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Posts: 8772
| Sometimes I hate the internet. Lots of times I hate the internet. There are those redeeming moments, like the guy who lost his stuff at the show and got it back. It's nice to be able to help a new guy out, saving him the trouble of making some of the dumb mistakes we all made starting out, saving him from wasting thousands of dollars on gliders for example, or buying rods reels and more rods and reels that don't fit how you fish.
But all the hype? It ain't good. The fact that you can post a picture of a fish and someone else can figure out where you were and go fish there? That ain't good.
The fact that a bunch of people can get together and hype the bejesus out of something that may well turn out to be a turd? Nope, no good.
It's fun to talk about muskies during the off season, and network with a bunch of other crazies, at least you know you're not dying to fish all by yourself.
But some of the discussions start out good and turn into ugly and stupid really quick. Made a few friends, probably made a few enemies.
I used to only see the positive things about the internet muskie world. But I've been around here long enough to see quite a few really good anglers get chased off by the egos, the jerks, the snot nosed kid who posts as "guest" and really has nothing valuable to say...
If people tend to show their true colors when they're hiding behind a screen name, seems a lot of people are @#$%^&%$. That ain't good.
If they just act that way on the internet and they're decent people in real life? Well, that ain't good either.
Seems like the most knowledgeable guys out there never post a thing. It's too bad. I've made friends with some of them and they've taught me a lot. A LOT. But I don't blame them a bit....
Sharing knowledge and information is great, and I'm sure a lot of people take a lot away from the discussions. Maybe too much sometimes?
Sooooooo, the internet:
Good?
BAD?
or Just plain ugly? 
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Personally I'm ugly. Deal with it. |
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Posts: 8772
| 'ya may be ugly, but that little tidbit of information at the bottom of your post saved me a lot of trouble. Now I don't have to weigh them to see which ones float! |
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Location: Sun Prairie, WI | It's like anything else in life...there are positives and negatives. Everything in life has trade offs, EVERYTHING! It's just a fact of life. You take heart in the positives and try to let the negatives slide off your back. If people let the anonymous posters who make snotty remarks get them down, then I think there are other issues at hand if something as trivial as a post on an Internet site gets under their skin.
It's just words on an Internet site. There are a lot more things to be concerned about in this world than what someone says, anonymously or not, on a board.
IMO, this is a great site. I get a lot of information here. I try to help out when I can, which may not be often, but I'm willing to help when the opportunity presents itself. Like I said, you have to feel good about the positives and let the negatives slide.
There are other outdoor sites that are downright nasty, and I only go there to get fishing reports. Very rarely do I go to the threads and read them on the one particular site I'm referring to.
The Internet...like anything else in life, there's good in it and bad in it. There's nothing on this planet that you can't say that about... nothing. |
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| the good:
advice on rods/reels/boats/equipment/lures etc
the bad:
everyone can make them self out to be a fish catching machine by just spewing out a few articles and tidbits they read in mhunter or esox mag when in reality they don't have a clue on the water
the ugly:
over hyping and pushing too much pressure on certain bodies of water.
bette's mug! |
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Posts: 250
Location: Pittsburgh, PA | parts are good but people abuse so then it turns bad thats my take on it |
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Posts: 457
| I dunno, I guess I take the lumps. Some schmoe told me that I looked like an idiot for defending a particular brand of bait based on my opinion. I guess we aren't meant to have opinions anymore? Although I kinda fired off a seething nasty-gram right back at him, because his general demeanor was pretty trashy..
Anyhow, its a good thing, that sometimes gets ugly. I try to think positive, and try to get around the mentally unstable. |
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Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Give what you will, take what you will. Time on the water will prove out the value of both.
There will be those who are very good, some who are good and some who are learning to be. It's not all that hard to figure out, and what does it really matter at the end of the day? Ask a question here and you'll get 50 answers from your peers-- who are all one of the above.
The number of visitors here represent the population of a pretty good sized city. There will be those who are in their early teens, and those who are senior citizens; trick is to figure it all out. Of course there will be every personality one expects in a good sized city, that should surprise no one.
I've made some lifelong fishing friends here, and know alot of other folks have too. I've learned a ton, and hope I've shared a thing or two. That's about as good as it is going to get, I think.
Same things were said about print and TV yet muskie fishing and society survived both.
And the MuskieFIRST moderators DO so try to keep the total trash-talk out in the cyberbarrell. |
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Posts: 1168
| Double edged sword.
The good is the easy access to info. The bad is the easy access to info. A learning curve can be shortened but smallish waters can get over publicized. Having a guy ask me for GPS coordinates and then going ballistic on me when I wouldn't give them up is a definate bad.
The worst are those who feel the need to chime in on everything imagineable. It dilutes alot of the usefulnes off good topics. Use some sanity...sit back, read, listen, and you will learn.
One day when I hopped in a boat with a much wiser man than I, he talked of those who "understand" how the internet works. It shed much new light on his ongoing squabbles with another individual that nearly everyone perceives as being antagonistic but yet the two respect each other's abilities a ton and part of why they do it is to make each other better fishermen. There have been many squabbles overtime on here and other sites and few fall into that category where they would enhance each other's abilities. Alot of it is just the same old same old "I'm right, you're wrong, I'll take my ball and go home."
The internet tough guys are a hoot. Gotta ask yourselves...would you say such asinine stuff to the same person if you were in a boat with them? I toss digs at Merckid left and right...but he usually is deserving of them...hehehehe. It's stuff I have no problems saying to his face and usually the face to face stuff is a bit more biting.
Ah yes...internet tough guys...
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Posts: 1636
| the good - entertainment when you cant be on the water and meeting new people at the muskie shows. so far everyone i have met has been really cool and easy to talk to. i'm sure a lot of the "tough guys" are too...but the internet is an easy place to voice your opinion and call someone out...thats why people do it.
the bad - no hot women posting pictures frequently (my gf just slapped the #*#* out of me)
Edited by Reelwise 2/19/2008 9:03 PM
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | It is what you make of it. I try to be very unconfrontational, I am generally treated the same way in return. I find it works a whole lot like real life.
I have found very few bad or uglies here. The boards are very well moderated, there is a very good mix of people, ideas and opinions. You sort through what you have to, but there is a ton of great info on here.
Come here with an attitude, you will probably get it back. Come here to help and be helped, you will probably be just fine. |
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Posts: 129
Location: Milwaukee Wi | BAD BAD BAD i agree to the whole thing there are alot of times people have awsome ideas i see it often and they post them and some one else steels there idea and capitalize on it i have been makeing my lures the same way for about 10 years and alot of people tried to copy ive seen it as bad as someone xraying a lure (not mine) to figure out how it was weighted. But i love to fish and i love talkin to all you guys thats what it has come down too. |
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| saving him from wasting thousands of dollars on gliders (I cant agree more), dont waste your money on gliders!!! |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | the good..........a world of information
the bad...........you have to decide for yourself what is good in info and what is bad info
the ugly.........people who have very little expereince who pretend to be experts and wind up steering people who need to learn the wrong way.
bn... i agree and thank you for your plastic surgeons phone #. as soon as i get enough saved up i will call him, he sent me pictures of everything he did for you! you were right the guy can work miracles! |
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| Yah, look at how pretty Cochran is now! He even has a hot girlfriend..that guy can do wonders!
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | wow...Cochran has a hot girlfriend???? Now his beauty salon blonde highlights are hot!!! |
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Posts: 32880
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | OK, is this thread now good, bad, or ugly?
Plastic Sturgeons? |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i'm thinkin' this would be a good place for me to just shut up ... lol |
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Posts: 335
Location: Minnesota | The good
1. I have had some great conversations with people that I would not have otherwise talked to because of things they posted here and I sent them a PM and they were willing to talk a little more about a certain subject directly. Maybe someday I will be in the boat with someone I met here who knows.
2. I have learned a few more things about this sport that I didn't know before.
3. The experts and respected people like Doug Johnson who contribute to this site in a positive manner.
The Bad -
1. When some jerk has to point out to the rest of the world that they are clever and figured out where a particular musky was caught based on the picture's background. Come on, do we really need to prove how smart we are?
2. When people feel the need to post a negative comment about someone else. If you can't say something nice.... shut the hell up! A few bad apples ruins it for all.
The Ugly
1. The people who hijack threads and steer them away from the original intent. If you can't contribute in a positive way to the thread don't reply- I would like to not have to sort through those comments. There is a good example of this today!
The good outweighs the bad and the ugly, it is just hard sometimes to keep things in perspective. |
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Posts: 20212
Location: oswego, il | I agree with Norm, it is what you make from it. Like Steve said as well. some of us have made good life long friends because of it. Just about all my fishing success can be traced back to this site in one way or another from info, friends met here or friends of freinds met here. You can be enlightened or entrenched by coming here or any fishing site. |
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Posts: 184
| If people are so worried about someone finding out their 'secret' spot. Spend 5 mins with photoshop and edit the pic so it would be impossible. Or don't post the pic at all...
I think it's hilarious people actually take time to 'figure out' where the fish was caught.. Honestly, if it's THAT important to you, PM the OP and ask him straight up. If he says no, then leave it at that... |
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Posts: 1906
Location: Oconto Falls, WI | I also agree it's what you want to get out of it. However, I have noticed the last two years or so have really become more Bad and Ugly on the internet than it was in previous years. Not sure what it is. I for one have become more of a lurker than a poster. A lot of others have as well that use to contribute quite a bit. I see a lot more people looking for recognition or looking to chest pound than in the past, and I think that just detracts from the discussions.
In my opinion most days on these boards are pretty ridiculous. Buuuuuuuuut, there are days that some pretty good tidbits do pop up. Since it is free to browse you really don't have much to loose weighing through all the crap looking for those good little tidbits.
I have made some good friends through the boards, as well as some enemies. These #*^@ boards have also aided in fueling the obsession as now we can all breath musky fishing 24/7 if we choose. That can be good, and bad!
Edited by CiscoKid 2/26/2008 12:26 PM
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| The Classifieds Section is full of good stuff and very well run. The Basement Baits Section is really cool too. |
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Posts: 158
Location: Burlington, WI | I think the good definitely out weighs the bad and ugly. I've asked a few simple questions in the past on here, and got back a lot of useful information from people who don't even know me trying to help me. For that I say thank you to all of you who are willing to help others, and I hope I can repay the favor at some point in time. The good: a person asks about Osbourne Bay in August probably because he wants to know if it is worth his $1000 or so to be able to fish the way he wants. The advice given may save some money, or aid in having a great fishing experience. This is the good if you ask me. The bad and ugly: if you can't decipher these for yourself and let them roll off your back I'd say there are a lot other things in life that are going to bother you as well. Life is too short to let that stuff bother you. Go out and enjoy fishing. When someone can't do that then maybe its time to quit. |
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Posts: 384
Location: Eagle River, Alaska | The musky boards got me going on fishing forums.....they have been a fascinating part of my time online. Starting even before MuskieFirst with meeting Steve Worrall and Jason Smith online then in person. Arguing points of muskie history and research, or lack of it at times, has been an enjoyable experience. Although I do not get to go musky fishing very often I have met some of the best people while muskie fishing, especially some of the guides. Have had vehement disagreements with some that we have, in the end, just agreed to disagree...but overall it has been a very good experience. I participate in many different kinds of fishing boards but none are as unique as musky forums.....it has a diehard base which is more vocal and unidirectional than any other type of fishing.....even if, at times, I believe it is a bit to myopic to see the forest from the trees. There are many good people here and MuskieFirst keeps a good reign on things getting out of hand. But it is true I have seen many great muskie fishermen disappear off of nearly every musky board with time due to criticism and poor treatment by us....the unwashed masses. That is sad because off the potential information these men would have to share....there is good, bad and some ugly...it's the nature of the beast. BTW my handle as DocEsox is my moniker on every website I visit.....that, of course, I owe to musky forums.....
Brian |
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| The internet is just a big meeting place if you ask me, so to speak. I used to be pretty big into games, whether text based or actual games you buy. It's been like 8 or so years now since I've been online and I just came to realize a while ago that no matter where you go online, there will always be people that piss you off or people you just can't understand. People can't make you react however so, yes, it's all on you and how you take things. You can learn a lot about people simply by interacting with them in conversations, atleast that's what I think. Back to the beginning..no this website is not a game but why am I comparing it with games? Well it's just a place where a lot of people from around the world visit and share thoughts..so it's very comparable when you get right to it.
I do not visit these websites regularly anymore because I find a lot of people I don't agree with and no matter how hard I try I can't change that because I'm still learning (who isn't). I like the videos and pictures though because I love fish..I am still waiting to get a DVR for our Aqua-Vu just to share what we see, PLUS YOU CAN'T REALLY GIVE AWAY YOUR SPOTS UNDERWATER..hahahahaha. No really. Whoever said "It's all the way you take it" first was dead on. That's all I've got to say without going off on ALL the dislikes and likes that have to do with Fishing Websites, that wouldn't be fair on my part because it would only cause more controversy and I think there is enough going on in everyone's lives, without all the online drama. Plus, I wouldn't be able to take it as well as some others do because that's just how I am.
I probably repeated several other posts in this thread but I never read them all so eh...my vote would be neither good, bad, nor ugly...but more along the lines of "eh it's only the internet". |
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The good, the bad, and the ugly....