Hate to say it though, but TOO could use a few newbies. Having some new guys come in and ask some questions would liven things up and give TOO a chance to gain some momentum.
We wanted a place to talk about hunting, but most of the members are experienced enough that they dont have many questions anymore.
By the way, I'm in the TOO contest, I nominate flutman to run it, since it was his idea, and I think the last place finisher should be the handy giver.
just sayin.
I agree with Dante. I've given this alot of thought over the last month, wondering about the direction this site will ultimately take and thinking about "giving back" to the hunting community. If this post hijacks, so be it.
OS was the first online forum I've ever participated in...so as a new hunter I was also learning about forum participation. I really invested a lot of time and energy reading threads and looking up references and studying about deer hunting. I asked a lot of questions and tried to make them good ones. I've had to learn on my own, leaning on y'all and the others who were helpful on OS...and I can honestly say that after one and a half seasons I feel like I can "hold my own" with a knowledge base that outstrips a lot of casual hunters that have been at it longer than I have. Not trying to sound arrogant, it's just that I've really worked at it and humbled myself and listened and studied.
Now that being said, I'm very grateful to those who've helped me learn and shared their knowledge along the way, and feel like I (we all) should pay it forward. I hope this site develops a culture that is friendly to new hunters needing to learn (and have no buddies or experienced mentors). I would like to see the Mentor portion of the site turn into a "Whitetail University" where the collective knowledge and experience of this group could be gathered in reference fashion to refer those newbies to; so they could read the answers for themselves in a sticky thread, then maybe expand on it or ask for clarification of what it is they don't understand. We gotta figure out how to school the noobs in a helpful, non-condescending fashion while avoiding the burnout of answering the same friggin question for the 87th piss-me-off time.
I know this can't happen overnite, and will require the participation of many members - Jesse and Jacko can't carry the whole load. Especially now, with opening day 11 days away.
But that's what I wanted to say, thanks for listening.
And thanks to all for sharing - I've learned alot from you since 2008 and still learning (like it or not).
And I wanna be on Swantucky's team, so I can redeem myself to him from my dismal performance last year.
