A change in tone

[Evil D]

Am I worried about what someone else thinks about my "wall of text"? Not at all.

Big difference between a large text that conveys an open opinion, vs one that slams another person's opinion or goes on about how right they are.

[chuck_roxas45]

[The Deacon]

These threads pop up occasionally where an over-sensitive or nostalgic person says, "it's not like the good ol' days!". I really have noticed a change though and wanted to see if it was just me.

Obviously some changes are for the better. Penicillin, electricity, adorable cat videos on YouTube. I can't quantify ift he shift here has been overall good or bad and I don't have the guts to make a poll :). Heck, maybe I'm just one of those emotional nostalgia seekers too and this is pointless.

Maybe the older friendly forum was naive in its unwavering adoration of a brand. Maybe it needed a little self-reflection on the proper way to handle criticism. It just seems we flew way past that. A situation of us vs them and a pedantic squabbling over anything that wasn't bolted down.

I'm not trying to make any childish threats but I'll be spending a bit less time here contributing (as if that's a theat, haha!). It's just been about as much fun as a deposition unless you stick to brutal guidelines, avoid topics completely, or simply agree with the loudest voice in the room.

Life is difficult already; I'm not going to get worked up about pocket knives. That's why they invented video game and auto performance forums :p.

Your contributions will be missed, but I honestly can't blame you one bit for minimizing your visits here, as this has become a considerably less enjoyable place to hang out than it once was.

[VashHash]

I have been taking hiatus. Mainly to save my wallet but also because I've become interested in other knives. Not so much other companies. Just a different type of knife in particular. I like to browse back here every now and then. Some interesting steels and topics come up.

[Blerv]

Your contributions will be missed, but I honestly can't blame you one bit for minimizing your visits here, as this has become a considerably less enjoyable place to hang out than it once was.

Thank you Paul. Glad it's not just me thinking this. I'm pretty bad at quitting things and running out of hobbies so we will see :rolleyes: .

[RadioactiveSpyder]

With the more senior and sage members bowing out and posting less and less, this will indeed become a very different forum, if it isn't already. While this is very understandable, it is very unfortunate. I come here to be educated by you folks and look in amazement at your knives, whether they be old, dingy rusty dogs from the 80's and 90's to pristine collections hundred of knives deep. Not having that input and stabilizing force will be a big loss. R

[Bodog]

With the more senior and sage members bowing out and posting less and less, this will indeed become a very different forum, if it isn't already. While this is very understandable, it is very unfortunate. I come here to be educated by you folks and look in amazement at your knives, whether they be old, dingy rusty dogs from the 80's and 90's to pristine collections hundred of knives deep. Not having that input and stabilizing force will be a big loss. R

+1

[jumbo]

[edited: Good point, tvenuto.]

[tvenuto]

You see posts like the above do little to improve the tone. We can point fingers all day but in the end it's incredibly unhelpful. We can only control our own actions, so I say again: what can we each do to improve the atmosphere here? Even if it still is one of the friendliest places on the internet, it can still be improved upon, and it's up to us to do so. But don't take my word for it...

https://youtu.be/PivWY9wn5ps

[FCM415]

Jumbo: If you cannot understand why people are having problems by now then you never will.

It isn't just people who cannot control themselves when they are offended by him. Some of the most longest tenured and most respectful contributors here who never have issues with anyone have had difficulties with him also. It's a matter of everyone having their own way of responding, but almost all of those who ended up responding that way do not ever have issues with anything else in the forum either so I have to give them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps, they were provoked,... You cannot say that everyone here is just making this all up. It's a pretty diverse group. And like it has been discussed before, Cliff "pushes the right buttons" and stays under the radar. He's good at this, been doing it since the late 90's.

I have been vocal about this on every episode and have received multiple unsolicited PM's over the years complaining about him as well. To you guys I tell you this: Aside from speaking up, I cannot do anything more. Best bet is to PM Kristi like I have. I do not think that will change anything either and judging from the many posts on this thread by a big portion of its daily contributors, I sense a direction towards "conceding defeat" and accepting that this is now not only Sal's forum, but Cliff Stamp's as well.

Are you by any chance the same "Jumbo" that contributes on Mr. Stamp's forum?... And how's the weather in Canada by the way?

[wrdwrght]

Your contributions will be missed, but I honestly can't blame you one bit for minimizing your visits here, as this has become a considerably less enjoyable place to hang out than it once was.

Thank you Paul. Glad it's not just me thinking this. I'm pretty bad at quitting things and running out of hobbies so we will see :rolleyes: .

No, Blake, it's not just you, and I'm glad to see it's not just me.

[chuck_roxas45]

[Blerv]

Your contributions will be missed, but I honestly can't blame you one bit for minimizing your visits here, as this has become a considerably less enjoyable place to hang out than it once was.

Thank you Paul. Glad it's not just me thinking this. I'm pretty bad at quitting things and running out of hobbies so we will see :rolleyes: .

No, Blake, it's not just you, and I'm glad to see it's not just me.

Thanks Marc and every other person who wants to see things chill a bit around here.

As for the people blaming others for past immaturity: We get it and many of us agree with you. Nobody is perfect and holding grudges (different than forgetting) never helps anything.

Once collectively we stop thinking of this as an "us vs them" problem and a "how can I make this a better place?" one it's NEVER going to get better.

I've said too much. Talk to you about knives and stuff later :).

[chuck_roxas45]

[SpyderNut]

With the more senior and sage members bowing out and posting less and less, this will indeed become a very different forum, if it isn't already. While this is very understandable, it is very unfortunate. I come here to be educated by you folks and look in amazement at your knives, whether they be old, dingy rusty dogs from the 80's and 90's to pristine collections hundred of knives deep. Not having that input and stabilizing force will be a big loss. R

Well said, RadioactiveSpyder. It saddens me very much to see good folks like Blerv, BAL, and a few others, leave these forums due to the previously noted issues amongst the brethren here. I check in on these forums several times daily (perhaps a little too often per my wife's report :o ). I check in because I am typically quite interested in hearing what other Spydernuts have to say about Spyderco knives, as well as their ideas, suggestions, etc. However, I don't particularly enjoy the bickering, put-downs, or character bashing that we've seen here as of late. As a general rule, I do not read a post/thread that contains hostile commentary. In my line of work, I frequently deal with irate and sometimes very angry people. It saddens me to see similar negativity here too. Hopefully, we can figure things out soon and get back to the real reason why we're here: to discuss our passion for Spyderco's awesome knives! :)

[ManixFan]

memes2.jpg (9.34 KiB) Viewed 2166 times

[ManixFan]

Let me know when the public lynching is over. I've seen a great many of the people who are complaining who are also guilty of some less than proud moments themselves too at times..........so let's dial down the sanctimonious tone everyone......glass houses & stones and all that. :rolleyes:

I wasn't around during the "good ole days".....as I first joined in 2013 just before the last forum knife was introduced (lurked before that). But I recall many longtime members at that time (still a small fraction though) who were discussing restricting access to purchasing that knife to people who had been members for a certain duration of time.......which I thought wasn't very welcoming to new members. That wasn't a very nice tone to be greeted with either ......but I saw quickly, once everyone had calmed down on that issue, just what an awesome group of people there are on this forum.....so I stuck around.

Although I have had disagreements with others on the forum and noses had temporarily gotten out of joint I have not held grudges and have continued to be friendly with those who I have disagreed with in the past and completely respect their contributions. Everybody has bad days at times and those days are also the ones they might most like be willing to tangle with someone else......and regret it afterward.

I have posted some photos but I am not someone who wants proof of their whole collection out on the net - as well as identifying how many knives I might own......just like some people who wouldn't want to show off their arsenal in a Gun forum.......although I do appreciate the awesome photos that others who enjoy taking photos have posted. So I most likely won't ever be a large source of photographic eye candy.

The only photos that I made sure that I got out was the scale work that the Scott and Christina Gere did on a two S110v Mules as well as a nice little D'Fly sheath.......just to showcase the awesome job they did. These were posted in a thrad that I can't recall and weren't posted in the "Show your mules" thread .....which I have to get around to doing sometime. :o But I highly recommend them to anyone looking for sheaths and if you can convince them to do scale work for you (as I learned to understand that it is time consuming) then you are very lucky indeed!

Although I haven't been here that long or have a collection anywhere near the size of a great many forum members, I have enjoyed the forum immensely and aside from the period spats that occur.....and always will occur (we are human after all......and not by nature a very peaceful species)......... I THINK THE "TONE" OF THIS PLACE, especially compared to a lot pf places on the internet, IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING TO EVERYONE THAT DISCOVERS THIS GEM OF A FORUM.
:) :) :) :spyder: :spyder: :spyder: :) :) :)

So if you leave here (and everyone has to do what feel's best for them at the time) I really don't think that you will be gone for too long because if you are looking for a nicer crowd on other forums......well, you might be looking for quite a while because I think that the crowd here is pretty nice as it is......in spite of the minor negativity that sprouts up now and again. I myself will probably be posting less at times - especially since summer is here - and when I meet my next girlfriend I suspect that for a bit my time here might be severely curtailed as well but that won't be because of "the tone" of the forum.

What is truly IRONIC is that a thread discussing a tone negativity within the forum has become so negative in its tone in doing so. :confused:

Although I love the "tone" of the forum in general, I really don't like the tone of this thread too much and the longer it goes on, I predict the worse the tone will get. I hope everybody has vented enough by now and can get on with life without harbouring grudges towards other forums members in the future.......and just waiting to pounce on others when the opportunity arises just as payback for a prior imagined slight or bruised ego.

So I will leave you all to continue this discussion without me. I am just too curious not to read the subsequent postings that will follow (after all I followed "Chloe's posts for a while just for the sheer entertainment value :D ) but most likely will not be contributing further to this thread.

I sincerely hope that Taz shuts this thread down sometime soon. Any potential positive purpose that it initially might have had has now slid into a progressively more negative tone that is not worthy occupying the energy of the members of such a great forum as this one. Manixfan is very sad right now ........but I don't have the energy to leave you all with the meme of a crying cat......perhaps someone else can do the honours on that one before this thread gets locked (hopefully)

I have a selective and limited use for FRN (but do enjoy it on the models that I do have) and I don't like coyote brown G10 for knife scales - although I do like some variations of the colour on backpacks (weird eh?). I'll try to take it easier in how I state my preferences......and please take it easier on how you might jump on my opinions because you happen to absolutely love FRN and brown or safety orange G10.

I'll be seeing all you wonderful people in other threads......and I promise that I will try to think twice before contributing any negativity of my own........but please don't jump all over me if I am critical of some detail on your favourite knife......that is never personal - just a stated preference offered as feedback. I apologize to any that I might have offended in the past and ask that you give me the same break that I try to give others in making an effort towards not holding grudges towards those that have attacked me in the past. I am not trying to establish "fault" for past spats......I just would like to move forward with a positive attitude towards others. Feeling negativity towards others only hurts your own sense of well-being......try to let it go. Forgiveness towards others is for your benefit......the additional benefit towards others is a more incidental thing.

So come on now everyone......let's see a big ole Forum group hug! :)

Later Dudes........Steve

P.S. Oh, yeah - just don't call me Francis......that's my mother's name....for real. :p

Later edit: Thanks Cliff but that reference was recently reintroduced to me by a younger dude on this forum. But thank you for the forgiveness you sent my way........does it make it better that he isn't a blood relation? Or, is there some genetic deficiency that I share with my sister in being able to tolerate and even on occasion enjoy the company of Newfs? :D

But thank you Darby for re-introducing me to a great classic.....which I was around for when it was released. As I recall, I didn't get the reference at first when you told me to "Lighten up Francis" and I responded by addressing you as "Nancy" in my reply....an example of my ruffled feathers as a result of my not getting a pop culture reference......but I think that we're past it all now though :)

[Cliff Stamp]

What is truly IRONIC is that a thread discussing a tone negativity within the forum has become so negative in its tone in doing so.

The irony of constant insults in a thread complaining about a loss of a friendly tone is kind of amusing.

I sincerely hope that Taz shuts this thread down sometime soon.

When people feel they are injured and subject to injustice, real or imagined it doesn't matter, telling them to shut up is one of the worst things you can do. Now they not only feel they were wronged they now feel they are being made a further victim of oppression and that no one can see how they are wronged. Let everyone who wants to rant about drama do so here while the people who want to actually talk about Spyderco's knives and sharpening can do so in other threads.

As an aside, nice catch on the Stripes reference. I even forgive you for being related to someone from Botwood.

[Archimedes]

What is truly IRONIC is that a thread discussing a tone negativity within the forum has become so negative in its tone in doing so.

The irony of constant insults in a thread complaining about a loss of a friendly tone is kind of amusing.

I sincerely hope that Taz shuts this thread down sometime soon.

When people feel they are injured and subject to injustice, real or imagined it doesn't matter, telling them to shut up is one of the worst things you can do. Now they not only feel they were wronged they now feel they are being made a further victim of oppression and that no one can see how they are wronged. Let everyone who wants to rant about drama do so here while the people who want to actually talk about Spyderco's knives and sharpening can do so in other threads.

As an aside, nice catch on the Stripes reference. I even forgive you for being related to someone from Botwood.

Cliff, I think you are on trial here. Like a no confidence vote. Like black balled. You know, "doesn't play well with others" type thing. Senior forum members have spoken. They carry serious weight IMHO.

Just saying. It is kind of time to be less provacative and bury your pride. Pride cometh before the fall.

I never attacked your character, your character, that is between you and your maker. I only stated how I felt you come across on the internet. I have no ill will towards you Cliff and I wish you the best.

[tvenuto]

Did no one listen to Michael Jackson!?