If I'm going to make something that might be life-or-death decision, then I'm not going to base that off a single point of reference. Be that an online forum, a book, or whatever. I gather information from multiple places and I COME TO MY OWN DECISION. I alone am responsible for what I choose to do.

I love reading posts about the latest stove review, or "how do you like this compass?", or "what do you have in your BOB?", etc. Tons of good info and experience there.

But for threads like "What is the best way to defend against bears?", well, that is more of a discussion that might be fun to participate in than a source of the end-all of information. I doubt ANYBODY here has had enough personal experience fending off bears to have "the answer". Most of us have seen a bear once or twice - in a zoo. My wife and I ran into a pair of 3 year old grizzly twins in Yellowstone decades ago, my wife took their picture and we left. But nobody is going to believe that a Nikon is the best bear defense based on my personal experience. So just because somebody recommends "give up your gun and get bear spray" or "give up your bear spray and get a gun" does not mean that I'm going to run right out and follow that advice. That's just one persons opinion, valuable for what it is - an opinion, but not the final word of discussion on the topic.

FWIW, I think that the vast majority of what is said on this forum comes from the heart with good intentions, and is a wealth of very good information. And I can read the words that are written and MAKE MY OWN DETERMINATION that the person writing them is an intelligent human being with good intentions who would probably make a very good friend to socialize with if we lived closer together.

If you want a cold, hard, "Just the facts" Joe Friday presentation, go buy a book instead. And hope that you bought a credible book with good information, and not one simply designed to get the author fame or money.