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What's happened

Stephen Bond said:
Agreed.

That said, FB was never designed to be a forum and it doesn't work very well as such IMHO.

BFW still has much to offer I say :D

Stephen[/QUOTE
Perhaps Stephen ...but facebook Barbel pages are getting better, i bet within a year or two the BFW page will come to life.Infact just this evening ive been posting along with quite a few old BFW members,who would never have touched facebook before.. if Andy and the crew opened up the facebook page his sales in the shop would double or more within a year or two .
Just look at the membership of the BS since they opened a facebook page,i bet it doubled easy .
Click to expand...
 
Sites like this one used to buzz back in the day. Now its not the same.
Put me, Steve Pope, Ray Wood, Ray Walton, the Angling Twerps, oops sorry....Angling Trust on the few threads and watch the dust fly!!

But no one want's the contentious issues any more on BFW and its the long drop from the ban button if anyone dares to raise them. Facebook has taken over. 175 million people log in every day. And from an angling point of view, Paul is right, angling on facebook is getting better by the day.
 
Spot on, there, Lee. Google + is well behind FB but will soon catch up. It's a shame in many ways, however there continue to be some real characters on BFW who talk a lot of sense, and who tend to steer away from the politiks of barbel angling. It's true that if you stick you head above the parapet, you're likely to get shot at - metaphorically speaking.

Paul - I think part of the change you refer to is down to the membership changes that took place on BFW back in 2010 (was it really that long ago). Posters now can't hide behind anonymity and are rightly held to account if they say anything nasty (though many still do). I hear what the chap on the previous page say about cliqués, however. And also about repetition.

Still. it's a great forum and it has a loyal and knowledgeable band of followers.
 
I have been following the dedicated barbel pages on FB and have quickly found them to be very tedious to be honest. And, intuitively, whatever issues people feel blight BFW now must surely, ultimately, effect these FB pages. Very shortly the page owners (is that how one should refer to them?) will find that people will use it as a mechanism for selling stuff which will mean the page owners will need to work out how best to manage that. So a bit like the BFW classified section. FB has real immediacy though, perhaps swifter than BFW, and you can more efficiently share photos and post comments etc and when you do there is an immediate push to all members, rather than a pull when you go onto BFW. This could make for more immediate bankside communication between members.

But one of the things I have been reflecting on is whether FB has a structure that facilitates the sort of long lasting friendships that BFW can produce. Time will tell I guess.

One of BFW's great strengths I believe (which could perhaps be improved even further) is the ability to search the archives. I have used this countless times for reviews of rods and reels or to remind myself of threads on tactics, bait and so on. There is something of an encyclopaedia about it which I think is of enormous value, and I am not sure you can do the same on these FB pages but I could be wrong of course and just don't know how to go about it. Many subjects have been more than thoroughly debated on BFW and I am not sure you will get the depth of debate on FB because it's more about the moment, a quick burst of exchanges and then quickly onto the next thing. BFW sometimes feels more considered, with more depth and substance in the debates, but perhaps that just reflects the average age of the members!

I can also see FB being used more and more by commercial organisations pushing their tackle and bait. And why wouldn't they. But that will definitely wear me down trying to get through all of that to something worth reading and even commenting on. BFW feels a little more insulated from all of that.

I suspect FB and BFW can co-exist quite happily with an ebb and flow as sentiments and moods shift.

Well, that's what I reckon anyway.

Tied a few rigs this evening. Getting proper excited now for the 16th.
 
Hi men,

I'm on Facebook all the time , it don't work like this , even on the biggest pages , and I'm admin on one looking out for spammy adverts . Facebook is being used to much as a stealth selling tool , proper conversations drop in and out never flowing , but I love sticking pics up , keeping up with friends , etc.

Hatter
 
Maybe a "What landing net" thread would liven up the place?
 
Mark Anderson said:
Hi men,

Paul , your two threads have 2,300 + views .


Hatter
Click to expand...

As may be Hat but 2000+ view and how many posts ?.. Ive seen this get worse over the past year just look yourself .Most posters on this thread are in denial...how many regular posters does BFW have these days ,im not sure about 10 ? not a lot anyway.New members hardly post anything because the feel ignored and intimidated by BFW'S reputation ..
How many young folk post here... i don't know of any .
I know BFW is a good resource for Barbel angler's so no need for any more posts bigging up the site please ,we know this..the reason your doing that is because the site quiet and thats the way you want it, its a type of no outsiders thing.
I think the ship is slowly sinking..and needs new blood and new posters .

This is not a put down at all ,IMHO its just a reality perhaps some have not noticed yet.Saying that perhaps im missing something ?.

Please no need to take offence in any way ! I just think the site could do with a new lease of life .
 
Paul, firstly I think it's manifestly wrong to suggest that there is some desire to keep the site quiet or discourage new members from participating. That just doesn't make sense because the site would fold at some point. It's also quite natural for people to defend something they are fond of. But it seems that those that do are simply reinforcing this view of a forum controlled by a clique. Just because a small number of people make the effort to contribute doesn't make it a clique because there is no active intention to exclude or create a closed group.

I have no doubt that younger anglers use FB more but that's just a broad generational thing isn't it? FB is just a social media platform that is already embedded in the way they manage their lives. I don't think anyone is in denial about that.

I wonder what proportion of the members of those FB pages actually post and contribute and I wonder if ultimately it would be similar to what we see here. Perhaps it just reflects human nature and community culture.

I don't think you will find anyone disagreeing with you Paul that new people with new perspectives would always be a welcome injection of oxygen. And I really don't believe the regular posters here would in any way discourage that. It's just illogical.

The social board has had a very lively closed season though hasn't it? Hardly evidence of a dying forum. But if you feel strongly about this Paul and want BFW to continue and flourish then I have no doubt Andy and the team would welcome suggestions and ideas.
 
Paul, firstly I think it's manifestly wrong to suggest that there is some desire to keep the site quiet or discourage new members from participating. That just doesn't make sense because the site would fold at some point. It's also quite natural for people to defend something they are fond of. But it seems that those that do are simply reinforcing this view of a forum controlled by a clique. Just because a small number of people make the effort to contribute doesn't make it a clique because there is no active intention to exclude or create a closed group.

I did not mention the word clique Howard (someone else did) nor do i think it run by a small number of posters ..i just think its has a small number of posters and many it seems view and dont post..
But i think its a great site and thats the reason i started the thread.
But anyway so be it..and thats enough from me.
 
"Just my own personal view" I love this forum, i suppose i,m still a newbie to barbel fishing after 6/7 years. A friend of mine took me to the River Severn at Ironbridge, I was in heaven, i didn,t realise just what i had been missing. Running water, no easy catches, ( as in commercials ) . My first 5, maybe 6 visits i blanked, but i didn,t care. Just being by the river was pure bliss. I spent most of them days watching the kingfishers going about their buisness, i didn,t care if i caught or not. It was just so tranquil, an escape from the rat race of a city life. Then one day, in the middle of winter with snow falling, i had my first ever river fish, a chub, of between 5.5 and maybe 6.0lb. ( the estimate of a serious river angler and not mine ), it was the biggest chub he had ever seen on the bank. At the time, i just didn,t appreciate what i had caught, but he did. Since that day, i have had 1 red letter day. I had 8 barbel with a best of 9lb 12oz. Now, i just go to the river to enjoy the day, whether i catch or not. To me, a bad day on a river is better than a good day on a commercial. This site has proved invaluable to me. I have received some fantastic information from some fantastic members, you know who you are. I met up with a few on a fish-in on the Ribble 2 years ago. Hopefully, i,ll meet some of them again this season, thanks lads. God bless BFW, and long may she reign.
 
Hi men,

Paul , who on earth would want the site quiet :D , you can't force people to post , and people get out of the site what they want , and if that is just to look in and read posts who are we to say that's wrong ?. Still the first site I look at in the morning , normally sitting on the bog before I go to work :D , then using my pants as a phone hammock as I complete the paperwork :eek: , sorry if that paints a picture in all your minds , but I'm sure I'm not the only one ;)


Hatter
 
I agree Derek. It would seem that years ago, before you and I were involved in barbel fishing, there were a series of senseless 'barbel wars', with the problems that this forum is experiencing now being the dying throws of that ego fuelled nonsense.

I am not at all sure why so many anglers have such huge egos...perhaps to be successful in our hobby requires that? Maybe you need a mean streak to drive you on to be the recognised 'top rod'? Whatever, nasty spats, vicious rows and back stabbing seem part and parcel of our hobby, which is a terribly sad state of affairs.

It staggers me why supposedly 'like minded' individuals end up having hissy fits continuously, like school kids scrapping in a playground. The problem is that it is infectious...we all get involved now and then when those who deliberately foment trouble for their own ends start contentious threads, or post in a similar way on other folks threads.

Perhaps I have missed the point here, perhaps it is me that Is a tad strange. Perhaps the fact that I am not what I would call 'a serious angler' is what leads to my lack of understanding of this mentality. I go fishing because I love it...I go fishing to relax...I go fishing to escape from the hassle of everyday life, from the inevitable problems life presents. I don't go fishing to prove something...I feel no need to be 'top' anything. Sure, we all love catching big fish...but that is the limit of my ambitions in this hobby. The fish I catch need only be big in MY eye...they do not really need to be bigger than those caught by others, beyond the normal banter of companionable sessions.

That being so, to turn the relaxing pastime I love so much into a stressful, angst filled, long term battle with all around me....seems to me about as absurd as sticking pins in my own eyes. I have no idea what the 'barbel wars' were all about, beyond the fact that ego was the driving factor. Happily for me, I don't want to know either, it doesn't interest me. I just wish those who do want to spend their lives in a turmoil of anger and jealousy would 'ugger off and fight amongst themselves...it that's what turns you on, be my guest. But please...leave those whose only wish is to enjoy a relaxing hobby as they see fit...to do so in peace.

Boring? Sterile? Perhaps, if that is what you see us as, what you wish to label us as. I actually do not give a toss about what you think, to be brutally honest. I know it may be seen by some as very strange, but actually I shall not have TOO many problems being blissfully happy next time I am relaxing by a river or lake somewhere, enjoying my hobby and loving it for giving me exactly what I want from it. Even stranger, I doubt very much that I will be attacking or even verbally abusing anyone while that puzzlingly pleasurable session takes place.

Sad old fart I know :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
David, you silly old dos.;)

Much of what you say is true, however, despite the frequent spats (And I was involved in quite a few :rolleyes:)

What was important to me was the freedom of information that was exchanged and shared. Fish catches, bait results, techniques and even locations!:eek:

More important than that was the number of friendships that were made. I even went for a days fishing with seven of the "old BFW's a month or so ago travelling to the far North.

I have a fantastic network of pals around the country that I can fish with, have many BFW posters that became firstly guided customers and then friends also, many very good ones that still keep in touch. I can fish a multitude of waters through those friendships.

We had quite regular Fish-Ins, raising money for charity and quite a lot of exchange visits from invites. This led to more good natured banter that extended to this website.

Despite all the altercations then, I only made what I would call three long term bad relationships. Two of those people have now been banned from BFW and many other websites. A great exchange in my opinion.

Yes it has changed, but then so has fishing, as barbel became to many. the new Carp.

I would only encourage BFW's to look at asking others if they could share time fishing rivers together a bit more. I think members would be amazed how accomodating others would be.

Yes it bumbles along sometimes, then again, so does life.:D

Graham
 
I wish I could post something really meaningful but I'm too knackered from clearing river Severn pegs in preparation for the new season. This spring seems to have been really good for plant life because you can't even see the river in some places! There are loads of slugs about for chub anglers. Good luck to everyone for the new season and I look forward to meeting up again with some of my old barbelling friends.
 
oh dear, i think i have been enjoying BFW for around 14 years or so now, yeah we had plenty of smart alecs in the old days some taking the piddle too much
acting like they was special, stuck me head over the parapets LOL i stuck mine straight in the cannons barrel plenty of times but only because i believed i was right, i made more fishing mates on here than i ever made elsewhere, had some great fishins, full of banter, laughs and crazy ideas, terrific bar=b=qs, more than a few beers :D:D:D ans still managed a few fish occasionally, theres no class distinction on here, no superior attitudes and trouble makers are either diffused or dismissed, relax, facebook? yes i have a few if not more mates on there mostly bfw members where theres some fun exchanges and posts which are a bit too non suitable for bfw but all very friendly and jokey stuff but
facebook wont take anything away from bfw, theres very little secrecy on here although some think otherwise, clicky clicks NAH! its just maybe members who become close friends and can post in such a way that others think it clicky but no, its guys knowing each other well ect.
if people get theirselves banned trust me its not instant single matters and you,ll find its very studied befrore that action, i am just yer ordinary member
without inside info or stuff, all this is what i found to be true over the years, unfortunately just as my business left me with more time on my hands my health made up for the workload reduction and i find i have either r both not enough energy or physical capability a lot of the time to get out fishing these days, long gone are the days where i would stop work for a few months to go fishing but but bfw brings fishing to me via the boards ect,
remember we are deep in the close season and the lethargy has set in at moment, the spark will brighten up on bfw once the rivers are ours again:)
 
Hi Graham, 'ow biz chap :D

Went fishing in the far north :eek: How on earth did you cope? I can't cope with all my gear now...if I had to add passport, snow shoes, ice saws, bear scarer's and a phrase book to understand the locals, I would never make it! Or did you not get as far as Yorkshire :p

(Only joking lads...besides, I am protected from spiteful retaliation by my pensioner status :D:D:D)

All the best Graham,

Dave.
 
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