Are we not capable of a little better?

First off I would like to say this is not meant to be a thread to air you dirty laundry or vent in and any discussion I would greatly appreciate being kept at a civil level, thanks in advance.

I have noticed more and more (especially this past few months) that this forum is becoming more of a place to argue , bicker , point fingers and such, than a forum on flashlights and related things in general. I was a member of another well known forum (for a short time), before I came here, that had a lot of the same thing happening, and I left there for these reasons (among a couple of other reasons) as it just was not a fun place at all.

This has been a great forum (still is, just not as great with all the drama lately), until recently to come to and have a good time, and learn a lot of things from with the vast wealth of knowledge from the members here. Lately though it seems I find myself hesitant to click on a lot of threads to “read up” because I know half of what I read will be arguing, bickering and insults between several people or arguing about something that really is not going to help or change anything to begin with.

It is my understanding that we have lost a number of members that were a great asset to this community, and I have seen a couple leave just since I have been here (or at least they are not active anymore). Those members may or may not still be here if things were handled differently by some people, but I can see we will probably be loosing more if things do not start to settle down some with all the mess going on here now days.

I understand there will be disagreements at times and different views, but why not keep it at a more civil manner instead of attacking someone right out of the gate, or using hateful or spiteful remarks, just because we don’t have the same view? We could all practice maybe just not responding if something is said we don’t agree with and move on. We could all use a little more patients and understanding sometimes (myself included). Lets all strive to make this a better place and a cut above other forums by trying to be the better people over here, instead of letting it turn into what most every other forum out there has become in this day and time.

Actually lets make this the best forum there is on the internet period, and get along as a community/forum family in order to help make that happen.

Thanks, David

+1

Well said.

Agreed. One particular current thread is a prime example.
24hrs+ now, of insults being thrown at fellow members - over what I deem trivial.
I have chimed in a couple of times to lighten the tone with a few quips. Not at all to do with me, but this type of arguing is a bit OTT now. No one seems to back down these days. Why do people try to force their opinions on others ? Sure, give & take advice, but if you don’t like something, just drop it / ignore and move on. Or at least discuss like adults.

Well said. I also happened to notice that with all these GB more and more people came to join us to take part in those GB but that also gave rise to the increase of whiny and pathetic comments from new members. I may not be a very long member here but I’ve been here long enough to know a couple of loyal and active members here who makes this forum a great place. For that I thank you. And those that joined but had so much to complain about, learn to live with imperfections. Nothing is perfect. Unless the products you received was really in a sh*tty condition, I understand your plight. Else, appreciate what you got for the price. This is a budget forum afterall.

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Agreed 100%

Cheers David

If anyone sees insults, hateful remarks, fighting, please pm Sb Mr.Admin We don’t need that junk here. And Sb is not a fan of it.

Sb has popped into threads to warn people to cut it out. And he has banned people who don’t listen. But members do need to bring it to his attention.

Is it one of the GB threads? Those threads can get so long that I’ve stopped bothering with them if I’m not particularly interested in the GB. I can live without arguing and insults so no big loss. :smiley:

I was not singling out any thread guys I am talking about many threads that end up in nothing but chaos or insults and arguing.

Hmmmm, well, I’ve noticed the exact opposite to what the OP is complaining about. This forum seems to be far more civil than 99% of the Internet, including cpf. Sure, there’s always some disagreement, this is the Internet after all, but I must be missing the flame threads you’re talking about.

Don’t take this the wrong way, but you have not been here that long.

The forum has changed with all the new members joining (partially) due to the group buys.

While the group buys are nice, I miss the old signal to noise ratio we used to have.

First thing imho, affiliate links should be banned from this forum.
1 or more years ago, the forum was much different, now each who has 5 minutes of time, pastes their links even if the same item is cheaper at another vendor.

@bdiddle I agree with you. I have been lurking long before I joined so I understand what you mean…

@koyotee personally fwiw, I do not care about aff links but those people who insists that we should use THEIR aff links are the problem. Why can’t we choose if we wanna use that link or not?

BLF is one of the friendliest forums I have every been on. Many people willing to help other.

If you think it is friendly now, you should’ve seen it a year ago. We are definitely trending down. I don’t like it, but I don’t know what to do about it. Even this thread will probably break out in an argument.

I am not saying there are not friendly folks here at all. What I am saying is that the level of the arguing and direct attacks and all the overall drama has increased lately and I would very much like to see what has escalated drop back down before it does become a big problem is all.

Well we are cheapskates :smiley: and cheapskates help each other! Hehe :wink: But on a more serious note, it’s true. Here at blf we get loads of members welcoming newbies. Over at the other side, only one or two are willing to say hi and give newbies a warm welcome. And being friendly is good for everyone. It’s a win win situation! :slight_smile:

I don’t want this forum to be like the other one. And PD68, I might agree with your statement. The first few months I was here, there was barely any of that cap until recently of the dispute over aff links. From then on the situation got worse.

It not as bad as most forums. I ignore most threads that break down into an argument,people need to PM more if they are going to have a personal discussion.

I do get tired of the "not it" or "I don't know" posts. If I got nothing positive/good to add I just don't say anything. Even this post is a stretch for me.We have had some JackHole members here and they were dealt with quickly.

Over all though, its been a good place.

I have to ask, what does Jack Hole mean?

I have to agree, the influx of people here to count coup has caused a lot of commotion. Sure, it’s great to get things stirred up and grow, but the growing pains are not so great.

I miss some of the people that used to always be here, the insights and willingness to help, the difference they made individually and collectively. ChicagoX, Foy, MattAus, Wight, some folks that made a big difference and were here a lot, even Scaru with his crazy over the top schemes. Everyone laughed when he had boards made for 7 XM-L emitters. Now everyone uses multi-cell without a thought about it at all. Even Old-Lumens has severely cut back and almost left us completely, and EVERYBODY knows he contributed immensely to noobs here.

When we were smaller, we were tighter. Everybody had more of the same interest, improving flashlight modding for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. Now we have a lot of profiteers crashing the party. The party is still on, mind you, but we’re not all in the same room anymore… divided. And that’s the thing that’s sad about it, that spirit of camaraderie that brought us all together.

I have to say, I haven’t been openly cussed before on a forum, EVER, not ANY forum… until recently, right here. And it still has me reeling a bit, the kind of thing that sure enough makes me want to simply leave.

Wrathbringer27, it’s a combination word, a new kind of urban slang combining JackA with A**hole. Not nice at all and very instigating. And unfortunately, the kind of mentality we have coming in these days.