TF as a community

Recently I read a thread about closing OTDE and wanted to react and especially to our fellows owners/moderators.
First of all I am no OTDE aficionado, not a regular reader and even less a regular poster.
I understand the point of our moderators that this forum subject is boat and trawlers and not polemical subjects about political subject, religion or personal stuff.
However I think I will make no mistake to mention that this forum is far more than just boat talk.
This forum is a community of people passionated with trawlers and more globally boats. Here we find all sort of social profiles, each with its own particularity. It is a place ( even if in the cyber space ) where people sharing same passion are coming to discuss, get to know each others, get to like or dislike each others, like it would happen in any other social place. TF is a kind of village, a little port full of trawler fans.
As within any community people share, talk, exchange...
So it is legitimate that people talk about anything about life, great events, sad ones, personal opinions, like it or not, it is all about socializing, exchange and being a great community. This is what makes a community, exchange...
So yes, maybe OTDE was going beyond, sometimes too far, less politically correct, with tensions and conflicting point of view. But hey! This is inherent to a community, people talk, people share like it or not.
Yes people can go somewhere else to do so, but isn't it the best place for trawler fans?
I may be a dreamer but for me TF is like the small bistro you can find nearby in a fishermen port, a place where people gather, have a good drink and talk, with all the passion that makes them great, a great warm place where to hang. So don't be too hard with the ones that go beyond, some are just more expressive and passionated, but even if I do not agree, even if I think differently, I still like to share with them, this is what makes a community.

Cheers!

L

Some good thoughts there Lou. Were we to meet, I'm sure we would be great mates in no time. Pity we are on opposite sides of the planet. Which reminds me as I sit here, having just got back from Europe, just how far away it is, as not being flush enough to go business, the back-side is still hurting..! Anyone got some feedback re premium economy..?

Funny you should mention that Pete, I have just been reading glowing reports on Air Vietnam's premium economy class on their Dreamliners. It gets very good reviews.

As I am off the Hanoi early next year I might try them out.

Lou, Some of your thoughts, very well intended,are idealistic,even Candide like. There were people who conducted themselves on OTDE in a vile manner. I don`t regret its passing, my only concern is the vile will misconduct themselves elsewhere. Even the Admin thread informing of the OTDE demise,(which some Australians might call "pissing on the ashes") had to be shut down.

Lou, your thoughts are mainly valid. However, as I mentioned a month or so ago (before my post was deleted) the issue with OTDE was that there were two people who decided it was their personal trolling ground. At the time I wrote something like 33 out of the latest 35 threads were posted by these two, who also trolled any thread others posted.

One answer may have been to moderate these two out, but I guess the moderators chose not to do that.

And I think that there are some posters considered to be "invisible" here. But I do read tons of stuff and have read over the few years I have been here and still like the content. But if the first few lines don't hold my current interest, I scroll along and find something else to kill time reading, rarely getting upset from something on the net filled with opinions.

I did start a thread about how do you read the now deleted section, I guess. And when I found it I looked twice again and my interest was satisfied . I never looked back. There is plenty in the dozens of sections to read for me personally. Keep up the good work folks. I doubt that I will make it to a grand for posts here, but its not from the lack of reading with intense interest.

Lou_
I like yoyr analogy of the TF village and the pub where we all get together.
I have to believe that if you were the pub owner and the "discussions" were escallating into very heated topics, which lead to shouting and name calling and fights were about to break out, that you might ask those involved to take their fights outside or outback rather than disrupt all the others and risk damaging your pub.

"I have to believe that if you were the pub owner and the "discussions" were escallating into very heated topics, which lead to shouting and name calling and fights were about to break out, that you might ask those involved to take their fights outside or outback rather than disrupt all the others and risk damaging your pub."


Of course then you will only be able to hear the pub owners choice of anchors.

FWIW...

Lou, I think your analogy is good, but...

There are also some folks who just don't mingle all that well. Might walk into a boat bar, have a drink, leave without ever speaking to anyone. Might overhear a discussion about how to replace a water pump, benefit from that and be thankful, yet never join into that conversation. Might eventually ask a boat-related question and get some very decent help... but shrink from further contact. Might be able to count their "friends" on the fingers of one hand... everyone else (especially faceless internet people) merely being acquaintances.

Just saying it can be useful to recognize the "Rule of Different Strokes" sometimes applies.

-Chris

Greetings,
Then, there are some that go to a bar/pub looking for a fight. Alcohol has strange and different effects on some people...

A community of mostly nameless, faceless, and unknown people sounds pretty lonely to me. Meeting first hand other boating folks, whether TFites or others, is preferable IMHO.

What is OTDE? I don't even know what you're talking about Lou. Lol