New Donating Member Category

[Trambo]

Since members were unable to have civil conversations about
firearms, could this be added as a Donating member section?

I do NOT know if the Donating Members would be able to have
adult conversations about this topic, or if the mods/owner would
even want this...... just a suggestion.

Is this topic TOO inflammatory, and would making a DM category help?

I "want" to believe that our DMs would be able to respect each
other and talk about this without letting emotions get in the way.
I also "want" to believe that it was open and public talks that provided
much of the drama.

It is highly possible that the mods do not want to deal with this at all.
As the previous mods said.... there are better forums to discuss this
issue at. As a counter to that, I would appeal that many of the "better"
forums have devolved into drama field hissy-fits the same that the
mods did not approve of.

Can we, as Donating Members, take a inflammatory subject and not
let our emotions and personal opinions get in the way? That's the
tough question to answer. The problem is political correctness and
the trend of wanting to impose your own personal opinions onto others.
Is there a way to get past this? ...... I don't know.

[Ramblinrev]

Those threads were always Donating member topics.

[Trambo]

Those threads were always Donating member topics.

I was not a DM until recently, and there were always several
threads about firearms in the public section, as they fell under
the General Hammock talk. Perhaps these were wrongly classified,
but I always viewed these public discussions as the ones that
created the most drama.

I had not known about the gun talk in DM section previously, as
I joined DM after the new rule was released. I have a question
about this ..... Was the gun talk civil in the DM section, or did it
always upset people? If it was uncivil, then this entire thread is moot.

[DivaB]

It seems to always get heated as there are two very strong separated sides on the gun issues, and emotions do get involved when there are such strong feelings either way. It is what it is. Sometimes the conversations here have been fine, but that has been more of a "direct thread" such as "where do you put your weapon when hammocking". Things of that nature do a little better than threads that are real open ended.

It would be great to suggest that those not for guns, not participate in threads regarding guns. Or you'd think it would be easy for anti gun individuals to just let pro gun individuals do their thing...but that is not reality when there are strong stands on both sides.

[dkurfiss]

Guns, religion, and politics...I don't believe any of them belong on a forum dedicated to Hammocks. People believe too strongly in them and the conversations always end up creating conflict and dividing the group. There are however plenty of forums where you can discuss any of the 3 topics to your hearts content...just not here

[Timberrr]

Guns, religion, and politics...I don't believe any of them belong on a forum dedicated to Hammocks. People believe too strongly in them and the conversations always end up creating conflict and dividing the group. There are however plenty of forums where you can discuss any of the 3 topics to your hearts content...just not here

+1

(actually +2 'cause Gumbo agrees too)

[Trambo]

Guns, religion, and politics...I don't believe any of them belong on a forum dedicated to Hammocks. People believe too strongly in them and the conversations always end up creating conflict and dividing the group.

I sort of agree with you.... but that is like saying that there are
better forums to talk about cooking on. Why not go to cooking.com?

The reason that I "wish" we could have gun talks, is not for the
information about guns, but solely for information about guns and
how it pertains to hanging and backpacking.

You are 100% right about people letting their strong views get in the
way of conversation. If the Donating Members are not able to have
a conversation about this ..... then there is absoutely no place on this
forum for it. I do also want to believe that most of the arguments
came on the public side of the forum.

DivaB's suggestion of not letting gun-haters discuss in gun threads
seems like a very simple solution, but I am sure that it would be
difficult to police.

One of the main things to think about all this... is that our current
moderators (only have two of them at the moment), are going to be
bogged down by the sheer volume of work that is needed. I do not
think that having gun talks is going to make their job easier. But, I do
wonder if we could have conversations that wouldn't need policing.

[mbiraman]

Guns, religion, and politics...I don't believe any of them belong on a forum dedicated to Hammocks. People believe too strongly in them and the conversations always end up creating conflict and dividing the group. There are however plenty of forums where you can discuss any of the 3 topics to your hearts content...just not here

+2 on the above

[Gresh]

NORMALLY, I'm the first person to back change.

If nothing ever changes, nothing can ever improve. However, I can't get behind this one and here's why: Everything on the Donating Member section of the forum with the exception of "roundtable off-topic" is at least marginally related to camping or camping gear - not just hammocks.

The argument can be made that shooting and hunting are outdoor sports and are marginally related (or even directly related) to camping, but things like paddling and clothing aren't divisive topics. Nobody argues about the legal ramifications of kayak ownership or the devastating effects of hitting somebody with a moisture-wicking pair of underwear.

I say these things as a gun owner, former member of a SWAT team, and as somebody with a love and appreciation for shooting...but also as a member of the forums. It's very easy to say "Well, people who aren't interested in or are opposed to guns would just avoid that forum" and while I would like to believe that the members of this community would exercise that sort of self-control, invariably somebody would break ranks with an opinion that just HAD to be expressed because it's the best opinion and what would very likely start of as rational discourse could very possibly deteriorate to name-calling and poo-flinging. It's best to just not introduce the topic altogether.

EDIT: It bears mention that none of these topics are taboo on group hangs or campouts with friends. Take the friends that you've made here or eventually will make here and join them for some time in the piney woods. I speak from experience that these topics come up on campouts with the friends that I've made here...it's just like discussing it here, but without the worry of it being a forbidden topic.

[Ratdog]

Hammocking, camping, hiking, backpacking, paddling, related topics, yes.

Self defense, killing stuff, Constitutional Rights debates, no.
Too many opportunities to discuss that stuff elsewhere.

The relatively low incidence of "what to carry while hiking" isn't enough to warrant inclusion imho and it's just not the vibe of this site methinks.

Just my 2 cents.