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  1. #1
    Member thepapasmurf's Avatar
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    Non-Donator Question section/ hammocking topic section.

    I recently joined and made a post asking for advice on where I should go in the off-topic section as it seemed the only viable place to ask the question. I was getting a lot of amazing feedback and the advice that was given made me thrilled to meet such an amazing community. Well it was moved today to the backpacking section of the forums under the donator's subforum and I lost access to the info I found so helpful. It left me rather frustrated and confused and kind of felt as if I was being forced into donating. I intend to donate and just need to wait for my paycheck because I do find this forum to be very helpful and do want to help the community pay for its costs.

    So now that you know the background here is my suggestion. It would be nice to have a place for new members to ask questions or a hammock related topic section in the forums that is not expressly for donators. This would allow more traffic to get advice and keep what happened to me from happening and potentially driving off new members who are looking for advice as they are just joining the hammocking community or looking for more like minded individuals.

    In the end want to say thank you for the for hearing me out.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    In my opinion (which counts for nothing), your thread should have been moved to the Trip Planning forum which is still in the non-donor section.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Zilla's Avatar
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    Exclamation

    I really dont think that the site is set up to force anyone to donate, after about a week of reading and gaining knowlede i personally felt guilty for not donating, From what i have seen the admins and mods are more concerned about the integrity of the site and making the forum a place of knowledge and helping each other out in anyway they can alot more than they are worried about money!, There are plenty of other threads that you can post your questions in that you dont have to be a donating member to enjoy!

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    I just finally donated today. I had a stove thread moved as well and was told it is due to the free forum being hammock specif. I'm cool with that. It would be nice to have a day or two preview of what the donating member forum looks like. Apparently there is all sorts of stuff over there about food and gear and all kinds of goodness. I had no idea.

    Also didn't realize it was only $10 a year.

  5. #5
    silentorpheus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thepapasmurf View Post
    I recently joined and made a post asking for advice on where I should go in the off-topic section as it seemed the only viable place to ask the question. I was getting a lot of amazing feedback and the advice that was given made me thrilled to meet such an amazing community. Well it was moved today to the backpacking section of the forums under the donator's subforum and I lost access to the info I found so helpful. It left me rather frustrated and confused and kind of felt as if I was being forced into donating. I intend to donate and just need to wait for my paycheck because I do find this forum to be very helpful and do want to help the community pay for its costs.

    So now that you know the background here is my suggestion. It would be nice to have a place for new members to ask questions or a hammock related topic section in the forums that is not expressly for donators. This would allow more traffic to get advice and keep what happened to me from happening and potentially driving off new members who are looking for advice as they are just joining the hammocking community or looking for more like minded individuals.

    In the end want to say thank you for the for hearing me out.
    First off, welcome to the forums!

    I can understand your frustration. While I do not officially speak for HF.net, I can assure you that the intention was not to try and strong-arm you into donating. The members only sections, while a perk, are just a portion of what Hammock Forums has to offer.

    To address your question directly - the entire non-member section of the forums (probably 80% of the material) is the place for new and old members alike to ask questions and get advice on hammock related topics. That is the focus of this site, and that material always has been and hopefully always will be free to all, without restriction.

    The issue that comes into play was that your question, albeit related to your hammocking learning adventure in an ancillary way, was not 'hammock related'. You had asked for suggestions on where to go backpacking - and while one could argue that you were planning on using your hammock while doing that backpacking, it was not directly a hammock question. And thus it got moved to the section of the forum where general-outdoors-backpacking-camping threads get moved to.

    gmcttr might have a point, that it might have been better served moving it to the trip planning forums. But the other side of the coin is that at no point in your post (or the following answers) was the word "hammock" ever used or mentioned. Had you asked "Where are some good places to hang in X area" it might have been a different story.

    I know it seems like arguing semantics - and I hope it doesn't sour you to the overall experience and wealth of information available here. But the mods here are fair and reasonable, though they are tasked with the daunting task of trying to keep the primary focus of the site centered around hammocks, and sometimes have to make judgement calls that might be contrary to what individual members may think or desire.

    Good luck, thanks for visiting, and I hope you decide to stay a while.

  6. #6
    Member thepapasmurf's Avatar
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    I cannot remember nor can I look up exactly how the post started I may or may not have mentioned that I was going hammocking personally. Also if I did not mention I was hammocking off-topic should have been the best place for this. I think the mod did the right thing moving it as there is not really any better section for a question of this type. I am also not accusing any of the staff as I do not feel it is there intention to strong-arm as you put it into donating.

    Merely stating it would be nice to have a place to ask questions as new members of any topic as long as it relates in anyway to hammocking or the activities surrounding it. This way new members are able to ask questions and get amazing advice from this phenomenal community with out feeling pressured into donating in some cases.

    This would also spur new members interest in what I have found to be a fun hobby. Though for people who are not outdoorsmen/women may want to get into hammocking after seeing youtube posts can be lead here and we should encourage them to ask questions and help them so they will find it easier to enjoy. So a question specific section is more of what I am suggesting. As a place where you can go called help or question section would be a great tool to find info for everyone.

    I also agree that the content and community here is well worth donating to and yes 10 bucks a year is not a lot. I also feel the site deserves the donations as the community and content is well worth it. I would go so far as buying merchandise with logos for the site.

    please excuse any typo's using a tablet atm as I am not able to reach my desk. must also note i was confused it was in the general hammocking section as there is no off-topic section so I apologize for that confusion but my suggestion still stands.
    Last edited by thepapasmurf; 12-16-2013 at 13:47.

  7. #7
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    Is the $10 donation worth it? I think it obviously is to you. I personally think that a $10 donation can't be called strong-arming and isn't going to drive off new members - it's ten dollars! Your frustration and confusion apparently stems from not familiarizing yourself with the HF TOS:

    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ad.php?t=78733

    The TOS clearly states, "Our goal is to provide a respectful forum for hammock enthusiasts, and to ensure that it runs smoothly…not to grow the forum, nor to provide a friendly discussion forum for general outdoor enthusiasts. Discussion of knives, stoves, paddling, backpacks and other non-hammock related issues detracts from our primary objective."

  8. #8
    Member thepapasmurf's Avatar
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    Also after reading the tos again I apologize if this post breaks any rules as I just seen this and it states it is not open for discussion. I was just merely stating a question specific area for non-donating members would be helpful. As stated before 10 bucks is not a lot for a year and feel it is well worth it just was tapped out on savings due to holidays until payday.

    "All threads not directly related to hammocks will be moved to the Donating Members section. Fewer posts, but higher quality ones focused on our primary mission area, is a perfectly acceptable outcome of this policy. Please note that if you are not a donating member, you will not have access to a thread you started that gets moved to the off-topic area. You may either participate on topic in the free access areas or donate to get access.

    This policy is not open for debate, so please do not email the moderators with requests that we run this forum like others you frequent. "

  9. #9
    Senior Member Jcavenagh's Avatar
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    This person is not the first to feel this way.
    But the TOS is clear.
    We just are not accustoned to looking at those when we browse the web.
    I, too, was surprised when a thread I started got moved. I ponied up $10 and am happy I did.
    BTW - The OP was looking for trail suggestions in the SC/NC boundary area. Trip planning might have been an appropriate location, but backpacking also fits.
    The road to success is always under construction.
    http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

  10. #10
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    "This policy is not open for debate, so please do not email the moderators with requests that we run this forum like others you frequent. "

    Don't know who authored this, but it sure sounds like AngrySparrow!

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