[pct-l] Recent "un PC" Comments and Listserves

[Will M]

Its funny because until recently, I have been impressed with the relative
lack of trolling on the PCT-L. My once beloved trail journals has,
unfortunately, become victim to a lot of anonymous and in some cases,
vicious trolling.  At least on this server, we have a general idea of who is
saying what.  That's a very good first step.

Hopefully this whole controversy will blow over though I have to say I do
like the idea of a forum  format.

Jalan Jalan

On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 12:18 PM, Barry Teschlog <tokencivilian at yahoo.com>wrote:

> The recent flare up on the noted topic brings up a subject I've seen here
> before, but will mention for Bricks consideration yet again.
>
> One of the other forums I participiate in (Cascade Climbers) is set up as a
> forum, not a list serve.  There is a topic especially for "spray".  All the
> rude jokes, NSFW, un-PC rants, everything not climbing related, etc is
> supposed to go there.  Threads that start off on one climbing subject then
> decay into a spray fest (as often they do when the subject of bolting comes
> up - similar to the dogs or guns threads on PCT-L), get moved there.
> Spraying in some of the other main topics on the forum (newbies & kids are
> two specifically designated as spray free zones) will get one banned from
> pretty quick to instantly, for good reason.  I tend to rarely go to spray,
> as I could really care less about 99% of what's in there.  The point being
> that the bulk of the spray is contained and contamination of on topic
> threads is limited.
>
> Yes, I realize there are reasons for the PCT-L being what it is (a
> listserv), and Brick as stated them in the past.  That said, the format of a
> list serve does have it's limitations.  If there is spray, everyone gets
> it.  With a forum, well, the spray seems to be better contained to its
> designated location and can be avoided far easier.
>
> Moderately related, as it came up in the discussion of the spray, as far as
> the previous comment on there being a lot of repeated topics:  I have to
> ask, what do you expect?  The trail is what it is.  It was, is, and will be,
> with very few changes (the most noticible upcoming one I can think of is the
> Tejon Ranch re-route) more or less the same from year to year - weather
> conditions excepted (and even then, within the last 5 or 6 years, everything
> from very dry / low snow to extreme snow has happened).  The thing that
> changes are the hikers that head out every year.  As there is a constant
> flow of 'newbies' - they're going to have the same, generally predicible set
> of questions:  resupply, shoes, packs, tents, food, zeros, towns, pack
> weight, water, hitching, safety, cell phones, start dates, finish dates, KO,
> permits of all kinds, dogs, protection, blah, blah, blah, we all know what
> they are - the same ones I had in 2006 and the same ones a first
>  time PCT thru hiker wanna be will have in 2015.  Sure, technology will
> cause some of the answers to evolve over time (walkman to mini-disc to MP3
> or 35MM to digital or probably most dramatically overall pack weights), but
> the TRAIL, and the general skills, desires and motivations it takes to hike
> it end to end in a year will, I suggest, be more or less constant.
>
> I really like the PCT-L, have learned a lot from it, and have been reading
> it since I found out about from a 2001 thru hiker while I was camped at the
> Waptus River mid way through my first section hike (Stevens Pass SOBO to
> Snoqualmie), late August / early September 2001.
>
> My 2 cents, YMMV, HYOH, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda.
>
> TC
>
>
>
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