[pct-l] Recent "un PC" Comments and Listserves

[Barry Teschlog]

The recent flare up on the noted topic brings up a subject I've seen here before, but will mention for Bricks consideration yet again.

One of the other forums I participiate in (Cascade Climbers) is set up as a forum, not a list serve.  There is a topic especially for "spray".  All the rude jokes, NSFW, un-PC rants, everything not climbing related, etc is supposed to go there.  Threads that start off on one climbing subject then decay into a spray fest (as often they do when the subject of bolting comes up - similar to the dogs or guns threads on PCT-L), get moved there.  Spraying in some of the other main topics on the forum (newbies & kids are two specifically designated as spray free zones) will get one banned from pretty quick to instantly, for good reason.  I tend to rarely go to spray, as I could really care less about 99% of what's in there.  The point being that the bulk of the spray is contained and contamination of on topic threads is limited.

Yes, I realize there are reasons for the PCT-L being what it is (a listserv), and Brick as stated them in the past.  That said, the format of a list serve does have it's limitations.  If there is spray, everyone gets it.  With a forum, well, the spray seems to be better contained to its designated location and can be avoided far easier.

Moderately related, as it came up in the discussion of the spray, as far as the previous comment on there being a lot of repeated topics:  I have to ask, what do you expect?  The trail is what it is.  It was, is, and will be, with very few changes (the most noticible upcoming one I can think of is the Tejon Ranch re-route) more or less the same from year to year - weather conditions excepted (and even then, within the last 5 or 6 years, everything from very dry / low snow to extreme snow has happened).  The thing that changes are the hikers that head out every year.  As there is a constant flow of 'newbies' - they're going to have the same, generally predicible set of questions:  resupply, shoes, packs, tents, food, zeros, towns, pack weight, water, hitching, safety, cell phones, start dates, finish dates, KO, permits of all kinds, dogs, protection, blah, blah, blah, we all know what they are - the same ones I had in 2006 and the same ones a first
 time PCT thru hiker wanna be will have in 2015.  Sure, technology will cause some of the answers to evolve over time (walkman to mini-disc to MP3 or 35MM to digital or probably most dramatically overall pack weights), but the TRAIL, and the general skills, desires and motivations it takes to hike it end to end in a year will, I suggest, be more or less constant. 

I really like the PCT-L, have learned a lot from it, and have been reading it since I found out about from a 2001 thru hiker while I was camped at the Waptus River mid way through my first section hike (Stevens Pass SOBO to Snoqualmie), late August / early September 2001.

My 2 cents, YMMV, HYOH, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda.

TC