In honor of Bob Gross, buy a foam pad and get 10% off

> Without even trying hard, I can think of half a dozen posters here who annoy me much more
> than Bob. Get rid of 'em all or (better) let everyone stay.

+1

And one moderator for me. :) But banning people because they are annoying is silly and childish if you ask me. It is interesting to me that B.G. gets banned but folks who are constantly launching personal attacks against folks stay. I will never understand this place I guess.

"To a new member, he's the jerk who just made a rude comment for no real reason. Why would someone stick around for that."

As a relatively new member to Backpackinglight, I find –B.G.– comments sometimes insightful and in general spot on. With a background in engineering, spelling/grammar is one of my opportunities for improvement. He is an interesting character and I believe adds a lot of color to the site.

My 2 cents

"To a new member, he's the jerk who just made a rude comment for no real reason. Why would someone stick around for that."

^^ My sentiments exactly.

He is (or was?) just one member of many. I am fairly confident he knows how to make a new account, and the only reason he wouldn't is if he's determined to continue with the actions and/or comments that have gotten him banned, ostensibly.

"here here"

And there's nobody around to correct this…

People who feel attacked by BG needn't respond to him, if they so choose. In a forum such as this, it's like walking away from an angry person. But some want to thump their chests and be the king of the hill, have the last say and this is where the lines cross, barbs fly and people get hurt. That's just how it is.

ok..time to go to REI and return something….

Hear,hear.

Me.
p.p. Bob Gross

"As a relatively new member to Backpackinglight, I find –B.G.– comments sometimes insightful and in general spot on. With a background in engineering, spelling/grammar is one of my opportunities for improvement. He is an interesting character and I believe adds a lot of color to the site."

Haven't you been posting for four years, Jon? My definition of a new member would be closer to four weeks, not four years.

Ryan

Rule #5 states:
"Give people a break, life is hard. Don't make it harder. These are recreational forums after all. If backpackinglight is your life, you have a problem."

When I subscribed to BPL last year, I took the last sentence of rule #5 literally, and I've tried not to over post on the forums, but for about 20 or so people here at BPL, backpackinglight is their life. And now that I've been here for awhile, I don't see what's wrong with that.

But some of the long time everyday posters begin to feel a sense of ownership here at BPL, and I guess that's understandable. The problem is that some want to dictate content, yet they seem to forget that THEY DON'T OWN BACKPACKINGLIGHT.

For a lot of new members, they see an entrenched group that is somewhat like a fraternity in that that they put you through a probationary period which includes a little hazing. But things become stale when revolutionary thinkers with different ideas are shushed, and BPL knows it.

With the latest surge in backpacking (due in part to Wild and A Walk in the Woods) a lot of new blood is making its way onto this site, and I don't think the staff wants newcomers to feel censored by "the establishment". I know it makes some people mad when I say this, but every subscriber is expendable, no matter how long they've been here. Make too big of a stink and BPL will put you to the sword!

Being polite and respectful is the main thing everyone should consider before clicking onto "Post Message."
And yes there are a few major whiners and complainers here at BPL. My response to them is that if things are so bad, make like a tree and LEAVE, backpackinglight will get by fine without you.

I agree with Monte 100%. There does seem to be a cabal of members that post like they own the site. One can almost predict the same handful of denizens who will chime in with an opinion on EVERY topic repeating the same points ad nausea.

Some of them of never seem to be out of reach of the internet, with average daily post counts in double figures. Where do they hike and still have a signal through out the day? The mind boggles.

If this were my sandbox, I'd purge the top 10 posters every year just to bust up the group think and cut my bandwidth costs.

Hopefully, whoever pulled the plug on Bob has done him a favor. And for the others mourning his absence, if your average daily BPL post count exceeds 1, I urge you to go outside and play. The days are long now. Enjoy them.

" … with average daily post counts in double figures"

Rick,
Would you please share your source for this statistic?
Might be more interesting information to be mined there.

EDIT: Just for grins, I went to BG's profile, took the number of post pages he had then multipled by 10 posts per page then divided that by the 5 years he's been posting. Works out to 7.2 posts per day … And that's from an individual acknowledged as the most prolific poster on this site

Always interesting to read the first and last post on a lengthy thread and try to guess what happened in between. In this case, how does a gear deal posting in honor of our recently martyred Bob become some sort of cathartic prozac convention group exercise? Ah yes, the BPL factor.

Rick, I haven't hit double digits today but I'll give 'er the ol' college try. But as a point of clarification, (and as a shameless active member here) I read damn few articles here since there aren't many that capture my interest. I chose to pay for a lifetime membership anyways and do in fact pay more towards the bandwidth and services than a Forum member who has been here fewer than 22 years. Not saying this is better or worse; just stating my choice. Also, when I order my thru nite t3 whatever flashlight later, I'll do so through BPL's Amazon affiliate link. I'm sure it only amounts to pennies but I do try to support BPL when and where I can.

I must admit that I'm truly flattered that as an active member, I (among others) have reached such a level of importance in your life that you've made it a point to concern yourself with my hiking. Well I'm disappointed to share with you that I only went on a day hike with some other BPLers last weekend so I have nothing epic to report other than it was a lovely eight (I still say WTA was wrong with six) mile round trip hike up 3200 feet and got to share some pretty trail with a mob of mountain goats.

Alas, I will be leaving on an Alaskan Cruise so my hiking opportunities will be limited. I do however promise to hike laps around the deck to keep my miles to internet ratio to your satisfaction.

So thanks for all the positive and constructive input, and I hope you have a super duper day.

Edit to tidy up the monologue above and to add:

The BPL vs Bob Gross boondoggle is an interesting experiment in social psychology. I sometimes appreciate what he has to say. There are other times I don't. There are other times when he flat out nags out of his arse and just pisses me off.

As an adult, I can make the choice to call him out or ignore him. I think those who are requesting to bubble wrap the world in such a way to be safe from any offending stimulus really need to get a grip. Baskin Robins offers 32 flavors because not everyone wants to eat vanilla.

Ian, to (barely) paraphrase the wit of Ralph Burgess, "You're enjoying BPL incorrectly!"

The world is a better place when people are civil with each other and can play nice together.

Plenty of knowledgeable people on BPL who contribute to building a friendly and welcoming community.

Glad he is gone.

Tony

Hi Ian

> I will be leaving on an Alaskan Cruise so my hiking opportunities will be limited.
Can we expect a few good photos on your return?

Cheers

"Can we expect a few good photos on your return?"

Photos yes. Good ones? I hope so.

Ian,

Have a great time on thst cruise ..The pics will take care of themselves ..:)

What part of the coast will you be sailing?

Thanks Jimmer,

I'm embarrassed to say that I can't remember all the ports of call.

Stopping in Victoria BC for sure and am very much looking forward to visiting Butchart Gardens for the sixth or seventh time. Would've been nice to have my macro lenses/tubes dialed in by now but I suspect I'll fill an SD card there irregardless (had to throw that in for a BG thread don't cha know).

Juneau also. This will be my first time in Alaska and we're celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary so pretty excited.

Just off the trail to find this thread. I see validity in all views expressed, if that's possible. As someone with a touch of a critical and cynical personality, I've appreciated BG's contributions, and style.

Bob has helped me, I'd like to see him back. On balance his presence has been much more on the positive side. A rap on the knuckles before the guillotine.

I also generally applaud the forum mods and owners — while I don't support this particular decision I appreciate the challenging and too-often thankless job they do to provide this community to us. I try not to second guess their judgment, especially without all the facts. My pack is pounds lighter thanks to them and to all of you.

And David, nice gesture.

Is this the longest thread ever in "Gear deals"? Damn! Bob is still generating posts – and hence profits for BPL – even in his absence. Its a superpower of some kind.

I know enough photography to know that BG knows a lot more and is a much better photographer than me. He's been generous in helping with photo equipment info in the threads I've read and I appreciate that. In fact, I went to check out his photo website and might buy one for a birthday present for a friend.

I missed the drama. I spend a lot more time on a bike than on a computer as of late.

Can I just say, there are a few people on here that I consider formative- FORMATIVE- to my current career as an outdoor enthusiast. There are a lot of me; starry-eyed college kids with dreams and small budgets that eat these forums up like candy. We were born in the digital age and we turn to the web for everything. Most of them don't talk as often as I do.

Roger Caffin, Dale Wambaugh, Eric Blumensaadt, Ian Bloom (twist my arm), David Thomas, Nick Gatell. The list goes on and on. Bob Gross was on that list. It's not because these people always gave perfect, politically-correct and polished answers to questions. They're the all-stars in my book because they took the time to participate, and lend a hand, and offer opinions, and occasionally steer me from a cliff.

I'll be real depressed if Bob doesn't come back, and I want to strongly advocate that this forum remain a "forum," one where contrasting opinions can mingle.

Unless, of course, he did something awful, but that seems unlikely to me.

This is so sad. For all of you happy that he is gone I wish that you contributed nearly as much useful insight as Bob has over the years. On photography, on GPS, on obscure routes in the Sierras, on food. Yes he is socially inept at times but it has ALWAYS been worth it IMO. I'm a Life member. Please note Mr. Jordan it was certainly not your noticeable lack of contributions in the last few years that got me signed up. Bob WAS one of the reasons. Now not only do I have a full screen obnoxious splash screen to click thru everytime I visit this site but the payoff for doing so has suddenly gotten way less appealing.

Agree!

I think Bob declined Ryan's offer to discuss the issue.

Willie, since you are in Bozeman, why don't you drop in on Ryan and see if he will talk about it.