Resurrection of the Upland forum

So after yesterday's hunt stopped to chat with another hunter wrapping up his day. Talked about the "glory days" and the current state of the sport. Turns out he was a former member of the site. So did some fishing why he left. A bit because of the constant bickering and condescending post a bit that he couldn't post a pic of a successful hunt without being criticized. Turns out we also belong to another upland forum that is very active with alot of good stories and info and both agreed the success was due to the mod/admin strict adherence to the rules. Alot of differing opinions go on however if ones opinion crosses the line to being preachy or judgmental it gets shut down immediately.
I let him know that there has been changes and alot of the negativity curtailed. I encouraged him back to the site and see if its better.
So to all those who left, those who have been around, and those who are just starting take the time to share your questions and experiences and make this an active and growing forum.

They are not coming back .

The mistake made was that THE FORUM believed it was needed more than the members, overlooking the fact that the members were THE FORUM.

The forum was rife with fake accounts started by political party members pushing their agenda some who did not even reside in Canada, you could spot them a mile away.

Its to bad it got so out of hand before the FORUM realized what was happening and was completely hijacked. The BIG PURGE took out long time genuine members on here who were true hunters and fishermen but were passionate about their political views and maybe over expressed themselves thinking they were supported by like minded hunters but in fact were bad actors intend on divide and conquer, so the baby got thrown out with the bathwater.

I am now probably the longest time member of here since 2008 and I was on the old forum, so this is what I have observed over those almost 20 years.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

I am now probably the longest time member of here since 2008 and I was on the old forum, so this is what I have observed over those almost 20 years.

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Jeebus, you’re right Gilroy! You got me beat by a couple of weeks!

Looking forward to seeing what OFAH has in mind as part of its social media revamp.

Some great people here with lots of knowledge to share!

i think there are a lot of forums that are hurting because of all the things mentioned. I know I took a year or so off as I had had enough. I like to read posts and see pictures and will make a comment of good show. but there seems to be a lot of people that just look and leave. all it takes is a comment of nice hunt or something good. Not complaining or asking for coordinates to where you were. and you guys bet me by a few months.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the third version of the OOD Forums, and I remember that all the posts got wiped out going from the first version to the second. I used to be here every day, for many years, as I have all the "diseases".
It was important to me to read all the daily posts from Big Game to Ice Fishing, etc., and learn from others, or share stories and experiences. As the Internet and Social Media got bigger and bigger, the most valuable commodity became TIME and I am willing to bet that we are all short of TIME these days...:sad:
I was fortunate to meet many members in person, go fishing and hunting with them and - GASP! - even do business with a couple. There were people whom I wished to meet in person, but circumstances never allowed that to happen.
So, to address what FFF is saying about the "Old/Past Members", it is not that simple to analyze or pinpoint causes of their exit from these pages. Every person has their own logic and of course we all live very different lives from one another. I am definitely not on here on a daily basis anymore, and when I visit, I read more than I comment.
Gilroy is correct about them "political views" also, and today that factor is WORSE than EVER because we are getting more divided by our political beliefs, with no end in sight. (:~/
In my humble opinion, we need NEW blood to enter this online environment to keep things going, revitalize, and resurrect as FFF puts it. The "Old Guard" might have decided to spend more TIME in the forest than at a computer or phone...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

They are not coming back .

The mistake made was that THE FORUM believed it was needed more than the members, overlooking the fact that the members were THE FORUM.

The forum was rife with fake accounts started by political party members pushing their agenda some who did not even reside in Canada, you could spot them a mile away.

Its to bad it got so out of hand before the FORUM realized what was happening and was completely hijacked. The BIG PURGE took out long time genuine members on here who were true hunters and fishermen but were passionate about their political views and maybe over expressed themselves thinking they were supported by like minded hunters but in fact were bad actors intend on divide and conquer, so the baby got thrown out with the bathwater.

I am now probably the longest time member of here since 2008 and I was on the old forum, so this is what I have observed over those almost 20 years.

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I'm here from the old forum as well.
I'd agree that they are not coming back.
I think one thing that hurt this forum is that when there was a diehard who was an expert on a hunting topic, he'd often be contradicted and walked over by the keyboard warriors.
There were a few people that the great purge got rid of that I don't miss.
I can remember one gundog discussion where a dog guy was explaining the importance of breeding and someone pushed the idea that it was irresponsible to buy a dog when you could adopt one from a pound and that if you spent enough time training it, it would be as good as any other.
I can remember a deer hunting discussion where someone was insistent that the neck shot is the only shot to take because he shot a deer through the neck once. Every time this came up, he'd post the same pic.
AJ Hare and several others got chased off the forum by people who likely didn't spend a dozen days out in a year.
But that's okay - there still around in other - more modern - forums.

AJ HARE had his very own forum and could pick and chose members and he ran the whole show, yet that did not last very long.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

AJ HARE had his very own forum and could pick and chose members and he ran the whole show, yet that did not last very long.

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He's alive and well in a couple of FB groups now days.

I've been on here since 2008 and have seen several reasons why the Upland section has faded. I won't go into all my reasons , but one reason is that like many hunting activities, the regular upland hunting fans are getting old and young people aren't interested.

Internet forums in general have been in a long decline, with people favouring other forms of social media. Instagram is where you’ll find more of the younger upland hunters.