Innocent question
Please don't anyone take this the wrong way, or run with it the wrong way. Out of curiosity, what is this "other" site that was mentioned in another post VSF or VFS or something like that. Is there a history present that some of us newbies should know of?
Jeff
[url=http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeromain?id=8:f7f31]http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeromain?id=8[/url:f7f31]
It's another Fly Fishing forum...there are members here from both boards (I am one). This board and that one are extremely different with different rules...and that has brought about some "conflicts". I won't go into details, I'm sure you will figure it out if you haven't already.
Both are great boards with knowledgeable people, but the Off Topic board over there is where people can joke around and really have some fun, especially this time of year when people have cabin fever.
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"If firearms cause crimes and kill people, all of the ones I have must be defective."
[This message has been edited by Spud (edited 25 January 2005).]
As Spud has said! It can be a real brouhaha at times.
If you go over there, you'll find a number of boards on different topics. The "Main" board is their equivalent of the FAOL board here. The "Off Topic" board is totally unmoderated and is kind of a wild west bar room. So don't go there unless you can handle that...but do if you can.
Fool,
There is kind of a history that is interesting with VFS (virtual fly shop) and although I can't do it justice I'll try some of the basics.
It was started in the early or mid 90's by a couple Canadians Greg McDermott and Ross Purnell and I think there might have been another but I'm not sure. They developed their own BB software and promoted a fairly interactive website for the fly fishing community. It got big and noticed. It also developed a camaraderie that was unique to the earlier years of such boards. One of the entities that noticed the site was Fly Fisherman Magazine (prinemedia) and they bought them out and moved the operation to Fort Collins CO; believing that they were going to be able to tap into the income generating (subscriptions) of this internet thing. Well that never materialized for them no matter the level of content they pushed. I think mostly because they didn't understand the content that we all found overwhelmingly valuable was the information and entertainment we shared amongst ourselves. Anyway they shifted the whole web presence around and re-arranged both the software and the personal and a couple incarnations later VFS (which exists only in the minds of those of us older regulars) ended up being farmed out to the Florida Sportsman Site.
VFS doesn't exist but we use the name to remind ourselves of the camaraderie and innocence of the early years of such forums.
I'm sure I got some details wrong and certainly left out many more, as I wasn't involved until '96 or so. But I will always remember the VFS that got together and organized two fundraisers for Gary LaFontaine during his last two years of life that brought together people from around the world in a common effort to help one of our own, within a format that hadn't really been tried before.
I know that there is a history of FAOL as well that is written somewhere and I'm sure someone will link you to it. It too is quite a legacy.
Have fun
Bubba
I think the most interesting thing about the VFS is they were really the 1st really large fly fishing Internet site - and successful at building a community. They were purchased by the Fly Fisherman Magazine which I believe at that time was not yet owned by anyone else...
they did fly swaps, had a great data base on flies, neat stuff. However, once they were owned by someone else, the 'bean counters' got into the picture as so often happens, and things which weren't 'making money' were dropped. As I understand it, the BB software became outdated and could not be retrofitted so the BB was moved to the current location.
I'm sure if I have it wrong someone will correct me. The original idea was really
unique! At one point the VFS 'board' was going to be by subscription, which is why FAOL is free. I believe they are two years older than FAOL.
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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
The thing that amazes me is that the people that run that board let people cuss and post pictures that are not that great for children to see. I do not believe that they care one bit about the children that may come on and view the things that get posted on that sight. I know some of the people that post on it sure don't.
I am on another board that has an area for people to vent on but you have to prove you are 18 and you get a special number that you have to log in to get there. That is as it sould be.
But not on VFS. Dang shame if you ask me. The fellow that seems to run it must not give a hoot either. The funny thing is they give posters a rating? And they ones that are the worst seem to have the highest rating? Ron
I see people complain regularly about what is posted on the net that children may see. When did parents abdicate their responsibility to know what their children are watching, reading, and hearing? I clearly remember my parents saying "you can't watch that, it's not appropriate..." and things to the like.
It seems like most people nowadays want other people to "self moderate" so that their kids aren't corrupted. My thought has always been(I'm a parent myself), you wanted the kids, why don't you take the responsibility for raising them as you see proper? If the internet is a bad place for them, don't let them use it without supervision.
Frankly, I like having a place to say what's on our mind without having to be "politically correct" or worrying about who we may offend. Perhaps more places like that would allow people to get some things of their chests and be more civil to people in real life.
But then again, it's nice to have FAOL and be able to get good info without all that other stuff...
Charlie
[This message has been edited by chascomly (edited 30 January 2005).]
chascomly, I agree with you in concept, I'm just disappointed it is associated with fly fishing. Or any outdoor sport for that matter. Even for adults. I guess the gentleman sportsman is dead.
Jim
Aww, c'mon....don't even we "gentleman" need to cut loose from time to time?
Wouldn't the "gentleman soldiers" of Roman times celebrate a successful battle with a wild bachhanalian feast followed by an orgy? Hmmm, now there's an idea for the next fishing trip...
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