It was a lot of fun beating up on Bernie at Practical Backpacking, but we need to thank our own moderators for their participation.

Our moderators lead by example and help us all become contributing members of our e-community.

Thank you, Moderators!!!!

The mods make this place what it is. I lurked un-signed up for a long time here. Compared to BPL and others this place seemed a lot more normal [1], so I gave up and started participating.


[1] for small values of normal <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I agree. The information content is high here at BPL, mostly because the level of bickering, distractions and off-topic rambling is kept under control by the mods. When people are always courteous, their exchanges can be more fruitful.

I have moderated a mail list for more than 10 years now... it is an extraordinarily difficult job to create an environment where people want to maintain a civil atmosphere, yet feel comfortable being silly sometimes too. I commend Charles for setting the tone early, and the rest of the mods for working so hard to maintain the sense of community with gentle guidance rather than heavy-handed rules. And thanks to the forum members who recognize that this is a great place for alot of different reasons.

MNS

I'm with MNS, Charles sets the right tone here and the rest of us just follow. One thing that makes TLB civil is the number of "experienced" members who see no point in personal attacks on other people just because they disagree with them.

I post on a few other boards and to a certain extent, they all share this quality.

As a moderator, I know it makes our job easier when the members themselves exercise a certain amount of self-restraint. Even the OT forum is pretty mild, so I appreciate the members' attitude as well.

Also, thanks to members (you know who you are) who contact us when something looks amiss. That is also a big help.

I agree. This board is special, and it's not because of the software <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yes, thanks for this forum. Even though I know everything, I learned it all from this forum. What fun reading and sometimes chiming in with bits and pieces deep within my obsessed mind. BTW im the master of none. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, I have to agree, this board is now one of my favorites. Most of the others I use are Perl programming boards so their not really what you'd call fun, but I've gotten a bit put-off over the years when a few members beat up on someone for minor transgressions.

My first post here was deleted and I was pretty disappointed about that. I wrote one of the moderators and asked about it and the discussion that ensued was very friendly and welcoming. I think it was TomD I conversed with. Anyway, I was invited to re-post with just a minor change which was a reasonable request. After years of watching heads get hammered over at the Perl boards I can tell you it was a refreshing change.

As a final note, I've watched the participation dwindle to almost nothing over at those once busy Perl message boards. It's to bad too, there were a lot of brilliant people that came there with high hopes of sharing and left all bruised up.

So, Thank you, and keep up the good work!

Bill

Yes, thank you. This is my favorite board.
-Barry

I heartly agree the Moderators make it fun to participate here; and Charles/Packlite has made it all possible through his work over the years <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Not a week goes by that I don't learn something new here by reading others posts <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Ok, sometimes I'm a bit much <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> but most of you get my dry humor in my posts/replies <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Come on, Perl is basically just fun and giggles. Try hanging out with C programmers for a while <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Bill, I recall that issue and I am glad we resolved it amicably. I appreciate your understanding.

One of the things I like about this board is that we have people from all over the country and a few members from other countries. We even have a new member from Russia, which is great.

Plus, we have our Canadian friends to remind us how much some of us down here are wussies when it comes to cold weather. Those guys think 0F in winter is a heat wave. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, but as Tom mentions, the job is pretty easy when the other members are solid citizens. We try to keep hands off as much as possible, and when we do get involved, it's usually pretty mellow.

I pity the mods on Whiteblaze. When they pull an outrageous thread that wouldn't have gotten off it's hind legs here, many hurl incredible insults and aspersions about censorship. We're just lucky here I guess. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The worst message board I ever got involved with was one of the anti-spammer boards. Those guys were vicious.

Years ago I had a server that was added to a boycott list or something like that. They took a huge range of IP addresses and added them to a list of servers to be blocked and I started seeing some email get bounced back.

I wrote to find out more about it, why this server was included on the list, and what I could do to get it removed. Man, they practically torched me for sleeping with the enemy. Those guys were brutal. Everyone on the list but me was totally anonymous and most all of them crafted insults with an incredible degree of skill and quality. After wading through the replies there was one that stood out as reasonable and I only replied to them. Even my replies to him were flamed by the others. I'm telling you I took some heat over there. I got a message after a few days saying it would all be resolved soon and it indeed it was. I never went close to that joint again.

I think they may have settled down a bit since then, but I felt like I had a thousand guns pointed at me there for awhile. The perl boards are like a walk with Miss Manners compared to those guys.

No doubt the real bit-heads are the C programmers. I bet you see some real obfuscated fulminations being cast about on their message boards. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Bill

Lucky, yes, but I think most of it is due to the hard work you guys do at keeping this place civil. You all lead by example, and that helps a lot. And when problems do occasionally arise, you handle it very well.

So, thanks! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

This forum is always the 1st BPing forum I go to for my daily dose. I like it's members and the lighthanded moderators who let me get away with the occasional "-----!".
Thanks again moderators. Youse is good guys!

Eric

Actually, no we don't; not on purpose anyway.

I have only been on this forum for a about a week now, but I can already see that there is first-class moderators here with very good people posting on this board. I think I will enjoy being on this forum for a long time.

I agree--great board and great mods!

This site bears most of the responsibility for my being able to take up backpacking again, after a knee injury (20 years ago next month) which left me able to hike but unable to carry 40-50 pound packs. I will be grateful for that as long as I live!

It's the lead by example part that makes me nervous. But thanks anyway guys, this is an excellent forum, and it feels like family here. I greatly appreciate your efforts. It can get lonely down here in Old Mexico and I really need you guys... NOT! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Brum