an_observer

As someone who has been skydiving since well before dropzone.com and having seen the mess that ensued on rec.skydiving, it was great to have a new, well-moderated forum to shoot the breeze with skydivers. Of late though, the bonfire has become something of a zoo, and I believe a good portion of the blame lies with people who post excessively with nothing of value to say. So to expand on some of my observations: 1. Should non-jumpers continue to post here? The argument is made that once you've made a jump, you're a skydiver. Fair enough. But there's a difference between the old-timer who made hundreds or thousands of jumps and decided to call it a day and the xx-jump wonder who "quit" (before really starting!), but can't quite let go. Imagine a dropzone where 30% of the crowd at the bonfire was xx-jump wonders from 10 years ago, who couldn't stop talking. Some of the best skydiving stories (No Shit There ...) I've heard have been around real-life bonfires from old timers who didn't jump that much. I can't remember the last time I read a good one at the dropzone.com bonfire (except, perhaps, when Walt Appel posted his reminiscences). 2. What's with all of the East Coast/GA jumpers? Isn't there a more local forum to discuss the evening's plans? It's almost like it's impossible to pick up the phone and call each other. And, spare us the details of the drama of your local squabbles, the jerk who cut you off on the drive home, the neighbor who is constantly getting arrested, the amount of liquor you've imbibed and how drunk you are. Seriously, it's getting really old. Get out and jump some more. 3. Offensive content? OK, some of the stuff people posted is really out there. And, it's up to the admins to enforce Sangiro's rules. But, in my opinion, I'd rather see someone like Walt post a picture of a turd once in a while, and be in fear for my health/sanity,if I ever jumped in Texas, than to read the inane flirting consisting mainly of demands for boobies at every turn. Sorry if this comes off as a little harsh (and probably whiny!) but I'm glad that people have brought up the subject and that doing so might bring the focus back to skydiving. The more topical forums are a great resource and it's a shame that the bonfire has drifted so much, but hopefully the worst offenders will get a clue and back off a little!