TrawlerForum vs. All the others

[Codger2]

With many attempts at navigating other boating sites and being somewhat computer challenged, I* declare this forum to be the most user friendly. In addition, the contributions of the owners (we could use more Doug posts) are well received and an indication of their desire to see the site succeed.

Contributors Marin, FF, Defin, RT Firefly (I think he actually looks like Groucho but one can't be sure) and, of course, all the Aussies, make this a lot of fun to read as well as a great source of information. Lobster boat fans (I'm one) would like to see Carey chime in a little more as cruises of a New Engalnd lobster boat with the PNW as a backdrop are really neat.!

It's great to see Eric back and to read his writings from the Thorne Bay, Alaska point of view.

The listings of the various categories on the home page make it so easy to find what I'm interested in and to skip the ones that I'm not.

Keith's posts, with accompaning photos, are always well received and take me* back to the days when I was single. (Thanks, Keith for the wonderful memories.)

Although I have yet to total up the money I've spent on SeaHorse while being a member of this forum and taking to heart the many suggestions of a better way or a better product, I can assure you the sum is considerable.

I know I've left out many people that contribute greatly to the success of the site but since this is all off the top of my head, I won't apologize.

Keep the posts coming.....

Walt



-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Thursday 27th of May 2010 09:10:36 AM

[Baker]

Thanks Walt and I agree. *And I also want to thank the people that contribute regularly... because y'all behave and police yourselves which helps me tremendously. *I do enjoy this forum and it's "user friendliness". *That was our main goal in the first place.

It has been neat watching the characters "evolve". *I guess I can't really name names because I will leave many out and likely offend someone. *Let's just say that it has been nice to see everybody find their groove and contribute in a very useful and resourceful and polite manner.




And I will move this to general discussion because it is boat related!!!



-- Edited by Baker on Thursday 27th of May 2010 11:22:28 AM

[Marin]

Carey monitors the forum when he has time but he is currently on a FEMA deployment to Kentucky as a result of the flooding in that area. And given the predictions for an extremely active hurricane season this year it is likely that he will be away on deployment more than he's home.

Of course the hurricane season may not be that destructive this year what with all the oil on the water keeping the waves down......

[FF]

This forum works because there is no BOARD NAZI , unlike many of the others.

[RT Firefly]

Hiya,
* PMM doesn't seem to have a board nazi...they got nothin', not even an opinion!!!

[Phil Fill]

The reason Trawlerforum works is because it does have monitors that do give options and involved.* Where as PMM does not so there are to many pissing contest.* However even on Trawlerform there is a fair share.** I will not respond very often and if I do I am very careful how worded.** ****

[Nomad Willy]

Yeah * *.. I guess I missed you guys. TF is a bit like Cheers. A place to go where everyone knows your name * *.. not true but true enough. It's what we know in addition to your name that helps make an almost family group of us. I'm curious about RT Firefly too but I'll bet he likes it that way. When I first came on TF I could hardly turn on a computer and I found FF a bit abrasive but over time I came to know him and consider him a friend now. Speaking of FF makes me think of Boat Design .net. Fantastic site. Many many threads and very international. I spend a lot of time there * *..a very active site. Nobody talks about what radar, sounder,anchor or genset to buy * *.. it is (as the name implies) a design forum. The clickable links will take you to exotic and exciting places though. I don't know anything about the other sites like T@T. Just the name. Howabout some comments about the places where the Nazi's roam.Thank you Walt.


Eric Henning
30 Willard
Thorne Bay AK


-- Edited by nomadwilly on Friday 28th of May 2010 09:05:01 AM

[Codger2]

nomadwilly wrote:
TF is a bit like Cheers. A place to go where everyone knows your name * *..

Great line! I wish I would have said that!

*

[Marin]

Eric---

The T&T site is an e-mail list. As such, it's not a pick-and-choose forum like this one. You get the T&T list one of two ways--- an e-mail comes in every time someone posts to the list (which can be close to a hundred a day sometimes) or you get the Daily Digest which is one e-mail that comes in late in the day or evening containing all that day's posts.

So one way or the other, you get every post whether you want them or are interested in each subject or not. This is one reason T&T is pretty carefully moderated. There are no subject "buckets" like this forum. So off-topic discussions like gun ownership, politics, etc. are mixed in right along with discussions on the best type of mooring lines or where-can-I-get-such-and-such-a-part-for-my-engine questions.

If the list was not strictly moderated the controversial, off-topic discussions would soon dominate the list since these are the things that generate the most emotion and urge to say your piece or retaliate.

The T&T administration is also very strict when it comes to the notion of "advertising." Promoting one's product or business (brokerage, insurance company, etc.) is strictly forbidden. Again, because every member would be forced to receive every promotional post, and if unchecked there would be a lot of them.

T&T was started before web-based forums--- TrawerForum, brand owner's forums, etc.---* were common or perhaps even possible. So in their effort to keep the T&T list focused on trawlering topics, they had to take a pretty hard-line stance on off-topic discussions.

The fact that T&T has continued pretty strongly even after the wide introduction of forums like this one is a good indication of the value a lot of people continue to put on T&T. Being e-mail based, you can get it with a fairly slow connection. There are no pictures, headers, or graphic design elements--- it's just e-mail (you subscribe to it from their website but the list itself is an e-mail). While boaters have more connectivity options today, a lot of them--- perhaps the majority--- still cruise with nothing more than a cell phone connection or maybe a Blackberry.

The greatest value I feel that T&T has is that, like this forum, it's non-denominational. It is not brand or type-specific. So if you have a question about what's a good outboard to buy, your question is seen by people who own all sorts of "trawlers," from Grand Banks to Mainships to Krogens to custom boats, etc. The list has several thousand members, mostly from the US and Canada but there are some intenational folks, too, and over a thousand regular participants (I think I'm remembering those numbers more or less correctly).

So a question or opinion gets pretty wide exposure.

I personally don't mind the strong moderation of T&T.* I know what it would turn into if it was not moderated--- the result would be a huge, forced-to-get-it, e-mail version of Off The Deep End.* People who wanted to discuss boating topics or post boating-related questions would soon give up on the list and it would have no value any more to the boating community.* So I, for one, am glad it is "patrolled" so carefully.* I'm a big fan of freedom of speech but along with that comes the freedom not to listen to it.* Given the fact that T&T members have to get every post (they don't have to read them but they do have to get them), I think that in this case* freedom not to listen trumps* freedom of speech.* Particularly as it's a privately run list and all the participation rules are clearly stated when one joins the list.



-- Edited by Marin on Friday 28th of May 2010 11:56:17 AM

[Nomad Willy]

Deal me out of that one Marin. Was an interesting analysis * * ..thanks Marin.

Is THAT IT ?
I assumed there were 4 - 5 forums similar to ours * *..in addition to all the brand exclusive.

[Marin]

Eric---

There are some interesting and very informed participants on the T&T list. I probably should have mentioned that off-topic discussions on things like politics, firearms, religion, etc. are not tolerated at all by the moderators. It's not that there aren't very many of them, there aren't any. So the list adheres very closely to boating subjects.

You can peruse the T&T list without having to sign up by going to their website and opening the archives.* Select the current month, and you'll see all that month's posts in the order they were sent.* The URL is http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/lis...and-trawlering and then select the "Trawlers and Trawlering Archives" link.

-- Edited by Marin on Sunday 30th of May 2010 09:54:53 AM

[Baker]

Eric, there are NOT a bunch of these types of forums. There are a few. Which is also the reason we took the initiative. The only other forum was Passagemaker and we all know it's problems. Ultimately, the trawler demographic is a lot older and not very computer savvy. Which means that not many people interested in trawlers are even familiar with "forums" much less create one. I was with T&T since it's inception and it certainly was/is a valuable resource. This forum was just the next logical step. I do not participate in T&T anymore. The main reason was the influx of emails...it just got tiresome having to weed thru all of that material. And while I totally understand the reasons for the strict moderation, there was one on there that took their job just a bit too far...I will leave it at that. I have been wanting to re sign up over there but I gues I just haven't had the time or felt the need. Anyway, as y'all know, this is a MUCH better medium with a lot more flexibility. We just haven't seen a mass migration because of the unfamiliarity that some may have with a forum type of format. *People just go with what they are comfortable with. This is a very common layout among other "same interest" forums. That is why we mimicked the format. It is just easy to use once you get it figured out.

-- Edited by Baker on Sunday 30th of May 2010 11:47:30 AM

[Baker]

And I will somewhat disagree with Marin's statement reference "bandwidth"....although he did not use that term. That used to be a consideration. But unless you are in the middle of the ocean, there should be plenty of bandwidth to run most internet based applications other than email. Anywhere you go shoreside pretty much anywhere in the world has decent internet connections. ANd even if you are stateside using a cellphone connection, I have no issues with running this forum over my phone or tethered thru my phone. SO while I do believe that bandwidth WAS an issue in the past, I do not believe it to be now. And if it is, that is simply a choice that you make. The technology is there and it is cheap.

[koliver]

I agree with John's statement about our demographic. I am always surprised to find anyone in my cruising group that knows anything about this site or the PMM site. I have also been surprised a couple of times by colleagues who have mentioned seeing this forum and recognized my name from the posts, despite not owning a boat, so we do get read by more than just the Trawler owners out there. This site is definitely where the interest is. I signed up at T&T, but the instant influx of emails caused an immediate withdrawal. I have too many emails I must deal with to have time to sort through all that are generated by that kind of site too. So thanks John.

[Baker]

You got it mang!!!

[C lectric]

Count me in too. This is a good site.

I tried the T & T several years ago and backed out right quick when I was inundated, 90-100 the first couple days, with e-mails. Heard about it from my wife too.

I also found too much wading through unrelated e-mails even though there was some good infor. available.