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Depending on what threads the person read, it is very possible (s)he read some of our less flattering “debate” posts. If I were to come here and read those first I would question why to sign up as well.
These forums have so much potential but are too often used to argue rather than inform.
Never once have I seen anyone in this forum be anything other than polite and welcoming to any new person with a legitimate question.
Personality conflicts are bound to arise within any large group and sometimes that happens in some of the debates going on. But a few controversial threads shouldn’t be the basis of judgement on the entire forum.
If your friend wants to see some real abuse, send him over to the GC.com forums….
So agreeable (to Lostby7’s comment)! I actually have been trying to stay out of the forums and actually have gone as far as to delete the WGA from my favorites listing. I only come on here now when someone mentions something to me or I want to see if anyone has milestoned lately so I can pass on my accolades.
I don’t agree with everything that is written on here (the forums) and realize that people are entitled to their own opinion and beliefs. It is unfortunate, however, that this idea/thought is lost on some members. Cachers that are new and come to the forums and are hammered by rude comments and also can see attacks made from one cacher to the other. Personal grudges or dislikes are played out like a soap opera on these forums.
I guess my question to the WGA is: what is the purpose of these forums? Are these forums staying on track of the purpose of having them? All I see and hear are members leaving and/or not participating because of the afore mentioned. It’s unfortunate because if they stop coming to the WGA website variety leaves, objectivity and creativity partially leave, and then….
Well you get the picture.
(edited to note agreement with comment by LostBy7 since another post landed inbetween in the thread)[This message has been edited by Bushwhacking Queen (edited 03-08-2006).]
Participation in geocaching in Wisconsin and participation in the Wisconsin Geocaching Association are separate entities. Plenty of people are Wisconsin geocachers and have never visited the forums. This is just something that may or may not enhance your experience of geocaching in Wisconsin.
Compared to some of the other geocaching forums I have read, yes, Wisconsin is quite mild.
One thing I always keep in mind when I encounter anyone who doesn’t behave the way I would like: the only behavior you can change is your own. Don’t try to change others — it just won’t work. What can you do to make your experience more pleasant?
For some, it’s not reading a particular forum, forum section, or posts by a particular person. For some it’s just leaving the forums all together.
Ask yourself: Am I getting what I expect from this experience? If so, welcome to this little slice of life we call . If not, maybe it’s not the right experience for you.
(And I mean that in all life matters and am by no means telling anyone that they should or should not participate in these forums. It’s just the topic at hand here.)Russell, You recommended this site to someone — therefore it is beneficial for you and you have positive feelings about it. Great! And that someone did not feel that this is the place that will be a positive experience for him/her. That’s great too — I highly respect people’s right to their opinion. Perhaps you could email the person back and share what you like about the forums and how it has benefited you. Your positive feedback may change their perspective (if they are open to changing it, that is. You can’t force the issue if they have formed a permanent decision).
I’m getting way too “self-help book” aren’t I? Okay, whatever. I’m done for now!
Smile!
Bec(edit to change one tiny typo — and I thought I was doing well on this one! Drat!)
[This message has been edited by greyhounder (edited 03-08-2006).]
Greyhounder, the WGA membership showed how intelligent it is by electing you to the board. Great post.
quote:
Originally posted by greyhounder:
One thing I always keep in mind when I encounter anyone who doesn’t behave the way I would like: the only behavior you can change is your own. Don’t try to change others — it just won’t work. What can you do to make your experience more pleasant?
I highly respect people’s right to their opinion. Perhaps you could email the person back and share what you like about the forums and how it has benefited you. Your positive feedback may change their perspective (if they are open to changing it, that it. You can’t force the issue if they have formed a permanent decision).
I’m getting way too “self-help book” aren’t I? Okay, whatever. I’m done for now!
Smile!
BecHey Bec!! GREAT points you have there and all very true. I, too, respect individuals opinions, but the problems arises when you get attacked for making your own opinions, which then can reflect negatively on the forum. Newbies come in…see b_tching & back stabbing in the forums and and it can turn them away. It has done that with veteren WGAers also. I agree… have an issue, please feel free to e-mail me and leave it OUT of the forum. A big problem with writing in a forum, or on a messenger program or even an e-mail, is that people tend to take comments wrong, because the person leaving it isn’t there to actualy hear and explain if there are questions. {Hope that makes sense}
Getting back to the “joining into the WGA” issue, whether there are things we personally LIKE or DISLIKE, I would say it is best to suggest to a newbie, to “take the site for a test drive for a while”. If they like it, they like it and stay, if they don’t like it they can always leave!! RIGHT???
I would have to say that it is up to each of us, as ACTIVE members of the WGA, to promote a POSITIVE and informative experience and to DROP the scarasm and the 3 B’s!!
My 2 cents for the nite!
[This message has been edited by Cache_boppin_BunnyFuFu (edited 03-08-2006).]
There is a certain protocol for posting in these forums. Some people get it. Many others don’t.
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Originally posted by Green Bay Paddlers:
There is a certain protocol for posting in these forums. Some people get it. Many others don’t.Ya got THAT one right GBPaddlers!!
And…. how dare we moderate the boards.
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Originally posted by GrouseTales:
And…. how dare we moderate the boards.Moderation is a good thing: in eating in exercising and in guiding forums, but you would think it wouldn’t be necessary if people would be more mature while utilizing the forum. I know I know.. freedom of speach! Can’t contol it.
This is a place for “DISCUSSION” and we all need to remember that…not a place to nag and back-stab over comments made by others.
If I were new to this forum or to a forum in general and read through some of the threads and saw how SOME people {Not ALL} treat others comments, I’d High-tail it right outta here!!
There is enough negativity in the world. It would be nice to know there was a sactuary of Adult conversations somewhere and pertaining to something we all enjoy – Caching!!
Here is my take on it…
I see that there are some members that have been avoiding the forums because of what appears to be a minority of others perceived (correct or not) attitudes and negativity in some of the posts. Why not try and ignore such postings and continue to post constructive messages in response to the other posts?
If everyone that tries to be polite in their postings leaves, there will not be much to counteract the negativity and will lead to more potential members possibly avoiding the WGA because of what they see in the forums. Don’t let the forums get overtaken by negativity. What new potential members see here is how they will view the entire WGA. First impressions are very hard to counteract, so lets try and make more of them positive.If we ignore “flame-bait” and keep messages polite and on topic, it will be obvious to even a new browser that the negative posts not representative of the majority of WGA members. I know there can be disagreements regarding many issues, but I think we can make a better effort in making our disagreements less personal in nature.
I do know it can be easy to misunderstand the meaning of some posts due to not being face to face with a person. You can’t stop someone mid post here to ask for a clarification before they make their next point as you could in person.
I’ve been participating in various computer forums for a very very long time (over 20 years, yes… I’m a computer geek/nerd/etc) and I can’t say I have ever seen a forum where there were not such issues.
I would also like to make a request that we more prominently post our forum guidelines. If we actually have any, because I can’t find them on the site. I know we don’t want to end up with heavily moderated boards, I’m sure the moderators themselves don’t want it. but maybe we can all try and self moderate better. Sometimes a quick “take it into e-mail and off the boards” message may be enough.
Mike of team: Not So Lost PuppiesI purposely ducked out of these forums for about a year because of some flaming and obnoxious posts by certain members. In addition, we’ve avoided WGA functions because it would simply be too difficult to talk to/meet these individuals.
I’ve come back to the forums as I still consider myself a geocacher and I do like to weigh in on some of the issues in the hopes of helping shape WGA policy in future years. However, it will be quite some time until we attend our next WGA function.
Posting in forums is a lot like drinking. Things are posted in forums that would never be told to another individual in person. LOL You’ve heard of “drinking courage?” I think there is a certain element of “typing courage” by some of our cyber friends.
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