can't say you're on any short list with us but I do want to chime in on a few things about Rokslide, and this is not just responding to you, but many of the posts I saw on the four pages I made it through.
1) Of course this place has changed! It's not the 1,000 hard core guys that were originally attracted to it. If it were it wouldn't exist anymore as 1,000 guys can't attract enough sponsors to keep the lights on (it's been tried again since Rokslide started and it failed). In fact, the whole forum poser and PIA blowhards are part of why some of those guys (members and staff) are gone--life's easier when they can just do their thing and not be challenged or see people challenged on every opinion or post. Trust me, I was there when the left and that's a big reason why. Remember that when you're complaining about the "good old days" Maybe they weren't so good.
2) Of course it's all about gear. That has been our core following since day 1. We work hard to provide as many gear reviews as we can
as that is what gets read. Very seldom does a hunting article on here get the readers that a gear review does. Sorry, just how it is and is why as your editor I don't publish a lot of them (but I do publish some) We are not Eastman's. Only one of our top 10 or so articles last year wasn't a pure gear article--Jim Carr's "
What It Takes to Be a Successful Hunter".
3) I see stupid stuff on here and social media all the time, but I also see it in the break room at work, and everywhere people gather. But I try to remember that just because someone's got a different opinion or approach than me, doesn't really make him "stupid". We're not all the same and we don't have to agree, but we don't have to get upset if everyone is not the same as us. That was that first 1,000 guys, but those days are over. Be a little more welcoming and you might find some of these guys who irriate people are actually new or inexperienced hunters. By the grace of God your life was such that you got to go deep into hunting, but that's not everyone!! We need those guys but we gotta remember they're not going to be just like us! It's not the Gen X vs the millenials vs the hippy hunters vs the "true hunters" (whatever in the heck that means?!?!) We all need to be a little more tolerant of people, in all society. And if someone is truly an agitator, (or a thread is stirring up agitators) we just ban them, lock them or delete them--it calms the air (except for the few that wanna keep stirring).
There's a few in the hot seat right now and I'll be glad when they're gone, unless of course they change their behavior. I've seen that happen before. I won't say any names be several of our most serious contributors/hunters have been warned and once they realized what they were doing, turned it around. That's progress!
If you're hoping Rokslide will never change, I think you're going to be disappointed, but I'm pretty sure most changes can be good. I learned a long time ago on here "we don't all have to agree", but let's get along and not sweat the small stuff.
