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Dying on it's backside.

Ian Tucker said:
Howard ..... when you die I hope your wife sells your fishing gear for what its worth .... not what you have told her its worth :p
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I like that Ian, i am sure there are plenty of us who feel exactly the same!

Wearing the trousers in my house i buy what i want when i want regardless of the expense.................... i wish!

On the thread topic, all forums have some sort of censure as with everything in life, free speech is anything but. The rules are there and the moderators do a thankless task, you will never please everyone.

Perhaps those who feel aggrieved by the censure on this forum should "blog" then they are the masters of their own voice!
 
End of an Era?

Dear All,

I know almost nothing about the site that many speak of in this thread or its history or the connection to this site. But I'm guessing its title suggests some connection.

But going back to the original topic of this thread Damian. "Dying on its backside". If you look at the numbers of people who contribute on all the angling forums on all sites not just this one you will see that such figures have absolutely plummeted. Why? Undoubtedly social networking sites have taken the place of angling forums for many. Personally whilst I do have a Facebook account I hardly actually use it myself but looking in on it from time to time there are literally hundreds of well known anglers, including Steve Pope, who put stuff up on my, and many other Facebook accounts. All of these guys "used" to be regulars on all the sites but one hardly see's their names posting on the boards any longer.

Have the forum boards had their day? Controversial issues will always surround "ALL" sports and fishing is certainly not alone in this regard. Debate will always arise and yes, be followed with often intense scrutiny by many when it does. But any attempts at trying to stifle debate or restrict it in a way where the participants feel shackled in their contributions or responses will only serve to demean the purpose of debate until the platform ceases to exist.

The internet is a force which is changing on an almost daily basis in regard to the way we all interact, gather information and contribute. But no matter how fast these changes occur one thing remains. The internet is a force for clarity, truth, entertainment and learning. It is not, and never has been, a platform where people should seek to stifle debate or censor opinion. Once that starts to happen, decay of what was created follows soon after.

As for dying on its backside? The clock is undoubtedly ticking Damian.


Regards,

Lee.
 
Facebook etc probably do have a place amongst the dedicated fishing forums

I wasn't Round when BFW first started , but I would guess assimilated thing would have been said , ie change & that it would stop groups meeting for example

Social media is just another place to check out what is happening , the difference is you can pick and choose to a certain degree who sees your info

BFW and the like will always have a place amongst the dedicated / serious barbel or river angler , but it is changing , we as members just need to accept it
 
Lee, I can't agree with you here. I don't think it is possible to define what the internet is and so I can't see how it can be described as "a force for clarity, truth, entertainment and learning". There is no prescription to its purpose or it's outputs. It is simply what those that use it choose it to be. In many ways it's simply a digital world that mirrors the real world an as such it contains the dark and light of life. However, what I think you can see is a distortion simply because of the fluidity of identity-something that has nothing to do with clarity or truth.

I personally don't see the point of trying to predict the future of the forum because we, as members, are empowered to make it the place we want it to be. Moderation can be applied as we know but again, if that does not suit people then they can move on.

I read most threads and over the last year have witnessed many debates and robust exchanges on matters ranging from predation, the use of braid, the conflicting interests of those that use the waterways, politics and so on. All of these have been allowed to develop and take there natural course. However, there has undoubtedly been an element that have made highly provocative posts where the intent has simply been to undermine or even destabilise the forum, simply for the warped pleasure of doing so. I think it is in these situations that moderation has been appropriately deployed leading to bans.

I have looked in on the other site and members there are no doubt looking in on this thread now, and it wasn't for me. So I have made the simple choice not to engage with it. That's the beauty of empowerment and having and then acting on choice.

I don't know what people really expect from this forum. At the end of the day there is only so many fishing related matters you can debate which is why we see repeats. But, it is a sport that evolves- tackle, bait and perhaps most critically of all, the state and welfare of the rivers and the fish and the fishing. All of which make things current.
 
What I would like to see more of, is members to try and arrange social /fishing get togethers. Face to face meets are often the catalyst to better understanding of each of our shared views and inputs.

In the intial years of BFW I personally arranged a number of Fish-Ins, barbel and trout days that led to long term friendships between members, many that still survive.

It would be a good idea for some of the newer members to look back at these on the pages and see what fun we had. We also managed to raise significant funds for charity.

Dean has also organised latter ones that were a great success and raised a hell of a lot of charity money. These were always fully backed and supported by Andy, Clare andthe BFW team.

How about some of the newer members taking on the mantle of arranging some get togethers, to actually meet some of those you "converse" with on these pages. It's usually an enlightening and joyful experience.

Currently there's a lot of individual get togethers and shared information via pm and commmon rivers that are initialised through this site. More than most realise, and thats great.

The BFW family should be more than just a website. Help to make it so.

Graham
 
Graham, couldn't agree more.

I really enjoyed catching up with you and Keith at the last BFW grayling trip.

I think it was BFW that also organised trips to Symonds Yatt on the Wye that I also attended many years ago.
 
Some good replies from the likes of Graham and Howard etc.
The biggest problem with 'debate' on forums of any kind is that you will always get people who seem to be confrontational and controversial for the sake of it, whilst not always actually contributing anything to the majority of threads.
I feel that like all forums BFW ebbs and flows. I can go weeks without posting, but still look in daily. As a whole it is a better and friendlier place than 'The Good Old Days' that some hark on about, with faceless posters and multiple user names. Making the excuse that people don't 'Get' someones sense of humour can only be tolerated for so long.........
Like others have said, I have made some great friendships through the site. Most of us would have more in common face to face than you would ever imagine.
 
BFW stats for the last week....

Hi all,

I've been resisting the temptation to respond to some of the posts on this thread regarding the management and moderation of the site.

I did think these Google Analytics stats might interest some who believe Facebook has taken over. They're pretty standard figures for this time of year.

Andy F,

Andy
 

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Andy Frances said:
Hi all,

I've been resisting the temptation to respond to some of the posts on this thread regarding the management and moderation of the site.

I did think these Google Analytics stats might interest some who believe Facebook has taken over. They're pretty standard figures for this time of year.

Andy F,

Andy
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They are meaningless without long terms trends.
 
Not sure how they're meaningless Paul. They show a snapshot of traffic over the past 7 days.

I can't work out how to show the past 12 months...?

AF
 
Not sure how they're meaningless Paul. They show a snapshot of traffic over the past 7 days.

I can't work out how to show the past 12 months...?

AF
 
Dead Duck Floating.

"'dying on its backside' ? this thread alone now has 169 replies - more than we have seen on here for a long time!"

That's because its become an issue Chris or perhaps even contentious. Andy Francis will be the first to admit that those are the threads that get the big hits? As for your analytics Andy? Your figures do not even come remotely close to the figures that the social networking sites get PER MINUTE!!!! But you know that. I can show you gardening websites that dwarf your stats Andy. But in fairness gardening does dwarf barbel fishing in terms of participant numbers and interest. What garden fork? What spade? What wheel barrow? What wellies? Don't seem to get those threads on gardening sites.

If anyone else is living in BFW cuckoo land regarding stats know this; FACEBOOK GETS 100 "BILLION HITS PER DAY!!!! And that's what's sucking the life out of boards like these.

I can remember when you were really struggling to get off the ground Andy. A group of us came on and turned this board around. Many many more came in after us and BFW grew and you started to make money. I have absolutely no problem with that. Now that the vast majority of those great guys who used to post here have gone, BFW is going down the pan period. And its been going down the slippery slide for some time. Is it because of moderation? I seriously doubt that simply because all those great guys back then knew how to make a post or debate an issue without making things personal or libelous. We just told it how we saw it and always had respect for those on opposing sides of an argument. Posts were full of humour and penmanship. What came after our exodus has now't to do with us. Is it because of your management? Whats to manage? Boards like this are ten a penny and can be set up in minutes with websites being created in an hour or so simply because the internet is so user friendly now. OK it takes time to fill a site with content but even here you haven't done that, others have done it for you and for FREE AS WELL!!!

Sorry old love but the days of angling boards like this one are over.

At least Damians hogwash is entertaining.

Regards,

Lee.
 
Dead Duck going round and round

It says something if you haven't yet grasped how your site analytics work Andy? Seeing as you obviously seek to make money out of advertising its absolutely crucial you know every detail about your traffic?
 
Lee,

Comparing overall Facebook stats with that of BFW is ridiculous! Why not choose a popular barbel specific Facebook page and make a comparison?

As far as I'm concerned, we've never struggled to 'get off the ground'. The site has grown organically and this growth has certainly never been down to one, or just a handful of people. And certainly not not me. I was in the right place at the right time.

As for the site not needing any management. Maybe you're not aware that we have our own dedicated server and that we add all new members manually.

I'm not going to get into a debate with you as I should be doing the job that does actually make me some money.

Let's diarise to check back on this thread in 12 months to see if we're still here...

Andy
 
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