Ever since I learned of internet forums, I have become a junkie of sorts. I'd much rather read here than to read a magazine or a newspaper or to watch the tube. I have noticed several things that appear to hold universally true across the various hunting, fishing and boating forums.

There are some very, very bright people who spend their time here. Some are great writers, some are not, some are funny (I sit before the terminal literally laughing in tears sometimes)and some are boring, some are bringing an incredible depth and variety of experiences to the table others are narrow in their interests or are novices. We all gain knowledge from different teachings, experiences and readings. I get more of my shooting sports related knowledge from these forums than from all other sources combined. I want to thank all of you who share here for your contributions, irrespective of your individual writing style.

There are those who are rude and mean spirited. I have seen that these folks get too much attention on the forums. Like any flame, when not fed a constant supply of fuel it will wither away. Hard as it may be to ignore the flames, I've seen on other forums that it works. Another benefit is those who are visiting a site for the first time aren't frightened off by the animosity. I got roughed up my first time visiting a forum for suggesting I had a preferrence for a particular manufacturer's products. That could have been enough to chase off someone who could have otherwise ended up being a valuable contributor.

The deal here with Craig Boddington is like one I witnessed on another forum with an ammunition manufacturer. We would be crazy to run someone with that kind of experience off. Not because of their "celebrity" status, but because they can bring so much in terms of knowledge. If you think my thought process here is flawed then ask yourself this question. Would I rather have Paul Barnard or Craig Boddington sitting around the campfire with me. That answer would probably be different on the boating forums because of my life experiences in the Coast Guard. I'm sure these guys are pretty thick skinned, but if annoyed every time they try to contribute, they will eventually go away.

Unfortunately many don't know how or don't invest the time in disagreeing the right way. Kind of like a political election. Too much "Jerry Springer" if you will. Common decency seems to fall by the wayside too often. This is a another common problem. "Brand X sux". No additional information follows. Contributions are exponentially more valuable when qualified.

As the topic implies, these are assorted ramblings. Thanks again to those of you who contribute. I would like to post more often, but I am an utterly horrible one finger keyborder.

Paul

Paul,
You should sharpen up on your keyboard skills and post more often!!

HERE! HERE!

Paul, I tried to send this to you privately so as not to get 500grains or anyone else riled up, but I couldn't seem to get it to work. I thought you would like to know that I sent Craig a copy of your post and he seemed genuinely pleased. He leaves tomorrow to go pronghorn hunting, but I feel reasonably sure we'll hear something from him next week.

Shannon

Paul, got your PM but you have yours disabled so I could not reply. If you want to enable receipt of them, go to "my profile" and it will give you instructions.

Thanks,

Shannon

personally, i am rather embarrassed about what happened and the way a lot of people behaved. as i said in another post, it reminded me of my kids when they "show off for company."

i hope this doesn't run him off. we could all benefit from his experience and knowledge in both hunting and military issues.

See the B.G. Boddington: thread - Craig states his position there rather well.

Shannon

Thanks Goto for the PM info...Further evidence of the computer moron I make myself out to be. How will I know when I get PM'd?

Paul