Favorite Areas of TrawlerForum

I've been studying the front page of TF to see what sections of the forum are visited/commented on the most. Obviously General Discussion has the most entries but OTDE is in a solid second place. This interests me as OTDE is probably the most contentious area of the forum. Power Systems occupies third place, which seems about right but the Voyaging/Cruising sections pale by comparison in their interest to the members. I would have thought that people interested in trawlers would flock to areas that are loaded with voyaging & cruising stories. (Those are my favorite sections.)

What conclusions can I arrive at from this?

(1) The majority of subscribers are newbies or dock queens?
(2) A lot of people enjoy a good debate/argument or just plain venting?
(3) Most of us are cruising vicariously through others?

Anyone that would care to comment is encouraged to do so.

My answer would be... none of the above!

I think TF suffers from the same problem as most forums: too many sections of discussions. I think the fact general discussion is the most popular section is indicative of that. People go there because they will see discussions about many different subjects. Then you might browse to a few other sections but very few people have the time to go through 10, 12 or 15 on a regular basis. So the more specific sections (like a specific brand of boat for example) get little traffic. And because they get little traffic the interest drops and people don't go there and the discussions don't pick up and the section gets little traffic...

I've been thinking about this for a little while and I think that forums should try to adopt a different approach where there would be only a handful of sections and the poster would select relevant topics (think little check boxes). The reader could then choose the subject of interest and see related posts or browse to the sections like right now. It's a totally different way of organizing things and I'm not even sure it's possible with the actual forum platforms.

Just my two cents.

BTW I love to hear about voyaging stories.

Walt,* Your conclusions are not far off base.* The members are a diverse group, some are actively cruising and others have not left the dock for months. Even so we can share our experiences, present day and past, and converse with like minded folks.

I like the current setup on the Forum. I have no favorite area.

I kind of like the individual makes section, where people talk about there own makes with other owners.


JohnP

Fotoman wrote:....but very few people have the time to go through 10, 12 or 15 on a regular basis......

Click to expand...

That's been my experience. In the beginning when there were just a few using the forum, it was easy and less time consuming to read all the posts. Today, however, I just don't have the time to read an entire day's posts so I skip the headings of little or no interest. (I know I've missed some good stuff but I must draw the line somewhere.)

I like it the way it is.

I go through things one at a time responding to those that spark my interest and not when they don't.

There is plenty for all with enough topics.

OTDE is also great because like it or not the world is not all about boats.

For some of the topics I wish it were *required reading*for our elected officials.

Some of you guys hit the nail on the head.

SD

Willard boat owners just has one thread. There's 12 or 13 thousand messages on one pract-
ically endless thread. I scan the messages and if a topic dosn't interest me I don't read it. I do that here also. I don't have much interest in electronics so I only look in on that thread once a week (or so). In general discussion most of the time the subject of the thread has nothing to do w what's being said on page 4 or even page 2 sometimes. I usually look at almost every thread in gen discussion, Power systems, Gen Maint and Other Systems. Frequently I'll go into a thread that I've avoided for days thinking I would'nt be interested in it at all only to find a fascinating discussion going on. I do not think there's a strong enough need for the individual brand/make threads. And perhaps Gen Disc could be broken down into 3 or 4 threads.

I like it pretty much the way it is too.... *I spend as much or as little time as I have on a particular day... and catch up on some threads after several days.

By the way Eric, I still can't access your photos...

The General Discussion page is a good place to start.* I love reading about other peoples' travels and cruises like Skipperdude's first spring cruise.* Other topics as their heading interests me.*

I would start a Sabre brand page, but it would probably be very exclusive.* Come on Walt, we need at least 2 Sabres.* it's hard to have a one boat raft!

OTDE is a wise addition by the founders IMHO, because it's gonna happen in any forum. This way, they segment it into a spot that you can choose to visit or not. If it wasn't there, those posts would be in all the other sections, and the moderators would have to spend a shi-load of time and stress deciding what to nuke and what to leave alone. Whether you're cruising or not right now has no relationship to your knowledge. Like any forum, you have to take what you see with a grain of salt. The more discussion after a question is asked, the less reliable the information. If you ask a question and get one or two answers, you can probably rely on them!

skipperdude wrote:
OTDE is also great because like it or not the world is not all about boats.

Click to expand...

With as much time as I've spent on my new to me boat and talking about it, my wife may disagree with you, at least when it comes to me.

I've noticed much more activity on TF the last couple of months to the point that I'm unable to read all the posts since I last logged on if I've missed a couple of days. I attributed that to winter and more TF'ers sitting by their computers instead of the helm.

*

*

*

Moonstruck wrote:Come on Walt, we need at least 2 Sabres.* it's hard to have a one boat raft!

Click to expand...

I had a chance to board a couple of Sabres at the San Diego boat show in February.
The 40 (I think it's a new model) caught my eye as did another model. (I don't recall
its length.) The quality of the boats is excellent (IMHO) but the best part, to me,
is their cruising speed. As I've said in another thread, here on the west Coast, it's a
long way between protected anchorages and marinas and a boat with some decent
speed allows one to enjoy this coast more. Now, if we just had that thousand points
back in the market that we lost in the last week, I would feel better about boat
shopping.

*

SeaHorse II wrote:


Moonstruck wrote:Come on Walt, we need at least 2 Sabres.* it's hard to have a one boat raft!

Click to expand...

I had a chance to board a couple of Sabres at the San Diego boat show in February.
The 40 (I think it's a new model) caught my eye as did another model. (I don't recall
its length.) The quality of the boats is excellent (IMHO) but the best part, to me,
is their cruising speed. As I've said in another thread, here on the west Coast, it's a
long way between protected anchorages and marinas and a boat with some decent
speed allows one to enjoy this coast more. Now, if we just had that thousand points
back in the market that we lost in the last week, I would feel better about boat
shopping.

*

I know what you mean about the market.* Hopefully, world situations will calm a little.* I think that we are finding aa new "normal".* The only thing that will save us on oil prices is the Saudis will need our anti-missle capabiliy if Iran gets a bomb.

The Sabre 40 is a beautiful boat.* It is*a sedan rather than an express.* I just like driving outside the house.* It is also only offered in IPS or Zeus drives.* The joy stick control is nice.* You probably have enough deep water that you don't have to worry about touching bottom.* Over here we have allot of narrow channels.* As the Harkers Island, NC boys say, " you can find the ground here".* At the speed that boat runs, you could do $60,000 damage in a soft grounding.* I have decided against those.* In other areas they would probably be fine.* The 42 is offered both ways.

Here's hoping the market comes back.* Being a Sabre owner here is very lonely.

*

I think OTDE needs to go. It is not good for the community and it's a cop-out for the moderators that should actively delete non-boating related topics and posts. I was active over there, then I took a break, but now sort of dabble in it. Still, the problem is that it hits me in the gut with several different punches.

First, it now has me with opinions of people based a lot on what they post over there. I try to shelve it when I post to them in the boating forums, but I still reel with thoughts that I have about that person based on religious beliefs, political stances, and general posts they make over there. I don't like it and it colors every other contribution they make. Second, there are a few over there that are mean, ignorant, or just spew propaganda (true or not) that is hard to ignore. It is hard to think that people are like that in real life. I sure hope not. And to be fair, I'd bet people think the same of me. I don't want to know people that I am trying to like and be liked by, to go through this. Third, it only adds to the stigma that we have tried to get away from at our last port. People that want to turn even boater related topics into a political stance.

I may be on this island alone, but if we kept it boating related and ONLY boating related,AND the mods did what it took to keep it that way (or asked for help from some of the other members), this would be a FAR more pleasant place to visit. Sorry... It's just where I am with this.

I pretty much never read the OTDE part of the forum... *I'm here for the boating stuff whether it be about the boats themselves, history of boats or ancedotes and pictures of boats!!

GonzoF1 wrote:
First, it now has me with opinions of people based a lot on what they post over there. I try to shelve it when I post to them in the boating forums, but I still reel with thoughts that I have about that person based on religious beliefs, political stances, and general posts they make over there. I don't like it and it colors every other contribution they make.

Click to expand...

Very true and why I stay away. However as some one mentioned before, some will color their boating threads with political comments and I would much rather have them place it in OTDE than elsewhere.*

Just stay away, besides how many minds have been changed by reading threads on OTDE, my guess not many.*

*

I don't look at OTDE. There seem to be people who use the web to vent. I don't. I will stay in the shallow end. Boats.

I rarely post in OTDE but I do now and then. I think it is good to have it- gives everyone a place to just chat about whatever so you can see what they are all about, etc.
There are a LOT of sections to this forum though. The #1 thing I wish this forum had was a "read all new posts" button. AKA you don't have to go to each forum section to see what is new- click the button and all posts in all sections show up and you can scroll through them all.

I agree about the 'Read all new post' if it were possible. I suspect it is not , at least without a major revamp so it's fine as is. It's like my boat, lots of things can be done but aren't going to be done, choices.

I read a bit of the OTDE section a long time ago and now just ignore it. I'm here for the boating related posts, and discussion and there is lots of that.

As far as the 'Brand' section I seldom look since my brand is never going to be there and there is little activity.

The season seems to be warming up so I'll spend more time where I should be - AT THE BOAT.

Woodsong wrote:The #1 thing I wish this forum had was a "read all new posts" button.

Click to expand...

I have to admit...It would be nice!

*

SeaHorse II wrote:


Woodsong wrote:The #1 thing I wish this forum had was a "read all new posts" button.

Click to expand...

I have to admit...It would be nice!

*


Try this.* When you are logged on, click*your Log on ID in the upper right hand corner.* It will list the most recent posts in the order that they were posted with the most recent post first.*


*

Larry M wrote:

*
SeaHorse II wrote:

*
Woodsong wrote:The #1 thing I wish this forum had was a "read all new posts" button.

Click to expand...

I have to admit...It would be nice!

*


Try this.* When you are logged on, click*your Log on ID in the upper right hand corner.* It will list the most recent posts in the order that they were posted with the most recent post first.
Larry M is my hero. Never knew that trick. We all owe you a drink Larry. But knowing this crowd, you'll play he-- getting them. Maybe we could all chip in and buy you ONE.*

*