You've got a point there. But OTOH I doubt that anyone hasnt got unused equipment lying around which for others might provide is a whole enrichment. Im talking about rucksacks, coats, billy cans, sets of buckles, carabiners etc. Anything not too valuable.
If we would do it on a swapping basis only, preferable done on the most part via PM then it might work.
Although I do understand the complications. Trust being the main one, but I've gotten more than enjoyable experiences with buying gear of people who are members here.
Reinhardt

Joblot:

I'm thinking items we would use relative to our members needs.

You could exclude things like knives and premade survival kits that Doug sells, or put certain restrictions or tariffs on items that may compete with the foundations sales.

You can only sell so many Sebrenza's , RSK Mk 1's, and pocket survival packs. Other items like tents, stakes, boats, motors, backpacks, stoves, non-competeing knives, guns (shipped only through proper licensed channels.), hats, coats, hammocks, and whatever fits within this sites stated parameters would add to the coffers of the foundation, without requiring the maintaining of inventory, and only requiring the pass through of funds that the foundation would take a percentage of.

If you know the foundation is getting 15% for all items and you want a dollar for something, price it at $1.18 plus shipping. The foundation takes the $.18 cents, sends the dollar and the shipping amount to the seller and the seller ships directly to the buyer.

Of course it would be silly to get involved for small items like that, so there would have to be a minimum purchase amount, or a minimum transaction charge.

The volume would not be that great and "Greta" the cosmetics salesperson would not waste their time for the likes of us if their product does not move.

Bountyhunter

Thanks bounty, I was gonna let it go, but it's nice to see somebody else caught it too <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

Slightly shocking,buddy, but I can follow your logic...OK, sounds good to me <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

Doug,

Hi,

I regularly enter the forum via the Main Index through the "View recent messages [for the] past 7 days" entrance. I then read the posts in chronological order from where I previously stopped. I do not need to enter the Survival or Campfire forums separately. This form is extremely user friendly. Whatever changes are made, please do not alter this very easy to use design. The separate sections of Campfire and Survival need only be noticed when starting a thread.

I do believe we (including me) need to be more self-disciplined in not letting thread wander from the original title. Starting a new thread is just not that hard when the topic evolves. That would probably make the forum more useful for your purposes.

Incidentally, a 14 or 30 day button would be a wonderful help. When one is busy or away for more than a week, catching up can be a tedious process.

This is by far my favorite forum on the Internet. It is very civil and user friendly. It offers a variety and diversity of knowledgeable opinions.

Thanks for making it available.

John

Hi y'all.
Been reading the forum for a couple months now. Sounds like a good bunch of folks with varied experiences and lots of helpful ideas. Time for me to sign on. First post . . . we'll see how I do.
My thoughts on adding sections stem from the four main categories for survival - shelter, fire, water, food. Maybe someone else can "pretty up" the names, but these seem like a place to start.
Thanks for the great forum !

"Wilderness Survival
Urban Survival
First Aid
Tools & Gear
Around The Campfire"

I agree that this is a very sensible list. I might make it "Wilderness Survival/Primitive Skills", but that's about all.

As far as guns go, I think they should remain a valid topic for this forum under the "Tools and Gear" heading. For many of us they are a vital part of our survival planning. If a thread begins to stray away from guns and into politics then lock it, or better yet, warn or ban the first offender. Problem solved.

Regards, Vince

The more I read the replies, the more worried that I no longer will be able to take the time to read through all the subsections.

My vote is that you always include an "all posts" option, so those of us interested in everything, pretty much like it is now.

I'm going to chime in again on this one.

I proposed the "Deals" section (good buys that folks find), so obviously I'm in favor of that idea.

I would prefer that it were considered (and implemented, if it comes to it) separately from a "Buy/Sell/Trade" section, though. The concepts are VERY different, and since all the flashlight and knife forums already have "For Sale" section, I suspect the moderators may have their reasons for not wanting to do that. Just a guess- I'd personally like to see it.

For whatever it's worth, I think we may have lost track of one of the important criteria for a new section- distinctiveness. We don't want people confused, agonizing for hours, or worse, arguing, as to where a new thread belongs.

For that reason, sections like "equipment" strike me as a bad idea. How many of our posts DON'T involve "equipment" at all? I'm also dubious about a separate section for "youth" survival- the survival problems they face are not much different than anyone else does, and it seems to me that it's just going to add redundancy, confusion, and to people missing subjects of interest.

The ideas that seem promising to me, because they are distinct enough, are a section for "Urban(/Suburban)" which is an increasing concern for a lot of us in these days, and has surprisingly little overlap with "Wilderness", and perhaps "Medical", though it might not then be clear where, say, a thread about hypothermia fits in.

The "For Sale" and "Deals" section ideas are clearly distinct in intent from anything else on the forum (like the Lending Library is now), but I feel that they are also quite distinct from each other.

I'm fairly disgusted with forums in general right now (not because of anything going on here), and I can feel one of my hibernation periods coming on, so I'll crawl back in my hole now...

Fire & signal
Medical
Survival Skills (General)
Equipment
Shopping