Canalworld and I Finally Part Company

I've finally had enough of CWDF a.k.a the Canalworld forum here on the internet and have decided to stop posting there.

It's a good forum if you have a boating question, as it has a hardcore of experienced, but overbearing boaters who have opinions on everything and will put you straight, before arguing amongst themselves to prove their superiority to each other, until the post gets locked or turns to dust.

All large forums have this to some extent, but their mob rule is getting out of hand.

Several wise boaters have told me recently that they use CWDF to gain answers to their problems, but then once the information is gained, they stop viewing the post and let the regulars turn their original post into chaos with their bickering and bitching.

I've been a member for 7.5 years and have around 2600 posts to my name, but it's been getting worse in the last few years, with some posts just resorting to rudeness and open insults. The moderation is very laid back and a minority have effectively seized control.

Half the time, people can't even be bothered to read what you've written and just hijack the thread to talk about what they want to talk about.

I stopped posting answers on my speciality, electrical matters, some years ago because I was finding that I would answer the original poster with my professional opinion and then spend the next 5 posts defending my answer to others looking to pick holes in my response. I found myself writing essays to cover all the angles for even the simplest questions. Life is just too short for that sort of nonsense.

The sad thing is that I have met quite a few boaters who admit they like reading the forum for its wealth of information but do not post or even reply to the posts of others for fear of being trampled by the hardcore.

That is a real shame and of course is a form of censorship all in itself. It's all very well for the hardcore to say "grow a thick skin" and "if you can't take the knocks don't play", but why should you have to ?

Not everybody who likes canals wants to spend their evenings arguing and point scoring..

The end result is that the meek get meeker and the know-all's become the only posters.

There is a distinct lack of respect for varying peoples opinions which is just ignorance.

It seems to me that forums like this have a lot of people on their board who think that an evening's entertainment ideally comprises of large amounts of alcohol and winding people up as much as possible.