Just Jeff
08-04-2010, 21:25
Starting Monday, 9 August, all threads not directly related to hammocks and hammock camping will be moved to the Donating Members section.
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In October 2006, some members from whiteblaze.net created HammockForums.net to be the go-to source for hammock camping information. We kept HF strictly on the topic of hammocks, and did not tolerate disrespectful behavior...and HF thrived because of that.
Over time, we became a tight-knit group of hammockers and created friendships...both online and in person, as hammock hangs began springing up nationwide. These friendships and the respectful online tone led to people wanting to discuss other hiking related topics in a respectful environment, where individuals felt comfortable posting their new ideas to be discussed and critiqued in a respectful manner. As the forum traffic increased, and additional moderators were added, we began to tolerate off-topic discussion. We even enabled it by creating off-topic subforums.
Because of this, however, Hammock Forums lost its focus. Discussion of knives, stoves, paddling, backpacks and other non-hammock related issues has detracted from our original mission of being the leading source of hammock information on the internet. Excellent information on all of these topics can be found on dozens of other sites around the internet...but only this site can claim to have the most experts on hammock camping in the world. We plan to return to our roots.
Starting Monday, 9 August, all threads not directly related to hammocks and hammock camping will be moved to the Donating Members section.
We expect some frustration from some HF members during this adjustment period, and we'll work thru that frustration together. We even expect to lose some of the newer members who are not as intensely focused on hammocks. However, this policy is not open for debate. Our goal as moderators is not to grow the forum, nor to provide a friendly discussion forum for outdoor enthusiasts. Our goal, as I said earlier, is to provide a respectful forum for hammock enthusiasts, and to ensure that it runs smoothly. Fewer posts, but higher quality ones focused on our primary mission area, is a perfectly acceptable outcome of this policy change.
So on 9 August, we will move all off-topic subforums into the Donating Members section and will moderate the on-topic subforums accordingly. We will return to our intense focus on hammocks, and encourage members to take their discussions on other outdoor issues to other forums.
=====
In October 2006, some members from whiteblaze.net created HammockForums.net to be the go-to source for hammock camping information. We kept HF strictly on the topic of hammocks, and did not tolerate disrespectful behavior...and HF thrived because of that.
Over time, we became a tight-knit group of hammockers and created friendships...both online and in person, as hammock hangs began springing up nationwide. These friendships and the respectful online tone led to people wanting to discuss other hiking related topics in a respectful environment, where individuals felt comfortable posting their new ideas to be discussed and critiqued in a respectful manner. As the forum traffic increased, and additional moderators were added, we began to tolerate off-topic discussion. We even enabled it by creating off-topic subforums.
Because of this, however, Hammock Forums lost its focus. Discussion of knives, stoves, paddling, backpacks and other non-hammock related issues has detracted from our original mission of being the leading source of hammock information on the internet. Excellent information on all of these topics can be found on dozens of other sites around the internet...but only this site can claim to have the most experts on hammock camping in the world. We plan to return to our roots.
Starting Monday, 9 August, all threads not directly related to hammocks and hammock camping will be moved to the Donating Members section.
We expect some frustration from some HF members during this adjustment period, and we'll work thru that frustration together. We even expect to lose some of the newer members who are not as intensely focused on hammocks. However, this policy is not open for debate. Our goal as moderators is not to grow the forum, nor to provide a friendly discussion forum for outdoor enthusiasts. Our goal, as I said earlier, is to provide a respectful forum for hammock enthusiasts, and to ensure that it runs smoothly. Fewer posts, but higher quality ones focused on our primary mission area, is a perfectly acceptable outcome of this policy change.
So on 9 August, we will move all off-topic subforums into the Donating Members section and will moderate the on-topic subforums accordingly. We will return to our intense focus on hammocks, and encourage members to take their discussions on other outdoor issues to other forums.