Greetings,

Hopefully, this won't come across as too ingratiating or cloying, but I'll take the risk to express it:

I'm an occasional visitor to a lot of forums (Backpacker Magazine, CandlePower, BladeForums, MartialArtsPlanet). I enjoy all those forums, but it occurs to me that the group of folks that post on ETS are perhaps the most mature, thoughtful, and articulate group I encounter. Perhaps this is reflective of the type of folks who value the philosophy of preparedness.

I like to think of this forum as a "think tank" or "incubator" for new ideas and concepts. Almost all conversations seem to kindle and extinguish themselves appropriatley so there is no rampant beating of dead horses.

There is also no sniping, flaming, or baiting which is a nice change from other forums I used to go to.

Finally, there is a nice sense of internationalism here so we get to look at things from a global perspective.

Chris

good points, its only on the odd ocasion that you come across the dreaded ***post deleted by...*** that seems to happen all to often on other forums, maybe, the administrators/moderators here are more leinent/world wise/sensible and see reasonable arguments for what they are. response chris, doug?

Everybody makes dumb online comments, myself included. If I deleted every off color remark or word there would be precious little left. I see little merit in flame wars online. The most reasoned,articulate, referenced comment is usually rebuffed with simple emotion. The web is a funny place. People go online and say things they never would face to face. It's like seeing a car tear out of a company parking lot at 5 P.M. The poor guy has been pummeled by customers and supervisors all day. Lord have mercy on the other drivers; good,bad or indifferent. The website groundrules are pretty simple. I've only had to bann one user, seen a few leave on bad terms and grovelled at the cyber feet of others to please come back. Most of what we discuss here comes down to individual choices. What you choose for a knife,crawl into at night or use to start a fire isn't going to affect me in the morning.

I do totally agree with your post

The same subjects are often covered in many posts, over and over, in time, but some posts are real eyes openers (SP ?)
So many questions I had never thought about .... so many subjects I had no idea how interesting they could be !
.... and I also want to thank the poster who recommended Louis OWEN books.
So far, I have read Bone Game and The Sharpest Sight.
Excellent !


Alain

IMHO, part of the reason is that this forum deals with a broad spectrum of disciplines. And it's not just focused upon tools or gear. The most important tool for survival is our brain, the ability blend experience and creativity and adapt that skill under a wide variety of circumstances. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think that a clearly stated mission for the forum and a really good policy on what the topic is not combined with a remarkable level of self- policing is the reason for the success here. The example of Chris K's posts helping guide the topics and deflect the potential flames before they start is followed by many of the veterans and old-hands on the board. It is rare that anyone expresses outrage at anothers post or otherwise rises to potential flame-bait. It is equally rare that such outrageous - flame-bait posts go without response. I have read many really good threads here that were started by a thoughtful, polite, reasoned, serious and on-topic response to what might have seemed to be a flippant flame-bait post or reply. That is certainly a skill which is rare anywhere and we should value the example that Chris provides us to follow and all of those veterans here who apply the same skill as needed when Chris K. is absent for a day or two (perhaps out testing those fishing kits <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ).

My thanks to all here for providing a comfortable place for me to waste my time while I am waiting for the boss to fire me for surfing the net instead of working.

Robert,

You helped make my day, week, month, year... When I started this forum it was based on the concept that had proven itself at AVSIG which is the Compuserve Aviation forum that is one of the oldest online forums in existence, one I have been involved in since before there was an Internet, or AOL, or the raucous newsgroups or the Web. It was, and continues to be a success because it had simple rules based on mutual respect and everyone respected those rules, which is what a civilized society is all about. That's what I wanted, hoped, would develop here. With a reasonable foundation and framework I hoped a community would grow, people become friends and eventually almost family. It is an environment that provides someplace where persons of all persuasions can gather and hold civil discourse and, most importantly, learn. This little neighborhood in cyberspace is developing its own community, a diverse group with some common interests. It is exactly what Ii hoped would occur, proof that the Web doesn't have to be anarchy. It attracts the "right kind of people" because the others move on when they find they cannot disrupt the community. It's you all who make that happen, you all who have decided how this community will behave. We can guide, but we cannot control.

Lots of credit is also due Chris for staying on top of things; I don't have the time and would likely have had to shut it down were it not for his willingness to shepard things along with what has been, for the most part, a wise and gentle hand, which is exactly what is needed. We're not perfect, but we strive to maintain an even keel so that everyone can benefit from the free exchange of information. We have seen that people can agree to disagree without getting nasty, a lesson many could stand to learn.

Thanks again for your kind words.