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

[Candy Smith]

Hello all,
I've been on the listserv for about a year and I've been pretty quiet, but I
thought I'd pop in my two cents here.
I'm a trail "newbie" in some regard (I've hiked the Oregon and Washington
sections a few times, and bits and pieces of the Southern California part of
the trail), but I'm prepping for my first thru hike in summer 2010. I feel
like the issue of repetitiveness might be resolved by having an organized
archive, (something that a forum might solve, but it could be done in
another format) that newbies could look through to maybe find answers to
their questions before they are brought to the listserv.
That being said, it doesn't really bother me all that much, and I think that
any humble outdoorsperson can agree that it's often interesting to hear
creative solutions to problems they themselves are having. I like knowing
what other people are doing (sometimes their ideas are much better than my
own), which is why I joined the listserv.
Just something to ponder.
-Candy
2009/5/4 Will M <jalan04 at gmail.com>

> Its funny because until recently, I have been impressed with the relative
> lack of trolling on the PCT-L. My once beloved trail journals has,
> unfortunately, become victim to a lot of anonymous and in some cases,
> vicious trolling.  At least on this server, we have a general idea of who
> is
> saying what.  That's a very good first step.
>
> Hopefully this whole controversy will blow over though I have to say I do
> like the idea of a forum  format.
>
> Jalan Jalan
>
> On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 12:18 PM, Barry Teschlog <tokencivilian at yahoo.com
> >wrote:
>
> > 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
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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-- 
Best Wishes,
     Candy Smith