New forum category

[Andrew Donald]

Scot how about a furniture building section .

[Scot]

So... building, and maybe repair? Seems we have a category for such things.

[Ian McColgin]

Maybe a generalized "Fine woodworking, non-boat" to cover the range of remarkable talents who do everything from building construction to cabinatry to furniture to instrument making . . .

Or we could just go as we do now where most of this stuff ends up ventilating and sweetening the Bilge.

[htom]

"The Sump"; send all the politics there, cleaning the bilge and giving those who want to play in that a place to do so.

[bluedog225]

Yes. Politics to the sump. Or change Misc. Boat Related. To simply “Misc.”

Or a no politics or religion rule. But the drama queens and hate mongers will howl.

[Schooner36]

New category for politics "The Black Water Tank"

[Ian McColgin]

I remain against a new deck to which values discussions ranging from politics to various forms of beauty shall be banished. We do not deserve our democracies if we cannot take the mild stresses of disagreement, if we have not the maturity to disengage rather than attempt to enrage, if we cannot learn to debate and discuss and value each other.

Inventing the Bilge low those many years ago was sane. More is just people who fancy themselves as somehow above the pressing trials of our times.

[Andrew Donald]

Maybe a generalized "Fine woodworking, non-boat" to cover the range of remarkable talents who do everything from building construction to cabinatry to furniture to instrument making . . .

Or we could just go as we do now where most of this stuff ends up ventilating and sweetening the Bilge.

Sorry but I keep out of the bilge for obvious reasons. I wouldn’t mind seeing people’s other talents in a seperate group.

[Hugh MacD]

I'm with Michael here. I avoid the bilge but could be missing out on some good craftsmanship that's buried under aired opinions. There used to be a thread on "Non-Boat Stuff I Made", but I can't find it again. It'd be nice to have an actual section for that.

[Larks]

I’m not sure that another category would help much - I avoid the bilge to avoid wading through all of the political, religious and otherwise generally unpleasant threads that seem to fill it to the sole boards. But I notice that I shoot myself in the foot by doing so and miss out on a lot of really interesting boat related and non boat related threads, including interesting projects from members here.

But I don’t think another category would change much - I get the impression that members post a lot of their boat related stuff and other interesting projects and so on to the Bilge simply because they feel (know?) that it will be seen there by all of the bilge dwellers who rarely venture into the sunlight to view and read the rest of the categories on the forum.

There “appears" to be quite a few members on this forum who aren’t aware or aren’t interested that a whole world of boat building and boat related stuff exists above the sole boards outside of the Bilge.

So, as much as I’d love to see threads on furniture making and other interesting projects in a place where they are easily found (instead of wading into the bilge), or a “Sump” category to clean up the bilge of politics and the like, I really wonder if it’d make much difference, I suspect everyone would just dribble down to the “Sump” and all of those interesting threads and posts would chase them down there to find the viewership

[Ian McColgin]

Different people have different needs. For example, I appear here under my actual name. Others have a pseudonym, sometimes for very good reason and sometime to evade responsibility. So it is with people's ability to ignore threads they find offensive unless they also avoid all the threads in the neighborhood. There are people on the Bilge whose threads I just don't open. Sometimes I'll read the thread because a later post by a person I generally find interesting posts.

But - this is my failure of imagination - I do not understand why people get all cranked up over something so alienated and electronic.

[elf]

The world is a big and varied place. Politics and religion have been essential components of human life for as long as there have been humans, as has stressing about them.

If you want a life without stress simply choose to stay away from places where you might find it.

[Andrew Donald]

Seems this thread has turned a bit bilge like. Sorry I asked.

[Mike1902]

Seems this thread has turned a bit bilge like. Sorry I asked. Bye

Don't be sorry Andrew, I think your idea is great.
Personally I would enjoy a category such as you suggest. The skills and techniques required to make wooden furniture can be used in boatbuilding and vice versa.
The admin guy's answer seems to suggest that posting such a thread in the building and repair category would be ok.
" Build it and they will come". Would be an interesting thread.
Cheers,
Mike.

[WX]

I would go with changing miscellaneous boat to just miscellaneous.

[Keith Wilson]

While the Bilge can certainly get acrimonious, even nasty at times, opening any thread is entirely voluntary, and closing it again quite simple. It's fairly easy to identify the ones that are non-political topics and avoid the others. Scanning through takes some time, particularly if one hasn't looked in lately, but it's not that difficult.

The problem, of course, is that most of us here are from the US, and US politics has gotten seriously weird. Nothing we can do here will fix that.

[jseymour]

What about a topic for The Sailor's Art? It could cover topics such as marlinspike seamanship, scrimshaw, modelmaking, paintings, drawings, and even literature.

[Ian McColgin]

All of which fit at least one existing deck or might go in the Bilge as freshener.

[bluedog225]

With all respect, I think people are mischaracterizing the issue with strange enthusiasm.

Specifically, there is not an obvious place for civil discussion of non-boat matters up up here. I’ve see countless timid posts in tools/materials over the years from people, often new, wanting advice on something non-boat.

Sending this traffic into the snark-infested bilge seems wrong.

A simple “Misc.” or “General discussion” would be a simple, and welcoming, improvement.

[Beowolf]

Long live Miscellania!

[pez_leon]

With all respect, I think people are mischaracterizing the issue with strange enthusiasm.

Yes. I stay out of the bilge. I would enjoy any of the sections proposed above.

[Garret]

I guess I don't understand the objections to the bilge. I spend time both above & below decks & in fact don't really pay any attention to where a thread is until I choose to reply. If I do, I make sure it's a bit more restrained if it's abovedecks.

Everywhere has places we prefer not to go & people we'd prefer not to talk to - doesn't matter if it's a boatyard (if you can still find one where you are), a bar, or wherever. For me, if I don't want to talk to someone, I don't. If a thread title doesn't interest me, I don't open it. Not hard for me at all.

And - I've seen plenty of abovedecks threads turn nasty - or at least contentious - we're all human after all.

[RFNK]

I guess I don't understand the objections to the bilge. I spend time both above & below decks & in fact don't really pay any attention to where a thread is until I choose to reply. If I do, I make sure it's a bit more restrained if it's abovedecks.

Everywhere has places we prefer not to go & people we'd prefer not to talk to - doesn't matter if it's a boatyard (if you can still find one where you are), a bar, or wherever. For me, if I don't want to talk to someone, I don't. If a thread title doesn't interest me, I don't open it. Not hard for me at all.

And - I've seen plenty of abovedecks threads turn nasty - or at least contentious - we're all human after all.

That's pretty much how I see it too.

But if it's technically simple to add a general woodworking category then, why not? But if it's a hassle, there are plenty of places where threads on furniture etc. can be placed. There aren't really any rules on where you can put things.

[Bob (oh, THAT Bob)]

"The Sump"; send all the politics there, cleaning the bilge and giving those who want to play in that a place to do so.

You want non-stop incessant pleas to Drain the Sump?

[RFNK]

Train the sump! I know just the person ....

[amish rob]

The content here is 100% user generated.

It’s simple to change the content.

Post other content.

[dutchpp]

A clean and regulated Bilge would be like a Toyota Corolla, technically and aesthetically OK, but absolutely not interesting.

[J. Dillon]

I think the bilge as is, is just fine. Lots of interesting dialogue and smart comments. If ya don't like you are reading just pass it up and move on.

Stay safe but have some fun

JD

[David Satter]

How about, Yacht or boat interiors. We don't have to add it. We could replace something....sayyyyy the BILGE

[cluttonfred]

Personally, I would be very happy to see politics and religion banned from the forum. I don't think that's what any of us visit this site for but, if is, then that's a good reason to eliminate those topics. I have seen other groups disintegrate because of such issues.

[Garret]

Has anyone seen politics or religion above decks? That is not supposed to happen & I haven't seen it.

So, if one doesn't want politics or religion, don't go in the bilge. That's not that hard is it?

I'm having trouble understanding what the problem is

[David G]

Has anyone seen politics or religion above decks? That is not supposed to happen & I haven't seen it.

So, if one doesn't want politics or religion, don't go in the bilge. That's not that hard is it?

I'm having trouble understanding what the problem is

I'll take a stab at answering that one - based upon being around here for over 20 years. And upon my observations of friends, relatives, and colleagues since I started life as an activist at age 16.

There are reasons the Bilge is the most active and frequented area of the WBF.

One is -- lively discussion and pungent personalities are always more interesting than some folks want to admit.

Another reason is that the world, not just the U.S., is going thru a time that is notable for its tension, contention, and drama. It is world-views clashing. It is the future of the quaint notion that humans can govern themselves democratically (instead of ceding that job to some authoritarian figure) coming perilously close to failing - thru the efforts of the autocrats and oligarchs.

Here's the problem. the attractions of the Bilge, though some may regard them as illicit or nasty, somehow keep distracting some folks from the preferred approach to life. And however ignorant any given person might be about the details of the abovementioned clash... all but the very dullest can feel the tension. So they don't want to look. And some don't. And some do. But they hate it. It's disturbing. And sometimes unpleasant. And sometimes contentious. So they want the temptation removed. And they want to go back to their efforts to enjoy the fruits of whatever life they've managed to build. And not think about the big issues. Or how failure to act now may well be sentencing their kids and grandkids to a world they can't imagine, or don't want to consider - a world ruled by the New Feudalism. They may make fun of the folks who say, 'it can't happen here'... but in their hearts they believe it --




What a really want is another section devoted entirely to kitten & puppy fotos...

[cluttonfred]

It's not a big problem, but those topics and snippets still come up in "New Topics" whether you visit The Bilge or not. I was taken aback the first time I noticed it because, like I said, I have seen other groups deteriorate when politics came into the mix. I just don't see the need for such topics on a forum dedicated to wooden boats.

I'm having trouble understanding what the problem is

[WX]

It's not a big problem, but those topics and snippets still come up in "New Topics" whether you visit The Bilge or not. I was taken aback the first time I noticed it because, like I said, I have seen other groups deteriorate when politics came into the mix. I just don't see the need for such topics on a forum dedicated to wooden boats.

There is more to life than just boats (even, dare I say it, wooden boats) and this forum and it's members are richer for being able to share the non boat aspects of their lives.

[Garret]

It's not a big problem, but those topics and snippets still come up in "New Topics" whether you visit The Bilge or not. I was taken aback the first time I noticed it because, like I said, I have seen other groups deteriorate when politics came into the mix. I just don't see the need for such topics on a forum dedicated to wooden boats.

Thing is, this place is more than just a forum about wood boats. Many folks here are friends in real life. For example, I have been to EBS's (Elbow Bending Symposiums) in at least 5 states (& multiples in some states) and have met dozens of WBF members. I've checked out boats, motorcycles & cars for folks, delivered boat parts from one forum member to another, chipped in on a wood-stacking party for another, etc.

Maybe it'd help to think of the bilge as a virtual "Yak around the stove at the local store" kinda thing.

Finally - it you click on "New Posts" - furthest left link near the top, it excludes the Bilge & just shows posts from abovedecks.