getting to be a one stop shop and a shame for those that don't/won't use it. then you have all the angling press using it too
 
It was John, 4 lovely days in sunny Looe, plenty of good food and ale, cracking views and places to visit and best of all no crowds or queues.

Howard, my intention with this thread was to stimulate a bit of interest and debate and hopefully draw attention to the fact that there is not allot happening.
Tbh it's not just here, several of the forums I look in on are going the same way. Perhaps Steve Pope was right when he said that with the rise of facebook, forums as a social medium have had their day. I however, just can't bring myself to get involved with what from my experience of it seems to be allot of puerile dross.


Dave, looks like you posted while I was typing, Great minds and all that.
 
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Yeah this was once a good forum...not any more. It really went downhill when you had to pay or buy something from them. Don't think I will bother with it again.
 
David Richardson said:
Yeah this was once a good forum...not any more. It really went downhill when you had to pay or buy something from them. Don't think I will bother with it again.
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David, with respect it looks as though you have been a member for over two and a half years and you have contributed 9 posts!? Don't know about bothering with the forum again, did you really bother before?

What is it with people that bemoan the forum for not being this, that or the other, without actually contributing anything to help make it the place they want it to be. It's a forum, it needs the oxygen of contributions to survive and flourish.

Good Lord.
 
Never a dull moment on the ribble thread or the social board.
But remember this is seen world wide so requests to tone down the banter and Micky taking have to be obeyed.
It's what you make it!
I expect it to liven up once the predicted frosts and severe bad winter gets a grip.
Also some people get upset if a stranger starts to Micky take or criticise an individuals post,which leads to verbal abuse and personal slanging matches.
This is when the moderators and administrators have to step in, and rightly so,
As they don't want their site to go the way some of the other lesser sites have had to put up with. Hence that is why you now have to use your real names.
I'm sure you will all agree ,we have all met some great people off this site and made some excellent friendships, so long may it prosper. :) :)
 
The problem on here is the same as on some of the Facebook groups in that you have trolls . folk or join to either cause problems or simply sponge info without giving anything back
 
As Dave pointed out, Facebook is slowly becoming the demise of some Forums, I am a member of a couple of other linked Angling Forums, and the site "owner" actively encourages its members to use his Facebook Forum coverage, which I won't do, the forums in question are hanging on, and actually have in the last couple of weeks improved a bit, but it seems on the face of it that it is the older members who are keeping it going,apparently there is more information, angling coverage etc that hits the Facebook pages than ever reaches the Forums.
A shame as it actually forces those of us who don't or in my case won't use Facebook into a corner, just because we won't conform.

Dave.
 
Howard Cooke said:
. Then, there was that time in Barcelona when with a few friends, we went to a highly recommended club and after having my arm twisted to near breaking point, I reluctantly agreed to be entertained by a "lady" who was training to be a dancer. Unfortunately, during one particular dance move the bottom half of her dancing costume accidentally came undone and that's when I was confronted by the realisation that the lady was not wholly a lady. So I got up and left. QUOTE]

My God Howard, what a small world ! I joined that same dancer for a Paso Doble in Thailand !!!! :eek::eek::eek:
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I've been posting on angling forums since around 2004. In that time I've seen at least four forums go under and a couple of the (previously) busiest becoming very different places. Like other have already said, I think forums do go through quiet spells but, the dreaded Facebook undoubtedly has a negative effect as well.

Personally, I never wanted to join Facebook but gave in after having umpteen join requests from people I'd fished with around the North West and had become friendly with. Within no time I'd closed my account as I couldn't quite get my head around why people would post what they were having for dinner or ripping their so called mates to bits and then moaning when said mates dumped them????

While I'm as guilty as anyone else of not posting very often on here, I think I'm going to try and become a bit more active as I certainly don't want to have to join the ranks of Facebook again. That would be TOOOOOOOOOO much to bear for a daily fix of fishing related info and banter.
 
If buying an item/donating a paltry sum to be a member of such a wonderful site is too much, then it probably is time time to leave. Troughs and peaks, highs and lows, ebb and flow, in fact whatever you want to call the fluctuation in thread/post frequency, is just something we all have to learn to live with. I access the site daily and frequently check for updates. It's inspirational, informative and enjoyable and allows the piscator within to be casting a line in the hours of darkness from the comfort of my humble abode. It fires the imagination, puts wrongs to right and keeps me posted of new developments and happenings in the angling niche we choose to be part. The archived threads make interesting reading if all is quiet and the river threads, many of which describe waters that I will never see, let alone fish, make me want to explore even more of the countryside that's out there. The reasons for being a member and using this site are many and varied, but long may it continue.
 
Sorry for all those who hate it here now, i prefer it, i started posting on BFW back in 2004, it was a lawless place full of personal snipes and aggro, some of the postings were funny, some were just plain threats and libel abuse and lies, there is only so much you can talk about on a single species forum without going over the same old ground, what rod, what reel, what glue,what boilie, what toilet roll is next, oh please, give us a break! i do wish there was more chat about the other species rather than just the closed season carp fishing!
As for paying a few quid just the once, it's not a annual fee, it's no big deal is it!
 
Who said anything about leaving?

I was simply mourning the passing of what was once a very vibrant forum.
What you see today is simply a shadow of what has gone. Think of a village pub which is the hub of the village until a new landlord takes over and rips out all the old fittings and features along with the real ale and replaces them with limed oak furniture, grey walls and extra cold eurofizz, it's the same place and the people from the new estate think it's fine but the old regulars will mourn the passing of what has gone.
 
Adrian, the landlord and his crew are still here as you know full well,
you also know i have only ever found you to be helpful and sociable :)
yes some of the old content and hot debates are missing now but
i can remember times and people i would have had great satisfaction on
bumping into them on the bank LOL,
youve been on here for a long time now and you know the boards get quiet and again can get busy mate, i have no doubt your not going elsewhere just like myself your always be a BFW member to the bitter end which aint now:D
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