So.. what happened...

[Pattree]

Can't decide if there's a element of sarcasm in there... do we have an emoji for that? It appears not lol. Mate, if you knew me back in the day, you'd know what i was like... i was often in trouble, even had a couple of temporary bans... and this post has got people talking has it not?

No, not sarcastic at all.
I just believe that if you want something changed then you do something about it.

I’m not sure that a discussion about discussions is what I’m looking for in a bushcraft forum.

 

[HillBill]

No, not sarcastic at all.
I just believe that if you want something changed then you do something about it.

I’m not sure that a discussion about discussions is what I’m looking for in a bushcraft forum.

So what are you looking for? If you're not looking for a discussion... and most discussions revolve around previous discussion, especially online... then what? Original content? Discussions that have never been discussed? Maybe we're finding the reason the forum doesn't have discussions? Because people don't want to have discussions based on previous discussions? How many discussions have you had, that haven't been discussed previously? Genuine question. Probably worded that in a daft way... but how many threads hove you started, that already haven't been talked about? You're new... you dont know what this place was like...I welcome your comments, but you cant talk through experience.

 

[JonathanD]

Hi JD... long time no speak. Hope you're well mate. I do understand where you're coming from, i'm guilty of it myself... And yeah, place was active as hell back in't day... And i wish it could be so again. There's certainly an ebb across the board... But will it flow... not without people making it so... and if everyone sits and waits for it to happen, it never will. Thats not how it got good to start with... it was through people discussing pretty much everying.. (politics and religon aside lol) that got it going. We didnt just talk bushcraft...there were threads about most things... its what made it a place for most people to be comfortable... now? not so much... the old guard are still here, but as said in the comments... people get bored of discussing the same subjects... so what interests you right now/recently? You still with the lovely mathematician? Been out snake hunting recently? Learnt anything new? Been bitten?

Whatcha Bill. Yeah, we are still together. Poppy is now a young adult and is at college studying hard to become an entomologist. She joined up here during covid, but unfortunately didn’t stick around due to a few snarky people not being able to deal with her enthusiasm. But to be fair. Most of her posts were about cheese.

I semi retired in 2020. Funding for new expeditions was dead, and most of my work became U.K. based, which was boring. I never got into my subject to audit reptile houses at zoos and parks. So it became repetitive and dull. I had a few close shaves because of this type of work in confined spaces. So called it a day.

Always learning new stuff.

Thanks to you I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to put more time in here. So stick around. As you’ve seen, there is a very small snarky element that has crept in, but it’s far from terminal. You get that everywhere now.

You still making knives, and what have you been up to?

 

[Woody girl]

That's a shame about Poppy not sticking around because of others reactions to her posts being on the negative side. A good illustration of how not to treat youngsters and drive them away. Then you get the, where are the youngsters remarks, and wondering why the demographic ends up being all old codgers!
I like cheese and her posts were always amusing and I enjoyed her enthusiasm, whether for cheese or hornets. Glad she is doing well in her life choices. Best of luck to her.

 

[Falstaff]

I’ve been about for 15 years and still post drivel regularly. 15 years ago it was all Ray and Bear, making shelters, hammocking, firesteel firelighting etc. I’ve still got 3 hammocks, but you wouldn’t find me out in the woods under a tarp scraping away at a firesteel and tinder. But I do still post pics of walks, or campervan life and outdoors stuff. Today, to cheers Mark up, the closest I’ve got to bushcrafting .

View attachment 91599View attachment 91600
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I’m sat in this hut with the dog eating a sandwich. I have with me a tiny Ti stove, a pot, some Bovril, and water but it’s not a cold day so I’ll not bother with a hot drink.

Also on board is an ESSE3 knife, a FAK, and a folding walking pole.

View attachment 91604

Wow! And you did all that with a spoon carving knife? More seriously, that's a lovely piece of functional Art.

 

[haptalaon]

The issue is that most people have moved over to the Big Four social media, and those are deliberately designed to keep people 'on site'. Some of them even deliberately hide posts with links in. Those sites are designed to be more sticky and grabby, it plays havoc with anyone who's a bit disregulated about attention or stress, and it creates a sort of invisibility. It's like the digital equivalent of everyone going to the shopping mall and the little shops being neglected.

Forums are also a learning curve if you're used to modern social media - you have to built a habit to check them every day because theyre not battering for your attention like a needy animal, and it's also more effortful to engage. I moved off social media and back to this (I'm older) about 7 years back and it was very marked, the way forums feel like a different activity to Facebook, I need to be in a different kind of mood and frankly, I need to be alert and able to communicate instead of just to click. Big Social Media is more like watching the telly, it's a more passive process. Perhaps it seems quiet here because on a forum if you've got nothing to say, you lurk!

It's a sadness, but the way I see it is you don't need *everybody* on your community site, you need the *right people*. If some people prefer to spend their online time in a different way, that's OK. I advocate slow social media to everyone I know and I'm in some social communities for people make their own websites for fun, and they're into forums and RSS and all these other lovely, independent, hands on technologies.

 

[Pattree]

How many discussions have you had, that haven't been discussed previously? Genuine question.

I’ve only been on BcUK for about a year.

I’m an inventor and have been a camper for decades*. My own posts tend to be about inventions, modifications and original methods. That and observations of the day/times

More important than my authored posts are the ones that I respond to as responses make up the bulk of the forum.
Mine are inevitably limited.

I certainly don’t think that surviving the apocalypse can be done alone armed with a cross bow, a fire now and an ammo box of rat pack food. I’d rather depend on skills like negotiation, leadership and an above average grasp of politics.

One of my principle motivations for taking out the crazy quasi tipi is spiritual and no one wants a preacher so I don’t shout about it.

I’m not a real bushcrafter. I don’t get tarps and hammocks, I don’t use fixed blade knives and I don’t even own a head torch.
I don’t think any of my kit cost three figures. This limits both my own posts and my responses to previous discussions.

I get that you preferred the old days. I think we’ve just moved on.
The folk here are those who respond to/resonate with the folk here.

Edited to add:
* half a century.

 

[Firemagnet]

I’m new here so I’m looking forward to your new ideas and revitalising posts.

Hi Pat,
I found you, looks like a good place here.
Lee

 

[Chris]

The issue is that most people have moved over to the Big Four social media, and those are deliberately designed to keep people 'on site'. Some of them even deliberately hide posts with links in. Those sites are designed to be more sticky and grabby, it plays havoc with anyone who's a bit disregulated about attention or stress, and it creates a sort of invisibility. It's like the digital equivalent of everyone going to the shopping mall and the little shops being neglected.

Forums are also a learning curve if you're used to modern social media - you have to built a habit to check them every day because theyre not battering for your attention like a needy animal, and it's also more effortful to engage. I moved off social media and back to this (I'm older) about 7 years back and it was very marked, the way forums feel like a different activity to Facebook, I need to be in a different kind of mood and frankly, I need to be alert and able to communicate instead of just to click. Big Social Media is more like watching the telly, it's a more passive process. Perhaps it seems quiet here because on a forum if you've got nothing to say, you lurk!

It's a sadness, but the way I see it is you don't need *everybody* on your community site, you need the *right people*. If some people prefer to spend their online time in a different way, that's OK. I advocate slow social media to everyone I know and I'm in some social communities for people make their own websites for fun, and they're into forums and RSS and all these other lovely, independent, hands on technologies.

I made an active decision to be the one who chooses when I interact with technology. That is, I don’t tolerate any technology that tries to tell me I need to interact with it - notifications are off for texts/messaging apps and I choose when I want to look at them, none of the dreaded algorithm based social media.

I grew up with forums in the late 90s and early 2000s, and to me it’s a much more thoughtful medium for communication. Social media will be looked back on as one of the biggest mental and societal health crises in our history, I think. It’s completely predatory.

I know quite a few millennials who are similar in shirking social media. Then there are the older generations (my mum’s age) being influenced by Facebook because they didn’t grow up learning how to be cynical of it, and the younger generations who get their news from TikTok. Both of which are heavily influenced by bad actors domestic and foreign.

I came to this site in the hope that we can talk about a shared interest we all have no matter our backgrounds or political beliefs, and I believe this often is true but could be more true.

Rather than pointing out how things could be wrong or being pedantic about laws (I notice I may have inadvertently done this recently), how about we let other adults work out these things for themselves and we focus on the bushcraft aspects.

 

[Woody girl]

I’ve only been on BcUK for about a year.

I’m an inventor and have been a camper for decades. My own posts tend to be about inventions, modifications and original methods. That and observations of the day/times

More important than my authored posts are the ones that I respond to as responses make up the bulk of the forum.

I certainly don’t think that surviving the apocalypse can be done alone armed with a cross bow, a fire now and a box of rat pack food. I’d rather depend on skills like negotiation, leadership and an above average grasp of politics.

One of my principle motivations for taking out the crazy quasi tipi is spiritual and no one wants a preacher so I don’t shout about it.

I’m not a real bushcrafter. I don’t get tarps and hammocks, I don’t use fixed blade knives and I don’t even own a head torch.
I don’t think any of my kit cost three figures. This limits both my own posts and my responses to previous discussions.

I get that you preferred the old days. I think we’ve just moved on.
The folk here are those who respond to/resonate with the folk here.

Bit wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same? Interest then lags and then the forum stagnates, more people loose interest as nothing new comes along, and we get discussion like this.
Tradition is great, I love it. Some prefer more modern things. It's the mix that keeps things fresh. I may not be into USB rechargeable headtorches, and give those discussions a miss, where as I may engage more with a post about something less modern. Others will be gearheads and enjoy that particular post. Horses for courses. All good.

 

[Falstaff]

Well I'm joined last year, what was I seeking? Information, ideas, how to's, company for sure. And this forum has been great for all of that.
Apart from one sour note that hurt, I went to the winter mooty and enjoyed it, and learnt lots. The sour bit? - An innocent mistake of a newbie, torn off a strip by a member with their own issues.
Do I want to go again?, only sort of, because of that, but others were very generous.
Criticism and mockery are not the way to go in a forum.

I met one of the roundabout camping guys once, at a very wet camp with his mates. They were typical young guys, just having a lark, irreverent, enjoying doing stuff and posting their adventures just for fun. The roundabout guy was actually asking me for advice! (I suggested this forum)
But my, were they doing some travelling and camping, not especially knowledgeable but had set ups that worked for them and were good enough.

As Patree said, we are a small island with limited land/opportunities, and lots of restrictions. Forums globally are dying, but You Yube is driving lots of poorly informed camping, stealth etc and popular areas are becoming overloaded.
The lack of venues in towns are also forcing youngsters into the countryside to have their parties, and they leave damage & waste in their ignorance.

 

[Chris]

and I don’t even own a head torch.

Woah there. Now you’ve overstepped the line!

 

[Falstaff]

Woah there. Now you’ve overstepped the line!

Head torches are'nt for everyone, you've got to have the right shaped head..... I love my mini candle lantern though.

 

[Firemagnet]

I mean seriously.

This place used to be a hub of conversation, knowledge sharing, chewing the fat, friends and like for like... tit for tat...

I know i've been away a while.... but damn... online Bushcraft is a dead donkey... What's going on?

There's literally nowhere.... Since the Ray and Bear days, that even have an interest in the subject...

Are we to blame? The old timers? Have we forgotten how to forum... or do we just think we know everyhing already? Or did we never do much to start with? Learned all we need to... now we browse... don't contribute in our perceived superiority?

Place wont get better if we dont make it better... It didnt start on a high... took time...took people being bothered enough to put the finger work in on their keyboards.. took curiosity, it took a desire for knowledge... when did that get lost?

I think people Don't want to engage the same now, it's like a lot of things (not everyone)
People want instant results without putting in the work.
I'm here from recommendation thanks Pattree.
There's always something to learn and share...that's the way isn't it ??
The situation of forums isn't a product of anyone's failings.
Most people want to live a faster paced life,
Taking out 5 mins here and there,
I'm sure things will turn around,
May take me a while to ajust.
Social media is mostly smoke and mirrors.
Just my ten pence !!

 

[Nice65]

Wow! And you did all that with a spoon carving knife? More seriously, that's a lovely piece of functional Art.

Mora, obviously

Actually, cheers for the reminder, I found my FGYT spooner and a Brusletto Balder the other day and thought I ought to get those on the strop and make another spoon. I want something long for the big coffee press.

 

[Woody girl]

I think people Don't want to engage the same now, it's like a lot of things (not everyone)
People want instant results without putting in the work.
I'm here from recommendation thanks Pattree.
There's always something to learn and share...that's the way isn't it ??
The situation of forums isn't a product of anyone's failings.
Most people want to live a faster paced life,
Taking out 5 mins here and there,
I'm sure things will turn around,
May take me a while to ajust.
Social media is mostly smoke and mirrors.
Just my ten pence !!

Nothing wrong with older slower ways. That was how things went for centuries. Change came, but it was slower and easier to engage with. Nowadays it's breakneck speed, and I for one, have given up trying to keep up. It makes me uncomfortable. I'm staying in my comfy seat as much as possible, and attempting to learn old skills of many different kinds, and clinging tightly to a more comfortable slow life, the way it used to be in my youth. I think some modernisation is good and even inevitable, but my problem is the speed of life now. I just don't do 90mph any more.
I volunteered for a local food bank, but got left out of the loop as I filled in the form, and provided a landline contact, nobody could be bothered to phone and engage with me. Apparently, communication is a round Robin e mail, write it once, send it to everyone, that's the sum total of engagement.
Oh, well, they lost out on a volenteer. Sad, but there you are. So much for being desperate for help.
Sorry, had to stop there and plug in, so just to add.
They see the system they use as efficient use of time. I see it as lazy and uncommunicative.
They want to go at breakneck speed and don't seem to care about those who can't or don't want to "keep up"
Then we wonder why there seems to be a huge mental health problem. Sometimes to be efficient, we need to slow down, and smell the roses.

 

[TLM]

Nothing wrong with older slower ways. That was how things went for centuries.

Exactly and a lot of things have not actually changed, if you want a hot meal or tea you still need a way to heat water (and no, I don't use those bloody self heating packs) so you need a stove of some kind, a lot more to chose from nowadays but still there is the fire that has to be started. Almost all of our gear is lighter, brightly coloured and contains elastomeric fibers. You still need the lighter rainwear, lighter tents all in this years colours.

I have seen a very good orienter using one of the first GPS receivers (this was some while ago) getting lost as he did not quite get the arrows. One gets the same effect not knowing which end of the compass needle points north. Nothing new there.

Of course nobody can walk on a sunny day without GoreTex somewhere.

Then again one does not need to be a Black Friday dummy even now, using your brain is still allowed though frowned upon by some politicians and consumer company Chief Executioner Officers.

 

[Pattree]

@Firemagnet
Hi Lee. I think you’ll find a number of things that we touched on yesterday are current discussions here.

It might be a good idea to post something about yourself in the Introductions threads.
No one took the warning when I did and I’m still here

 

[RonW]

I was never really taken with BCUSA. And yeah, things did seem to become about the kit. All the gear and no idea. Drama is what drives conversations to some extent. There used to be many contentious threads, conspiracy stuff etc, i was guilty of being part of that, but damn, those convos could go on for weeks. Not everyone who is into bushcraft/survival are just guys who want to be at one with nature per se. Many do it as they believe they will need these skills one day. And its a good of a reason as any. Perhaps more so than one who just wants to chill in the woods... but over time, these folks met so much resistance... they left. Yet they were a core part of the forum once upon a time.

because of its size, there still is/was some content that was worth reading and looking at. But you'd have to wallow through a lot of "other content" to get to it.
And let's be honest, a lot of that conspiracy stuff turned out to be eerily accurate, didn't it?
And being one with nature.... yeah... with camera, online access and all..
I already noticed that adding content here, with pictures, is met with some obstruction. Shame really.


Some comments made me look up when I joined..... it'll be 14 years ago in 2 days!
Blimey....

 

[Macaroon]

Nothing wrong with older slower ways. That was how things went for centuries. Change came, but it was slower and easier to engage with. Nowadays it's breakneck speed, and I for one, have given up trying to keep up. It makes me uncomfortable. I'm staying in my comfy seat as much as possible, and attempting to learn old skills of many different kinds, and clinging tightly to a more comfortable slow life, the way it used to be in my youth. I think some modernisation is good and even inevitable, but my problem is the speed of life now. I just don't do 90mph any more.
I volunteered for a local food bank, but got left out of the loop as I filled in the form, and provided a landline contact, nobody could be bothered to phone and engage with me. Apparently, communication is a round Robin e mail, write it once, send it to everyone, that's the sum total of engagement.
Oh, well, they lost out on a volenteer. Sad, but there you are. So much for being desperate for help.
Sorry, had to stop there and plug in, so just to add.
They see the system they use as efficient use of time. I see it as lazy and uncommunicative.
They want to go at breakneck speed and don't seem to care about those who can't or don't want to "keep up"
Then we wonder why there seems to be a huge mental health problem. Sometimes to be efficient, we need to slow down, and smell the roses.

I agree with every word of that ^ couldn't have put it better.