High Road and TFL

[garrettwc]

Any of you folks that still frequent both? Has it gotten any better over there or is it still a trollfest?

I miss being over there but just don't have the patience to wade through all the manure looking for a gold nugget or two.

[cosine]

I read THR pretty much everyday, but don't post much because it's too hard to post and refute all the baloney that gets thrown about there. I visit TFL about once a week.

I like this place much better. It's much homier and friendlier, even when there are disagreements.

[Twycross]

I hit both pretty often. I don't post as much as I used to, though. A lot of heated arguments, and stuff that doesn't interest me. I spend most of my time reading and searching the archives.

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

Honestly, I haven't been back to either more than once a month or so since understanding that *this* is where people can speak their minds and discuss their larger sphere of life experience beyond just popping caps.

Yes, I love the RKBA and support all efforts w/r/t 2nd Amendment support,  but it is NOT the be-all and end-all of my existence, and it is EXTREMELY gratifying to be able to discuss things beyond the single-dimensional issues mentioned above.

To each his own, we're in another person's playground and all, but I personally prefer to engender the support of my fellow gunners in *all* areas of my life, because I find we have much more in common beyond just popping caps.

YMMV.

[Stickjockey]

I visit both pretty much every day. Still a bunch of good folk over at THR. I guess I view the occasional troll attack as an indicator that THR gets under the other side's skin enough they feel they've got to resort to drastic measures.

[Silver Bullet]

The really good stuff isn't in the Legal/Political or General Discussion forums.  It's in the rifle and shotgun and pistol forums, among others, where the level of expertise is astounding.  One can learn much more about firearms than from any magazine I can think of.

By comparison, L/P and G D are just opinion forums, which all too often veer off firearms and RKBA related issues.

There are lotsa posts that I can only think are part of a plot to get us to vote incorrectly (that is, not with RKBA interests in mind), but they're easy to ignore, other than concern that they might actually be persuading somebody.  

Some of them are amusing.  Somebody tried to make a case that Democrats are more of a friend of RKBA than Republicans based on votes made fifty years ago or so.  I merely pointed out that who voted what back then is irrelevant; what I care about is who is voting what right now, and all you have to do is check the recent voting records to see who supports RKBA and who doesn't.  They were left pretty much dead in the water.

[garrettwc]

The really good stuff isn't in the Legal/Political or General Discussion forums.  It's in the rifle and shotgun and pistol forums, among others, where the level of expertise is astounding.  One can learn much more about firearms than from any magazine I can think of.

That's the part I miss the most. The gun discussions. The problem is I would get part way through and even the thread titles from L&P and General Discussion were infuriating enough to make me close my web browser.

L&P used to be OK. I used it to keep up to date on what Brady & Co were up to. Now it seems like it is evenly divided between pro Brady types and extreme right wingers who want to bash the police and overthrow the government.

Just for giggles I tried THR tonight before posting this. I hadn't been there since April so I had like 10,000 unread posts. I waded through the first 1,000 and only found 8-10 threads with titles that made me open them. That's about a 1% return for an hour and a half of my time. Not really worth it. May try it a couple of more times, but it's a far cry from what it was a year or so ago.

Still haven't been to TFL. Maybe tomorrow night.

[Oleg Volk]

No fate but what you make. THR is a reflection of its users. We know so for sure, thanks to a practical experiment. The rules and the framework matter but little...the quality of participants makes all the difference.

[garrettwc]

Oleg,

I don't doubt that is correct. Any community whether real or virtual, is only as good as the inhabitants.

As an original member of THR, I feel a little bad for abandoning it to the wolves. However, it is a recreational pursuit for me, and if I must spend all my time there trying to discipline the trolls, I don't get to enjoy it.

My comments aren't intended as a criticism of THR, you, or the moderators. Lord knows you have all done your best. It's more of a lament for the loss. Sort of like going back to your hometown to find your favorite sandlot has been bulldozed and a strip mall put up.

[Stickjockey]

L&P used to be OK. I used it to keep up to date on what Brady & Co were up to. Now it seems like it is evenly divided between pro Brady types and extreme right wingers who want to bash the police and overthrow the government.

I think L&P is that way right now because there is nothing really huge going on in the political world to create a united front. In 2004 we had the AWB sunset, in '05 we had the Lawsuit Preemption thing. Brady&Co. Got their collective knuckles cracked, and have yet to really regroup from it, IMHO. There's a bunch of little things in the pipeline, ut even they seem to be going our way. Just wait until the National Reciprocity thing heats up, or 2008 rolls around. Then you'll see some action.

I will admit, though, that the LEO-bashing does get old.

[roo_ster]

Isn't LEO bashing/bootlicking kind of like what George Carlin says about speeding:  folks slower* than me are idiots & folks faster** than me are maniacs.

The only balanced approach is the one I am taking at this moment.

* More tolerant of LEO misconduct

** Less tolerant of LEO misconduct