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Are we elitists?

11K views 102 replies 62 participants last post by  mad_machine 
#1 ·
Our system sends out reminder notices to people who joined Sailnet but have not visited the site for 90 days.

Today I received this response to one of those reminders...

I removed their name to protect their identity.

Perhaps we should have a welcoming committee because we certainly want to make everyone feel welcome here regardless of their level of knowledge, sailing experience, etc.

I DO NOT think this person is being overly sensitive at all and take his observations very seriously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello,

I am going to take a chance and reply to this reminder. I'm not sure if this is an automated message.

I have left SailNet primarily because not one person welcomed me to the community when I introduced myself. I tried and tried to welcome others who were new and received a few nice responses. However, I found out that the rest of this particular community are not very welcoming to folks who are new nor are they very friendly. It appeared to me that unless you are a liveaboard circumnavigator, you aren't worth the time and effort. That said, I think there is a lot of good information at your site but I just could not continue going to such an unfriendly place.

Regards ~ xxxxx (xxxxxx)
 
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#66 ·
This is one of the most open welcoming and balanced sites I have found. Yes there are some very snobby, one sided, ultra right wing sites, where only elitist, right wing, pro consumerism posts are allowed, and offering "out of the box thinking" style solutions to the not so rich can get you banned ( Cruisers forum, anything sailing .com, boat design.net, etc, etc) but this is anything but. There is a wide spectrum of philosophies and ways of thinking here with some brilliant postings. I don't know why I wasted so much time on those other sites, I wouldn't recommend anyone seeking solutions there, being as they are usually dominated by the hecklers veto, by people who don't have much in the way of experience or ideas.
No, you wont find many sites as open as this one.
 
#72 · (Edited)
Are you kidding me. I have not found that true at other forums such as Cruiser Forum and Anything Sailing forum at all. If you didnt fit in there instead of blaming other on those forums look in your full length mirror. You experience there may have been a political one.

There is no need to cast aspersions on the other forums as most of them are very informative and promote commradiere and sailing. Each forum has its own bend and personalitity.

One thing I like about SN is the ability to have a piece of the kingdom for the Chesapeake seperately. It enables us and enhances our ability to meet in person. Thats takes the SN experience to another level.

I post more on SN because I have more friends who I have met here and the Chesapeake region is strong here. There is room for us to have our little piece of the empire where we post where we are going for each weekend and share local experiences there. Other forums dont provide that.

A lot of us have met in person in the Destinations... Chesapeake "room" part of the forum and SN setup provides for that experience. It is easier to pass knowledge about marinas and such as well as help each other. It is easier for us to meet for raft ups, dinners, breakfasts, boat shows and rondevous. This allows the SN experience to be not just an Internet one but a personal one too. I see it with the LI sailors sometimes as well as the PN sailors too. It seems like our group here on the Chesapeake is very active and commited in terms of getting together and hanging out and like each others company. In this group ( Chesapeake) we have many personalities ( me included), some old timesers with many posts, some newbeeis. All are embraced. Hell we even have Restaurant spreadsheet where all of us put our opinions for cruising and traveling which is very impressive and extensive. We had a wonderfull photoshoot 4 years ago by one of us and the pictures were spectacular.

This is not meant as a snooty, competition or boasting, merely to explain what has happened in the Chesapeake region of Sailnet to make it a success and extended the Sailnet experience. A lot of the memebers in this region have taken a very active role in SN and in this area in terms of getting people together in meetings, raft ups, Rondevous, etc., legislative action, the restaurant spreadsheet, warnings to marineers etc. That commitment to actually do some of the organizing work has lead to the suceess as well as the amount of people we seem to get to participate. I dont want to mention names here for fear of leaving someone out so I wont. And people keep stepping up here. We also have two SN moderators here, but really most of the leading has been done by the individual members which is important ( No disrespect meant to Jeff and Donna).

So looking at the SNers I see here, I dont see any elitists, far from it.

Dave
 
#71 ·
I challenged someone who suggested that the commercially made product was the only way to go, and ridiculed anyone building their own, far superior gear. I was banned, he wasn't. That's what happened , rendering the site totally useless for anyone seeking more affordable gear or "thinking outside the box" solutions. That individual continues to render that site useless, by overuse of his "Hecklers veto"

Friends have told me they totally agree with me on this point.
 
#68 ·
Well over the years I've been a member of quite a few internet fora on various subjects, and this one has to be one of the friendliest and has one of the greatest degrees of expertise.

However I've also come to learn that on the internet, some people can be ruder than they would be otherwise. It's a well known feature of the internet, and of non-face to face communication in general. Shrug it off and don't worry about it.
 
#69 ·
Good point on the face-to-face aspect. If everyone responded as if they were face-to-face, a lot of the snarly behavior would cease.
 
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#76 · (Edited)
I was never welcomed here but it is far from elitist.This is one of my favourite forums. Anything-Sailing is strictly Alex's fan club. He left here because he didn't get the recognition that he required. Too many one sided discussions over there. Now, I'll probably be banned from Anything-Sailing but I really don't care. I basically lost complete interest in that forum when Smack got kicked off. I didn't think that it was fair at the time.
 
#77 ·
I'm thankful to have found this place. I got very few welcomes, but don't care. The information I've gleaned from this site is invaluable. I've learned tons and I've developed an almost fearful respect for the sport. That's a good thing. Just need to gain a little more confidence and experience. Just wish I would have started this endeavor a decade earlier.

Thank you Sailnet.
 
#80 ·
I posted instructions on anything sailing on how to build sheet blocks for under $2 each, which are far stronger and more reliable than the moist expensive blocks on the market. For trying to help people out in that way ,I was vehemently attacked by those who told me that a block made of much lighter material was automatically much stronger if it had a commercial brand name on it. I was banned, but those attacking me for offering affordable solutions are still there, poisoning the site. Don't go there trying to help make boating more affordable for cruisers. That is not allowed there.
 
#94 ·
I'll PM you my address for that cheque ;)... and you're welcome!:)
 
#95 ·
Another forum I post on require ALL new sr members to send ALL the other current sr members $25, $50 to murderators, and $100 to admin....nothing to supposid "good looking mods with ugly dogs!" So when some announce they are new SR members......well anyway.....kinda almost as bad as the SA welcome.......some are pretty good a Smart Asset answers too.

Marty
 
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