Typical Trail Talk Day

“I have been thinking about what SteveHiker said about how this place changed before he bugged out.

While I like the diversity of conversation and certainly wouldn't want this to become like the other site, I am beginning to see what he was talking about.

At typical gear thread here might get 50 to 75 posts. A trip report is good to get 50 posts.

However a good troll thread will be 250 strong in a heartbeat.

I am beginning to notice a lot of good TT'ers posting less and less. No names mentioned, but I am seeing fewere and fewer of their posts.

SteveHiker seems to have seen the handwriting on the wall, but it is a shame he bailed. I miss some of the old TT'ers who seemed to get the maximum quality mileage with each post.

Just my casual observations.”

“cottonsocks riped ya a new did she?

j/k”

“SteveHiker?? i thought he said it didn't have to do with trolls, gear threads and all that. i think what happened was, the voices in his head finally got to him!”

“LOL @ Maple!

Hey, you start any of those books I sent ya?”

“I see Steve Hiker posting to the Trail Forums boards occaisionally. I assume it's the same guy, anyway.

Some people handle the chaff better than others.

You forgot political threads, chili, although their popularity seems to have dwindled recently.”

“No, lyra. I don't think it was trolls, etc, per se, I think just the overall number and type of threads sort of wore him down.

Look through the archives at the threads. Compare them to those more current. I see a difference.”

“Acutally, bp, the topic of the thread to me is far less important that the thought process it invokes.

May just be me, but things seem to be much more "shallow" now.

Of course, all of this is IMHO.”

“All discourse eventually settles to the lowest common denominator...”

“well before anyone says anything to ME,
I am awear of my threads. I try to have fun and I try to make people smile.

this thread will bring the dead to life.

let the good times roll.
enough said.”

“Yep, bp, I reckin' you are right.”

“This place will never be like the other site...we hike and don't start threads like "what is your favorite color in the rainbow". I started out on the other site and I still post there, but I think a majority of people there don't backpack...they just talk about it. Granted that's not everyone as there are a few that do backpack. The appeal of this site is that it's like a big backpacking family. We hike, we hike often, and we hike in groups. I like it that you are considered a troll until you do a TT hike. Knowing that the people here hike and get along, I trust the opinions on this site more. I even trust the opinions of the people I haven't met simply because if you look at the "who have you met list" then someone I have met has met that person. So there is an implied trust. The other site will never have a setting like us.”

“chili, I tend to agree with you and I have only been on a couple of yrs. I know when I first started and asking questions people would repsond with good answers. Now days you ask a question you are told to go search for it instead of people trying to help out or your accused of being a troll.”

“Yes, ewker, I think you are right. And good ole' debates used to really cause me to stop and listen. Now it is more like a rock throwing contest. After the first few minutes, you seem to lose interest.”

“Your wrong about the other site...IMO. Each site offers it's own thing. A backpacker is a backpacker no matter what site they peruse. I actually find it easier to find more local hikes at the other site than I do here. That's important to someone that can't just pick up, buy a plane ticket and go.”

“I learned a lot by people posting about the advantages or disadvantages of a piece of gear. I am still debating about using a tarp so I usually go back and pull up the old threads. Lots of good information there.”

“It's good when people search the forum first before asking a question on a tent, etc. This makes it easier to find quality information when you need it. If the information you're looking for isn't in a thread then add to that thread instead of starting a new one. This make the data more organized and you have to do less searching. When I've posted to a former thread, like on bivies, I've found that I get more responses then if I started a new thread. The problem with the other site if you search "Stove" you get a max 50 useless results as the topic has been created far too many times.”

“I have dicussed backpacking and the other site several times on my TT trips with several people. For instance, go over and look at the TC3 thread on bp.com...how many people responded to this event? I think it got 11 replies--pathetic. Even though they were invited, no one showed up from over there. On the AT hike I just did with Maple, Scorch, and the others--I posted an invitation over there. We had one show up and that's typical. Both hikes I've planned (pre-Oskar) had some interest and then in the end only one showed up. It's good that you can find local hikes there and it works for you...but I've given up on that site for finding hiking partners or trips. TT is far more organized and the trips I have been on from this site have been a ton of fun. I really look forward to them”

“ditto Chili, ditto.”

“I don't see what's so terribly different, chili. Of course you can point out the particulars that are new or have changed, but the low-brow atmosphere is largely the same. This board was never dominated by bacpacking threads, and the philosophical discussions are just as lame as they ever were. Perhaps it's you who's changed?”

“Could be Mutt and I thought maybe it was,,,until I began to read the threads in the archive.”

“DEAD # 1”

“show me an example, chili.”

“I am too new to judge the past against the present, but this site is much better than the "other" site. Too many "sanctimonius nitwits" over there! The only problem I have here is everyone seems to know everyone else, so some comments are indecipherable, like when someone told me recently that "bacpac has a new friend"(in me). Since I am not familiar with bacpac's body of work, I don't know what was meant by that. It is taking a long time to get my "sea legs" here, but it seems worth it. I frequent a local site for my area, nwhikers.net, but I like this site for the national perspective and the high activity level. I will be hanging around here quite a bit, and going hiking and backpacking with anyone who's willing. Fair warning!LOL”

“I don't mean to offend anyone...just defending some really great ppl at bp.com. And I would never say that the ppl here aren't a ton of fun...or I wouldn't be here :-)”

“Chili, are you referring to some of the former masterpieces of backpacking lore like 'Dick munching Crack Babies' or something like that? Didn't read it, but I bet it contained a lot of intelligent debate!”

“Dang, I tried to have such an intelligent troll 2 weeks back.

I think 3 things are going on here:
(1) When I first started it was a much smaller group and you had the "intimacy" of a small group.

(2) All-in-all we have a pretty high % of regulars who stay, as compared to other boards. A certain amount of turn over is inevitible. We can only discuss the same thing over and over. I pretty much know how you, strat, V, Tilt, arc, ped, bacpac, phaedrus, or any number of other folks think about different situations. This group has sort of become comfortable in its own skin, you might say.

(3) We don't have enough newbies stay really long. Look at Buck, for example, he really made a splash but where is he now? He actually had some good points in his goofy sorta way, but he only stayed maybe 6 weeks.

Just my opinion.”

“Chili, look at these numbers:

Blair Witch Trip Report Thread 193 posts

”

“I tend to agree with chili36 on many aspects of his comment. With that being said, the people I have met from this site have been some of the nicest and most generous I've known. I love TrailTalk.

I think what gets me is how much more often I am logging in only to find flirting and innuendo threads (granted I participate at times) and nothing of substance to spark interest.”

“chili - another thing, my email is goofed up. I can email out, but not receive. If you're trying to answer my email and it bounces then that's why. Internet translation: I pitch but don't catch.”

“I think what chili is really get at, and what I've long suspected myself, is that I ruined Trail Talk.”

“I had to unignore you to find your link was wrong! This is the kind of crap that drove stevehiker away!”

“dhutch is friggin' totally HOT!”

“Buddha, I can't believe your candy a$$ isn't showing up to Savage Gulf. What kind of hiker are you?”

“Crap...I was trying to make a point by showing that some trip report threads like TC3 (220 posts) and Blair Witch (190+) posts get a lot of response. And then the multiple use gear thread I started got quite a few as well. I messed up on the links but that's what I was linking too.”

“I like that post, Thebackpacker.com 1, backpacker.com 0...I don't remember reading that post over there but it was probably deleted. Good one.”

“yeah, i've been thinking that Trail Talk hasn't been fulfilling all my basic and spiritual needs lately. all of you, go figure out the meaning of life for me...and bake me some cookies and get me a beer!”

“It's a day-to-day thing, I think. There are times when this site drags, but when you hit a real hot thread, either comical or political, most people on this site can rock and roll with the best of them.
Now, a good gear thread....there's an idea. HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa......”

“I'm 3 for 3 in bailing on trips in the past month. I now have been bestowed with "caucus" responsibilities at work, and have to conduct a meeting for the Political Co-oridiantors that I'm leading on Friday at 4:00.

I blame all of this on Bush, if he wasn't such a moron, I wouldn't have to do all this crap.

I'll miss ya jiminy!”

“so BB why didnt you reply to me email?”

“yeah, i've been thinking that Trail Talk hasn't been fulfilling all my basic and spiritual needs lately. all of you, go figure out the meaning of life for me...and bake me some cookies and get me a beer!"
lyra
02:24:53 PM
01/12/04

Replace Trail Talk with Tarp Rat.

If this is the case, and with Aero and Tilt's permission, I volunteer to remedy the situation for you Lyra.”

“This is one of the largest threads on the other site 367 posts and it concerns "a fable on the equal distribution of wealth" See it by clicking here

Then check out the number of responses in the Trailhead Register and the Gear Forum over there...the threads get very few responses...way less than what we get here. The most responses in one actual gear thread there in the last few days...16.”

“I didn't reply to your email because you annoy me beyond all barriers of my personal tolerance for annoyances. Don't worry, you aren't alone.”

“Chili, you missing the "Leftover Smegma" thread? We can pull it back, (get it??????), up for you.”

“no biggie to me. your just a hypocrite”

“Mapleleaf is one of the coolest people I've hiked with and it would have never have happened on the other site. Thank Matt for TT.”

“LMAO, Buddha! yeah, Tarpy as well has been lax in the baking department. i'm just being facetious!”

“jiminy? I had a real troll and you missed it. 2 threads, 300 posts in 2 days. I'm not up to your high level of accomplishment, but I'm gaining.”

“AND, i'm not Tilt's OR Aero's b-tch!

b-tch! ;-P”

“I have never trolled. However, I have lived as Lizs for an afternoon. Them were the days.....”